Last night my husband and I drove across the country from Michigan to Colorado. At first, it was overcast and turned into thunderstorms as we drove southward, with bursts of heavy rain and lightning. Then, the clouds cleared, and we drove for hundreds of miles with Sol above us and farmlands around us, reminding me of how much of our land is devoted to agriculture.
Finally, my favorite part of the drive was around midnight as we drove through Kansas. There are very few lights on I-70 through there, and the moon was a golden sliver. The stars were shining brightly and I saw the milky way for the first time in months, which brought tears to my eyes. We all lose something great when we cannot be reminded of the vastness of the universe.
However, that wasn’t the only gorgeous display of light. Far away on the horizon, a fierce lightning storm danced and dazzled me. It was too far away to hear thunder - which made the lightening have an almost fae quality to it. We both marveled at how long the storm lasted, and how it took up the entire length of horizon we could see. Looking at the stars and milky way while also witnessing a majestic storm is truly one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. From the sun beating down on us to this marvelous show reminded me of all of the manifestations of Sowilu.
Sowilu is light and power. It can help you slowly grow and blossom, as we saw with the rolling fields of vegetation that passed us by in the Midwest. It is a feminine rune, helping every living thing on this earth. It can protect and warm you, and it can also burn and destroy. Sowilu can be the lightening that begins a forest fire, causing rapid and violent change. It should be noted that the soil that is left after such a fire is rich in nutrients, allowing healthy regrowth for the life that creeps back into the area. Sowilu can do the same in your life - have you ever had an event that you felt was devastating at the time, only to discover that the new path lead to bigger and better things? Sowilu (and Hagalaz) can be the catalyst. The stars above were also other suns, potentially nourishing other life we can only imagine at this point. This rune is one of higher will and accomplishments. I feel our space exploration is a representation of some of the highest accomplishments of mankind, and the longing for the stars is connected to the longing of the next evolution of humanity. Edred Thorsson wrote “The S-rune may serve as a dynamic connection between heaven and earth... a powerful path to ecstatic experience.”
I certainly felt connected to the heavens and the earth yesterday, and I am grateful for it.