Raedjaz

RAEDJAZ

Raedjaz (RAIDE-yaz) - (also known as; Rad, Reid, Rei, Raedo, Raed, Raid, Rit, Raido, Rita, Rito, Rede)

Value - R or RH (a more breathy R, less guttural) or URR (guttural)

Numeric Order - 4 (often 5)

Traditionally Represents - Riding. Movement. Justice. 'The Way Things Are Meant To Be.'

Represents - Hel. Loki. Red Rooster. Coltsfoot. Ride. Motion. Journey. Running. Movement. Elder (tree). Speed. Freajr. Nerthus. Oak. Horses. Feet. Legs. Family. Friends. Rhythm. Shaman's Drum. Wheel. Red. Cosmic Law. Travel (inner and outer).

The hidden glory of the deer and horse
that when ridden by the sun-warrior
finds the paths of truth,
the golden way home.

- Vilturj rune poem.

Raedjaz is the riding rune, and the rune of movement, journeys and the fact that the destination IS the journey and the journey IS the destination. It is also about recognising that any flaws or mistakes along this journey are a necessary part of it, and must either be ignored, forgiven or loved. As such, Raedjaz is a family rune (huh? How'd she make that connection?). There are many people along our journey and ALL of them are flawed. In the beginning of the ride of our lives, we are surrounded by family who are hard to accept for many reasons, many flaws. Raedjaz is the rune which encourages us to forgive, accept, or learn, and continue on our journey rather than get stuck in a rut, making up some distant destination that never existed. Raedjaz is also, oddly, a rune of independence, reminding us that we cannot depend on any one thing precisely because it is, or they are flawed. It warns against co-dependence.

Raedjaz also tells us to know our own limitations and flaws, and to recognise them. It can sometimes occur in a reading to show that we're about to learn from our flaws whether we like it or not. We cannot run at a gallop if we have only two legs, we cannot run like a human if we have four. Flaws are not necessarily negative, merely that which reshapes us into accepting ourselves and our limitations.

Raedjaz aspires towards the righteousness of forgiveness and acceptance. It is the journey of human growth and the growth of the ego (though to be fair, it's also the plain ol' rune for plain' ol journeys that involve walking to the plain ol' deli for some milk. Lol). If you are a person who identifies quite strongly with Raedjaz, you are a person with high integrity.

Raedjaz is the beat of the shaman's drum that both sends you and contains you on journey's to the spirit journey. It is also the force which helps you there and helps you back. All forms of spiritual travel first and foremost are the domain of Raedjaz, who is a responsible, eager mare, enjoying the gallop as much as the idea of stopping at any destination.

Raedjaz, with its very humanising aspects is also about the giving of good advice, and of staying rational. It is about righteousness and justice, and represents controlled growth, imagine the gardener who prunes the vine and then arranges it around a lattice to create a profuse blaze of verdant colour and foliage, Raedjaz is that organising force.

Merk - Merked, Raedjaz represents rigidity, a lack of acceptance, inability to forgive, irrationality, crisis, stasis, stagnancy, bad advice, violence, mutancy because of malnutrition (Merked Raedjaz is very common when pointing out people on unhealthy crash diets), sluggishness, lack of safety when traveling, poor timing, unwelcome company, breakdowns, delays, missing deadlines. Phew! Such a positive rune is quite negative when Merked.

Firstly, Raedjaz merked is a sign of negativity whilst journeying. This can include the inability to see past obstacles or navigate around them, perhaps you're moving too slowly or too quickly, perhaps you've stopped completely and you're not moving at all, spiritually or physically.

On the more practical 'present' level, Raedjaz signals car breakdowns, breakdowns of machinery causing missed deadlines, delays, problems with travelling, lateness, unwelcome company, friends giving bad advice and people acting irrationally around you. It can also represent a friend who simply refuses to forgive you, or you refusing to forgive a friend. The other runes around Raedjaz will indicate the direction with which this energy is moving.

In Ritual - In ritual, Raedjaz is actually quite good for healing friendships based on flaws within each person, and also for helping out with relationships. It works particularly well between two people who have been significantly involved in each other's journey for some time.

The astral colours or colours that tend to correspond with Raedjaz are all the warm tones, the tones that 'move' quite fast on a vibrational scale. So we're talking reds, oranges, yellows and even whites. In meditation and ritual this rune is good for accessing hidden mystery knowledge within yourself, and for protecting you or nurturing you on the journey of learning. It is also a great rune for any talismans or rituals that will protect you whilst traveling. It is a good rune to meditate on whilst bashing that immanent rhythm out on the shaman's drum.

Next: Kenaz