Rune Magick - Raido

Raido Talismans

Astral Dreaming

Astral travel is a fascinating phenomenon but some spiritual practitioners, even with training and preparation, struggle to achieve it whilst awake. As a rune with properties of movement, Raido can assist in travelling through the astral plane. This is more easily achieved in the dream state and so this talisman is created to make the transition into astral travel more harmonious.

You will need:

For the charm:

v     Pencil

v     1x transport charm (broom/car)

v     1x keyring split ring

v     1x 18”x3mm silver ribbon

v     1x 18”x3mm blue ribbon

v     1x 18”x3mm violet ribbon

v     Scissors

For the Raido oil:

v     10ml bottle

v     7.5ml base oil (hazelnut or almond)

v     1/2 tsp Mugwort

v     3 drops Myrrh

v     1x 1” square piece of paper

v     1x blue marker

What to do:

1.          One week before you intend to make the talisman, prepare the Raido Oil and charge it with its purpose:

a)       Pour the base oil into the bottle

b)      Add 3 drops of Myrrh oil, recap the lid and shake vigorously.

c)       Add the ½ tsp Mugwort, recap the lid and shake vigorously.

d)      Charge 1:

Myrrh & mugwort, bring your charge

To this oil’s power montage

Element of air infused

So its power can be used

e)       Draw a Raido symbol on the paper, roll it up so the symbol is on the outside and add to the bottle.

f)        Charge 2:

Rune of travel, rune of motion

Raido implement a notion

To this oil as it brews

Power of flight now infuse

g)       Recap the bottle and keep it somewhere cool for at least one week before using.

2.       Cut the ribbons to size and soak them in the Raido Oil.

3.    Make a double-knot in one end of the ribbon around a pencil so there’s a small loop. Thread this loop through the split ring.

4.    Plait the ribbons… as you do infuse them with your intent by visualising yourself flying through the astral plane in your chosen mode of transport.       

5.        Thread the transport charm onto the un-knotted end of the plait and tie it into a loop to match the one at the top. As you do, charge the charm:

A vessel for my astral ride

To aid my flight, be my guide

Let my body rest, restore

But take my mind, make it soar

6.        Neaten up the loose ends of the knot with scissors.

7.       Charge the talisman:

Thoughts and feelings locked away

Those not sensed by light of day

Grant me access in my sleep

So into consciousness they seep 

Hang over your bed, or keep under your pillow to aid is astral travel through dreaming.

Reiki-Raido Healing Stack

Inspired by the fairy stacks of Darren Williams

PHOTOGRAPHS TO BE ADDED LATER –

NEED TO COLLECT MORE STONES

This talisman is a meditation aid and is to be used to connect to the Universe and send healing to a specific target; it will invoke not only the energy of Raido but also Reiki energy: the symbols of ‘Cho-Ku-Rei’, ‘Sei-He-Ki’ and ‘Hon-Sha-Ze-Sho-Nen’ which are respectively the Reiki representations of power, emotion and connection. Magick is the constant changing and blending of Universal energies charged and executed for a specific task. When these particular energies are blended they pack quite a punch and I am therefore combining them for the purpose of healing.

You will need:

•  5x small, smooth, flat stone
• Several coloured markers
• A glue gun
• Decorating items (paint, glitter, etc)

What to do:

1.   Wash the stones and practice stacking them in a sequence which is sturdy as well as feeling comfortable and being aesthetically pleasing to you.

2.    Once you’re comfortable decorate the stones how you want them to appear… paint, glitter, etc.  Leave space in the centre of each stone to draw your symbols and remember, once they are glued into the stack, you will only see the edges.

3.        Once your decorations have dried, draw your symbols… one on each stone –     

•  1x Raido;
• 2x Cho-Ku-Rei;
•  1x Se-He-Ki;
• 1x Hon-Sha-Ze-Sho-Nen

Make sure your symbols are drawn on the stones in the correct order so the energy of the stack will flow at its strongest.

           i)         Cho-Ku-Rei (base)

           ii)       Se-He-KI

          iii)      Hon-Sha_Ze-Sho-Nen

          iv)      Cho-Ku-Rei

           v)       Raido (top)

As you draw the symbols, visualise their energy infusing the stone… think of what it means, what colour it is, how it moves, what it does. Let those imaginings run through your hand into your symbol as it is drawn.

