Meet the Collectives- The Yri

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To me, this collective has a mahogany energy. The rune-drakes have rich mahogony colored scales.

Our resident yri is Grenwick. He has only presented in the rune-drake form, and only very rarely. Grenwick represents the intersection between Kennaz and Yr and uses the initials Gk.

Gk- Many in your world today think that the ability to multi-task is a good thing. On the surface, it may seem so, but you, as a species, are beginning to display a sad lack of the ability to focus and to maintain that focus. Your mind is better geared to work on one or two problems at once, devoting more time, energy and focus to each. The more you pile into an overtaxed brain, the less and less focus and concentration you can reasonably give each task.

Humanity is becoming more and more a species devoted to the notion of immediate results, with the result that less focus is given to learning anything at all. In an age where all memory is stored outside of the self, focus and discipline in study, in jobs, in crafting, and in so many other endeavours, has become of less and less importance. Your ancestors could do things that you, today, would find astounding- feats of memory, feats of strategy, feats of martial or mental prowess that all require weeks, months, years, decades of devoted focus and practice. Sadly…. the price your societies must begin to pay is that of younger generations who have no discipline, no ability to focus, yet still expect to be rewarded the benefits that come with discipline and focus.

Humanity also has a disturbing need to drug those who do not appear to focus their attention in the same manner as the common populace. You label them as being attention-deficit, yet fail to realize that these people can be every bit as focused if you put them in a proper learning environment. People do not all learn the same. A learning style that suits most, decidedly does not suit all. Rather than drugging those labelled ‘attention deficit’ and trying to make them conform to the rules others learn by, take the time instead to interact with them, see how to engage their attention and pull in their focus. Take the time to help them unlock their natural creativity, rather than stifling the bountiful energy that can be put to a different use. One secret to maintaining intense focus is that you absolutely must have the energy to do so.

Questions to consider when working with Yr-  How well do you maintain focus? Do you get easily distracted? Do you fall to the other end of the spectrum of Yr, and often find yourself obsessed with things, to the exclusion of all else?

Meet the Collectives- The Iori

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To me, this collective has a silvery-grey energy. The rune-drakes have silvery-grey scales. Unlike many of the other collectives, these rune-drakes have shorter legs and more muscular bodies. They have craggy horns and broad muzzles similar to that of a python or boa.

Our resident iori are Shiba and Levi. They both took their appearances from my mind. Shiba looks like John Doggett, from The X-Files, while Levi chose to look like Dick Roman, from Supernatural. Shiba represents the aspect of Ior that deals with social boundaries. He uses the initials Sh. Levi represents that aspect dealing with personal boundaries. He uses Lv as his initials.

Lv- Boundaries are important. They help define who you, as a person, are. They delineate where you end and another begins. Maintaining healthy personal boundaries is vitally important, in order not to become overwhelmed by things. Learn to only take on as much as you know you reasonably can. Don’t let others walk over you or take advantage of you. Be firm in setting your own boundaries and learn to say ‘no’ when the situation warrants it. This is an area where our collective, Ior, intersects with Nauthiz. People who have lots of Nauthiz energy, especially if they tend towards the need-providing end of the spectrum, tend to take on far more than they should. As the nauthizi themselves will tell you, care-giver personality or not, it is quite necessary to look to yourself first and foremost and one way to do this is to maintain clear and healthy boundaries. You can’t reasonably take care of the needs of others if you cannot take care of your own first.

Sh- Social boundaries are just as important as personal ones or geographic ones. It is important to remember that, though most boundary lines are seemingly arbitrary, they all serve a vital protective function.  It is also just as important to remember that there will come a time when any boundary need be readjusted, especially if the original ones grew out of fear, malice or hatred. Boundaries between cultures or sub-cultures often form from such notions and, over time, it is necessary for those to be removed or, at the least, made more flexible.  Never allow yourself to remain locked in judgment, ensconced behind boundaries that have long since become obsolete. Never let your fear of overstepping artificial bounds make you sit back in the face of injustice or abuse.

