The runes, they guide me well today

It's amazing how calming an accurate divination can be. I was stressed about an upcoming vacation, plans with friends, my etsy store, and 42 million other things that were pulling me in a million directions and had me running around like a crazy person. Then I stalked out to my altar and pulled runes, asking "What do I need to focus on today?"

The result:
Nauthiz: rune of constraint, necessity, hardship
Gebo: rune of partnership, gifts
Thurisaz: run of conflict, challenge, self discipline

My interpretation:
While it's not a cheery bunch of runes, it does help me to focus. Nauthiz and Thurisaz tell me that I need to eliminate the things that are not necessary right this minute, no matter how tempting, and focus on what must be done. I'm not quite sure what Gebo is telling me in this context. Possibly, it is just reminding me that if I want to get anything out of a situation/opportunity, I must first put an equal amount into it.

Although it's not an upbeat reading, it is certainly what I needed to hear, because I'm feeling much more focused and calm. Has anybody else had a similar experience with divination?

Creativity Altar

I mentioned in my last post that the first condition which was placed on me for getting some spirit help with my writing was that I redo my creativity altar. I originally set this up a couple of years ago on the top shelf of the tower that holds my computer, but I dismantled it in favor of Yule decorations. Once Yule was over (and I finally decided to take down the decorations -- they were pretty!), the space ended up covered in random tidbits before I could set the altar up again.

Well, over the week-end I finally got it set up again! The figurine (which I probably should have dusted) represents my creative spirit. See how she's holding a book and dressed partially in flower petals? The sunflowers -- one fake and one dried -- are there because I have always found sunflowers to be magnificent expressions of joy and the creative spirit. The lavender plaque contains a hilariously bad invocation of the muse which I created, and the quartz point is there because it seemed to belong there.

I would like to use a tea light powered oil diffuser instead of the candle, but this will do until I find one which is suitable. If I find a diffuser with a bear theme, that would be ideal, but I want to stay open to whatever the universe sees fit to send my way.