Mannaz

The Shape of Mannaz is:
Gift , the x, bracketed by the specific bounds of ice, straight lines like stilts holding gifu high. Ice holds gifting within the boundaries of a specific community or tribe. This free will economy and the rituals of gifting is what creates specific community relationships. This is Mannheim.

The products of this system of gifting economy in my family are: Recipies passed from parents to children and cousins to one another. My mother's rice pudding, my fathers Spekkugen, the Lefse making are examples of Manneheim in action. Bowls, the footed bowl that the rice pudding is traditionally served in, the jelly roll pans that bake the Spekkugen best, the griddle my grandmother left behind, these are also products of Manneheim in action.

Seed Savers is a Farm and Institution in Decorah, Iowa whose mission is to save and reproduce heirloom seeds. This sanctuary is a huge example of Manneheim. People from around the world find seed varieties and freely send them to Decorah where they are grown, multiplied, and sent to others to grow. Here humans are gifting one another and supporting an economy for many in the community.

The most important thing about Mannaz as a rune is to ask yourself: How do I fit into my community? What is my gift and how can I best apply it to the total economy of my tribe where it will surely come back around in support of me?

I like this rune a lot.

Othelo - Homeland

Today is Lughnasaad, the first day of Autumn and the begining of the harvest cycle. I am heading to a wedding near Chicago this weekend, a gal I knew in High School. I'm meeting a friend I first got to really know in the sixth grade. And the rune Othelo came bounding out of a pile of papers at me.

It landed on the floor. It must be a stray from a set I was working on. So, the homeland and the roots are the thing. Yes, I can see this.

These two friends of mine were instrumental in many of the experiences that make me who I am today.

In Nordic Tradition, a person who has died will want to visit every place they had been on Earth during their lifetime. They want to visit all those who created that life with them and take the lessons of this life into the next world with them.

I turned fourty in July. It seems I am on a bit of a walk about this summer. I have visited my Grandmother's Farm, our ancestoral lands. I have talked to my people on both my side and my partner's side, the father of my children, his ancestors. I have gone to the ancient grounds, the sacred grounds of Decorah where as a child I pretended to be a Norwegian girl, where I became friends with some real Norwegians, where I grew so much and to the place I can call an Alma Mater.

Now I head to meet up with childhood friends.

What are my questions, observations, and lessons.

As I prepare for my death, the little death we all take at the Fall Equinox, I am grateful to have been connected to those people and places that so influenced who I am today.

Othelo, is the rune for me right now.

Kari