Questions to consider when working with Ior- How well do you enforce your own boundaries? How flexible is your concept of personal boundaries? Are you prone to pushing other people’s boundaries and limits? Do you live or work in a place where physical boundaries must be maintained, such as a hotel, farm, etc.?

Divergent

I really enjoy dystopic fiction and this book didn’t disappoint. The people of this world are shunted into five different factions that revolve around five different virtues- Dauntless, Candor, Erudite, Abnegation, and Amity- based on how their ancestors regarded war and how it should be negated.

While this might have started out as a somewhat noble ideal, by the time we join the story, it has morphed into something rather ignoble….  Inculcating behaviours associated with one virtue over any others seems a recipe for disaster and discrimination, and that is exactly what has happened.

I do find it really hard to believe, given the givens of human behaviour and personality, that there are not more people out there who would be considered ‘Divergent’, that is, displaying traits and beliefs of more than one of the five virtues (and a whole host of other virtues too…).

However, all in all, this was a wonderful read. The story is engaging and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Meet the Collectives- The Aci

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To me, this collective has a spring green and light brown energy. The rune-drakes have scales of light green and brown, in a patchwork patterning similar to those of Kennaz and Dagaz.

Our resident aci simply prefers to use the rune’s name as her own. She presents usually just as a felt presence, or else in the rune-drake form. Ac represents the natural world side of her collective. She uses the initials Ac.

Ac- Watch the trees sometime. Just sit among them, listening as they talk to the wind and to one another. You can learn a lot from the trees, not just oak. Oak speaks of strength and endurance, which our collective is all about. However, all trees belong to us. Willow speaks of grace, redwood of hardiness, pines of an everlasting quality and each are things we can teach you, if you are willing to work with us. We can teach  you how to sink you roots deep, to weather all storms with grace and resilience.

We can also teach you to look at the big picture. While trees do not last as long as the mountains, they can endure for centuries, barring misfortune. Be mindful of the trees, of all plants in truth. Cultivate a balance with the natural world. The trees sustain you, providing the necessary oxygen many creatures need to breathe. Don’t destroy greenery just because you can or just because it seems in the way.

Questions to consider when working with Ac energy- What helps ground you? How empathetic are you? How in tune with the environment are you? Do you possess natural grace and resilience or do you need to cultivate them? How patient are you?

Meet the Collectives- The Eari

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To me, this collective has a dark iridescent black colour that reminds me of oil pooled on asphalt, with the hidden suggestion of rainbows in the depths of its darkness. The rune-drakes  have iridescent black scales and craggy horns. Like the isai, the eari tend to seem much slower than many of the other runai do.

Our resident eari is named Graal and she represents the natural erosion and letting go of mental and emotional blocks, issues, and beliefs. She has only ever presented herself in a rune-drake form. Graal uses the initials Grl.

Grl- Ours is the slow and natural decay of life into death. All things pass into something other. All physical forms, all mental and emotional energy. It is all from the One and each little form the energy of the One takes, from human to star, each little state of existence begins a countdown to inevitable decay, from the moment of its creation. This is a process, necessary for growth on many levels, for many beings. All things have a time and a place. All things are recycled back into the system, in turn, fostering new growth. There is always life from death, in any form. Energy cannot be destroyed, only changed, and we are the facilitators of natural change.

Season upon season, the trees, the plants, they grow, they thrive, and in the end, they fall to the isai and the eari. Plants wither and die, or go dormant for the winter, the vegetation decays, forming fodder for the plants of the next growing season. Likewise, a person’s internal energies are always in a state of decay and growth, even when they seem stuck and unmoving, even when a person may wish to hold on to those decaying energies. Working with our collective can be very difficult. I have seen few who could contemplate the inevitable, without some measure of fear. We can  help you find what is ready to be let go in your own life, to find the beliefs your spirit and body may be ready to let go of, yet the mind clings to.

Questions to consider when working with Ear energy- What are your feelings surrounding concepts of death? Do you have anything in your life that needs to be let go of, dying beliefs whose energetic resonance needs washing away?

