BIRCH TREE / BIRTH · TYR'S AETT · EARTH

Berkano

Berkano, Birch Tree / Birth

Sound: BBER-kah-noeProto-Germanic: *berkanan

  • growth
  • fertility
  • new beginning

General

Like the birch that is first to turn green after winter, a fresh beginning is sprouting in your life. It may be an actual birth, or the birth of an idea, a relationship or a new you. Whatever you approach with tenderness will grow now.

Love

A fresh page is opening in your relationship — this may be news of a pregnancy or birth, or the relationship itself moving into a new stage of maturity. Your love is turning protective and nurturing.

Career

A project you have just conceived is starting to sprout. This is a time of revival after stagnation in your career — patiently watering a small seed will, in time, grow it into a great tree.

  • stunted growth
  • family crisis
  • anxiety

General

A process of growth may have stalled unexpectedly. A crisis in the family, or an emotional area you have long neglected, is asking for attention. The anxiety may be the neglected part raising its voice.

Love

A cooling in your relationship or unexpected arguments in the family may come up. A new step you were planning to take may run into obstacles. Patience and tenderness are the key to getting through this time.

Career

A project or strategy you planned to grow may not deliver the results you expected. This is not a failure but a call to change direction — the right time to review your plan.

Practical Tip

Associated with tenderness and fertility; seeing it often in your readings can also be read as a sign that it is time to let your heart soften again.

Rune Poem

In the Old English poem the birch, though it bears no seed, puts out shoots; its branches are fair and its leaves reach the sky.

History and Myth

Linked to birth, to growth and to images of protective motherhood.

Inner Life

Renewal; nourishing yourself with care.

Shadow Side

Smothering others with too much protection.

MODERN INTERPRETATION

Harmony and Tension

Grows in balance with Tiwaz; lives through a hard time with Hagalaz.

MODERN INTERPRETATION

In Talismans

Used in talismans for new beginnings, family and renewal.

QUESTION FOR THE DAY

What do I need to nourish for a fresh start?