Wild Soul Runes: Reawakening the Ancestral Feminine

Artist Vesta (The Moon Divas Oracle) suggests in this colorful guide ways to build a “source wisdom partnership” with runes from the Elder Futhark and Anglo-Northumbrian alphabets. Vesta grounds readers with a brief overview of Northern European history, particularly the culture of Norse and Anglo-Saxon peoples and their spiritual connection to their ancestors. She explains the runes’ power through the concept of wyrd—a universal “fabric” containing “the essence of all creation... life force, energy, gestation, birth, destruction”—and explores the origins of the runes, tying them to the Norns (“triple goddesses” of Norse mythology) and concluding that “the runes are sacred feminine magic, held in the trust-memory of prehistoric, Old European civilizations.” She recommends beginning with a ritual to connect with one’s female ancestral lineage, offering tools for the contemplation of each rune, among them a simple circular pattern, a series of questions to ask the rune, and one or more rune poems. The poems are delivered first in a popular 19th-century translation, and then in Vesta’s often awkward translation: “River’s mouth is made perfect bragging.” Vesta also includes black-and-white illustrations of rune patterns to aid readers in creating their own at home. Anyone interested in European mythology will find Vesta’s philosophy and method refreshing. [em](May) [/em]