Raidho #5

[Senbecc]

Rune 5:



Raidho

Rune Number 5: Raidho (RYE-dough)


Welcome back! Today's rune will really take us for a ride! That's what "Raidho" means. We can ride today with Thor on his chariot. Don't forget a snack for his goats!

Use Raidho where you write the letter "R." Pronounce it "RIDE-oh."

A quick way to remember things that have to do with Raidho is to think of it as being related to the prefix "trans" that comes at the beginning of some words. Think about trans-portation, trans-formation, and trans-actions and you'll be well on your way to getting a grip on the rune Raidho. Trans-portation means moving around, whether it is people travelling for any reason to people hauling stuff around to sell or to swap for other people's stuff. So, roads and railroads have Raidho in them. So do letters and other messages.

Transformation is a change in form. Think of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. That, too is a journey, a trans-ition from childhood to adulthood. You too are on that journey even now. Nothing in the Universe stays the same, not even the Gods and Goddesses or even the World Tree, Yggdrasil. It can be scary sometimes but at least it's not boring!

Transactions mean trading. Vikings were great traders. They were also great raiders. That can be another meaning of Raidho. Fortunately, these days we don't have to deal with raids in the most countries, but there are still places where they are one of the dangers in life. Vikings loved to travel and explore. They knew Raidho inside and out!

Thor is a good God to think of in connection with this rune. He rides around in his chariot, which is pulled by two goats. We use cars and trucks and boats in our world (Midgard) today, but the idea is still the same.

Thor helps to keep us safe from our enemies. Of course, we have to do our part too and sometimes bad things happen no matter what we do. We can't stop that, but we can help each other when it does happen! Thor is a very good friend to have.

Raidho helps us to communicate. Runes in that sense all have a bit of Raidho in them, as do the "regular" Roman alphabet letters in which this article is written.

There are new ways of communicating all the time. Communication involves the trans-fer of information from one person to another, even when they are in different places. Think about television, radio (raidhio) - I'm just kidding about that one-- phones, cell phones, and the Internet! Those have been around only a lifetime at most. People got by without them for thousands of years but they sure are good to have. It's a lot easier to communicate than it used to be. Still, all that information is almost enough to make you dizzy sometimes!

Don't believe everything you hear. As time goes on and you grow, more and more it will be up to you to learn to sift through all that incoming information and decide what is true for yourself. The time we live in is called the "Information Age" for good reason.

Remember Uruz, the U-rune? It's the one that means a big wild bull. With Uruz you smash through and obstacle. With Raidho you drive speedily around it! Which method to choose? It depends on what's in your way and what you have available to deal with it.

Look for Raidho in your life. See how many examples you can find. You can even make it a game with your family and friends to see who can find the most examples! Here are a few just to get you started. Telephone, telegraph, tell-the-neighborhood-gossip...

Now Thor's chariot has made its circuit of Midgard. We thank him as we step down from it.

Talk to you soon and keep practicing your runes!



Jordsvin

home.earthlink.net/~jordsvin/Runes/Kids%20Runes/Rune%205%20-%20Raidho.htm

(I'm gonna keep looking for a better article on this)

[Senbecc]

Raidho, the "r-rune", is the fifth rune of the first aett of the Elder Futhark. The Old English Rune Poem, Old Norse Rune Rhyme and Old Icelandic Rune Poem all refer to horses in their verses on Raidho. Horses are how people got around back then, and Raidho (known as Rad in Anglo-Saxon and Reid in Old Norse) is the rune of travel!
Raidho's meanings include travel, riding, communication at a distance, transportation, messages, speed, vehicles both ancient and modern, roads, bridges (President Clinton's bridge to the 21st century?), all the media as means of communication (radio, television, the Internet, even movies), cargo, freight, passengers, the postal service, bypassing obstacles, and even raids (RAIDS were often carried out by people who were RIDING). It can indicate an unexpected journey or being MOVED by forces or circumstances beyond your control, as well as right action, increase in activity, or the breaking of a deadlock. Riding, travel and transportation are its core meanings.
Raidho has to do with those Norse Gods and Goddesses riding in chariots. These include Thor, Freya, Frey, Nerthus, and according to Thorr Sheil, Tyr. Note the majority of these (Nerthus, Freya, and Frey) are Vanir Deities. By the way, in Norse and many other mythologies, the Sun and Moon also ride in wagons across the sky. A Sun-chariot model, complete with bronze horses was found in, I believe, Denmark. An old name for the Milky Way is "Odin's Wagon". The Germanic "chariot" was really more of a cart or wagon. A number of these have been dug up. According to Tacitus, Nerthus' wagon carried her cloaked image and made a yearly round of the villages, and great celebration attended its arrival at each one. This went on well into the time when Christianity had been forced on the Germanic peoples. In Late Heathen Sweden, Frey's wagon made the rounds. Thorr Sheil mentions a German monk who was horribly upset when some youths in his country fitted a boat (like the wagon, a Vanir symbol) with wheels, put on it a statue of Hertha (Whom Sheil identifies with Frigga, although I would tend to identify Her with Nerthus), and went from village to village. Outdoor sexual activity was a part of the revels the poor monk (no doubt green with envy) was forced to witness. Think of what Wiccans do on Beltaine. These are celebrations dedicated to the Vanir, remember! Ing(vi) Frey's verse in the Old English Rune poem mentions both a boat and a wagon, so we can be sure such things went on in Merry Heathen England as well.
Not only the folks with the God-carts were "circuit riders". Vitkis (wizards) and seidhfolk (seers and seeresses) also made the rounds of Heathen settlements. According to Sheil, if Raidho is the journey, the rune Jera relates to the cycle or circuit, especially an annual one. Eihwaz/Yr, the yew-rune, refers to Yggdrasil. It is the stable point or axis (remember the German Irminsul, or "Columna Universalis") around which Raidho rides its circuit. Think of a wheel and axle.
Raidho connects with the element of Air. Speed is both its greatest strength and most difficult point. It is less likely to backfire than most runes (think of Thurisaz for a good contrast)!
Magickal uses of Raidho include helping cause changes and improvements, locating things, or for any matter involving travel, transportation or communication. You can use it for finding things, and to plan the best way to take a trip, look for something, or carry out transactions. Thorr Sheil identifies the prefix "trans-" as the Latin equivalent for Raidho. Thus, words beginning with "trans-" are things which can be brought about by Raidho! Enjoy your work with this rune!