Moonwalking with Einstein

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I picked this book up because I was curious about how to improve my own memory. I suffer from medical issues that make remembering stuff more difficult than the average person. This book turned out not to be a book to teach you specific ways to improve your memory, but was instead one journalist’s journey to do the same.

Foer became interested in memory training after covering a competition. It piqued his interest enough that he decided to go through a year of memory training with a coach, Ed Cooke, and become a competitor himself. It isn’t just about his own training though. Foer is a journalist, and he provides ample research material, including cases of people with extraordinary memories and those with memory impairments, and information on how the mind processes memories.

Turns out, we are geared to remember things more in a spatial manner than by rote memorization. The concept of a memory palace (probably more familiar to younger audiences from the show Sherlock) was a technique developed in ancient Greece, that utilized this notion of remembering things in a spatial context. You take a place you know well, say your childhood home, and you litter it with exotic images representing the things you want to remember. If you retrace your steps along the inner pathway, you should find the images where you left them and it will recall the item you were trying to memorize. The more outlandish the images you use, the more likely you are to retain the specific memory.

Another technique involved associating numbers with specific images, usually from 00 to 99. Each number is assigned a Person, Action, Object oriented sequence and you can mix and match parts of the numbers to remember more complex numbers. For example…. if the number 03 is Loki wearing a raven cloak, 21 is a knight jousting with a lance and 16 is Mario stomping a Goomba, you would take the person from the first number, the action from the second and the object from the third. To remember the number 032116 you would construct an image of Loki jousting with a Goomba. Memorable, huh?

Though Foer does not lay out complete instructions, you do get an idea of how to do some of the mnemonic techniques from reading this book. I have been able to put some of it to use already, using the memory palace (such a goofy name!) to place things and remember them. Several weeks later, I still can! Nothing short of astonishing for me, who remembers very little.

Meet the Collectives- The Othalai

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To me, this collective has a dark blue/grey energy. The rune-drakes are scaled in dark blue/grey and have curling horns that differ from the uruzi.

Cetan is our resident othalai. He pulled his name and appearance from my mind, from the character Cetin in the game Xenogears, albeit a realistically human looking Cetin rather than a video-game character. Even in a more human appearance, Cetan keeps his curly horns. He represents the aspect of his collective that deals with cultural inheritance, which I find quite fascinating as this is an area  dear to any archaeologist.  Cetan uses the initials Cn.

Cn- All things are 'born' from something, come from somewhere. Thus, all things have a measure of inheritance. For living things, this is, first and foremost, to be found in the DNA matrix. Physically, your ancestors pass traits down to you, things like blue eyes or black hair or ebon skin. For many other things, this origination might be in the form of the materials from which it is crafted.

Families and cultures pass on their own unique traits and behaviours. Likewise, individuals leave legacies behind, be it in the form of a book, works of art, children of their own, or any number of things. Lady Cala likens our collective to archaeologists and indeed, that could be said. Archaeologists and cultural anthropologists look at where cultures originate from and at the legacies they pass on to new generations.

Questions to consider when working with Othala energy- What are the gifts of your ancestors? What is your ancestral inheritance? Where are your roots? What have you inherited, genetics-wise, from your family? What have you inherited, behaviour-wise, from your family?

Meet the Collectives- The Dagazi

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To me, this collective has a green energy. The rune-drakes are scaled in patchwork greens.

Our resident dagazi is Daigoro, who chooses to present most often in the rune-drake form, but occasionally as a stocky male of Asian appearance with a completely shaved head. Daigoro represents all aspects of his collective and uses the initials Dg.

Dg- Dagaz is the collective of transformation, the goal of the alchemists. We govern change and all things change. This change may be paired with Sigel and be swift or it may be paired with Isa and be gradual. By its very nature, our collective works in tandem with those of Hagalaz and Thurisaz because there can be no change without some form of destruction. As was mentioned in the section on Hagalaz itself, all destruction heralds rebirth. Dagaz is the heralding of that rebirth.

