Jul
Ear Rune Exercises (Anglo Saxon Additional Runes)
Ear: Ear represents the earth, dirt and digging. It is the Rune of Earth, as attested by its very name.
Exercise 1: The simplest way to get to know the Ear Rune is to dig! A small garden shovel is all you need. Find some soil and start digging. If you are lucky, you will soon get through topsoil to the redder / browner soil below. Dig into it. Does it feel different than digging the black topsoil? Take a handful of the subsoil and roll it between your fingers. Smell it, poke it, hold it tightly in your fist. The subsoil is what is alluded by the Ear Rune. It is the deeper soil that can only be reached by digging.
If your terrain is sandy or another texture, adjust your exercise accordingly. Dig down at least a foot or so to that which lies beneath the surface.
Exercise 2: The Ear Rune speak to us of buried things. Have you ever buried anything for a purpose? Perhaps you buried bulbs in your garden. Maybe you buried the remains of a dead pet. Or you might have buried pipe or wire as part of construction work. There are many examples of burying where things are put into the earth for a specific purpose. Purposeful burying is an aspect of the Ear Rune principle. The earth is accessed deliberately to accomplish a task. Perhaos you buried things for purposes other than the examples given above. Consider this. Think of how the process felt. Consider how you felt when you finished burying, and smoothed the soil over the hole you had created. that is where you contacted Ear, by using earth as an accomplice in completing your task.
Gardeners bury so that the earth may cause their plants to grow. The deceased are buried so they may decompose is safety and dignity. The earth encases them and helps the process. Pipelines are buried to protect them and keep them out of the way. Earth holds them safely in place. An example we all know is the sewer line. Consider your own experiences here. That is where you touch the Ear Rune.
Alternate Exercise: Is there an accessible tunnel or passageway that goes below ground? Ear alludes to subterranean things. Within its purview are caverns and tunnels. The simplest experience it is to traverse such a tunnel from end to end. Natural tunnels and openings are excellent, but man-made passages can also be used. In fact, tunnels can be fascinating things in their own right. In big cities such as New York and Chicago ,there are many networks of tunnels for everything form subways to connections below buildings. Exploring these tunnels can be fun. You can also explore by riding a subway train. (In NYC, there is a great pedestrian tunnel going from Herald Square to Madison Square Garden and Penn Station.)
One cool subway trip is to ride a route that goes from underground to above ground. An example is the PATH train from Journal Square in Jersey City to New York City. The Journal Square station is above ground, and the train makes a dive into a tunnel for the ride to New York. It is even better if your ride in the first car an actually see the inside of the tunnels.
Whether you use natural or man made tunnels, there is one primary rule: Safety First. Always err on the side of safety. These days, it pays to avoid tunnels or caves inhabited by bats, due to increased instances of bat-borne diseases. Look for safe alternatives.
Alternate Exercise: If you pass a construction site, notice how the erecting of a building or bridge starts with digging into the earth. The earth is prepared to receive the foundation. Once it is put in place, earth is then filled in to embrace it and hold it in place. In effect, the Ear principle can be seen in earth as the support of a foundation. You can see it in practice at a work site. The digging and the installation of piles and other supports are common things that use the Ear Rune principle. Stop a moment to watch the work of putting in the foundation. The piles and supports are a sort of artificial root that grabs the earth, much as the roots of the Yew and Ash hold those exalted trees in place.
That brings us to the second part of the exercise: real roots. Take time to appreciate the strong roots which support trees and shrubs. If you get a chance to see an uprooted tree, look at the system of exposed roots. These tale advantage of earth has a support, and thus are a natural application of the Ear Rune. Even the roots of a small plant reveal the use of the Rune.
Alternate Exercise: An interesting point about Ear is seen in the ant colony. Through digging and tunneling, they make a home in raw earth. Cicadas nest in the earth, and earthworms tunnel through it. How similar is the fox’s den or the bears that hibernate in caves? An aspect of Ear is living underground, in which the very direct is one’s home and shelter. Unlike the modern tunnels of human construction, the caves and holes of wild animals touch the very earth itself.
In passing through the day, do you notice the earthen habitations of some animals? Take a moment to observe the anthills. Look at the small hole into which the mole disappears. Look for other examples. These are all a very conspicuous manifestation of the Ear Rune in action. It is the natural earthen hovel of worms, ants, and burrowing creatures. We might even call this an instinctual application of the Ear principle.
Throughout these exercises, have you noticed a feeling of the raw earth? Have you noticed how different it feels to be underground? Did you feel a connection to the dirt itself? If so, then you have experienced a connection with the Ear Rune.
