The rune Jera is the twelfth rune in the Elder Futhark. It is the rune of harvest and beneficial outcomes. The concept of harvest is often misunderstood to be merely the act of "picking the fruit." In this case, nothing could be farther from the truth. The concept actually speaks of the rewards of the entire process. A seed can’t grow if it isn’t properly planted. Not only that; but if it is to be truly fruitful, the resulting plant has to be tended - i.e. watered, weeded, and fertilized - over the entire time of its growth into maturity. Only then can the actual harvesting of the crop begin. Jera speaks of the complete cycle of birth - maturing - and bearing fruit.

Just as Jera speaks of the mundane life cycle from birth to bearing fruit, it also speaks on the mental, emotional, and spiritual realms. Jera speaks of rewards yet to come. On all these levels it denotes the reward for right, honorable, and lawful action. But remember, the concept of "lawful action" is not so much a legal or moral idea, as it is the adherence to natural laws.

However, there is an interesting twist to the way Jera represents the life cycle. It is described as the cycle of arising, becoming, and passing away to a new beginning. Or, to put it into more traditional terms, "birth, life, and, death into rebirth." The concept of life represented by Jera recognizes that death is not the end, but merely the transition to new life. When fruit falls from a tree, it dies. But, it provides the food for the seed inside itself, thereby nurturing the next generation of seed and plant. Nordic mythology is not alone in this concept. It is an idea which appears in the theology of other religions, including Christianity.

For those who have been following this column, you will remember two months ago we discussed Mannaz, the rune of the Self. In that column we looked at the runic relationship between God and man. We saw that it is explained as a direct and genetic relationship. This explains the life cycle shown by Jera. The spark of deity is passed from one generation to the next with the previous generation nurturing and forming the next "in the image of God", with an inherited store of experience in right action and natural law.

Jera also shares a relationship with Raido. If you will remember, we saw that the rune of the journey dealt with cycles, including the cycle of the day. Jera, as the rune of harvest, reminds us of the annual cycle of solar year. As you can see, the individual runic glyphs do not always stand alone. But, they blend together to form a spiritual network, whose threads each follow their own path, but touch to strengthen each other.

The deity most often connected with Jera is Freyr. He and his twin sister Freya are seen as fertility gods. With their father, Njord, they were brought to Asgard, as willing hostages, at the end of the war between the two great families of Nordic gods. However, they made themselves at home, and each married several times, once even to each other.

It could be said that when these alien gods were placed (planted, if you will) in the new social order at Asgard, they grew to become a vital part of that society, bearing fruit on several levels. Therefore, their lives demonstrate the magic of Jera.

Before we leave this column, I want to show you an advanced rune spread. In our second column we discussed a three rune spread. This time lets look at a nine rune spread I sometimes use in readings for more advanced seekers.

The nine runes are placed face down, one at a time, in a pattern of three vertical columns, of three horizontal rows. They are placed starting with the bottom right corner, going up the right column. Then, bottom to top on the center column. Finally, from bottom to top on the far left column.

The three horizontal rows are identified from bottom to top as "past times," "present times," and "later times." The three vertical columns are names for the three leading groups in earily Nordic society. From right to left to right they are the "provider." "warrior," and "priest/king."

Just as Jera speaks of the complete harvest cycle at several levels or realms, this spread covers the cycle from past to future in several aspects of the seeker’s life. It is a good way to obtain insightsd into the seeker’s path to the Self.