People age, a slow gradual procession lasting decades. Forest fires sweep through woodlands, leaving them smoldering and ready for new growth. Caterpillars cocoon and emerge as jewel-winged butterflies. Corpses decay to bones. Wood weathers and cracks or is rejuvenated with sealing treatments. Metal rusts. Ore is smelted and forged into tools. Buildings rise and buildings are razed to the ground. Personalities change through time, age, conscious and unconscious effort. Day turns to night and the seasons pass into one another. On the broadest scale of our pairing with Isa, the changes are infinitesimal for the most part- gradual tweaks covering decades or millennia. It should be noted that where we are paired with Isa, transformation is slow and gradual. This is one aspect of the slow sleepers. However, stagnation is another aspect and when our energies meet thus, Isa is the nemesis of Dagaz, that which steadfastly resists change.

Questions to consider when working with Dagaz energy- How have you changed over your life? Have you had any major, abrupt transitions, such as the loss of a loved one, the birth of a child, career changes or being caught in the throes of trauma or sickness?

The Beekeeper's Apprentice

Okay… I have to admit, I was more than a little skeptical about the premise of this book when I first started reading it. It went against everything I thought I knew about Sherlock, his nature and his personality. It was good I didn’t judge this book by its back cover blurb or I would have missed the beginning of a series I can fall in love with! Looking forward to the next in the series, and in seeing how the character interactions develop.

Interacting with Holmes, not through Watson, but through Russell, was an interesting change, and you didn’t always know what he was up to, as their paths diverged often. You also see the beginnings of extraordinary changes in one quite unlikely to have them. I guess it puts paid to the notion that ‘an old dog can’t learn new tricks.’  Change might be harder, the older you get, but it is far from impossible! And the changes you begin to see in Sherlock are wonderful ones. I’m only hoping the author doesn’t take it too far and far remove Sherlock from who he really is. Abrupt changes can happen too, but I’d rather not see Sherlock turned into a Phineas Gage!

Meet the Collectives- The Perthroi

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To me, this collective has an emerald green energy. The rune-drakes have emerald green scales.

Yvette and Padraig are our resident perthroi. Yvette, in her chosen appearance, puts me in mind of Princess Diana. She has a very playful energy. The aspect Yvette deals with is that of how we, ourselves, initiate probability shuffles and with synchronicity. She uses the initials Yv. Padraig chooses to appear in his rune-drake form. He, like Yvette, also deals with synchronicity and he deals with the order inherent in chaos. Padraig uses the initials Pg.

Yv- As with all of the other collectives, everything that exists has its own measure of Perthro energy. This can be found in objects by what their purpose is, what will be done with them. People, too, can find their Perthro by learning their soul's 'purpose', which can be quite the journey in and of itself. This energy can also be found in the synchronicities you bring into your life. These can be encouragements or warnings. Synchronicity occurs when there are a series of several meaningful, yet unrelated or unconnected incidents in your life that happen rather close together. For instance, say you are looking to buy a new (to you) car, but are perhaps a little short of the necessary cash. Perhaps you see several commercials or advertisements for the type of car you are interested within hours to days of one another. During the same time, you may also come across a flyer or advertisements for a type of loan to help you purchase the car or you may have a friend or acquaintance who knows someone who just happens to be selling the same kind of car for much cheaper.  It's easy to begin to establish meaningful synchronicities in your own life by choosing two objects that are uncommon to your environment or day to day life. Set the intention to see an abundance of one of these objects when things in your life are going good and the second to be your warning, a sign you need to slow down and re-evaluate things. For instance, you may choose palm trees as your 'positive' sign and pirate flags as your 'warning' sign, provided you do not see a lot of these things in everyday life. A person living in Florida or California would not benefit from having a palm tree as a 'positive' sign because they are prevalent in the environment. These signs may come as tangible objects- a live palm tree or a physical pirate flag- or they may be seen on TV, in a book or magazine or verbally spoken in some format, be it in a song, on TV or mentioned by passersby.