Works consulted (and which you really should buy, as both of these, as well as any others by these authors, are well worth owning):
At the Well of Wyrd by Edred Thorsson, published by: Samuel Weiser, Inc., PO Box 612, York Beach ME 03910 USA. Weiser publishes two other books by Thorsson, with many others being published by Llewellyn Press: call 1-800-THE-MOON for a free catalogue.
The Road to Bifrost Volume III: The Runes and Holy Signs by Thorr and Audrey Sheil. Long out of print.

home.earthlink.net/~jordsvin/Runes/Rune%20Of%20The%20Month/Rune%205%20-%20Raidho.htm

[Senbecc]

Raido (pronounced Rye-doh) is the fifth rune of the Futhark and of Freya's Aett. It is equivalent to the letter R in the Roman alphabet. In old Norse the name is Reid and in Anglo-Saxon it is Rad.

Literally translated Raido means "riding" and in later usage this came to mean a wagon or carriage, as well as the original concept of riding on horseback.

In this modern era, you may equate Raido to any form of vehicle or any type of journey because the primary import of Raido is transportation in the sense of movement from one position to another. So travel of all kinds, journeys, vehicles, roads, cargos and travellers may all be represented by Raido in the right context. It can also indicate an unexpected or enforced journey or indeed the change #n circumstances that breaks a deadlock, because that, too, is a kind of journey in itself.

You will also see Raido translated as "wheel" or "rotation" because of the root part of the Anglo-Saxon word rad-. But that is in truth a misconception. Modern words such as radius and radial referring to wheels actually derive from the Latin word radius meaning a spoke for a wheel, so they are not related to the Germanic words Raido, reid or rad.

The Icelandic Rune Poem describes Raido (riding) in simple terms:

Riding is the joy of the horsemen
and speedy journey
and toil of the steed.

In the Norse Rune Poem the first line also refers to riding from the horse's point of view:

Riding is said to be the worse thing for horses,
Reginn forged the finest sword.

The second line is only related to Raido insofar as the name Reginn begins with the letter R. Reginn is a character in Sigurd's Tales, a portion of the Prose Edda. He made the sharpest sword, capable of cutting through an anvil. This verse of the Norse poem may have had a mnemonic (memory aid) value in the original old Norwegian that is lost in translation.

The Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem is - as usual - pretty clear:

Riding - to the warrior in the hall - is easy,
But very strenuous for one who sits on top,
Of a powerful horse over long miles.

In other words, it looks easy until you have to do it for real. Having fallen off a horse or two in my time I can vouch for the truth of that!

In divination Raido can be taken as moving, motion, travel, change, communication, the progression of fate, searching, or progress. It may also indicate a visit from someone who has travelled to meet you, communication from or about someone who is far away, a vacation or sojourn away from home.

When occurring in the upright position you may interpret the rune to mean a journey is imminent, and that could be a physical movement of your person from one place to another, or indeed a spiritual progression from one level to another.

The reverse position means lack of movement or failure to progress, failed travel plans, losing contact with someone, or even unexpected or unwelcome news.<

Spiritually, Raido means a quest for fulfilment, or maybe a search for spiritual knowledge. The concept of transportation in the spiritual world my a magical conveyance is very ancient and pre-dates the runes by many centuries. In rune lore you will find this idea ascribed to Frey, Freya, Nerthus and Thor.

But Raido warns us that there is no shortcut to your journey's end. Taking the easy way out will not lead to the goal, or provide a total solution to the problem. The hard road must be travelled to gain the rewards at the end of the quest.

One must also be prepared to embrace new experiences in life, not to become too far removed from the material world where lessons must be learned before embarking on the great spiritual quest. It is held by many that life on earth is no more than preparation for the next life and it is important to travel widely, learn and understand what you can of our earthly world while there is time.

In Rune Magick, Raido is primarily used as protection for travellers and vehicles. It is perhaps the least ambiguous of runes and the easiest to invoke in charms, amulets and spells. It is the safest of runes for use in bindrunes, and I frequently include Raido in binds designed to help with change, improvement or progression.

Raido may be used to find lost possessions or people, to transfer attributes from one person to another, or to speed the course of any proceedings - such as legal wrangles, long-running disputes, and negotiations that just seem to drag on without ever reaching a conclusion. Buying a house in the middle of a long chain is a good example of the latter. Invoking Raido with suitable runes to represent others in the buying chain can often remove the deadlock and lead to a satisfactory result.

And finally, in case you wondered why I called Raido "my great favourite" in an earlier article, I will explain. First, it is the initial of my given name. Second, I have always been a keen traveller - I spent 30 years of my working life in the tourism industry - and Raido has protected me on many a journey.

For a comprehensive guide to all the rune meanings visit www.runemaker.com/futhark/reading.shtml.

www.runes.info/pieces/runepiece16.htm