Tuesday, May 4, 2010

May 4, 2010 - Ior


Ior

Ior is a dipthong ‘io”

Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem (from ragweedforge.com)

Ior is a river fish and yet it always feeds on land;
it has a fair abode encompassed by water, where it lives in happiness

Ior is the rune of boundaries, as the dual expression of what it is to be the boundary itself, and also in establishing that boundary. It is often associated with Jormungard, the World Serpent, which defines the boundaries the of Midgard, protecting it from what lies outside, but also keeping what is inside, in. The nature of a boundary however, is that it encompasses both things, the in and out, and partakes of the natures of both, but it is also neither. In that sense, Ior is the liminal rune, and is associated with people who live on the boundaries, transgendered peoples of all types.

In a reading Ior signifies boundaries and limits. Sometimes those boundaries need to be established and clarified, other times, it is embracing them so they can be understood and surpassed.

2 comments:

  1. I love your blog. I learn more about the Runes through your reading... I'd like to make my own but I feel artistically challenged there. What do you use? Did you make your own runes or did you buy a certain set? Curious.

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  2. I will give you the long answer. My first set came with Ralph Blum's Book of runes. THey were made out of clay or ceramic, and very simply and accessible. They lasted me for at least 10 years, if not more. Recently, I made a gift of them to a new member of my witchcraft tradition to which I belong.

    The next two sets I made. The first one was made from a basswood that I bought at a art supply store, painted with red paint mixed with personal concerns, and then covered with sealant. They were nice, but very plain. It was also an Elder Futhark set.

    Later, when I began learning about the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc and Northumbrian runes, I felt that I wanted to include them in my practice. So I made a second set. I had recently acquired a plank of rosewood from wood project store, and cut out the desire pieces, and carved the runes into them, sanded them, painted them, sealed them over. They turned out really nicely, and are the images of runes that put up on my blog.

    I am personally drawn to using wood for making runes. In the sense of following a northern tradition, it seems to be indicated from the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, that wood from a fruit tree is preferable. I would think any wood would work, and that has certain been my experience. Contemporary sets are often made from clay, semi-precious stones, and I believe glass. I would choose clay over the others, simply because the stones and glass can be very fragile. You could also make them out of bone (a material with tradition in carving rune spells onto) and I know one person who used granite pebbles that she found in a run off from a river. They are quite lovely, and lively *wink*

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