Uncle Thor's Lessons, Anecdotes and Humor

Today’s runecast is

Sig – Odal – Wunjo

Favorable conditions lead to ownership and joy.

These are the final Runes in their respective Aettir. (Granted, in the last Aett, the places of Odal and Dag can be reversed.) Each is something that is constant. Sig is the Sun and all things solar. Wunjo is a state of Joy. Odal is ownership so complete that it is as if it were yours before you were born.

In a way, Sig lights the outdoors and Odal is the home, or indoors.

Odal is a state of permanence. It also represents immovable goods. Sig can be immovable well-being, and Wunjo is an unchanging state of happiness.

It is up to you to take it from here.

There is a book waiting to be written. I feel it inside me. Sometimes that is how it works. However, all work depends on the mundane things. Good ideas must be followed with the footwork to finish the job. So if and when this book gets written, about 90% of the effort is such common stuff as editing, checking spelling and grammar, organizing the material and formatting it, etc. That goes for any project, from writing to building something. Ideas are fun, but if they are not followed up with the right effort, nothing gets done.

Today’s runecast is

Mannar – Elk – Sig

Just as Mannar balances the “who I am” and “What I do” of a person, so Elk and Sig contrast. Elk is the Solar power in a small space, moving about. Sig is the power over a wide area. Elk moves, Sig remains constant.

Now it is up to you to make other readings of this spread.

For many years, the dominant feral cat family around here were the Pandas. We first saw Mama Panda when we moved here in `99. She was a large, round-faced cat with Panda-like markings. Mama Panda was feral to the point of keeping her distance from humans. She never got closer than 20 feet. We often saw her progeny, all with the trademark wide face. One of her last kittens is our house cat, Velvet. Velvet’s kitten, Peake, also has the Panda face. Since Velvet was spayed after her first batch of kittens – she used to be feral – we do not see much evidence of new Pandas. (After she was spayed, Velvet followed Audrey into the house one day and stayed.)

The last two years we have had a different family of cats descended from a skinny, long-haired brown cat called Mamakat. Last year she had three kittens. One kept residence in our yard. Cricket – so named for her penchant for reducing the local cricket population – is a thin calico with a tiny head. She is somewhat amiable toward Audrey. Me? Occasionally. This year Cricket had her first and last litter: four kittens. Dexter was an orange and white cat with brown eyes reminiscent of the TV character. Chessie is a scrawny calico. Isa is mostly white with ice-blue eyes, and Gjedtost is a fluffy fellow the color of Norsk goat cheese. We are going to have Cricket spayed. Up until this summer, we could never get close enough to catch her.

Dexter took ill a couple days ago, but he seemed to have shaken it off. Today we found him under a tree, dead. Whatever made him sick was too much for the four-month-old kitten. That is life for feral cats. These are not pets, even though we name them and get to know them a little.

Life happens. Death happens. We need to remember that there is a cycle between the Birch and the Yew, the Bjork and Yew Runes. The timing of both is a matter of Wyrd. Sentiment has no part in it. It happens to cute little kittens and it happens to mean old men. The cycle continues for each of us. That little kitten who died today was not a tragedy but part of the ever-moving tide of Life.

Today’s runecast is

Yew – Naud – Urus

The Yew is a Rune of mysteries and that which happens below the surface, i.e. “in the dark.” Naud is need, troubles, downward pressure. Urus is strength.

A hard time can help develop and reveal our strengths. Very often, you do not know your strengths until you need to use them.

Today’s runecast is

Tyr – Sig – Raido

Tyr is the victory won through effort. Sig is the victory that comes easily. Raido is speed and movement.

The victory of Tyr leads to comfortable conditions as described by Sig. This opens the way for things to move forward.

Many a useful project has been curtailed because its life was sapped. A project requires diligent and persistent effort, It must come first if success is to be guaranteed. Otherwise, there are many little things that can sap the energy until the project dies.

Many a project has died because other things were allowed to take precedence. Things do not get done when a person spends too much time at the gin mill, the racetrack, or watching TV. Little pleasures may have to wait, or at least be given low priority. Nothing useful gets done when one is idling at the local saloon when one should be working.

Another waster of effort comes from people. It seems that whenever someone is doing something constructive, there is that so- called friend who wants to come by and “hang out” while you work. You can be sure he has all sorts of advice and all of it is useless. Real help will not be forthcoming. These idlers can sap a project just by hanging around. Like it or not, but an essential element of success depends on putting you foot down and repelling the idlers before they get in the door.

There is also the problem of setting up for the long haul. Many projects require ongoing effort. It takes patience and diligence to see it through. Many are those who get the initial rush of success and feel overjoyed. However, their interest flags when that rush fades and they have to knuckle down for the continued effort. They are unwilling to follow their initial achievement with the mundane work that is so necessary for success.

It is simple. Get your priorities in order. Keep the idlers out. Be ready to persist long after that initial rush of success passes. Do not let anyone or anything sap the life out of your efforts. Success in any endeavor comes to those who have the burning desire to succeed, who are willing to work for the long ha

Today’s runecast is

Dag – Perdra – Tyr

The Dag Rune is a revealer. There are times when facts that “come to light” are more than mere information. They become the start of something bigger. Among Perdra’s meaning are pregnancy and processes that make something. A common expression in these modern times is “processing information.” That information can lead to success. It may become the formula for victory and success in any number of fields.

This reminds me of a lecture I wrote called ‘The Power of an Idea.” If a good idea is nurtured and applied, it can have successful results. The idea itself is only the beginning of the process. Success depends on what we do with that idea after receiving it.

One of our small pleasures is to get take out Chinese food once a week. We do it after our weekly trip to the supermarket. For quite a while, we bought take-out at the Chinese food counter in our local supermarket. A few weeks ago, we decided to try a small Chinese restaurant in the same shopping plaza. What a difference! The Chinese food at the supermarket is more generic. The fare at the restaurant is exquisite! For example, the restaurant’s lo mein was the best I have ever had.

You do not need a knife to eat Chinese food. It is already cut into small pieces. The reason for this is a matter of availability. In large parts of ancient China, iron was less available and therefore very expensive. It would have been prohibitively expensive to provide a knife for each setting at the table. The only knife was the kitchen knife. Obviously, it was better for the cook to cut everything small. Chopsticks were practical in a place where metal utensils were rare.

In southern China, a hoe was very expensive. The Chinese hoes were very large. They were a major purchase for a family. At one time it was expected that an iron hoe should last for three generations. A hoe purchased by a man was expected to be used by his son and grandson.

It is amazing how a shortage of one item affects so many things. The availability of iron determines how food is cooked and how long a tool should last. Consider how many other things had been shaped by the availability or dearth of some necessary element. Many of the things we take for granted had been devised within the limitations of available materials.

Today’s runecast is

Wunjo – Eh – Bjork

A desire for harmony sets off a process that leads to healing through nature. Harmony with nature is not itself natural. We have to work at it. If we do not take the reigns, nature by itself can be anything but harmonious.