I was talking with a friend and fellow Crane Practitioner last night about the Soul Runes. Like all the tools of Crane Tradition they give us the core energy/ pattern of it, but the details of that, what it means to us – how it applies – what it looks like is personal to each practitioner. It is reversed from the way many other traditions are taught. In my experience they start from the surface and work inward to the core, developing different layers of understanding as you travel the path, and through the journey discovering the core. Crane Tradition works from the core energy and the journey is centered around the discovery of what it means to you and how you apply it in practice. Confused? Let’s dive deeper…

The Conversation

This all started with a conversation about Soul Runes, a divination tool and magical system within Crane Tradition. The Soul Runes themselves give you the core pattern’s meaning and nothing else. It is generally one word or a phrase. For example, the Rune Akara means Inspiration.

She was stating it would be more helpful to her if there was more information behind it to really explain what kind of inspiration, in what context, and so forth. The problem with that approach though is that it would only give you someone else’s definition, impression, meaning, and how to use it – not yours. Everything in Crane Tradition forces us to take the inward journey, to think deeply and to construct our own path as we do that. The tools are the blueprint but our journey and discoveries are what brings it to life in our own unique way.

Journey with the Rune

My response to her was “Journey with each Rune.” There are two ways you can approach this…

First, the one through the mind: Start by asking yourself, what does it mean to you – the word, the concept. What does it mean from a spiritual standpoint? What does it mean from a physical world standpoint? What are all the other patterns, positive and negative, that are held within it: for example on Inspiration – creation, creativity, a possibility, and its opposites the Tower, deconstruction, stagnation. All energies are part of a Duality and seeing both sides is important.

Then start to get personal with it. What role does Inspiration play in your life? How do you use it to advance your own needs and desires? How do you use it internally and how do you use it when connecting and interacting with other people? Why do you need it? Look from both positive and negative aspects, because it, and we, contain both.

Now you can think about the lessons Inspiration holds for you. Where are some gaps or negative aspects that need to be shifted? How can you use your aspects of Inspiration to more successfully navigate difficult situations or interactions? How can you use the strengths of Inspiration more effectively in your work to reach your desires?

Write everything down as you are reflecting and working through it. This not only helps you as you think deeper now, but also later in reflective work, because your answers will change and shift as you align yourself more with your authentic self and your own path in this life. Being able to see that change in written form really helps.

The Second approach: Tarot and Stitchomancy. Through using this technique (which the instructions are in the link) not only can it help you identify the lessons specifically for you within each Core energy/ Rune, but also help give you direction as to the depth of meaning as it applies to you. Remember, the core energy doesn’t change – it is always Inspiration for Akara – so all the messages being given are all centered around Inspiration.

The stitchomancy aspect in this type of divination is important. Too often, especially for those who have been reading tarot for a long time, we have very specific meanings and understandings of each card in our deck, but the message may be an aspect that does not fit in our narrowed view. By allowing the stitchomancy to give the message, we get a more clear and precise understanding, and then we use our intuition and critical thinking skills in the reconciliation process of this technique.

I personally think a combination of the two would be the best approach. Start with the deeper dive within. Let the Tarot journey reveal any hidden aspects or specific lessons that you may be missing. In the end, you will develop a personal connection to the Rune, your current path and understanding of it, how that core energy shows up for you, and how to best use it in practice. I say “current understanding and path” because as you grow and transform, so may those perspectives and lessons – Yet the Rune Akara will forever remain Inspiration.

Why Core Energy – Patterns

All the Frameworks and tools in Crane Tradition work in this way – Giving you a core pattern, a core understanding, a core blueprint to work from. The core gives us a place to start and a focus for us, but the road-map through it is one we develop ourselves. Based in where we are right now, the path we are forging forward, and the work we want to accomplish in this life – spiritually and in our physical life.

We all share the core energy but what it looks like, how we move with it, what we use it for, and how it works for us, is personal. That is why when two Crane Practitioners create a spell or practice using the same set of core energies – what that looks like from an outsiders perspective can appear completely different. It isn’t, the core remains intact, but how we are bringing that forth is rooted in our own personal connections to it, the associations we layer onto it, and our personal mode of casting. This is one of the things that makes Crane Tradition unique.

It does challenge us, especially if you are used to the more traditional ways of learning. It does require more time and thought, because we are having to dig within our own mind and soul to find the answers. What we gain from it though is beyond just a system of practice, it is a way of being, connecting, and moving in our true authentic self, the discovery of it – body and soul – spiritual and physical aligned.

These techniques can be applied to any system if you think about it. You just have to discover the core energy or pattern and work from that. It may be more difficult, as many systems don’t start from core, but it can be done. One word, one small phrase, that defines the core of that pattern – then the journey becomes all about your individual path with it.

Resources

If you want to learn more about Soul Runes or Crane Tradition you can either: get the book Grimoire of the Crane and explore on your own, follow my youtube channel where I do some videos going deeper into showing the practices and just talking about it podcast style, or join our private discord community. In the private group you will not only get a digital copy of the book, but also a community to work with and experiment with, monthly workshops on various topics, and various monthly live chats to participate in. (note there are 2 times for the live chats, a morning and an evening time – this is to accommodate different schedules so you can either join in the morning or evening and the times are in CST) See the schedules below to view upcoming events or go HERE.

In the End

No matter if you get into Crane Practice, in another Tradition, or just a solitary doing their own thing – it is important to carve your own path within that. Discover and use your own connections and understandings, because at the end of the day this is your life – your magic – your spirituality – and we all are different. Embrace the diversity of us!

It is in our differences that the world widens, that we see the larger picture, that we discover more within ourselves and beyond just ourselves, and we find the places we overlap. We do not need to be the same to hold respect for one another. Your perspective may never change mine, but knowing that there are people who hold your perspective widens my view of possibilities and the world itself.

Knowledge is a key – Wisdom, knowledge that is experienced, is Power.