Jera Elder Futhark Rune Meanings

Jera – Rune of Harvest

Jera (YEH-rah) is the Wheel of the Year and the Tarot Wheel of Fortune all rolled into one. It’s a card that reminds us that time only appears linear. In reality, it is cyclic. Not having this type of understanding of the reality of time and the nature of existence leads to people going to see fortune-tellers, asking ‘What will my love life bring me?’

The answer is of course ‘jack sh*t’ if you didn’t set the intent and work on developing the qualities that are a good match for the kind of lover you seek. This rune reminds us to engage actively with the cycles of life and to find ways of changing the things that we have been put here to learn to change. Until we understand cause and effect, we can’t do much about it. This rune also teaches us to accept the things we cannot change with equanimity.

Stripped back meaning based on the actual word and shape

Jera is where we derive the English word year. In modern Swedish, the word is år. Numerologically, it makes sense that the 12th rune symbolises the 12 months of the year. However, you may wish to delve into the mysterious reasons behind the 11 numerology of this rune in Agrell’s Uthark rune system. If so, check out this fascinating article about Jera.

The shape of the Jera rune is a beautiful reminder of how one season leads on to the next and makes me think about the famous passage in Ecclesiastes:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted…
~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

On some level, we all know that we reap what we sow, yet so many of us hope to be the exception to the rule, wishing to score the Euromillions jackpot to not have to work for what we want in life… but what would we learn from that? And trust me, those jackpot winners have karmic lessons associated with their win as well – it’s just that the cause and effect lie hidden in the mists of fate.

Hence, the rune of harvest is also the rune of wisdom and foresight. As women, we should technically have a jump-start on these lessons because of our cyclic nature but patriarchy has been busy beating that out of us for the past 3-4,000 years or so, making our cyclic nature something to be ashamed of rather than something to honour because it makes us closer to Source and Mother Earth.

Correspondences

• Polarity: Feminine
• Zodiac correspondences: Jupiter
• Colours: Brown, okra, dark green, russet (all earth tones)
• Herbal correspondence: Chamomile
• Tarot card correspondences: The Wheel of Fortune
• Archangel correspondences: Sachiel
• Chakra correspondences: Sacral chakra
• Health: Regeneration, reproduction

Divinatory Meanings

General: harvest for good or for ill, reaping what we have sown, time heals all wounds, cycles, death and rebirth – Reversed: N/A (this rune is the same reversed and should be interpreted according to surrounding runes)

Love & relationships: a relationship with lots of ups and downs, a need to find common ground, big decisions about the relationship, a generational shift (grandparents pass away and parents take their place) – Reversed: N/A

Health/wellbeing: feminine reproductive issues, menstruation, cyclic disorders or conditions, seasonal afflictions such as hay fever – Reversed: N/A

Business: returns on investments, a need for more foresight and long-term planning (depending on surrounding runes) – Reversed: N/A

Holistic Healing Tips for Jera

Mediate with Jera to centre yourself in the hub of the Great Wheel of Time.

Use it for New Moon spells to submit your intent into the safe hands of Mother Earth for nurturing and harvest in the right season.

Draw the rune over the womb space to honour your lunar cycle and attune lovingly with it.

This is the rune to meditate with for anyone with a fear of death or dying since it helps us realise that there is no such thing as death.

Affirmations

• I honour my cyclic nature.
• I attune myself to the cycles of Life and Nature.
• I take responsibility for my harvest.
• I trust in the laws of karma though I cannot always see cause and effect.
• Time heals all wounds.
• This too shall pass.

Jera Prayer

Dear Mother-Father God, Thank you that as the Wheel turns, I am perfectly safe and loved in your arms. Help me meet life’s ups and downs with equanimity and have foresight about the seeds I’m planting here and now. Amen and so it is!

Jera and Hyperborean Water Magic

Hyperborean water magic memories are being brought forward as humanity steps across the threshold of the Age of Aquarius. You can read more about it HERE.

How to Charge the Water

• Draw the rune over your glass or another glass vessel with the pointer and middle finger on your dominant hand.
• Chant the name of the rune three times.
• Visualise the rune glimmering in the colour of your choice as you chant (see colour correspondences above).
• Visualise the light from the rune charging every molecule in the water until the light expands beyond the glass. When the light has formed an aura around the glass that you can see or feel with your hands, it is ready to drink/use.

Jera Water Magic

Jera is an excellent rune to use for water magic when we lack an understanding of why things are on repeat in our lives. For instance, when you go from one relationship disaster to the next and fail to learn and heal. You can do a seven-day working for this and at the same time burn a black candle for 20 minutes each day to banish the toxic pattern. Let the candle burn down (safely!) on the last day.

Work with Jera and drink Jera water twice a day if you are actively seeking to understand the cycles of the Moon or the Wheel of the Year energetically.

During and after menopause, Jera water can help move the energy that would normally be shifted through the menses. Drink as much of it as you need to feel the energy running unhindered through the bloodstream and central nervous system.

Use Jear in the environment to shift large amounts of stuck/negative energy. Use it with Algiz to safely transmute any toxic energy so that harm does not spread.

Take me back to the Elder Futhark Rune Index!

Try the Jera Harvest Rune Tarot Spread!