Raidho

Raidho is the Rune of movement and travel.

Riding was the only way of travelling long distances during the time of the Germanic tribes and the Viking age. One couldn’t only ride a horse but also a ship of course and there are many kennings, circumlocutions that Viking poets were very fond of, that describe the ship as “the stallion of the waves”, etc. The concept of moving includes more though than just the act of leaving one place and arriving at another but it also refers to the journey itself as well as how one successfully completes it. One thing that becomes quite clear when looking at the Rune Poems is that moving is a very easy thing, as long as one only thinks about it while sitting comfortably at home. This points to a central aspect of the Germanic worldview and that is deed over thought. While there is a lot of discussion these days about intention, what mattered at the time were your deeds and the consequences of your actions. These consequences had to profit you and those close to you, so your family, clan and tribe, and if they did so it didn’t matter what methods you used. This sentiment is very well represented in the Raidho-Stanza of the Icelandic Rune Poem.

In personal practice, Raidho can be used to embark on a new journey. Starting something new costs a lot of energy, far more than to just continue on our current path, and Raidho can be very helpful in that regard. It is the spark that gets us moving but its energy is often used up rather quickly so it usually makes sense to combine it with a Rune like Uruz in order to keep the process going even after the first enthusiasm has worn off.