I have a particular fondness for this rune because of its connection to my name Ingrid which means the beauty or loveliness of Ing.  My name was given to me by my mother Sigrid so it connects me to my Swedish heritage as well as to the rune Ingwaz and the god Ing.  He's one of the many gods of my pre-Christian, European ancestors. 
When Ing rides into your life on his chariot pulled by wild boars he’s quite impressive.  He can arouse and awaken feelings virility and potency, fecundity and fertility, male and female sexual and creative energies.  
He's the fully erect phallus aroused by the fully engorged female.  
He'll look around and demand to know where in your home and in your life you've made a place for him,  a place of honor, a sacred space, an altar.
At the homes of so many people of European ancestry he is met by Tibetan prayer flags, statues of Buddha, pictures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus and images of Shiva and Shakti, two Hindu gods.  But rarely, if ever, does he find a place where he's honored or represented. 
What's happened to us that we've lost connection with the gods and goddesses of our own European ancestry?
Ingvi Freyr is the mystery of stored seed that bursts forth blessing the mother.
He and his twin sister Freya are the lovers whose union keeps alive the unbroken bloodlines of the ancestors. 
The Ingwaz rune carries the sacred gifts of the household gods.
It insures the blessings of the home, the health and fertility of the family and livestock, as well as peace.
We all suffer from the absence and dishonoring of Ingwaz.
The god Ing and the rune Ingwaz both carry the energies of creative fire, full arousal, and sexual passion.   In times past they kept in a special nook or alcove near the hearth.  This may well be the origin of the word Inglenook.  They were often represented by the bones or mummified remains of the family’s ancestors.  The family carried these sacred objects with them when they moved, not unlike the Romans who carried their household gods, the Lares and Penantes or the Semetic people who traveled with their teraphim.
The god, the rune and the sacred objects held a special place of honor because they blessed the crops, the livestock and the family.
Where in your home and life do you honor this ancestral god? 

When working with this rune I have also been shown that there are times when the Ingwaz can be twisted together and pulled so tight. the center, container shape is closed down.  This actually prevents the energy from being used for fertility, orgasm, birth and other related things.  If that happens you need to work with it to untwist it.  This is similar to untangling separate balls of yarn that twist together into knots.

Wiser than the Aesir of Asgard.  
Power over the weather, fertility and crops.  
Gods of natural abundance and fertility of the land.
The phallic god of nature's force.
The beauty, pleasure and sexuality of the female's sacred mound. 
Guardians of the wisdom of the Ingwaz rune.
These are the Vanir whose home is the realm of Vanaheim.  Of the Nine Worlds, only two use the word Gard, indicating either a fence or a fortification or boundary around them.  The others all end in the world Heim, the home of the Vanier included.  This seems to indicate realms that are more wild or natural, less domesticated and orderly.
Where did the Vanir come from?  Perhaps they sprung up from the earth.  The well-known Freya and her brother Frey are the off-spring of Nerthus and Njord , the goddess of the earth and the god of sea coast and sailors.
Even though the Vanir are often portrayed as being more gentle and peace-loving than the so-called warrior gods of the Aesir, it was the Vanir who cut off the head of the giant Mimir, uncle of Odin.
It was the Vanir who started the war with the Aesir.
According to the Poetic Edda it is Frey who at the doom of men 'will come back home among the wise Vanir.'
As always, the discussions in the classes of the Nine Worlds series leave us with more questions than answers.
In the photo above do we see the Vanir, turned to wood, standing guard over the grain storage bins?
Live, unedited audio recordings of the Nine Worlds classes are available for purchase.
Email me at Ingrid at IngridKincaid.com for information.
Ingrid the Rune Woman
Bringing Back The Wisdom Of The North
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