Hello everyone -

Whew, welcome to July!

I took most of June off due to traveling for family stuff, and I finally feel like I'm snapping back into it. And so I'm really happy to be coming to you now with a few important updates, as well as an actual-factual newsletter essay about runes.

I know that you all aren't only following the newsletter for the launch cycles, and I'm sure that there are a few of you that miss my essay-like content. It's just been hard to balance and I want to acknowledge that! Which is why I've got an essay about runes for travel for you after I reveal new info about Queering the Runes.

I have always intended for this course to be a hybrid recorded and live course, and the lecture topics will change with each iteration of the course. All previous students are invited to all lectures, so don't you worry about that if you've already taken the course.

Here is the lecture schedule for the second half of 2025:

July 27th: Opening Ritual

July 10th: World of the Runes

August 17th: Reclaiming Heathenry: How it was Weaponized by White Supremacists & How Modern Heathens Fight Back (This is the talk I will be giving at the Salem Witch Fest, though I may adjust some things for the Fest after this talk)

September 7th: Runes and Animism

September 14th: Office Hours

September 28th: Office Hours

October 12th: Death Runes

November 2nd: Divination Practice

November 16th: Rune Magic

December 7th: Closing Ritual

I have also extended the Early Bird Pricing - $300 instead of $400 - until this coming Wednesday, July 9th. So register ASAP to ensure you can take advantage of this discount!

Register

Runes for Travel

My best witch Cassandra Snow and I like to choose a theme for every summer. It's definitely not my favorite season, and so having a cute little theme to think about for the season gets me through the muggy, swampy summertime. My theme for this summer has been "road trip."

Now I did go on a lengthy road trip in June of this year, and I had been contemplating driving instead of flying for my other trips this summer. I ultimately decided that I couldn't really afford the time on the road, so I suppose I've amended my summer theme to "wanderer" (perhaps even "wayward wanderer," after my colleague Ryan Smith's podcast title).

I'm traveling again this week, this time down to Atlanta, Georgia for Mystic South. I'm very excited to participate in this conference this year, and I'm also nervous about traveling with the state of air traffic controllers. I've been thinking about spells for safe travels and runes associated with travel, and I think I'll be utilizing some of these for my own trip.

The following runes in the Elder Futhark make sense to me as travel-oriented runes:

ᚱ: Raidho, rune of the wheel, the cart, travel on the road by yourself or in groups

ᛖ: Ehwaz, rune of the horse and individual travel on the road

ᛚ: Laguz, rune of the lake, the ocean, and travel over sea

Of course, looking at the original runes, there isn't a rune that is explicitly for air travel. And so I'm going to suggest something a little unorthodox here, but what the hell, I am a very unorthodox person.

I want to make the argument that Eihwaz ᛇ is a good rune to work with for traveling, especially through the air.

Eihwaz is the rune of the Yew Tree, a tree that is often associated with Yggdrasil itself - and therefore, it is associated with the nine realms of Norse cosmology. It is associated with death, and I have a personal association between Eihwaz and Odin the Hanged One, the one who sacrificed himself to himself on a windswept tree all those centuries ago. The long vertical stave is like his spine and legs, the top hook his feet and the bottom hook his head and arms.

I've personally used Eihwaz in the past in assistance with things like spirit flight, as a good anchor and focal point when practicing trance work. Perhaps it's just my own associations coming into play here, but there is something that is fantastic about a tree rune utilized to ensure safety during flight. If it helps with spirit flight, why wouldn't it also assist with literal, physical flight?

It's the rune that feels the closest to me personally to covering this kind of thing. The only other rune that I can think of is Laguz, but in a sea bird kind of way - so if that speaks to you, consider using it!

There are also staves that have been created specifically for travel, including one of the most recognizable Icelandic symbols: The Vegvísir.

Sometimes referred to as the "Viking's Cross," Vegvísir is a symbol from an Icelandic manuscript dated to 1860. Its name is actually a compound of two Icelandic words: vegur (way, road, path) and vísir (to show, to guide). It is a stave that is intended to help light the way, to bring you home, to carry you safely wherever you may go.

Many people also use Vegvísir as a metaphor for the internal journey - and in this way it becomes like a beacon of light, calling you home into your own spirituality and practice. And that's really beautiful.

I think that runes work on all kinds of different levels, and when we are using them metaphorically we can't forget to also use them very literally.

If you're utilizing any runes for travel this summer, shoot me an email or leave a comment on this post! I'd love to hear more about your practice.

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Siri Vincent Plouff