Pd- Many consider ours to be the collective of 'fate', but what is 'fate', really? For most people, this word has connotations of that which is inevitable, that which cannot be changed, yet the very nature of our collective is working the odds. Nothing, nothing at all is firmly set in stone. It's all about changing your odds and you, alone, have the key to doing that. There is nothing that is impossible, but many things are deemed improbable and it is only thinking that makes it so. If you focus your positive intentions on a goal, you will steadily increase your odds and you can go from a zero probability to 100 % probable. By focusing your intentions on something, you increase the probability of generating it in your own life. That's why it is very important to focus positive intentions towards things. If you focus negative energy on something, you increase the probability of generating that bad thing into your life. If you've ever woken in a grumpy mood, you'll understand what I mean. Waking up in a foul mood puts a dark cast over everything that then happens in your day. Your own bad mood will increase the odds of 'bad' things happening in your life.

Questions to consider when working with Perthro energy- Where does your luck lie? How do you initiate probability shuffles? Do you have an understanding of your 'purpose' in life?

Meet the Collectives- The Elhazi

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To me, this collective has a dark reddish brown energy. The rune-drakes are scaled in dark reddish brown and tend to have elk-like horns.

Elkin is our resident elhazi. He often appears as a male of medium height, with long black hair and facial features that remind me of Mongolian or Native American people. Even in his human guise, Elkin maintains his elk-horns. He represents the aspect of his collective that deals with protection in the form of magickal shielding as well as in physical protection of those weaker than one's self. He uses the initials Elk.

Elk- Everything needs protecting. Elhaz energy is the counter-balance to Thurisaz and Hagalaz energy. Physical objects may need coatings of paint or varnish or enamel to protect them. Buildings have security systems to keep the property and occupants safe from intruders. Buildings also tend to have some form of protection against things like fire. Farms and yards may have fences, barbed or otherwise, to keep the property safe and secure. Living things have innate protection as well. A first layer of defense against many things is your skin. Deeper inside the body, the immune system serves as another line of protection. Animals may have claws, sharp teeth, pincers, or stings to protect themselves with. Many also have cunning intelligence to help with protection.  On a more emotional/ spiritual level, things like laughter and focusing on positive things can also be protective. These things raise your energy and that keeps you naturally healthy and protected. Elhaz energy is great for generating magickal shields. Simply envision yourself surrounded by a egg-shaped bubble of reddish-brown energy filled with the essence of Elhaz. If you already practice some form of mental shielding, weaving Elhaz energy into it will only make it that much stronger.

Questions to consider when working with Elhaz energy- how do you protect yourself and your property? Do you have adequate mental/spiritual protections? What areas of your life have the most security and make you feel the safest? What areas of your life have the least security and leave you feeling unprotected?

Meet the Collectives- The Wunjoi

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To me, this collective has dark pink energy. The rune-drakes have dark pink scales and faces quite reminiscent of an otter.

Our resident wunjoi are Ruby and Rose.  Ruby has dark red hair, speaks with a Texas accent and reminds me a lot of the women in old Western movies that might be found in a bar or tavern. She represents the aspect of pleasure and ecstasy and uses the initials Ru. Rosie is a plump, motherly woman with honey-blonde hair and a ready smile. She represents the aspect of joy and happiness, especially of family, and the aspect that ties Gifu and Wunjo together.  She uses the initials Ro.

