Jul
Yr Rune Exercises (Anglo Saxon Additional Runes)
This Rune is a mystery. We are not sure if it is a bow, a staff weapon, a shield, armor or war saddle. Like the story of Weyland the Smith, it was so well known at the time it was written that nobody wrote down a full description. My own work with the Rune has shown it to be a token of safe passage. For the traveler, it seems to ward off trouble at a distance.
Exercise 1: Yr has the power to assure safe passage. It fends off problems at a distance. A good way to get a feel for the Rune is to look to your own experiences. Get your pen and paper. Think about instances when you were traveling and you expected to run into an obstacle, delay or other trouble. It might have been a traffic jam, delay for road or bridge repair, a lengthy detour or some other obstacle. Now, think of instances where you expected the obstacle, but instead found smooth sailing. The usual traffic jam did not happen, the road work did not cause problems, the detour was gone, etc. You can also use examples when riding a boat or aircraft. Write down those instances where the expected problem never happened, thereby allowing you a smooth journey.
Look over the list. Think of how you felt in each of these circumstances. Consider the instant where you saw that the expected problem was gone, and you had an open road ahead. That feeling and that perception is where you personally felt some of the Yr Rune. By comparing your various experiences, can you get a feel for what they all had in common? Again, that is an example of your personal experience related to Yr.
Exercise 2: Modern travel is safe. The average journey of an hour or more passes over many things that would have been obstacles at one time. A paved road may pass over streams, swamps, and a river or two. It may go around or through a mountain, pass easily through a forest and skirt many another hazard. In effect, modern roads create a state harmonious with the Yr rune.
The next time you take a extended trip for an hour or more, be it by car, bus or train, count some of the obstacles that the road traverses. You can be sure that every bridge and overpass likely takes you over some hazard or obstacle, be it a waterway, ravine or another road. Look at the things that your journey passes, which would have been a serious impediment a century or so ago. This will give you a sense of Yr as safe passage. It is your experience of the Rune through the use of modern roads.
Alternate Exercise: Have you ever ridden in an armored vehicle? It may have been a tank, armored personnel carrier, self-propelled gun, armored car or armored amphibious tractor. Even in the most peaceful of situations, there is a feeling of safety which comes of having all that armor around you. It may even be stronger today. (In my day, it was M113s APCs, M109 SP guns. M48 and M60 tanks. Today’s Bradleys and Abrams tanks, as well of as vehicles used by other NATO countries have better armor than we did.) Do you feel different when riding in a armored vehicle as opposed to an unarmored one? Armor gives a sense of the Yr Rune, as it fends off danger. It is hard to describe the feeling to someone who has never had the experience of a ride in a tank, APC or SP gun.
Alternate exercise: Yr has the potential to deflect problems before they get close enough for discomfort. We might call it “nipping them in the bud.” A good example is planning a trip. In picking the route, you also face and handle potential obstacles. For instance, having an alternate route allows you to make changes if the original route becomes difficult or untenable. You will likely pick stops on the route to eat, relax, and refuel. That wards off hunger, fatigue and lack of fuel. For very long trips taking two or more days, you will select motels and other accommodations. This prevents the problem of seeking shelter and comfort.
Look at instances in your experience where planning prevents problems. Your ability to plan and thereby make a safe and easy passage is an application of the Yr Rune. Planning can expedite and at the same time prevent problems.
