Norse Runes: Energies found in Palm Trees

By going deeper into Norse Runes, you can find their energies elsewhere. For example, palm trees.

PALM TREE

Fehu:  In ancient times, possessing a date palm tree was a source of wealth, since it provided food, clothing, utensils, oil, and wood.        

Uruz:  The durability of a palm tree is its many uses for people.

Thurisaz:         The leaves of some species of palm trees can cut flesh if the person is not careful.

Ansuz:       Palm trees have been important to humans by providing them with the means to live in arid areas and on islands worldwide. 

  

Raidho: Because dates are portable and energy dense, people carry them on caravans.    

       

Kennaz:    Since hybridization of palm species readily occur, the taxonomy of palm trees is problematic. Botanists need skill to organize them into meaningful genera, because there is flux amongst the entire group.

Gifu: The gift of the palm tree is its usefulness to humans. For example, people chew palm nuts, harvest wax, and make furniture from palms.

Wunjo:  Seeing an oasis of date palms in a dessert makes people happy.

Hagalaz: Coconuts fall from palm trees and hit the ground hard.

Nauthiz: Palm trees fill the need of hunger with dates, coconuts, nuts, and palm hearts. 

Isa: Palms are trees, and by nature are stationary.

Jera: Palm trees have contributed to mankind’s success in populating arid lands.

Eihwaz: With their shade, palm trees provide introspection by inviting people to sit under them.

Perthro: The probability of a palm tree dropping coconuts on a person depends on the wind, ripeness, the position of the person, amongst other things.

Elhaz: In South Carolina, sabal palmetto logs were used in building Fort Moultrie. The spongy wood absorbed or deflected cannonballs.

Sigel:   Palms wood is used for torches, and palm oil for cooking.

Tyr: Protecting endangered palms takes dedication since cross-pollination leads to hybrid species.

Berkana: In 2005, a 2,000 year-old date palm seed was successfully germinated.

Ehwaz: In ancient Mesopotamia, owning many date palms was a sign of status.

Mannaz: Scientists have grouped the 2,600 species of palms into the Monocot Order of Arecales. The Family Arecaceae has about 15 sub-families, with almost 200 genera.

Laguz: Palm wine, syrup and oil are made from palm trees. 

Inguz: The potential of palm trees lie in their multiple uses for people. 

Dagaz: The palm tree changed the future for humans by providing for their needs, and by being portable. 

Othala: Today, trees live in widespread places ranging from islands to deserts.

 

Norse Runes: Energies found in Hurricanes

By going deeper into the Norse Runes, you can see their energies play out elsewhere in life. This is one example:

HURRICANE
 

Fehu:   Hurricanes blow open inlets and form channels to allow ships into inaccessible areas. They bring wealth by creating new shipping lanes.

Uruz:   Measured in strengths up to Category Storm 5, hurricanes have powerful winds that can wipe entire cities.

Thurisaz:    Hurricanes destroy everything in their paths.      

Ansuz: Since hurricanes are so powerful, they encourage meteorologists to study them intently to predict their paths.

Raidho:   A hurricane transports water and debris great distances over oceans and lands. Also, these storms cross oceans to make landfall.

Kennaz: Predicting the landfall of a hurricane requires great skill.    

Gifu: The gift of a hurricane is water to replenish lakes and streams after a drought.

Wunjo: The happiest time for a hurricane is the clean air after the storm is over. Also, when a hurricane uncovers buried treasure, people are happy.

Hagalaz: Hurricanes bring heavy, pelting rains.

Nauthiz: A hurricane creates a need to rebuild after it passes. Also, to prepare for the eventual landfall of a hurricane, people need to find a sturdy shelter, and gather with plenty of supplies.

Isa: Sometimes a hurricane will stall over an area for days. Moreover, the eye of the hurricane is stillness amidst the swirling winds.

Jera: The hurricane replaces the water table in Central America, allowing for plentiful harvests. Hurricanes have beginnings and ends.

Eihwaz: Hurricanes propel winds and water across vast distances.

Perthro: The path of a hurricane is highly variable. A storm can turn direction at any time, and come ashore at any place without notice.

