Ior Rune
(From the Anglo-Saxon runes variation)
By Oscar Porras – fennix.assenir@gmail.com – ig @oscar.fennix
The Runes have many variants, in addition to the traditional Germanic Futhark that we know. Thus there are the Scandinavian, Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon Runes, among other variations. In this article I will talk briefly about one of the Anglo-Saxon runes, the Ior rune.
Ior is one of the Runes found exclusively in the Anglo-Saxon variant of the runic alphabet (or FuthOrc, as this Anglo-Saxon variant is known, as opposed to the traditional Germanic Futhark). We will not find it in the traditional futhark, it is only from the Anglo-Saxon set of runes.
Ior Rune tells us about a creature that lives both in water and on land, that makes its life in water, but feeds on land. Some authors identify Ior with the beaver, other authors with the serpent, and yet another associate it with Jormungand, the gigantic serpent that surrounds Midgard.
But these are interpretations and assumptions of each author, since Ior does not indicate which animal it refers to exactly, its literal meaning is "land fish", and the poem describes this creature as an amphibian animal, which lives in water but goes to earth to look for food.
The poem also describes that this creature lives in rivers, in fresh waters, and that it has a burrow surrounded by water, which is its home. This certainly evokes the image of a beaver, and in my personal point of view the image of the rune actually suggests to me the shape of an animal with four legs and a tail, quite different from what a snake would be.
But whichever animal our mind identifies Ior with, the fact is that it is a creature that can move from water to land and vice versa, and that performs with equal skill in both worlds. A being that can live without problem in two totally different environments. A being that ADAPTS perfectly, and that also has FREE TRANSIT between one world and another.
This brings us to the main meaning of this rune, which is ADAPTATION. The ability to adapt to different environments and circumstances, with the challenges they have for us.
This meaning of adaptation is held even by those who associate Ior with the figure of Jormungand, the Midgard serpent. The point of view of those who see Jormungand in Ior is extremely interesting. They, in addition to associating the rune with this gigantic serpent, consequently see in it a correspondence with Loki. This is because Jormungand is a creature whose movements cause tidal waves, earthquakes, and is even capable of destabilizing the world and its structure. Ior illustrates the behavior in front of the problems that we cannot solve, the ADAPTATION before those changes that we cannot avoid, and the ability to get the most out of them, even when these circumstances are difficult to overcome. That is, to develop resilience.
This vision of Ior as a representation of Jormungand and extensively of Loki, also illustrates the "change of skin", to learn to transform ourselves, to change our own nature and learn to move freely between dualities. Very typical Loki attributes, certainly.
How can we ritually use Ior and its energy? We can use it as a talisman in itself or as part of bindrunes to:
- Go calmly through difficult times of change in life, and manage to see and take advantage of the opportunities in them.
- Increase our ability to adapt to the new, to the different. So, for example, if we suddenly are in the middle of a country with a totally different culture, language and idiosyncrasies than ours, Ior will help us to adapt quickly to this new environment. Or if, at a certain moment, we feel that technology surpasses us and with it many paradigms or ways of doing things change, Ior will also help us not only to adapt to that new reality, but to find the opportunity in it, to “find food" in that “new environment”. Or if we are in countries that still maintain very strict quarantine measures and it is very difficult for us to adapt to work from home, Ior will also help us in this regard, and to see its benefits. This to give just a few practical examples.
- When for whatever reason we need to live "between two worlds"
- Transform ourselves or our own nature
- Promote "free transit" between the worlds, in cases where we practice astral travel, mediumship or seidr practices. For everything that involves moving easily and freely between worlds or dimensions, and finding in them what we are looking for.