Jera -- Harvest -- This stave indicates a time of accountability. Harvest for many is a celebratory time when basic needs are being met, possibly with enough to save and share with others. To put into perspective the significance of this Rune and the power it holds, it hasn't blessed The Weekly Rune since October of 2012. With that timeframe in mind, consider what we've planted and harvested since that time. What was put into motion then, that has come to fruition, now?
Where Dagaz, in the third aett, is the small day-long cycle of the sun, Jera is the bigger cycle of the sun cycle -- dreaming, planting, cultivating, reaping, benefiting, giving, dreaming again. It's generally regarded as the annual harvest, the recognition of a year's work and how far we've come.
Jera has no reversed position, which means it is what it is, under all circumstances: payoff! That's a fabulous thing to hear; however, it isn't all about celebration. Jera is the internal process of culling what works and what doesn't, what should be repeated and what should be tossed, what new to try. It's considering how much we need to live now, and what we can afford to put away for later. It's realizing how much we have, and what we can give away without jeopardizing future plans.
Whether we're looking at the period since Jera last appeared, the last year, or the last week, Jera is "walk don't run" energy. We've just come through a major transformation and finally allowed ourselves to enjoy the good things it gifted us. This isn't the time to sink into frivolity or drop the momentum. It's also not the time to penny pinch and stuff the mattress out of fear. One of the hardest things to do after success is to sustain the pace -- neither speed up nor slow down. Hold steady.
Be realistic. Jera isn't about pie-in-the-sky expenditures or fist-clenching conservation. It indicates the time to truly, deeply assess where we are on every level of being. Jera encourages us to celebrate our accomplishments, then ground into the plans of what we most want to grow next. In that way, we're not just reacting to a cycle; rather, we become an active participant in its process.
Jera is the time for gentle movement and radical self-honesty. Reward yourself, preserve yourself, and keep dreaming.