INGRID KINCAID
  • RUNES
    • books
    • Rune Readings
    • Rune Resources
    • Podcasts
    • Blog
  • INGRID
    • Bio
    • Testimonials
    • Rune Readings
  • TEACHINGS
    • Spiritual Counseling
    • Rune Readings
    • Self-Directed Home Study
    • Books
    • Women's Wisdom
    • Live Recordings of Past Events
    • Podcasts
    • Blog
  • CONTACT
  • STORE

BLOG

Burn or Bury

11/26/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
I recently did a reading where both Cweorth and Ear appeared. The question they asked of the young man sitting with me  was, what do you need to burn in your life this fall and what do you need to bury?
He gave me permission to post the poem he wrote, after our session.
You may wish to explore this question in your own life as well.
When things have come to an end, no longer serve us, no longer bring us joy or satisfaction, they need to be returned so their energies, their essences, their particles can be reused to bring forth something new. This is neither bad nor good. It just is.
Leaves fall from the tree when they're done.
So don't think you need to burn or bury only those things that you consider negative or bad. 
The wisdom is, how to let go of something when it's finished so something new can grow.

Burn or Bury
Fall’s arrival
warmth in the chill
abundant harvests
death and the kill
pile it all up
dig deep and toil
some need ignition
some require soil
Winter demands loss 
life requires Winter
collect all the crops
Bury,
Burn,
and Enter.
Nick Xavier, Freelance Writer, World Traveler 2018

*Photo of burning newspaper by Elijah O'Donnell on Unsplash

0 Comments

What Does Surt, That Old Fire God, Have In Mind Now?

9/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Cweorth 
it is you 
fire of Surt 
eldest ancestor 
who consumes the gods 
in the end 
your concern is 
what must be 
at Ragnarok 
burn my flesh away 
from bone 
leaving only ash


The Cweorth rune poem is one of the 33 original poems written by Ingrid Kincaid.  They were first published in her limited edition, completely handmade book (un) familiar.  Read the story.
creating the (un) familiar
Picture
Cweorth
Buy the Rune card deck

There’s an island off the sourthern coast of Iceland that’s named after Surt, the fire giant.  Surtsey formed in a volcanic eruption that lasted from November 1963 until June 1967.  It’s not a tropical paradise like the Hawaiian Islands but it was formed, just as they were, by the power of Surt.  Fire from the center of the earth creates new land. Volcanoes are an inescapable part of nature. So are devastating forest fires.  Amazing growth and rebirth occurs in their aftermath.
Cweorth is the rune of fire that changes the world. It's concern is what must be. Creation always holds hands with destruction.  
In the beginning which was also the ending, there was only the blackness of the Void and out of it appeared Muspelheim and Surt, the old fire giant, eldest ancestor who dwells there.  He steered his realm so that it collided with Niflheim causing the ice to melt and new life to emerge.  Was the older Hela dwelling in Niflheim at that time?  Quite possibly so.
Picture
Surtsey Island off the coast of Iceland
Picture
First puffin nesting on the island

Perhaps we need to ask Surt what he has in mind at this time as things are heating up again on the earth.  What new creations will arise from this global warming?  To be sure, we humans have played our part in what’s unfolding but perhaps Surt has now taken over and is fanning the flames.  He may even have a special agreement with Kari, the North Wind that we humans aren’t privy to.
This is the power of Cweorth, a fire so hot it burns the flesh away from bone leaving only ash.
In the end, which is also the beginning according to the stories, the cyclical destruction of the cosmos will be led by Surt.  It was fire in the beginning and it will be fire in the end.
Kenaz is the fire inside.  
Nauthiz is the fire brought forth from necessity.  
Cweorth is the fire of what must be, destruction and creation occurring at the same time.
Do you carry any of Surt’s bloodline?  It shows up in interesting places.  Laufy knows.  She gave birth to Loki who carries the bloodline of his fire-giant father Farbauti.   Sometimes it’s quite evident in humans who are glass blowers, fire fighters or blacksmiths.   
In the end the gods will be consumed.  
In the end Surt will remain.  
In the end there will be fire because fire cannot be destroyed.  
There are some things in life that need to be buried, offered up to the earth where they’re slowly broken down and used.  
There are some things in life that need to be burned, quickly consumed, smoke rising up, leaving only a pile of ash.  
When you develop a relationship with Cweoth, as well as the rune Ear, you will learn to know the difference.
0 Comments

