During a time of many big transitions, I repeatedly drew Othila from my rune bag. At first, all that came to mind were traditional and idealistic interpretations. It took a fourth draw to take me to a deeper understanding.
Othila, or Othala as some call it, is the rune of home. But what, really, is “home”? The house or apartment one lives in? Maybe, maybe not, depending on how one feels about it. An ancestral mansion might or might not feel like “home,” either, even if generations grew up there. Depending on the person, a palace or a cottage might feel like home.
“Home” can be elusive if we only think of it as a physical place or structure.
Othila can be seen as made up of other runes. Gebo, the rune of the heart, forms the foundation of Othila. “Home is where the heart is.” Kano, rune of the hearth fire, hovers above Gebo. "Home is where the hearth fire is always burning, even if only metaphorically so." We can also see two Kano’s forming a diamond, the short form of Inguz, the rune of belonging, harmony, and relationships, above a third Kano. "Home is where you are welcomed and belong."
What better runes to go with Othila than Gebo, Kano, and Inguz?
Again, what---or where---is home? Home should be a place where one feels safe and accepted. A refuge and sanctuary. Yet here I was, going to a place where I didn't feel comfortable and I didn’t fit in. I didn’t like the climate or the culture, and there would be few work opportunities for me, I was certain. What would I do there? Yet I was to stay there for many years, and for good reason …
As I was adjusting to my new situation, I finally had a click on the meaning of Othila for me at that time: Find “home” inside yourself. “Home,” I discovered, was not where the heart is. Home is the heart itself. We carry our home with us wherever we go. Our home is who we are, essentially, and home is wherever we are. We carry our home with us into this world. We live in our true home all our life. And we move forwards into the next level of light in our home, our Self.
To know the Self as home is to always feel accepted, welcomed, loved, and safe. It is to always feel good fundamentally even when things are falling apart on the outside. It is to see solutions and opportunities that didn't exist before they were perceived. To come home to one's Self is to remember, and to remember is to hold the key to the door that is next to be opened.
Othila, or Othala as some call it, is the rune of home. But what, really, is “home”? The house or apartment one lives in? Maybe, maybe not, depending on how one feels about it. An ancestral mansion might or might not feel like “home,” either, even if generations grew up there. Depending on the person, a palace or a cottage might feel like home.
“Home” can be elusive if we only think of it as a physical place or structure.
Othila can be seen as made up of other runes. Gebo, the rune of the heart, forms the foundation of Othila. “Home is where the heart is.” Kano, rune of the hearth fire, hovers above Gebo. "Home is where the hearth fire is always burning, even if only metaphorically so." We can also see two Kano’s forming a diamond, the short form of Inguz, the rune of belonging, harmony, and relationships, above a third Kano. "Home is where you are welcomed and belong."
What better runes to go with Othila than Gebo, Kano, and Inguz?
Again, what---or where---is home? Home should be a place where one feels safe and accepted. A refuge and sanctuary. Yet here I was, going to a place where I didn't feel comfortable and I didn’t fit in. I didn’t like the climate or the culture, and there would be few work opportunities for me, I was certain. What would I do there? Yet I was to stay there for many years, and for good reason …
As I was adjusting to my new situation, I finally had a click on the meaning of Othila for me at that time: Find “home” inside yourself. “Home,” I discovered, was not where the heart is. Home is the heart itself. We carry our home with us wherever we go. Our home is who we are, essentially, and home is wherever we are. We carry our home with us into this world. We live in our true home all our life. And we move forwards into the next level of light in our home, our Self.
To know the Self as home is to always feel accepted, welcomed, loved, and safe. It is to always feel good fundamentally even when things are falling apart on the outside. It is to see solutions and opportunities that didn't exist before they were perceived. To come home to one's Self is to remember, and to remember is to hold the key to the door that is next to be opened.
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