Forecasting for 2024

This week, I began with the omen for the new year. I did a five-rune pull to see what this year's journey will entail. The layout (pictured below) is, in my opinion,  one of the only good thing I found in the Blum book on the runes (don't laugh; we've all probably read it at some point in our evolution).

1. Overview: Where you are beginning. Fehu - Wealth, abundance, responsibility for hospitality
2. Challenge: Information regarding what you are up against. Ansuz - Communication. 
3. Action: What you may consider doing to move forward from this challenge. Ingwaz - Break open the seeds of possibility that new things may grow. 
4. Sacrifice: Describes what you may need to give up or let go. Eihwaz - Connections in wider realms.
5. New Beginning: Describes the place you will end up if you move forward on the defined path. Perthro - Luck, the fellowship of the hall.

The practice of pulling an omen for the new year is not new for me, and if memory serves, this has been a twenty-year practice of mine. Some years, it's been a tarot Celtic Cross, others, it was a rune pull of various numbers ranging from my standard three to a full casting, and I've done several that included multiple decks and runes in a blended system of intuitive selection. I've done then at sundown on NYE, at midnight, and like this year, during the light of day of the new year. 

This year's reading reminds me that I am starting for a place that is rich in resources. This rune is about the wealth that one already possesses and the responsibilities that places on us: "to whom much is given, much is required." I am in a place of wealth that is realized when shared. As this is also Freyja's rune, I find comfort and strength in my current place. 

My big challenge will be in communication, which honestly, has been a lifelong struggle of mine. I am a much better writer than talker, and when emotions are high, it gets worse. This is not a surprise, and it seems I am ready for the next layer of lessons as I delve deeper into this ability. 

The action presented to me is a principle many runesters find a bit of a mystery. Ingwaz, or Inguz, is not well defined compared to some of the others and typically is said to represent the energy required to break open a seed. When a seed is planted, it must sense the proper conditions to support the life inside are present, warmth, water, nutrients, etc. When these conditions are met, the shell softens and basically explodes to allow the new life within to take root and reach for the surface where it may grow and eventually bloom, if fostered--but that part is a different rune. For now, I will see what seeds I have planted in the soil around me and where I can help foster the conditions to allow it to do its thing. 

The thing I may be called to sacrifice is the World Tree, which for me, often denotes connections in various "realms" of my life such as work, home, local congregation, national organization, friends, and family. Perhaps I am spending too much of my focus on an area that is not where my gaze is best rested? I will be on the lookout for the application of this principle. 

Finally, after all this work is done, the resulting new beginning will be one of luck and fellowship. Like Ingwaz, Perthro is poorly defined and interpretations are varied. It typically is referred to as the "dice cup" pictured on its side, leaving us with the notion of the dice already thrown and a feeling of luck being with us. It is also perceived as a symbol of gaming with others. One does not tend to throw dice alone, and as such, represents the fellowship of the hall. 

Taken together, I have work to do this year to hone my relationships, allow seeds previously planted to either sprout or stop taking resources where they won't grow and improving my relationships with those around me. May I find the opportunities presented to me this year to bring this work to fruition and step freely into them with acceptance and purpose to move forward with one.