Runes For All

Kenaz is about the fire that consumes one, bringing transformation of the self, bringing you to new consciousness. In that this is the case the deity most associated with Kenaz is Gullveig who was thrice burned. This should come as no surprise.  

When one encounters Kenaz often it is not obvious at first, because we are not always very conscious of ourselves a very real sense, we simply define ourselves by how we experience the world around us and this becomes what life is all about. Sad to say, it is reaction rather than action.  Because of this, even those individuals who make the statement that they take personal responsibility for their actions are actually taking responsibility for their reactions.  Kenaz forces us to look at this truth and inspires us to take actual conscious action(s) sometimes for the first time in our life whether that is as an adult or as a teen. If we are lucky we deal with this process well, if not we get bitten by the flames so to speak.  

Because of this, it is often true that those individuals who are conscious of their own worth, who carry the ability to determine their relationship with the world act as beacons to those around them, lighting the way for other individuals who are just 'getting by' as it were. This can cause incidents of jealousy, or even complete clashes between folks where one has to be extricated from the situation. It is not always on a conscious level as that comfort zones are being crossed, many times on both sides. In my opinion this is the secret of what happened between Gullveig and the AEsir.  The AEsir had a certain determination of what an individual's value was so to speak, and then in walked Gullveig, strong in Her own belief of what Her worth was among her own people who defined worth in a completely different manner. The two belief structures were at complete odds and Gullveig was the focus; Thus She had to be eradicated. Yet so strong was She in knowledge of Herself that She could not be overcome.  Kenaz is the ever burning torch, it is all consuming inspiration.  

Once the AEsir and the Vanir declared a truce and exchanged hostages, no longer were They strangers to each other; They knew and absorbed some of the values from each tribe. Thus a kind of symbiosis occurred and transformation was the result.