Sowelu, the Rune of Wholeness

Sowelu is the final of the runes of the Elder Futhark. After traveling through the entire set of Runes we come to Sowelu – Wholeness. Sowelu is the wholeness to which we all belong and are connected. Sowelu is finding wholeness and completeness within whom we are and how we interact with others. Sowelu is the Sun in it’s most magnificent and beneficent guises. Sowelu is the harvest from the fields stored and ready to carry through the dark of winter’s night. Sowelu is achievement. Sowelu is celebration. Sowelu means having what we need when we need it – even if we can’t see the truth of that in the current moment.

Sowelu’s wholeness can also be the wholeness found in a happy and appropriate relationship. Sowelu indicates that your personal regenerative powers will allow for you to continue to grow even after you have achieved wholeness. It is once you have achieved wholeness for the self that you can truly participate as an equal partner in a romantic relationship. For, as it is often said, we must learn to love ourselves before we can turn the internal light of self-love out to the world. Loving ourselves allows us to choose those relationships that are healthy and nurturing for us and our partner.

Sowelu speaks of basking in the glory of the sun’s rays. The spiritual warrior has achieved his center. His final arrow has been released and he now knows the inner workings of his own character. Through this position of wholeness a new, stronger, more solid, and higher foundation is created.

Although Sowelu speaks of completion and wholeness, he also challenges you to remember that life never stands still. Regardless of the dictates of man, the earth revolves, the moon smiles down on us as she goes through her phases; together earth and moon along with the other planets and moons revolving around the sun; our solar system is part of a huge galaxy called the Milky Way that is believed to circle like a pinwheel around a structure called a “super-massive black hole.” “As above, so below” was an oft used phrase to describe this string of similarities from the smallest forms of life into the unknowns of the universe, it seems when we find differences in life we find even more similarities.

Sowelu is strongly aligned with the Sun’s Energy. The sun’s energy is anything but passive. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a European Space Agency satellite launched by NASA in December 1995. It has been quietly revolutionizing knowledge about our sun’s mechanics. SOHO has shown us that the surface of the sun is a roiling mass, shooting out ejecta, coronas, and arcs. Never the same, it is always changing, burning, roiling – the solar winds have serious impact on our small planet. But without the solar winds and ejections we wouldn’t know the glory of the northern (or southern) lights! The sun’s energy warms the wrinkled face of the old woman in her chair as well as the smooth skin of the new born babe. Sowelu beckons you to recreate yourself from the crone to the babe, ready for a new life journey.

Sowelu – Wholeness

Aett: Sowelu, the last of the marked runes is a member of Hagal’s Aett.

Key Word(s): Sowelu – the Sun, wholeness, completeness, personal life force, the growing energy of the sun.

Element: Sowelu calls us to the higher parts of our existence, to reach for the sun (it is the closest star, after all), and expand our life force for a new path soon to be chosen.

Again, The Sun. In all it’s aspects, Sowelu operates under the guises of the Sun. Sowelu allows you to accept the new you with an open heart and mind. Allow your new light to shine and combine with others to reflect the warming growth of the sun within your lives and relationships.

Tarot Link: Predictably redundant, The Sun is the Tarot card most closely aligned with Sowelu.

Color: White – the brightest of lights.

Polarity: The sun shines down upon us. Sowelu is a masculine or male polarity rune.

Healing Property: With its strong association with the sun, Sowelu is believed to be beneficial when working with burns or skin problems.

Modern Letter Counterpart: Sowelu is aligned with one of the most used letters of the alphabet – S.

Special Runic Associations: Sowelu is the last of the love runes. When Sowelu appears in regard to a relationship issue pay close attention to the message. Although it cannot totally negate the meanings of other runes around it in a casting, Sowelu does much to either shine light on issues you need to look at or mitigates some of the more negative aspects of the runes close to it.