Sowilo

“The guide leads you to the doorway, then waits for your return.”

Sowilo – “So-iölo” – Literally: “Sun” (Sol) – Esoteric: wholeness, success

Rune of guidance, goal setting and success.

*Sowilō or *sæwelō is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic language name of the s-rune, meaning "sun". The name is attested for the same rune in all three Rune Poems. It appears as Old Norse sól, Old English sigel, and Gothic sugil.

Rune Poem:	English Translation:
Old Norwegian ᛋ Sól er landa ljóme; lúti ek helgum dóme.	Sun is the light of the world; I bow to the divine decree.
Old Icelandic ᛋ Sól er skýja skjöldr ok skínandi röðull ok ísa aldrtregi. rota siklingr.	Sun is the shield of the clouds and shining ray and destroyer of ice.
Anglo-Saxon ᛋ Sigel semannum symble biþ on hihte, ðonne hi hine feriaþ ofer fisces beþ, oþ hi brimhengest bringeþ to lande.	The sun is ever a joy in the hopes of seafarers when they journey away over the fishes' bath, until the courser of the deep bears them to land.

Runic Number: 16

Meaning: Wholeness. Energy. Light. Disclosure. Discovery. Victory.

Translation: The Sun

Gemstone: Ruby

Color: White

Polarity: Male

Element: Air

Gods: Baldur

Astrology correspondence: The Sun

Tree: Juniper

Plant: Mistletoe

Psi: central nervous system, seat of the soul, revelation, wholeness

Energy: sun-wheel, strengthening the hvel/charka, cosmic energies, motivation, life-giving force, action

Mundane: sunlight, fire, meeting of goals, confidence, taking action

Divinations: Guidance, hope, success, goals, honor, life purpose, faith in outcomes; or false goals, bad advice, false success, gullibility, loss of goals.

Governs:

Transmutation of thought into energy for action

Activating highest values

Strengthening of psychic centers (hvel aka Chakras)

Increase in spiritual will and optimal health

Guidance through the pathways, “enlightenment”

Victory and success through individual will

It is the rune of the sun. It is the counter-force to cosmic ice in the rune Isa. Sowilo represents the force of fire in the physical and mental world. It promotes invigoration, dedication, optimism and persistence in any endeavor. It will ward against the harmful opinions of others to keep the heart focused on its purpose.

The hvel (Old Norse term equivalent to the Sanskrit word chakra) are the spinning energy wheels in your body. They look like miniature suns to the psychic eye. By increasing the capacity of the hvel to handle greater flow of megin energy leads to optimum health levels and advanced psychic capabilities.

The ancient mystics were intuitively aware that the sun provides this planetary system and its life forms with many diverse cosmic energies necessary for the evolution of the life force, and indeed, it is the power of the sun (and stars) that encompasses the dynamic energies inherent in all things within its system, as once it was all being forced within its unfathomably hot furnace. Sowilo exposes matters to the clear light of day and strikes suddenly like lightning in a controlled and centered burst of overwhelming, massive action.

Sowilo contains the ancient code of honour. These are the common sense guidelines and morality that hold a society together beyond the letter of the law and holds the individual to ‘do the right thing’. Sowilo is also the rune of success and victory, and is therefor associated with the next rune in the order, Tiwaz. It gives us the power to win and connects us with revelations concerning our life’s purpose, and insight into actions that will guide us in our endeavors. The science of Neuro-Linguistic Programming has a lot to offer in terms of insight and mastery of this rune, as does the psychological study of success.