Uruz and The Wild Woman
Uruz and the Wild Woman
I always find it fascinating that going into a divination, no matter how simple or complex it is, yields such amazing stories and glimpses into so many layers of discovery. The pull for today was no exception. While continuing with the runes and The Mystical Shaman deck I decided to pull out of my normal routine of the rune first and the card second. The insight was just as powerful as my routine draws.
The Wild Woman card is stunning. It practically jumped out of the deck screaming and yelping in a frenzy of dizzying acrobatics as it fell from the deck to the floor while I was mid-shuffle. When I looked at the card and the image of the woman portrayed all I could think of was Angrboda. I chucked and thought it would be amusing if I pulled the rune Ac as I associate this rune with her.
I reached into my rune bag, stirred the hickory nut shells around and drew a single rune. I turned it over in my hand and smiled to myself as its visage looked back at me. Uruz stared me down ready to leap out and trample me. While it was not Ac, it was its companion. Strength, endurance, cleansing what no longer serves us, and embracing our true identity and our wild side.
The Wild Woman brings to mind one of my favorite books. “The Four Agreements” by don Miguel Ruiz and “The Mastery of Life” by don Miguel Ruiz Jr. In these books the authors discuss the agreements we make with ourselves and their detriment on our emotional, physical, and spiritual selves. Also discussed are the four agreements that we all should hold true and thus are the only real agreements we need for ourselves. They are fantastic books and I encourage you to read them.
What it comes down to is the agreements we make with ourselves as we move through life shape and mold us into how we want others to see us. We may take on an agreement or mask when out with our friends, one when we go to work, another when we visit our in-laws or parents, and yet still another when we attend a religious ceremony. As time goes on we take on more identities and agreements with ourselves to act and shape shift into something that allows us to blend in with society. The Wild Woman comes forward to say, “NO MORE!” She reminds us of who we truly are and that while our accomplishments are great, they are not what make us.
Angrboda was a warrior chieftain of the Iron Wood clan in Jotunheim. The iron wood is another name for the oak tree due to the oak’s strength, endurance, and impression on its habitat. She was also a practiced seidkona. She is as much of a warrior and leader as she is sorceress. She took on relationship with the fire etan Loki and brought into this world three children which many associated with monsters. She loves her children: Chaos, Destruction, and Death. Each of these children was prophesized to bring about the end of all things and thus hated and feared by many.
Understanding this side of Angrboda allows us to look beyond the masks that we wear and begin to separate ourselves from what others think of us or the things that we create. Many may not agree with who we are, what we have created, or how we live our lives to our authority. In many ways we take on so many agreements and masks that we become domesticated into society and lose sight or feeling of who we are or what our true authority over ourselves really is. The Wild Woman steps forward to take us into a place of starting to nurture ourselves back to our identity. She tells us to go out and do the things that bring victory and love to us without feeling the need for approval from those around us just to “fit into” society. She beckons to us to release “normalcy” and discover ourselves once again.
Uruz comes forward with such synchronicity its almost uncanny. The Auroch is the traditional definition of this Elder Futhark rune. This ancient ox of the great north was practically bread out of extinction into the domestic cattle we know today. Uruz, in the rune poems, talks to us about being a cold rain, the slag that falls from steel as it is being forged. The slag is the impurities in the iron as it is heated and cooled by water. If those impurities remain within the metal it becomes brittle and easier to break. The same can be said for us. What masks, what identities and agreements no longer serve us and have become toxic to our true selves? What things have we taken on that have started our own extinction and domestication?
Uruz tells us to embrace our wild side. Stand tall and be strong in our true selves. Uruz offers us a moment of cleansing and reflecting on who we are, why we are who we are in this moment, and what can go. In this moment of reflection, we can bring down the moon as its light illuminates and also darkens us every month. What do we see in the darkness? What do we see in the light? Angrboda is associated with wolves and her rune Ac is just as much the oak as it is the wolf. When did you howl at the moon last? Maybe it is a good time to go outside, stomp your hooves, howl, cry, scream, and laugh in the moon’s light or darkness. How do you Uruz? How do you embody The Wild Woman?