4. Heat the glue gun and begin to assemble your stack. Have all the symbols facing upward… once assembled the only symbol you will see is Raido on the top.

This item doesn’t particularly need to be charged – the symbols, if drawn correctly, are so powerful and imbued with such potent energy that even I find a charge practically redundant – however, I am a rhymaholic and incorporate a charge into how I use the stack and so am sharing what  I personally use with this stack…

How to use the Stack

Place the stack in the palm of your dominant hand and your receptive palm face down over the stack. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Journey to that place between the conscious and sub-conscious that place between reality and imagination where anything is possible and recite:

Power of strength, power of light

Flow from my aura brilliant and bright

Power to heal, power to calm

Be an elixir, a magickal balm

Journey the spiral of cho-ku-rei

Draw from the Universe what you may

Continue on to Sei-He-Ki

Gain its pure and cleansing energy

Hon-Sha-Ze-Sho-Nen now find

To shed the shackles of space and time

And onward spiral once again

Around the cho-ku-rei domain

With the gifts of Reiki blessed

Through Raido journey on your quest

Visualise the person/animal to which you are sending healing, see their face; see their energy and where it needs your help.

As well as the redundant charge, I also like to add a physical element to the healing too – for this I have a picture/photograph of the one who needs healing. When I recite the following words, I place my dominant hand, palm down against the photograph as a physical act of giving the healing. Send this light toward them, see it reach the darkened areas of their aura, their spirit and watch it cleanse, purify and heal with the white/blue light of the Universe, Reiki, Raido and you. Recite the following three times as the energy works:

Power of strength, power of light

Make this aura brilliant and bright

Power to heal, power to calm

Be the elixir, the magickal balm

Raido Meditations

The Oak Elevator

 The inspiration for this meditation is from the episode of Charmed when Phoebe was haunted by her past life and had to go back in time to undo a curse. This however, is for if you want to understand more about yourself.

Path Finder

 Confused? Lost? This may be the meditation to help you find your way again. Use Raido as a compass or a sat-nav to give your magick a new direction.

Reflecting on… “To Know, To Will, To Dare, To Keep Silent”

These words urge the incorporation of knowledge, confidence, courage and discretion into the path you choose to walk; because of this ‘phrase’, every step I take on my path is one of assurance, awareness and reverence. I have confidence in my practice and my experiences, I believe in the values which are its foundation because I choose to act on the advice of these words.

To Know

This is not just knowing what words you are going to say or what tools you are going to use; knowing the ingredients and steps of a spell are acts of memorisation; they merely serve as a method. I find it akin to baking a cake… anyone can follow a recipe but only by learning about other things which can affect the cake and then trusting your instincts can you make the cake your own. The knowing this adage speaks of is the same thing… only by understanding the external forces at play can your workings have the best outcome for you.

To Know is the knowing of who you are so that when you send energy into the Universe, you know where it has come from as well as where it is going. To Know is the counsel which tells you to understand what you are learning, rather than just memorise it; it is the act of finding your personal interpretation of all things, know what every thought, feeling and impulse means to you. It is the bridge connecting your sub-conscious and conscious mind. I feel that the lesson of “To Know” is to not settle for what you already know but to strive for what you could know in the future, to chase all the knowledge of the Universe.

To Will

Possibly the most famous line in Wiccan traditions is “As I do will, so mote it be”; every working you do incorporates your will, for spell and ritual work are the projection of your desires. I consider it the most difficult skill of magick to become adept at because your will is where your magick comes from and so it must be strong and pure for the working to be successful. You are projecting your thoughts and feelings to the Universe, everything you want, need, and love is being made into a power concentrate, then exploded into the atmosphere; your will is the power of you – so when you harness it for magickal workings be confident in who you are and what you are looking to achieve. If your will wavers, so will the magick

This also brings to mind, the importance of “To Know” and why the two are inextricably linked… your knowledge fuels your will. The confidence with which you can walk your path, project your will and practice your workings is founded in what you know. If you let your knowledge go un-projected, why did you learn it? And, by the same principle, if you project your will without researching what caused its motivation, how will you know it is your true will and not influenced by others?

