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 shit’ 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. 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.
The shape of the 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 so as 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 lies 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 own 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
- Tarot card correspondences: The Wheel of Fortune, Justice
- Archangel correspondences: Sachiel, Anael
- 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 own 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 clearly.
- Time heals all wounds.
- This too shall pass.
To strengthen the effect of the affirmation, you can draw the Jera rune over a glass of water. Say the affirmation out loud while holding the glass. Then drink it slowly while contemplating how to remain centred through life’s ups and downs.
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 to have foresight about the seeds I’m planting here and now. Amen and so it is!
Try the Jera Rune Tarot Spread!
Love,
Lisa Frideborg