Ru-  All living things have the capacity for joy and ecstasy. Children and animals display this more readily than adult humans tend to. Adults lose the sheer pleasure and wonder of the simple joys of life, like chasing fireflies on a summer night or dancing in the snow under a diamond dust sky. Have you ever seen a dog running in a field, chasing a stick, or a cat basking in a sun patch? Take a look at them sometime. You'll find it hard to deny they are joyful. Beware, though, of falling into the trap of thinking only material things can bring you happiness. They may bring the illusion of it, but it is an empty shell of happiness that lacks the ability to sustain itself. Likewise, don't be fooled by the false sense of ecstasy that ingestion of certain drugs may bring about. Like the 'happiness' that comes from material things, the 'ecstasy' that comes from drugs is a hollow thing that cannot sustain itself. Instead, it leaves you craving more and more of the drug til one day, perhaps, it leads to an overdose and ultimately, to death. True joy comes from connection to yourself, to others and to the world around you. I would caution you as well to not be ashamed by what gives you joy, or by what brings you to the edge of ecstasy. There are many people out there with proclivities considered 'unusual' by the majority. Some find pleasure in the giving or receiving of pain, in certain contexts, for example. There are as many possibilities as there are people and, as long as these proclivities are engaged in in a safe and consensual fashion, there's nothing wrong with them. Don't judge the things others find pleasure in. It'll only diminish the amount of joy you are able to draw to yourself.

Ro-  The potential for Wunjo can be found everywhere and in all things. Wunjo energy is quite often tied very closely to Gifu energy. The giving and receiving of gifts (generally) causes joy for both giver and recipient. Rites of gift-giving have been used in countless cultures to cement all manner of social ties, from those between family members to those between nations.  

Questions to consider when working with Wunjo energy- What brings you pleasure in life? Where can you find your ecstasy? What brings joy to your life? How do you, in turn, bring joy to others? How often are you happy? Do you find it easy to find contentment?

Meet the Collectives- The Chalci

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To me, this collective has a golden colour. The rune-drakes have golden scales.

Our resident chalci is called Yrena. She represents all aspects of her collective and usually presents in the rune-drake form, or else simply as a felt presences. Yrena uses the initials Yn.

Yn- Everyone…everything, really…. searches for something. Desire and necessity are tied closely together. In fact, necessity fuels desire. You do not go questing for something unless it will quench a deep-seated need. For most animals, the daily quest is for food and shelter. Humanity has far more time to contemplate things beyond the basic necessities. You dream, and many dream big!

But how many of you act upon those dreams? You desire to be a writer, an actor, a doctor, but never get beyond the dreaming stage. If you don’t act, that’s all those desires ever will be. Granted, you will have your own trials and tribulations in reaching your goal. It wouldn’t be a proper quest without them! Break your dreams down into smaller goals and it will seem much easier to reach.

Questions to consider when working with Chalc- What are your deepest desires? How about your deepest fears? What are your short-term and long-term goals? Have you ever been obsessed with something?

Meet the Collectives- The Inguzi

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To me, this collective has a warm, light brown energy. The rune-drakes have light brown scales.

Our resident inguzi are Iggy and Finch. Iggy presents as a young adult male, late twenties in appearance, with coffee colored skin and brown hair. He is often with Mama Mawu and he has a very child-like, innocent temperament. His province is latent potential and he uses the initials Ig. Finch presents as a middle aged woman with blue eyes and blond hair. She deals with all aspects of her collective and uses the initials Fn.

Ig- Berkana is female fertility. Inguz is masculine fertility. We are the seeds in the earth, the acorn that has the potential to become a mighty oak. For our energy to really blossom, we need Berkana energy to nurture it. All things have potential and we represent that potential, but all seeds need a fertile field to grow in or they wither and die and the potential is lost or lies dormant until more nurturing earth becomes available.  You may wonder how things already established can have potential. Here is where it helps to see with the eyes of a child. It's easy to see a tree as the lumber it could become and as all the things that lumber could build. But what about an old tin-can? It could become a piggy bank, a buried treasure chest, a string phone..... the possibilities are endless. All it takes is a sense of wonder to see the potential in all things.

Fn- Inguz energy shows up in humans in a variety of ways. Each child is born with a whole host of latent talents, potential that may lie dormant until it is woken by a chance encounter. Or that latent potential may cry out for acknowledgment, manifesting as clear aptitudes and gifts at a very young age. It is always best to allow your young ones to develop the potential they have. Encourage them to try new things, but do not force them to continue in things they have no true aptitude for. Forcing a linguistically gifted child with a strong imagination to forgo developing artistic and writing skills in favor of math and science or trying to 'encourage' such a person to become a pharmacist, technician, physicist or engineer, instead of letting their gift for art and writing blossom, will leave them feeling discouraged and unworthy, as well as rather unhappy.