Honoring the Spirits of Fire

1/15/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Our Northern European ancestors lived in a harsh, unforgiving world where it was dark and cold almost half the year.  They revered the gods and spirits of the land.  They honored and respected fire because it was essential for survival.  And in fact it still is, even if we in modern times have forgotten that.  We are arrogantly disconnected from it, perhaps even forgetting about the necessity of its presence.  
When was the last time you honored the spirits of fire when you flipped on the light switch, adjusted your heater's thermostat or enjoyed a bowl of steaming soup?
Fire is never still.  It creates through destruction and in that destruction smoke is released.  The earth breaks things down slowly through rot and decay.  Fire breaks things down rapidly to the smallest of particles.  
Some ancient cultures have stories about how humans stole fire from the gods.  Not so for us of the Northern Traditions.  Fire was always a part of our world.  In fact it is part of our creation story. 
Fire is alive; we can never master or contain it.  And just like the ocean, we must never turn our back on fire nor take it for granted.
Two runes that are intimately connected with fire are Nauthiz and Cweorth.
Here are the poems I wrote for them.  They are part of the collection of my 33 original rune poems found in my book the (un) familiar.

'summoned by need
gaunt from starvation
I emerge
slowly
from the cave
Nauthiz
you are a hungry rune
fueled by bitter necessity
fierce with determination
your friction
sparks ancestral memory
ancient fires ignite'

'Cweorth
it is you
fire of Surt
eldest ancestor
who consumes the gods
in the end
your concern is
what must be
at Ragnarok
burn my flesh away
from bone
leaving only ash'

A great resource of information about Spirit Work In The Norse Tradition is the book Neolithic Shamanism by Raven Kaldera and Galina Krasskova.  Chapter 7 The Red World is about the spirits of Fire.

0 Comments
    title Photo by Amaury Gutierrez on Unsplash

    Ingrid

    Writers write.  
    Waiters wait.
    I write because I have to.
    I am a writer.


      Start a conversation:

    Submit

    Archives

    January 2022
    June 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    August 2016
    July 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    Categories

    All
    1961
    Ac
    Adoption
    Alfheim
    Algiz
    Alice Herz-Sommer
    Andy Goldsworthy
    Angrboda
    Annie Londonderry Kopchovsky
    Ansuz
    Antlers
    Asgard
    Audhumbla
    Beginnings
    Berkana
    Bicycles
    Blood
    Bluetooth
    Burial
    Calc
    Cemetery
    Cernunnos
    Crazy
    Creation
    Creation Story
    Creavtivity
    Credentitals
    Cweorth
    Dagaz
    Dragons
    Ear
    Ehwaz
    Eihwaz
    Endings
    Fear
    Fire
    Ganesh
    Gebo
    Global Warming
    Hagalaz
    Harleys
    Harvest
    Hyrrokkin
    Imbolc
    Ingwaz
    Ior
    Isa
    Jera
    Jormungund
    Jotun
    Kenaz
    Labyrinth
    Laguz
    Letter Press
    Liminal
    Lost Teachings
    Mannaz
    Masks
    Mead Of Poetry
    Meaning Of Words
    Megaliths
    Melusine
    Midgard
    Nauthiz
    Neolithic Shaminism
    Nidhogg
    Nine Worlds
    Norns
    Northern Traditions
    Obstacles
    Os
    Othila
    Pertho
    Questions
    Raido
    Reindeer
    Rilke
    Rivers And Tides
    Runes
    Sacred Feminine
    Sane
    Shamanism
    Skadi
    Sowelo
    Spider
    Spiritual Tools
    Stan
    Sunna
    Super Moon
    Swartalf
    Tattoos
    Teiwaz
    The Meaning Of Words
    Threshold
    Thurisaz
    Touchstones
    Travel
    Truth Telling
    Tyr
    Uruz
    Vanaheim
    Vanir
    Wasting Time
    Water
    Wildness
    Writing
    Wunjo
    Wyrd
    Yr

    RSS Feed

      Receive my writings in your inbox:

    Subscribe to Newsletter
runes
About ingrid
teachings
Contact Ingrid
READ THE BLOG
Subscribe to Newsletter
Ingrid lives in the Pacific Northwest, at the confluence of two rivers, and in sight of two volcanoes.
Photos used under Creative Commons from kajsahartig, x1klima
  • RUNES
    • books
    • Rune Readings
    • Rune Resources
    • Podcasts
    • Blog
  • INGRID
    • Bio
    • Testimonials
    • Rune Readings
  • TEACHINGS
    • Spiritual Counseling
    • Rune Readings
    • Self-Directed Home Study
    • Books
    • Women's Wisdom
    • Live Recordings of Past Events
    • Podcasts
    • Blog
  • CONTACT
  • STORE