In previous posts I wrote about the relationships between:
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In this article, we’ll discuss the relationship between:
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and |  |
Lets look at the Anglo Saxon Rune poem for each of these runes:
| Rune | Anglo Saxon | Icelandic | Old Norse |
|---|---|---|---|
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Ice is very cold and immeasurably slippery; it glistens as clear as glass and most like to gems; it is a floor wrought by the frost, fair to look upon. |
Bark of rivers and roof of the wave and destruction of the doomed. |
Ice we call the broad bridge; the blind man must be led. |
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Trouble is oppressive to the heart; yet often it proves a source of help and salvation to the children of men, to everyone who heeds it betimes. |
Grief of the bond-maid and state of oppression and toilsome work. |
Constraint gives scant choice; a naked man is chilled by the frost. |
Here we see advice that wealth is not a bad thing, it brings us comfort. But it’s also advising us that if we have wealth, we should share it.
If we turn to the Icelandic Rune poem, we have further warning regarding not sharing:
Source of discord among kinsmen
and fire of the sea
and path of the serpent
and the Old Norse rune poem provides the same warning;
Wealth is a source of discord among kinsmen;
the wolf lives in the forest.
Now lets look at the next rune:
The Anglo Saxon run poem advises us:
Summer is a joy to men, when God, the holy King of Heaven,
suffers the earth to bring forth shining fruits
for rich and poor alike.
This is telling us that when the harvest comes, it comes for all, and it brings us joy.
So Fehu is the rune of wealth, and Jera is the rune of the harvest. As I consider these two runes, I think of as the paycheck we get on each Friday (or every other friday, or once a month) whereas doesn’t have an ongoing payoff. It pay’s off when we complete a project.
However both of them give us a warning. Wealth is to be shared, not hoarded. In the Icelandic Rune poem, we see the line “Source of discord among kinsmen” for and “for rich and poor alike” in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem for .