Elhaz: The circular wall of the winds keeps the hurricane from falling apart.

Sigel:   Hurricanes form over tropical seas, thereby transforming the tropical heat into moist winds. They actually become moving energy.

Tyr: Hurricane prone areas require discipline of the people who live there. They have to protect themselves against potential storms, and prepare for any that are arriving.

Berkana:        Hurricanes bring water to thirsty lands to allow for new growth. They transfer seeds and whole plants from place to place in a process known as plant dispersal.

Ehwaz: The status of a hurricane rises when it breaks a record in both winds and destruction. The storm’s name is retired from regular use. For example, Katrina, which destroyed New Orleans, will never be used again.

Mannaz: The identity of a hurricane lies in how well the storm is organized around its winds. Falling apart quickly turns a tropical storm into an unorganized mess.

Laguz: Hurricanes are storms that move long distances over water. They flow across the ocean.

Inguz:    The seed of the hurricane is warm tropical water. The potential of the storm is in the strength of its winds.

Dagaz: Hurricanes change the land that they blow over. They flood cities, destroy barrier islands, create new shorelines, and move beaches.

Othala: The legacy of a hurricane lies in how it changes the land. Also, the legacy is in how people remember it like Hurricane Andrew.

Ethics for Magical People: Healing (2 of 2)

Reiki Symbols

The other thing that novice healers may forget is that the sender and receiver are connected by an “energetic cord”, since this is how the energy is send and received.  If the sender is not careful, they could end up syphoning off the receiver’s energy later on.  It can also happen in reverse with the recipient depleting the sender. For these reasons, Wintersong Tashlin adds that the energy body is just as inviolate as the physical body. 

The Eden Energy Medicine Institute has an ethics committee to outline their code for energy healers.  One section from this ethics code states that, “EH practitioners closely monitor their needs to be liked, to be admired, to achieve status, and to exercise power.”  The Ethics Committee explains that these needs interfere with the healer’s discernment and judgment.  Also the Committee stresses that these desires prompt the healer to make unrealistic claims of effectiveness, which in turn raises the client’s expectations.  To avoid this from happening, the healer should be mindful of their own hidden desires.

Clarifying these desires is necessary.  John Coughlin, author and occult magickal practitioner, suggests asking yourself the question:  “Are you sure the intent of your decision is from vested interest or ulterior motive?”  He continues, “Are you helping your friend for purely selfish reasons?”  Therefore, Coughlin counsels before you offer any type of magickal healing, you need to be crystal clear about your motives.

In the case study of Tracy and Jennifer, they are two fourteen-year olds faced with a traumatic situation.  Because her grandmother is dying, Tracy wants Jennifer, her best friend, to do magickal healing for her grandmother.  Neither has the maturity to deal with this dilemma.  Tracy cannot let go of her grandmother, and Jennifer cannot disappoint her friend.  Meanwhile Tracy’s grandmother wants to be left in peace to die.

As a compromise, Jennifer suggested doing a healing ritual where they would ask the grandmother on the astral plane.  She believes that if Tracy’s grandmother consents astrally, then the girls can send magickal healing. This ritual is problematic since the grandmother may be unconscious and unable to consent.  Moreover, according to John Coughlin, contacting people on the astral plane is difficult even for the experienced magickal healer.  He stresses that this option is the “the escape clause” for doing magickal healing without the recipient’s permission.

The other ethical problem the girls have is Tracy’s intense desire to have her grandmother not die.  Since Tracy’s grandmother is adamant about not receiving any treatment, the ritual would make Tracy the final arbiter of her grandmother’s fate.  This would deny her grandmother, her final agency.

Furthermore, Jennifer’s “healing ritual” would be a violation of Tracy’s grandmother’s stated wishes.  Moreover, the ritual would compromise the grandmother’s religious beliefs.  As a Christian, she would be aghast to discover that she unknowingly participated in a “witchy healing.”

Jennifer could do the following instead.  In the ritual, she could ask Tracy to envelope her grandmother with her love, since they have a natural bond.  This would affirm her love for her dying grandmother.  By doing, this Tracy would begin to understand that she needs to let her grandmother go.  The focus of Jennifer’s ritual would be Tracy, instead of her grandmother. 

