Jera 12th Rune of the Elder Futhark & 4th in Heimdall's Aett :jeran:

[Susurrus]

Rune Name: Jera

Image Source Credit - Vasyl Lavrishchev

Germanic Name: Jera (good) year, harvest
Phonetic Value: Y as in Year
Pronunciation: YARE-ah
Translation: Year
Modern English: Year

Rune Number: Rune 12 of the Elder Futhark & 4th Rune of Heimdall’s Aett

Polarity: Signifies union of Masculine & Feminine
Color Association(s): Light Blue
Elemental Association(s): Air, Earth, Fire, Water

Deity Association(s): Freya

Herbal Association(s): Rosemary
Tree Association(s): Oak

Astrological Association(s): Earth
Month/Days: December 13 – December 28

Chakras: Heart , Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus
Tarot Card(s): Justice , The Sun , The World , Queen of Pentacles , King of Pentacles

Magickal Uses: Bringing desired events, family, matters, growth & increase, facilitates harmonious relationships to time & seasons. Can help manifest your goals.

Overall Meanings/Keyword(s): Year, Life Cycle, Prosperity, Accomplishment, Cycles, Rewards, Peace, Orbit, Dawn to Dusk (meeting point of Day & Night), Everything Changes in Its Own Time. Make the most of the present & enjoy every moment of your life.

Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Flesh, Breath, Kindling, River. I offer myself to the cultivation & sustenance of the eternal hearth. No belly, no heart, no soul is left without or behind…

The reward we’re given for effort & work well spent & by working hard. We help keep the Great Wheel of the Universe moving.

Rune of the year speaks to work well done & harvest from the hard work. Cause & effect. What goes around, comes around, you reap what you sow.

If you have been dealing with adversity Jera is a positive sign that things are moving forward & getting better. Reaping rewards for hard work & perseverance.

Advised to acknowledge that any adversity you are or have been experiencing will ultimately contribute to your growth you are who you are because of the lessons life taught you.

Brightstave/Upright: cyclical aspect of nature, the great wheel of the year. The natural cycle yields good fruits.

Rewards for the right action. Plenty & good harvest can be expected. Recipient of the generosity of another. Experience organic/material manifestations of your actions. Have the patience to act at the proper time.

Reward, Plenty, Peace, Proper Timing

Edit Merkstave/Reversed is for those that happen to read all runes with a Merkstave/Reversed meaning which means that they are pulled sideways instead of upright. However, Jera is not traditionally read in reverse.

Merkstave/Reversed: Enslavement to cyclical patterns. Unable to get beyond repetitious behavior. Inappropriate timing or actions lead to negative results. Failure & poverty from wrong work. A block of the year rune causes an inability to use cyclical, natural patterns. Ignorance of the ways of nature may lead to conflict with the self & with others as you attempt to compensate.

Repetition, Bad Timing, Poverty, Conflict

Meditation: Jera Guided Meditation - Magin Rose

Sources:

• Chamberlain, Lisa. Runes for Beginners: A Guide to Reading Runes in Divination, Rune Magic, and the Meaning of the Elder Futhark Runes . Chamberlain Publications, 2018.

• Kristina, Jillian. “Wild Runes Deck - Tamed Wild.” Nashville Metropolitan Area, Nashville, 2020. Wild Runes Deck – Tamed Wild

• Simonds, Josh. The Beginner’s Guide to Runes: Divination and Magic with the Elder Futhark Runes . Rockridge Press, 2020.

• Thorsson, Edred. Big Book of Runes and Rune Magic: A Complete Guide to Interpreting Runes, Rune Lore, and the Art of Runecasting . Red Wheel/Weiser, 2018.

[Amethyst]

Question for you, my dear. How do you tell if this one is reversed? Wouldn’t it look the same either way?

[Susurrus]

So some people read all runes with a Murkstave/Reversed, which actually means that when you drew it, the rune was either sideways or upside down in other cases. There is 1 rune Dagaz that most of the time Brightstave/Upright is the rune sideways & Merkstave/Reversed is up & down.

Other people read such runes as not having a Merkstave/Reversed meaning because either way that you hold the rune up & down the figure is the same.

I added Merkstave to all of the runes in case there were people that read them sideways as Merkstave. I only read Merkstave if there is an associated Merkstave meaning.

[BryWisteria]

There are so many great things about this rune- it was a delight to learn about Jera (I just need to stop saying JER-ah and retrain myself to say YARE-ah. The pronunciation notes you include are very much appreciated! )

I think it is really interesting to have a rune that symbolizes a complete cycle/full year on its own. I can imagine it is something very helpful in readings when looking for time ranges

Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom, @Susurrus!

[Amethyst]

Sideways! I should have thought of that. Then again when I drew my runes I drew a line so I wouldn’t draw them sideways. I’ll have to read into this some more when I’ve got time. Thanks for answering!

[Susurrus]

@Amethyst I will do a short post about the Brightstave/Merkstave (Upright/Reversed) & kind of make a list of the ones that are traditionally read without a Merkstave, I’ll let you know when I have it posted.

[Amethyst]

Thank you! I’ll keep an eye out!

[Susurrus]

No need! I’ll tag you first! Or send you the link. It will be a surprise!

[Amethyst]

Thank you! I like surprises!

[Susurrus]

@Amethyst these are the Runes with traditionally no reverse meaning:

Gebo
Hagalaz
Isa
Jera
Sowilo
Dagaz

I’m going to make a regular post to add to the Runes Information Post for everyone, but I wanted you to know that I did look into it & found all of the ones with no reverse. I couldn’t remember them all.

[Amethyst]

Cool, thank you so much! I’m gonna have to get into runes now that I’ve finished my tarot poems. In a month or two maybe. LOL!

[Susurrus]

I’ll have it added by then… hopefully

[Amethyst]

HEE! No rush my dear! It’s all good!

[crystal5]

Thank you for this resource! I have been drawing a rune each day and was looking for a resource to help me decide what message the rune had for my day. Your post helped. Now, I need to know how to make the most of my day.