Ingwaz

Ingwaz

If you have ears to listen, I will share with you
The greatest piece of Rune knowledge I have found.
It is but a seed of thought, yet when watered with the heart,
Can grow to cover the whole Earth.

I have heard many who follow the Runes say,
“Odin has brought misfortune on me.
Odin has taken away everything from me.
Odin is teaching me.”
(I have said these things, myself.)

Yet, if one is to follow the Runes
Like breadcrumbs through the vast wilderness of one’s life
One would see that this could be further from the truth.

Odin is not teaching us anything.
All he did was leave the seeds of the Runes
In the Zeitgeist of the Germanic people.
For all we know, he’s out there still
Riding the skies looking for the next Rune to find.

What he did was leave us seeds in song and story
And when those seeds cracked open in our hearts
We began to face the wild tempests
Fanned by our own growing wings.

Each action that we take in life creates a reaction
Each choice lays the seed for the next choice.
Each thought we nurture, grows into the next thought.
Layer by layer, as time weaves out, the existence of our lives emerges.
For every part of our life is woven by us:
Even in slumber, we participate in its weaving.

If we are to rise and grow as a German people;
It will be to understand that every choice, thought, and action
Determines this world that we live in.
We are the mighty weavers of our own fate
Even if we do not wish to believe it.

For the Gods continually give us gifts from the past
As Groa sang spell songs to Svipdag.
And we have always had the sword of our forefathers
As Hervor won from the undead hands of her father.
And we have the treasure of the knowledge of all our people
As Sigurd won from Fafnir’s lair.
All we need to do is face what limits us and search the mountain inside.

The Runes call out to the heroes of our people
They sing the Ancient songs
Which challenge us to face all that which
Stands in our way from us being our true selves.

- Christina Marvel