Jera
Jera, the 12th rune of the Elder Futhark, brings us to the midpoint of the runic series. Like most of the rune names, Jera is a reconstruction from Proto-Germanic, generally understood to mean year, season, or harvest. Its early Elder Futhark form is also unusual: Jera is the only rune in the row whose two elements do not touch, although later variants connected them. Jera is also present in all three rune poems. From The Rune-Gild's entry on Jera:
Old English Rune Poem:
Summer is called joyful, when God lets,
Holy heaven’s king – shining fruits
Be born from earth for rich and poor.
Old Norwegian Rune Poem:
Harvest is a blessing to men;
I say that Frodhi was liberal.
Old Icelandic Rune Poem:
Harvest is blessing to men
and good summer
and fully ripe crops.
Each poem focuses on the seasonality of the rune. Summer and harvest-time were, in an agricultural society, the time of year when hard work was rewarded, when, quite literally, people would reap what they had sown in the best way. This association with harvest is likely the basis for the rune's association with reward and riches as well.
While the poems focus on harvest, the cyclical nature of a harvest connects it back to Jera's other root, year. A harvest doesn't just poof into a field at the end of summer. It is the result of significant planning, investment, and effort spanning the whole year from last year's harvest onward.
Those themes - reaping what you've earned, working toward a reward - translate well into a more modern, more urban context. The majority of us may not live our lives inextricably linked to the land and the seasons, but we can and do understand cycles of living, investing in ourselves, our relationships, and our futures to gain a future reward. We can understand and relate well to Jera today even if our harvest isn't a crop in the field.
Jera, in its bright context, reflects that virtuous cycle and its just reward coming due. It is the new college graduate who worked their way through school. It is the couple who saved up enough to buy their first home. It is the joy of success well earned.
Unlike some runes, Jera's murk context is a negation of its bright context. Jera's shadow is the spendthrift who doesn't understand why they are always broke. It is the person who hates the rut they're stuck in but never makes the effort to change it. It is the person who buys lottery tickets to change their fate. Jera's murk is the field left unplanted, or the crops left unharvested. Jer's murk is also the failed harvest. As the rune poems allude to above, a good harvest is not only due to a farmer's hard work, but good fortune as well.
When I encounter Jera in a reading, I take it as an opportunity to take stock of where I am. I ask: what am I working for? And when do I expect that harvest to come due? If I struggle to answer those questions, then Jera may indicate a need to start planting seeds for the future. As with most readings, I also give extra weight to runes in the same aett as Jera if they appear in a reading: Hagalaz, Nauthiz, Isa, Eihwaz, Pertho, Algiz, and Sowilo. Within my reading practice, I also give extra weight to the runes in the same position on the first and third aettir, Ansuz and Mannaz. These relationships can help cast light on Jera's potential harvest. Ansuz's inspirational aspect may indicate that something new is needed for Jera's efforts to succeed. Mannaz's focus on structure and order may highlight a need to structure Jera's investments for the future reward.
Jera is a rune that indicates it is time to harvest. It's on the reader to know what has been planted, where they are in the cycle, and whether that has come to fruition.
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