The ancient significance of the Nordic rune for home protection

The Nordic rune for home is known as "Othala" or "Odal". It is the 24th and final rune in the Elder Futhark, the oldest runic alphabet used by the Norse and Germanic peoples. Othala represents the concept of ancestral land, heritage, and inheritance. The Othala rune is shaped like a square or a diamond with two legs protruding from the bottom. It is often inscribed on stones or carved into wood to symbolize a connection to one's homeland or family estate. In ancient times, the rune was believed to bring protection and blessings to the home and its inhabitants.

Since it’s the beginning of the year, I thought now would be a good time to share my own working pagan calendar for this year. I say it’s “my own”, because it’s what is working for me, and I don’t prescribe it for anyone else. Your own pagan practice should be specific to your our place and time and personality–or else it’s not really “pagan” as I understand that word. But I offer mine here by way of an example.

Imbolc is definitely the worst of the contemporary Pagan holidays for this kind of anachronistic and anatopic like anachronistic, but for place observances. When exactly I will observe the event depends on when I observe certain seasonal changes, like the first buds on the trees in the spring or the first fall of leaves in the autumn.

In ancient times, the rune was believed to bring protection and blessings to the home and its inhabitants. The rune's name, Othala, is derived from the Old Norse word for "ancestral property" or "estate". It represents the idea of a strong bond between a family and their land, signifying a sense of belonging and continuity.

No-Nonsense Paganism: One pagan’s calendar

I’m frustrated. I just experienced another public Imbolc celebration which included an explanation of how, in Britain in the time of the Celts, February was springtime. Meanwhile, I’m looking at a forecast for the next two weeks and the temperature will be hovering just above freezing. This is typical for this time of the year where I live (at the bottom tip of Lake Michigan where Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan meet).

Why are we talking about spring in the literal middle of winter? Why are we talking about Celts and Romans did hundreds of years ago? And why are we ritually honoring the bodies of water like the Ganges and the Nile, when there’s a lake within walking distance and one of the Great Lakes not far off?

Imbolc is definitely the worst of the contemporary Pagan holidays for this kind of anachronistic and anatopic (like anachronistic, but for place) observances. But contemporary Pagan practice is plagued by it.

We need a no-nonsense paganism–or rather no-nonsense paganisms (plural). Paganisms which are grounded in and arise out of the specific circumstances of our lives. As Steven Posch has written, “the only pagans that we can honestly be is the pagans for our own time and place.”

Since it’s the beginning of the year, I thought now would be a good time to share my own working pagan calendar for this year. I say it’s “my own”, because it’s what is working for me, and I don’t prescribe it for anyone else. Your own pagan practice should be specific to your our place and time and personality–or else it’s not really “pagan” as I understand that word. But I offer mine here by way of an example.

And I say it’s “working” and “for this year” because I change it all the time–definitely from year to year, and sometimes over the course of the year. There’s spaces at the end of my calendar to indicate that it may expand. Yours should probably change too over time, because you are changing over time.

You’ll notice right away that there’s way more than eight observances. There’s nineteen as of now. I really don’t think “eight is enough” to sustain a spiritual practice. And, in addition to these these seasonal events, I have a daily practice, which I’ve written about before here.

Some of the observances are fixed dates based on solar events, like the solstices and equinoxes. Some are seasonal events, which are moveable, meaning they can happen on any day over a span of time. When exactly I will observe the event depends on when I observe certain seasonal changes, like the first buds on the trees in the spring or the first fall of leaves in the autumn. This forces me to pay attention to the world around me and to take time out of my day-to-day when I notice certain changes.

Some of the observances correspond to the traditional “Wheel of the Year”, but others do not. I’ve kept what makes sense to me and tossed the rest. Some of those I’ve kept, I’ve change the meanings to correspond to the time and place I live. No pretending it’s spring in Imbolc. And, if the winter solstice is celebrating the light in the dark, it make sense that the summer solstice should be about the dark in the light.

Some of the events are based on popular events, like Halloween and Thanksgiving, because I believe there is a lot of social-psychological potentiality that builds up around these dates, which we can turn to our own uses. Some of the events happen on a single day, and others, like the Yule season observance I did last month, last several days. And some of the observances are planned for specific times of day, like the winter solstice at midnight or the summer solstice at noon.

John Halstead is a native of the southern Laurentian bioregion and lives in Northwest Indiana, near Chicago. He is one of the founders of 350 Indiana-Calumet, which worked to organize resistance to the fossil fuel industry in the Region. John was the principal facilitator of “A Pagan Community Statement on the Environment”. He strives to live up to the challenge posed by the statement through his writing and activism. John has written for numerous online platforms, including Patheos, Huffington Post, PrayWithYourFeet.org, Gods & Radicals, now A Beautiful Resistance. He is Editor-at-Large of HumanisticPaganism.com. John also edited the anthology, Godless Paganism: Voices of Non-Theistic Pagans. He is also a Shaper of the Earthseed community which can be found at GodisChange.org.

And I say it’s “working” and “for this year” because I change it all the time–definitely from year to year, and sometimes over the course of the year. There’s spaces at the end of my calendar to indicate that it may expand. Yours should probably change too over time, because you are changing over time.

Othala is associated with the concepts of abundance, prosperity, and stability, making it a symbol of rootedness and security. In modern usage, the Othala rune is often incorporated into jewelry, tattoos, and other personal items to reflect a deep connection to one's heritage and home. It is also used in various forms of divination and spiritual practices, where it can signify the importance of ancestral wisdom and the need to preserve and honor one's roots. The Othala rune can serve as a reminder to cherish and appreciate the place we call home, whether it be a physical location or a sense of belonging to a certain community or family. It represents the importance of building a solid foundation and creating a nurturing environment for oneself and future generations. Overall, the Nordic rune for home, Othala, holds great significance in Norse and Germanic beliefs. It symbolizes the ties to one's ancestral land, heritage, and inheritance, embodying the ideas of stability, protection, and a deep connection to one's roots..

Reviews for "Infusing your home with positive vibes using the Nordic rune for tranquility"

1. John - 2/5

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Exploring the history and meaning of the Nordic rune for domestic bliss