To Dare

To Dare is, in my opinion, the flip side of To Will; whilst one is the desire behind the power (to will), the other is the power behind the desire (to dare). This element of the adage is saying to literally have the daring, the courage, and the motivation to proceed with your workings; take the next step on your path, interact with the unseen, experience the unknown and make it known to you. With the knowledge and confidence you gain by living the other elements of this ‘proverb’, daring to continue becomes the motivation behind every step you take. There is no reward greater than combining what you know with what you want to know, having the courage to bring them together and the daring to create something new and magickal. The success you receive when this is done with all that support from your confidence and knowledge is the very reason your workings and your life can become a glorious tapestry, woven with a golden thread.

To Keep Silent

This is the element of the adage I keep closest to my heart but I think it shouldn't be taken too literally – I don’t keep silent about my beliefs; I've shared who I am and what I believe with my family, my colleagues, my friends and many, many people online. Why then do I hold the idea of keeping silent so sacred? What I share with others are my philosophies, beliefs and opinions on subjects which are open to interpretation anyway - deity, nature and magick. There is so much information published on these concepts that my voice, though individual, blends in with all the other individuals. What I share is made silent by being lost in the din of what everybody else shares. As for what I don’t share…

A spiritual path brings to light those elements of the self which have been hidden in the dark. You may have heard the term ‘mysteries’ and wondered what these mysteries are; they are part of the endless search and discovery mission that a spiritual path is but what I have discovered is what I will not share because it is what keeps me searching for more.

Though I've always understood the literal meaning of 'To Keep Silent'; it is the keeping of your magickal secrets, in living these words for so many years, I have found a secondary meaning which is the core of why I hold silence so sacred. The quietening of the mind, sitting in silence, creates a more fluid environment so that you may know, will and dare more powerfully.

There are many ways to follow these words and bring them into your life; these words which mean so much to the pagans and spiritual believers around the world but these are my ways. I am not being silent about them because I'm not saying anything that I believe should remain secret. I am sharing these thoughts because I know that they have meaning, my will is that my thoughts and feelings on them help somebody else who is searching, and I dare every day to have controversial beliefs but today I also dare to put those beliefs out into the world. 

Wittering on... 11/09/14

Well, it may seem quite obvious that I have barely been posting of late. I have spent a lot of time grounding, centring, and meditating. I have felt off balance a lot of the time and I have felt this break from the active magicks very beneficial; I am missing it now though and intend to build up my posting again. It may not be as much as at the beginning but I shall try for at least two posts a week – whether it will be rune magicks, reflections or other, I don’t know.

I have spent some of my time away from posting dedicated to losing weight and I have lost 22 lbs to date over the last 9 weeks. My fitness plans have also started today with a brisk walk to the local leisure centre to re-join.

Well that is all the update for now but stay tuned because my posts will be visibly increasing soon.

Blessed be to all x)O(x

Rune Interpretation - Raido

Basic Meaning:

travelling – short errands – moving ahead – transportation – change in thought patterns – a new spiritual path – communication – wise councel – spiritual quest – serving justice

Magickal Application:

protection in astral/physical travel – getting something to move ahead - justice

Deity Association:

REGIN – ING - NERTHUS

Characterisation

The primary characteristic of Raido is travel: journeys, arrivals, departures; unions and reunions; new friends becoming a part of your life, old friends returning to it. This is the rune of movement and the movement it personifies can be by wheel, some type of ride and/or travel.

As the personification of travel, Raido can be depended on for a deep look into the essence of any journey. This can refer to the journey of life – long and arduous, requiring determination, planning and fortitude. Another facet of this runes expression is a spiritual journey or quest

The travel which is implied by Raido’s presence can also refer to the travel of information so it is also a conduit for sending and receiving messages. This will be recognised in my Raido magicks.

Rune Magick - Ansuz Meditations

Ansuz Meditations

Odin/Loki Coin Power Up

I came up with this meditation because when I first started studying Ansuz, I struggled to meditate on the duality of it – the power of Odin versus Loki. Therefore, this is the way I choose which power will come through when I am working with Ansuz.

Prep

1.          I like to burn incense when I meditate and this meditation is no exception; the incense blend I put together is featured to the right and has a very simple charge.

2.       Also you will need a Carnelian crystal and an Obsidian crystal – these are the physical representations of Odin and Loki and will help keep balance during the meditation.

3.        The third item you will need is a candle – I use a dark blue as the colour is associated with Ansuz. Inscribe the candle with the Ansuz symbol – A. If you wish you can use anointing oil too but I feel adding oil makes it too busy for my tastes.

