The Rattle and Kauna
I won’t lie… I’m terrible at getting blogs posted. It has been almost a full two years since my last blog post and a lot has happened in my life, just as a lot has happened in yours!
Coming out of the global COVID pandemic was a very interesting experience. My day job running a brewery has had me swamped with redesigning operations, sales, and new store openings. My family life has been quite chaotic involving hospitals, growing children, and day-to-day living. Spiritual growth has also occurred leaving me in constant places of expansion and determination. Near death experiences, out of body experiences, and re-awakening of what I once put dormant in my life have all come to pass. My wife and I have learned so much and are so excited to bring so many new things to you as friends and clients.
In this time, I have obtained my Reiki III Master certification and attunement. I have heeded the call of the spirits and given myself over to assist them in their work. I have started new journeys taught by others who have also given into this call, and by the spirits themselves. The messages from the rune spirits for others have become clearer and the need to relay them has become stronger.
So much has shifted. So much has changed. What was planted has grown.
Today’s topic…I’ve decided to pull a deck and a rune and see where the river meanders…I’ll be pulling from The Mystical Shaman Oracle deck in conjunction with the runes. The runes I’m using are a new set I crafted on hickory nuts. I have not made offerings to this yet as I’m still building relationships with the set.
The Rattle and Kauna.
The rattle. Tools. Sound. Rain fall. Connection to the sky. So where and why rattles? These things we give to babies and infants to keep them occupied and busy. Why is this a tool? Why is this card in a deck? What does the rattle teach us? Why would we need a baby toy in spiritual work. The simple answer is that it’s not a baby toy or a toy at all. It is something so sacred by so many cultures. We have allowed ourselves to lose understanding and knowledge of these sacred items. When have you last picked up a rattle? When have you shaken a bottle of pills to hear the sound? Did you continue to shake and listen to the objects within moving around, bumping into one another and the sides of the vessel? What was the experience? Did you start creating a rhythm? Did you begin find a pattern of shakes? Where did the sound take you? Did you fall into alignment with the sound?
Why do we instinctively know what to do with this tool? What part of us holds this inner knowing and understanding of what this sound created by seeds, beads, or pebbles trapped inside of a hollow object affixed to a holding stick. When we hear this sound, why does it soothe us? Why does it take us to a place of peace and stillness? Perhaps the reason we offer a rattle to an anxious child is beginning to make a little more sense. When was the last time you picked-up that pill bottle, or your child’s rattle and used it for yourself?
Kauna, a rune that is related to the torch of Kenaz also provides an inner fire, an inner knowing that when looked deep within offers us insight into the use of this ancient and sacred tool used by so many cultures. When we are deprived of this tool we become disconnected, we experience the pain of Kauna, the turmoil within when we are not given an opportunity to focus and settle ourself into a place of peace from the rattle’s sound. What child hasn’t cried when their rattle was taken from them? Perhaps we should listen to the child. When we hear a frequency that we find painful or annoying we have tendency to push it away or cause it to stop. But maybe that sound is meant to heal. When we apply medicine to a wound it burns or stings. This is the recognition of an area that needs to be worked on. Maybe we need to follow the instincts of the child and play our own rattle. Or take a moment and live within the rhythm of the rattle the child is using. Where does it take you? Allow it to calm the fire. Allow the sound to center you and remember who you are and where you are. Breathe. Allow the pain of Kauna to subside and heal. Breathing is so very important to our sanity and very being in this world and the others.
To me the rattle is the key to the upper worlds of the world tree. The skies open for us when the sounds of rain that the rattle produces come forward. It allows us cleansing and healing energy, but also a cool wind to push us upwards into these worlds where we can work closely with our teachers, guides, and gods in the Upper Worlds.
When we allow ourselves to journey to the Upper Worlds of the world tree we open ourselves to receive information and guidance from those spirits that reside in those planes. The rattle helps to keep us focused. It helps to activate our inner knowing and acts as that guiding torch of Kenaz/Kauna.
Not every being in the realms is there to help us. It is important to protect yourself when traveling to these places, even the in the Upper Worlds. When using a rattle in these realms I often will envision the rain that the rattle brings is surrounding me. I am inside the housing of the rattle, surrounded and protected. The water that falls helps to nourish me while I’m traveling. It helps to sustain me and can be used as offerings to those spirits whom I come in contact with on my journey.
Kauna/Kenaz reminds us that we know and remember how to use this tool on a basic and primitive level. There are so many layers to this sacred tool of spirituality and connection. I highly suggest that you explore these cultures yourself. Some will be open to explore, some closed. Respect and learn. If you aren’t sure ask those who are within that tradition. Understand how, when, and why these sacred tools are used in each culture and practice. Honor and respect each culture and know when it is ok or not ok to work with these tools in a particular way. Kauna/Kenaz will assist in this learning and knowing.
I look forward to continuing with these blog posts. I’m hoping that having a topic rather than what is going on in my life helps to push me to create more of these and help keep you entertained, enlightened, and ready for more.
To help aid you with some other fun things please consider supporting my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/RowanWolfRuneCraft and clicking the little links below including following me on TikTok @rowanwolf_runecraft. You can also find more of my spirit work through Facebook and Instagram with Spectral Bear Healing.