Inguz energy also manifests in ideas, little nuggets of insight that you can then mix with Berkana energy to make the most of that seed. Everything- every invention, every story, every movie, every medical innovation- it all starts as an idea in someone's head, as a sketch or outline on paper, that flourishes, or not, with how much attention you give it.

Our energy is also to be found in the parts of you that you repress, that you bury because you either fear those parts or because your life circumstances have told you those parts are 'not important.'  Not so!  All parts of you are equally important. Take some time to look deep inside and see the things you have buried within. Contemplate why you might have done so and what is stopping you from acting from those things now. This aspect is what some would call the Shadow Self. To better learn to deal with this aspect of our collective, find yourself some good books that deal with learning to work with your Shadow and let your full potential bloom!

Questions to consider when working with Inguz energy- Where does your potential lie? What 'seeds' do you have incubating at the moment?

Meet the Collectives- The Nauthizi

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To me, this collective has a bronze orange energy. The rune-drakes have bronze orange scales, catfish barbels and a black mane running along their neck.

Of all the collectives, we have the most representatives from this one. There are five of them now and it was a nauthizi that was actually one of the first runai I met, though I didn't know it at the time. During a journey completely unrelated to runes, I met a golden scaled dragon who bestowed upon me a personal symbol. It didn't even dawn on me at the time, because runes were not my focus, that this symbol was a variant of Nauthiz. A year and a half later, I met this being again, in a more 'proper' rune-drake form. His name was Nero and he was the first of four nauthizi to join us. Nero said I 'belong' to them... to the nauthizi. I'm still learning what this means, for me at least. Later you will have an opportunity to find if you, too, belong to a specific collective.

Nero, as I've said, was the first nauthizi to join us. He first chose a form that looked very much like Sherlock Holmes, in the newer movies. This drew playful teasing from both me and several of the other runics and he's since tweaked his appearance to look more like Tony Stark. He represents what it is to 'be' needed. His initial is simply N. Elodin has a personality that is often very child-like, a baby runic. As odd as it seems sometimes, he can be very easily hurt or frightened. He chose to look like a younger Nero. Elodin represents what it means to 'need'. He uses El as his initials, but has chosen not to participate here. Cassidy manifested around the same time as Elodin. She has black hair and brown eyes and certainly looks as if she is physically related to the more anthropomorphic appearances of Nero and Elodin. She represents the balance between needing and being needed and uses the initials Cs. Aldair is our final nauthizi and he chose to look like James Wilson, from the show House, M.D., which I find quite appropriate. I associate that show with this particular collective and Wilson certainly fits what it is to 'be needed', that aspect that Nero represents. He also represents what it is to 'need', as he is drawn to situations where he can fulfill that requirement of being needed. Aldair holds to no specific aspect of his collective. He uses the initials Ad.  Mycroft is our newest addition, joining us at Nero’s request. Nero is the one who chose his appearance- that of Mycroft from the BBC’s Sherlock. It’s a character I found intimidating….  and Nero wanted me to pay attention to my Nauthiz energy more than i was. Mycroft represents unbalanced Nauthiz energy, the end of the spectrum dealing with addiction. Nero was actually looking for one who represented the other end of that, a nauthizi who represented neglect. It was an attempt to bully me into paying closer attention to what I needed to be doing health-wise because I have several medical issues that require monitoring and proper attention. Nevertheless, Nero acquiesced and so Mycroft joined us. He has been able to help with what Nero wished, along with other things a little more pertinent to his particular end of the spectrum. He uses the initials My.

N- Everything that is, has some needs that must be met. Living organisms need food, shelter, water. Social creatures need physical affection to thrive. Inanimate things have needs too. Fire needs oxygen to survive. Buildings and cars require maintenance on a regular basis or they begin falling apart. Books require cool, dry environments to be preserved from mildew. An object's Nauthiz lies in what it takes to care properly for it.

