J IS FOR JOTUNHEIM

Jotunheim is the "home of the Jotun" is the realm of the giants, the Jotun, who are a kind of primal giant. It is the counter balance to the realm of Vanaheim, the home of the Vanir - the ancestral home of the Vanir gods, the ancient gods and goddesses of the natural world, of fertility and of human sexuality and is the realm of of evolutive power and organic growth, where there is no decay or death. All is fertile, prosperous and abundant. In Jotunheim there is constant change. The vital power of Jotunheim is that of dissolution or of break down of form to its base elements and the inhabitants of this realm seek to change anything that they come across.

The realm of Jotunheim should not be viewed from a moralistic perspective; it is a necessary force within the natural realm. It is only when the force of dissolution is placed out of its natural bounds that it becomes a danger to life. In its balanced form it is an intrinsic quality of physical existence, without this force nothing would ever change or evolve to more advanced and intricate forms.

Raw untamed primal forces of nature, steep rocky valleys, high mountain ranges, snow covered land, unstable extremes of climate, barren fields of rock and stone, impenetrable rocky faces and wild turbulent seas are all typical of the appearance of Jotunheim.

We heathens believe that it is the interplay of the energy from Jotunheim with that of Vanaheim upon the physical reality of Midgard (the world upon which we live) that creates the constant cycle of evolution, of birth, life death and rebirth.  All coming together brings the balance of the elements and also the clash of the elements when needed.

J IS FOR JERA

This is cheating a bit as I work with the Anglo Saxon runes, so I use Ger instead of Jera but Jera is how this rune is commonly known, the twelfth in the runic alphabet.  It means a good year, Season, Harvest.  <
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The Anglo Saxon rune poem states "Year is the hope of men when god lets the holy kingdom let go of its fruits."

Harvest time is the most important time for our ancestors. They have tilled the soil and allowed nature to unfold. The crops are strong and ripe. The year was calculated on a seasonal or yearly basis and embodies the mysteries of the cyclical nature of life and wyrd.

Jera charts how we change and transform through different periods of our life. It is the spiral journey of self knowledge, like the journey of the rune, our learning goes on for ever. Jera shows us the holistic  nature of the universe.

Jera shows us the importance of our actions. You shall reap what you sow. Our actions along the web will shape wyrd and change how things flow. It is also the rune of optimism looking to the future, where the god allows the earth mother to give up her bounty.

Magical Uses of Jera:
- Help bring a project to a positive outcome;
- Achievement and enthusiasm;
- Plan forward towards final outcome;
- Can help in learning other runes;
- Understanding what we want to achieve;
- Instil patience;
- Help see larger picture;
- Help in divination;
- See underlying structure of a situation and know when to act.

Tasks:
- Write a list of projects or plans you'd like to accomplish;
- Become aware of the seasons around you;
- Take a walk in the full moon;
- Go through your wardrobe or music collection and see how your tastes have changed;
- Create a harvest harrow (altar) or harrow of the cycles, possibly to the god Frey.
- Try and go naturally through the day without clocks.