Rune Study : Raidho
Raidho : Wagon; Journey; Transportation
Raidho, to me, represents the spiraling journey and ordered movement of the Universe. When we tap into the lessons Raidho has to teach, we discover the order in the chaos of this experience. Raidho takes us on the journey to our center, to our core, and outwards once again. Raidho is the wagon in which we partake of the long ride. This rune can refer to a journey, movement in our lives, either the inner journey, or a physical change in surroundings.
The sacred geometry of spirals is carried in this rune. The wagon wheel turns on the road, and we are propelled with forawrd momentum. We carry ourselves forward, and circumstance can influence this motion. Raitho is a very ‘active’ rune, in that it is all about movement. When drawn in a reading, it can be referring to a physical trip or journey in our near future, or a meta-physical one, signalling a change for the better in the present situation.
The spiral journey is not a linear one. I have recently heard of an interesting concept: that the solar system is not in fact stationary in space, but all the planets are spiraling through space in the wake of the sun. This concept immediately ‘felt right’ to me, and Raidho speaks of this journey.
We are not going through life’s myriad of experience from point a to point b. The uniqueness of each one of us cannot lend itself to such a simple idea. The vast differences of experience we all have fit best into a moving flowing context, where we are allowed the room to deviate from one set of expectations. The movement in a spiral is mathematically perfect, but also allows us to come back to center before exploring again. I liked this diagram for explaining this concept.
So, Raidho carries the lesson of allowing yourself to go on a journey, a long and (definitely) challenging journey, to experience, grow and learn. If we remain stationary in our lives, we do not have as many opportunities to explore new experience, and with newness comes growth. The spiral encourages us to reach out for newness, contemplate our new experiences, and bring what benefits us back with us as we come back to our center.
In the context of the “inner journey”, Raidho is the point at which we decide to embark on the long-haul that is the journey through the unknown. The journey of self-discovery and of self-improvement. The journey of understanding, and the journey of the seeker. The journey of transformation.
Blessings as you journey with the runes, friends.
ALU : ULA