4.      The last thing to prep is charging the crystals. I do this ‘in circle’ before I begin the meditation but it can be done outside the circle if that’s easier for you.

Instruction

1.          Sit somewhere quiet at a time you won’t be disturbed. Cast your circle, then ground and centre.

2.        Light the inscribed candle and hold the carnelian in your dominant hand; the obsidian in your receptive hand.

3.        Focus on the candle flame for several minutes as you slow your breathing and let your conscious mind drift into the sub-conscious.

4.       In your subconscious, visualise a coin – it will have the Ansuz symbol on both sides, one of which will be inverted.

5.        Once this coin is solid in your mind’s eye, make it spin horizontally – slow at first, then speeding up until it’s a blur.

6.        This will create energy which you will then direct, by your will, through your physical body to the crystals in your hands

7.        One crystal will feel warmer with the generated energy, the other will not. Hold the warmed hand and crystal to your root chakra. Hold the other to your crown chakra.

8.        Keep the coin turning and the energy flowing but now connect it through the chakras so that the energy of each crystal links up through them. I like to see this energy as a deep blue beam of light running straight through my energy core.

9.        Extend this beam of light earthward and skyward… beyond the chakras. Feel it pulse; see it brighten as the coin spins. Let that energy fill your chakras – you will feel the presence of one or both of the Norse deities – their energy will be strong within the beam of light. Let it fill you with its power, their power.

10.      When you feel the energy completely flooded your spiritual core, retract the beam back to your hand and thank deity. Next retract the beam completely so it leaves the chakras. Stay like this for a moment to indulge in the feeling of power.

11.        Bring your hands away from the chakra placements and to your lap.

12.      Now focus back on the coin – let it slow down to a stop before fading back into the aether.

13.       Take 3 deep refreshing breaths and open your eyes.

An after thought on this meditation made me realise that when I first start the coin spinning, if it was spinning forwards then Odin was the deity that came to me, if it spun backwards, I got Loki. This makes for an experiment… if I spin the coin vertically (as if spinning it on a counter) would the same results occur (i.e. deosil = Odin, widdershins = Loki). I will post these results another time!

Realm Portal

I feel that as a rune associated with Air energy, Ansuz has a natural connection to the realm of the fae; as such, in meditation, it seems very fitting that it be used as a key to reach that magickal place. Likewise, as the fly agaric plant is associated with both the fae and Ansuz, I have chosen it as the gateway.

1.          Find a place and time you won’t be disturbed. Cast your circle, then ground and centre.

2.       Close your eyes and visualise you are in the centre of a fairy ring – a circle of fly agaric mushrooms. They can be small or huge, connected with vines or spaced apart. This is the part where your imagination and personal spin can create your own portal between realms. Make it the place you feel comfortable for a fae portal to be; a place the fae would be comfortable too.

3.     Once you have created your place expand your aura out to the edge of the fly agaric circle.

4.      Visualise a large Ansuz symbol of blue energy above your head. Again, it can be made to your own tastes: smoky, sparkly, made of spinning ribbons, etc…

5.        When the symbol is as you want it, bring it down through your crown chakra and into your astral body. It will be big enough to reach through all chakras.

6.       Use the energy of Ansuz combined with the energies of your chakras and aura to make the symbol charge. Depending on how you visualised the symbol, this extension of the visualisation will compliment that. If you visualised smoke, it will plume bigger; if it sparkled, then the speed of the sparkling should pulse more quickly.

7.       Build the energy like a crescendo, like a sexual climax, until it explodes out to the fly agaric circle. When it does that, again the explosion will be in line with the texture of the visualisation – my favourite for this part is the smoke symbol because the bright blue smoke extends to the edge of the circle from my astral self. When it clears the portal is open.

8.    From this point, you can use your time in the realm of the fae to communicate with our fluttery friends.

Portal Close

As with all magickal works, to close what has been opened, the process is to be reversed. I will use the smoke example as it is the simplest.

1.          Raise the smoke from the fly agaric circle. It had only dissipated for you to see clearly. You are drawing it back into you.

2.   Reshape the formless smoke into the Ansuz symbol once it is back in your astral self. Remember it is big enough to reach through all chakras.

3.     Once formed, lift the Ansuz out of your astral body via your crown chakra and let it implode on itself.

4.      Sink the fly agaric mushrooms and any additional ‘scenery’ into the aether.