Magin Rose

The half month of Berkano began on Monday 14th March with a beautiful sunny day in South East England – okay so it’s a bit grey now but Spring is definitely well under way.  The Berkano rune is associated with Spring herself, its symbol is the birch tree and the rune poems speak of this tree as bedecked in leaves, lush and vibrant.  Berkano is a rune of growth, fertility and explansion; it has a feminine, protective nature and it is often associated with earth goddess energy.  Let the energy of Spring help you to manifest your creativity and potential, bounce into your spring cleaning with gusto, and bring your projects and plans into manifestation.

Working with the rune this year my attention has been drawn to a particularly enigmatic line in the Icelandic rune poem: ‘Loki had luck in deceit’.  This line tumbles unexpectedly into the Berkano rune poem, bearing no obvious relation to the rest of the verse and, for this reason I believe, it is often overlooked.  As we moved from the half month of Teiwaz into Berkano I thought of Teiwaz’s patron, Tyr, the sky-father, upholder of justice and certainly not lucky in deceit.  Tyr is a very ‘manly’ god, associated with victory in war, the function of the priest, valour, and glory; however, he is thought to have had his origins in an androgenous deity Tuisto.  Tyr holds steady to his course, understanding the importance of paying for misdeeds and upholding the laws of divine justice; he pays for his one act of deceit through the sacrifice of his right hand.  I compared this god of the sky and the rain with Loki, the trickster God of wildfire, a master of deceit and, interestingly, particulary adept at shape-shifting into female form (giving birth at least twice during his adventures into the female mysteries).  Both of these Gods are essential to the functioning of the Aesir, both honour and deceit have their part to play in the wielding of power.

As Tyr’s life progresses he is reduced, from hermaphrodite to man, from king to priest – he pays the price for following his principles.  Loki, on the other hand, expands, taking on multiple forms, living life on the edge, bringing new powers to the Aesir and frequently getting them out of trouble.  In the half-month of Teiwaz we sought our own truth, the guiding principles of our lives; in Berkano we look outwards and forwards, the sap is rising, excitement fills the air, we are ready to try new ways of being, to push our limits and become more than we are.  Where Teiwaz necessarily demands a ‘reduction’ as we strip away the outworn, recognise our failings and pay for our deeds, Berkano demands expansion – be more than you are, take a risk, harness the energy of now and forget about the consequences.

The greatest benefactor of both Tyr and Loki’s acts is Odin, Tyr’s successor and Loki’s blood-brother, warrior and a shape-shifter, ruler and adventurer.  Odin is often seen as a role-model for the runester, a personification of the journeying soul searching for wisdom and transformation; in many ways Tyr and Loki act as Odin’s role models, personfying two ways of being which Odin seeks to synthsise.  Following immediately after Teiwaz and Berkano is Ehwaz, the rune of partnership, of synthesis, of adventure into the unknown, this rune is particularly associated with Sleipnir, Odin’s horse (and Loki’s child), who carries Odin between the worlds.  With his spear in his hand (symbol of Tyr) and Sleipnir beneath him, Odin is mighty indeed.

In the half-month of Berkano, allow yourself to be carried away by the moment, to draw on the energy of Spring; safe in the knowledge that the guiding hand of Teiwaz has already set your course correctly.