Cs- Humans have even more complex Nauthiz energy. There are things that are required not just for physical care but for emotional and mental care as well. Some people need lots of physical affection to thrive properly. Others need lots of solitude to function ideally. Some people are labeled as needy and this can be seen as unbalanced Nauthiz energy. They are so overtaken by fear of not having their needs met that they ask for more than most are willing or capable of giving. Other people have a need to be needed. These people make excellent caretakers and do well in service oriented occupations. However..... while it might seem ideal..... it really is quite unhealthy for a person who needs to be needed to try to tend someone who is very needy. Really, it rarely, if ever, works out well.

Ad- As Cassy has pointed out, humans have needs beyond the mere physical. Emotional, spiritual and mental needs can be ascertained by looking at what brings true joy, peace or contentment to your life. What fulfills these needs will be different for everyone and each as valid as the last. So long as how you choose to have these needs met harms no other, there is no 'wrong' way to do so.

My- Addiction and neglect are the two ends of the spectrum of unbalanced Nauthiz energy and they can each be found in more ways than you might imagine. When a person seeks more than others are able to give, in terms of helping needs be met, that is a form of addiction. Ignoring your own needs or the needs of those you are responsible for, especially the needs of young ones, is neglect. As with the unbalanced aspects of the other collectives, addiction and neglect- unbalanced Nauthiz- does serve a function. Most likely, they were created to fulfill something a person needed and had no way of meeting otherwise. Either they did not know how to meet those needs, or perhaps they were/are not even aware of the underlying needs.

Take addiction, for example. Why does a person become addicted to drugs? What need might that be fulfilling? Perhaps it is a need to feel alive again and they don’t know how else to do so. Perhaps it is less and addiction to drugs and more an addiction to not being in pain. If you have ever had the misfortune to be assaulted by chronic pain, you know of what I speak. Addictions to dangerous and risky actions are often attempts to meet the need of feeling ‘alive’ that I mentioned before.

How about a seeming addiction to spending money? Well…. such an addiction is most often tied into the energy of Fehu as well. Many people who spend indiscriminately, they are actually trying to make themselves feel validated, feel worth something. The acquistion of ‘stuff’ can momentarily provide a false sense of what they really seek, which is strong self-worth. They simply don’t have the means or knowledge to achieve that. This sort of addiction is quite often formed very early in life, through neglect on the part of the caretakers who should be helping form a solid sense of self-worth in a child.

Neglect also serves a function of protection, often tied with Isa and Sigel energies. Neglect is not tending to needs, most often because doing so seems quite overwhelming. Being neglectful of a child is a said thing, but it most often arises out of feeling that you just can’t ( possibly shouldn’t) have to meet those needs. Neglect fostered by feelings of ‘shouldn’t’ tends to be formed by feelings of resentment. The parent who is completely unprepared to care for an unexpected child, especially if that child needs lots of care and attention often becomes neglectful of that child, whether purposefully or no. Neglect of oneself may be because a person feels unable to ask for necessary help.

Left to run rampant, addiction and neglect can be quite destructive. Addictions, handled properly, can be beneficial. Learning to work with them, should you be subjected to them, can help you learn more about yourself.  The same with neglectfulness. A person’s mind is an amazing thing. It put these things in place at some point, because they served a *necessary* fucntion at the time. Unfortunately, the mind can also be a little slow at times and doesn’t realize when these things need to be amended or discarded. This requires conscious introspection, brutal honesty and a willingness to work at changing these ingrained beliefs.

Questions to consider when working with Nauthiz energy- Where do your physical needs lie? Your emotional needs? Do you meet your needs effectively? If not, what blocks do you have that keep you from having your needs met? How do you meet the needs of others? Do you find yourself subjected to addictions or neglect, either self-imposed or by others? What do you think underlies these addictive or neglectful belief patterns? How can you begin changing them?