The Weekly Rune: Raidho

Raidho -- travel -- Seldom has Raidho come up in the Weekly Rune column. Anytime it appears in a cast, I pause, because it draws on all the things most vital to me: words, travel, and the interconnection of All Things. In short, Raidho indicates how we tell our story.

Many people read Raidho in a very literal context, meaning a journey between two points, emphasizing the mode of transportation involved, movement across space and time, and everything that occurs between origin and destination. Indeed, the stuff of our most compelling stories.

Sometimes to best understand a Rune, examining those framing it gives it deeper context. The journey of the Runes in the first aett is about inspiration becoming form for the first time; thus, it emphasizes the realization of self-empowerment through connection with All Things. Just before Raidho is Ansuz, which is often interpreted as "mouth," or "breath." With Ansuz we begin ascribing words to concepts. We begin the murky examination of the thing vs. the name we give it. Likewise, we become aware that as we build the language of our formed experience, someone is listening.

Following Raidho is Kenaz, torch, presenting the complex experience of sudden awareness, the spark that ignites, the Aha! moment. It is the moment that meaning has been derived from our experience. With that fuller understanding in mind, let's revisit Raidho.

Inspiration + Storytelling = Meaning

Ansuz + Raidho = Kenaz

Oversimplified, but it conveys well. Raidho clarifies the importance of holding focus over duration, associating a starting point and result with every choice, decision, thought, and deed committed along the way.

Are we acting in support of our intention? Are we really making the choices that align us with what we say we want, where we say we want to go? Are we fixed on a precise destination with blinders to the journey, or are we easily taken off course, dazzled by every glittering crossroad?

This week, consider inspiration and how it's expressed. Observe how the process of expressing it shapes you, creates you. Above all, choose your words with care, and weave them together well.

Originally posted at Intentional Insights.