Reed: Ingwaz
Each of the Celtic trees correlates with a Rune. Runes are a twenty-four letter alphabet, originating with Germanic tribes as early as the 2nd century. Runic glyphs were carved or etched into bone, wood, leather, jewelry, tools, weapons, and stone. Norse and Viking runic artifacts dating as far back as the 9th century have been found in several Northern European and Scandinavian countries, Russia, Turkey and North America. Notably, runes found in Canada and the United States pre-date Columbus by several hundred years, so he was definitely not the first visitor.
The Celtic month of Reed, September 5 - October 2, is associated with:
Rune: Ingwaz (also Inguz)
Ingwaz is connected to the Norse god Ing, who appears in Old Norse, Old High German, and Old English, and is believed to to be an older name for Freyr. Ing is associated with peace, prosperity, and good fortune.
Ingwaz is fertility and new beginnings. It is all potentials and possibilities. It has a close connection with the moon, our intuition and heart intention. Ingwaz invokes the Mystery, and a deep understanding that control is an illusion, while seeking harmony, especially in relationships, is key to receiving love and wisdom.
This rune embodies the need to share, to coexist and cooperate, the human search for similarities and the innate longing to be desired and loved. What this rune requires is the completion of beginnings. It marks a time of joy and fruition, and drawing this rune means you have the strength to reach resolution and completion, which leads to a new beginning.
Think of the butterfly. It takes 7–14 days for it to emerge from its chrysalis, depending on the temperature. Conditions must be just right. When it appears, it is vulnerable, wings still damp. This is the embodiment of Ingwaz. Complete the process of caterpillar to goo to butterfly, and a new life begins. But the transformation takes place in a safe, perhaps secret or private way, similar to the chrysalis or womb.
It may be time to prioritize completion of a project, or perhaps a difficult or complicated decision will be made clear now. This rune indicates that you must first fertilize the ground for your own transformation. It can symbolize your emergence from a closed, cocoon-like state, such as from a period of grief, depression, or longer physical illness.
Ingwaz may require you to release yourself from a stuck state-of-being: a pattern, behavior, or habit, a relationship, a job, or even something deeper like generational or cultural patterns or trauma. Whatever that stuck-ness is, it is time to leave it behind and be reborn into your new way of being.
You can do this. Breathe. Center yourself, and look for the humor in the chaos, and the calm that brings certainty.
Do what lights you up,
Sadie
Please note: Some people start the tree calendar with Birch in January, which follows the solar calendar. However, I learned them in an older tradition, which aligns with the 13-month lunar calendar. It's up to you to discern what feels right for you, of course.
See also:
Virgo 2024
Libra 2024
Reed September 5 – October 2
Blackthorn September 5 – October 2
Reed: Ngetal
Reed: Red Jasper
Reed: Owl
Celtic Tree Months
Author of The Recollection of Trees book series. Fifth generation intuitive. Kitchen witch. she/her.