Works Used:

Coughlin, John, “Magical Ethics and Pseudo-Metaphysics”, Author’s Website, 2004, http://www.waningmoon.com/jcoughlin/writing/pseudometaph.shtml.

----, “Ethics Code for Energy Healing Practitioners”, Eden Energy Institute, 16 September 2010, http://innersource.net/em/images/downloads/EEM_Ethics_Code.pdf.

Feinstein, David, Douglas Moore, Dale Teplitz, “Addressing Emotional Blocks to Healing in an Energy Medicine Practice: Ethical and Clinical Guidelines”, Energy Psychology 4:1, May 2012,

http://efttappingexpert.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Feinstein12.pdf.

Harrell, Kelly, “Intentional Insights: Q&A From Within”, blog, http://www.intentionalinsights.com/.

Kaldera, Raven, “Wyrdwalkers: Techniques of Northern-Tradition Shamanism”, Asphodel Press: Hubbardston, MA, 2006.

Morningstar, Sally, “The Art of Wiccan Healing”, Hay House: Carlsbad (CA), 2005.

Tashlin, Wintersong, “Invoking Consent”, Huginn Journal 1:2, Midsummer 2011, http://huginnjournal.com/issues/v1i2/.

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Negative Energy: Guilt (2 of 2)

I was cured of “false” guilt by watching how various TV judges conducted their court shows.  In one type of case that kept reoccurring: the defendant would want the plaintiff to do something for them (usually loan them money).  During the testimony, the defendant would complain that the plaintiff forced them to take the money.  Meanwhile, the plaintiff would explain that if they said “no”, they felt ashamed.  The judge would tell the plaintiff that they were not a bank, and not to lend people money. To the defendant, the judge would tell them that they did not need to accept the money.

I learnt that I was well within my rights to refuse unreasonable requests.  I am not responsible for anyone else’s actions or feelings, only my own.  The guilt that is often placed on others is usually “false” guilt.  For example, some people use guilt to avoid the consequences of their actions.  It is easier for them to manipulate others than to maintain good relations with them.

I see two types of guilt – “true” and “false”.  Most of what we feel is “false” guilt.  Since many of us were trained to be sensitive to other people’s moods and feelings, we feel often guilt and unease when someone is upset with us.  To avoid feeling this shame, we become overly dependent on fulfilling the needs of others.  We dwell in fear of the potential rejection from our friends and others.  Manuel Smith explains, “when people try to manipulate you, they are sending the message that they – not you – are the arbitrators of your behavior.”

When we stand in our integrity and truth, we stop feeling “false” guilt.  Living in our truth, we face our fears and establish our boundaries.  When we are honest and true to ourselves, we can see what is unkind and cruel.  Since we know right from wrong, we do not need to punish ourselves but instead correct our actions.

When we have integrity, we have “pietas”.  We can feel “true” guilt, and understand when we need to repair our relations between ourselves and others.  With our new compass of kindness and firmness, we will know when our actions are either good or cruel.  As long as we do not rationalize our actions, we can correct our behavior.  Guilt in this instance can be a prompter to maintaining the “right relations” with others and ourselves. 

Works Used:

Hartman, Tori, “Color Wisdom Workbook”, PDF from author, http://www.torihartman.com/shop/pc/home.html,

Heath, Ian, “Discover Your Mind”, 2002, http://discover-your-mind.co.uk/index.htm, .

---, “Martha Speaks”, PBS Parents, http://www.pbs.org/parents/martha/index.html,

---, “The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus”, Merriam-Webster: Springfield (MA), 1989.

Riesman, David, “The Lonely Crowd: A Study of the Changing American Character”, Yale University Press: New Haven (CT), 1953.

Scheid, John, “An Introduction to Roman Religion”, translated by Janet Lloyd, Indiana University Press: Bloomington, 2003.

Smith, Manuel, “When I Say No, I Feel Guilty”, Doubleday: New York, 1975.

Turcan, Robert, “The Gods of Ancient Rome: Religion in Everyday Life from Archaic to Imperial Times”, translated by Antonia Neville, Edinburgh University Press: New York, 2001.

