Berkana · Berkana
Tyr's Aett · No. 18 · Sound B
Form after Guus Kroonen, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (2013). The asterisk marks a linguistic reconstruction — no recording of Proto-Germanic exists. The IPA follows Ringe's (2006) sound system; the audio is a synthesised approximation. Trust the IPA over the audio.
Birch tree, birth
A stave with two stacked curves — a mother's breasts, or two birch leaves. Birch is the first tree to return after the ice retreats: life re-entering ground that was empty.
A new beginning that needs gentle tending — a project, a relationship, or a literal pregnancy. What has just been born is fragile: do not rush it or expose it to criticism yet. Shelter it until it is strong enough.
Stalled growth, family trouble, or nurture that has become control. It can mean a project going nowhere, domestic anxiety, or neglect of your own care.
Tend what has just begun. Do not hurry it into being.
Birch is the first tree to recolonise ground after ice retreats. Its bark is waterproof and writable, and in Scandinavia it was used for roofing, containers and shoes. The Icelandic poem describes it modestly as merely a little tree.
BjarkanBirch — leafy twig and little tree and fresh young shrub.
Icelandic Rune Poem — oldest manuscript c. 1500 (AM 687 d 4°). Reproduced verbatim from Dickins (1915)