Separation, Retreat Inheritance

Now is a time of separating paths. Old skins must be shed, outmoded relationships discarded. When this Rune appears in a spread, a peeling away is called for. Included in the Cycle of Initiation, OTHILA  is a rune of radical severance.

The proper action here is submission and, quite probably, retreat---knowing how and when to retreat and possessing the firmness of will to carry it out. Real property is associated with OTHILA, for it is the Rune of acquisition and benefits. However, the benefits you receive, the "inheritance", may be derived from something you must give up.   Such a surrender can be particularly difficult when that which you are called to give up or abandon is an aspect of your behaviour, or some part of your cultural inheritance.  For then you must look closely at what, until now, you have proudly claimed as your birthright   Whether it is your attachment to your position in society, to the work you do or even to your beliefs about your own nature, the separation called for now will free you to become more truly who you are.

  REVERSED: This is not a time to be bound by old conditioning, old authority.  Consider not only what will benefit you but what will benefit others, and act according to the light you possess now in your life.  Because you may be called upon to undertake a radical departure from old ways, total honesty is required. Otherwise through negligence or refusal to see clearly, you may cause pain to others and damage to yourself. Adaptability and skillful means are the methods to cultivate at this time.  Yet you must wait for the universe to act. Upon receiving this rune, remember: We do without doing and everything gets done.

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