Negative Energy: Arrogance

Picture arrogance and a person strutting about bragging how great they are comes to mind.  However, arrogance comes in other forms such as being “over-bearing, over-confident, pompous, or vain”.  It can also include “bigotry, dominance, self-importance, self-righteousness, and smugness” as well.

Excessive humility, the reverse can also be a form of arrogance.  Prime Minister Golda Meir (Israel, 1898 - 1978) is quoted as saying, “Don’t be so humble.  You are not that great.”  Consider the Uriah Heep character in Charles Dickens’s novel “David Copperfield” (1850).  Since he was so humble, Heep regarded himself to be superior to other people.

Having high self-esteem or self-respect is not being arrogant.  People do need a healthy sense of self-respect to be mentally well.  Once we respect ourselves, we can respect others.  Tolerance stems from our ability to love ourselves.  Furthermore, if we possess self-esteem, we will also accept responsibility for our actions.

The National Association for Self-Esteem defines self-respect as “the experience of being capable of meeting life’s challenges and being worthy of happiness.”  Having high self-esteem does not mean that we are egoists or possess a sense of superiority.  The opposite is true for arrogance instead comes from low self-esteem.

One example of arrogance is the belief that we are exceptional.  People in the United States are often told that their country is the “shining city on the hill” or “the last best hope of Earth.”  These statements assumes that the United States is unique and worthy of universal admiration.

However, thinking that they are special is normal for many countries.  In her book, “The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890–1914” (1966), noted historian Barbara Tuchman (American, 1912-1989) observed that the Great Powers of Europe during the 19^th Century thought the same as the United States does today.  Even the Roman Republic/Empire believed that in their territorial expansion, they alone were advancing the cause of civilization.  In every instance, these powers thought that they were the final arbitrators of the “greater good”.

Seeing others through our lens of superiority denies them their worthiness.  We do see others not as they actually are but as our inferiors.  Therefore we can subject them to our will since we “know better” than they.

Arrogance seeps into places where we are unaware of.  For example, to feel superior, some people will make a virtue of being poor.  By doing this, it helps them to feel good about themselves.  They can denigrate the well-off people without desiring to change their status quo.

Another example of the perniciousness of arrogance is what is taught about the Persian Empire in most history classes.  What many people know about this large, stable, polyglot empire is from the Ancient Greeks.  Mortal enemies of the Persians, the Greeks believed that they were morally superior to the Persians.  While the citizens of Persia had considerable freedoms, many citizens of the various Greek city states lived under tyranny.  However, the majority of historical information about Persia comes from Greek sources.

The concept of hubris or overweening pride comes from the Greeks.  Hubris leads to a feeling of invincibility which leads to complacency.  From complacency comes failure.  History abounds with examples of hubris such as the Chernobyl Reactor Meltdown of 1986.

 

Arrogance becomes another form of control.  What I do not like, I can be rid of.  Through self-importance, I can feel privileged to eliminate any unpleasantness that I come across.  Because of my strong personality, I need to keep it in check and respect others.  

Underneath arrogance is fear, envy or sorrow.  Fear and rage will also mask themselves as arrogance.  It is easier to control and tear down others than to face the primary feeling lying beneath the surface.  Arrogance can stem from brokenness, and keeps us from seeking relief.

Healthy self-esteem and pride springs from a sense of wholeness.  Being kind to others begins when we finally start loving ourselves.  An antidote to arrogance is being generous with ourselves and others.

Works Used.

London, Herbert, “The Dangers of Hubris”, American Outlook, 7 April 2002, Pundicity, http://www.herblondon.org/1384/the-dangers-of-hubris,

Miller, Laura, “‘Sybil Exposed’: Memory, lies, and therapy”, Salon.com, 16 October 2011, http://www.salon.com/2011/10/16/sybil_exposed_memory_lies_and_therapy/ ,

---, National Association for Self-Esteem, http://www.self-esteem-nase.org/,

Walt, Stephen, “The Myth of American Exceptionalism”, Foreign Policy, November 2011, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/11/the_myth_of_american_exceptionalism,