Alternative Names
Anglo-Friesian/Germanic: Jera
Norse (Viking): Ar
Old English: Ger
Other Names/Spellings: Gaar, Jara, Jer, Jeran, Yer

Pronunciation: Year-ah

English Letter Equivalent
J as in jam Y as in yap

Translation
Year. Harvest

Meaning
Harvest. The agricultural year. Fertility, fruition.

Characteristics
Success in endeavours, fruition of plans. Good spirits. Just rewards for past efforts. Inventiveness, talent or skill. Great reward to those who work with their hands or on the land.

Jera as Rune No. 12 represents the 12 months of the year. It implies fruitfulness, profit or achievement of a goal. It also means the cycle of seasons implying movement, change, natural development. .It is usually very positive, but as a symbol of cause-and-effect it may portend the end-result of past actions. Jera may therefore represent justice, which can be positive or negative, a reward or a punishment.

Personal Interpretation
This is a time of reaping rewards from seeds sown in the past. It is a time of plenty, of joy and celebration. But it is also a time to work with no time for complacency. The harvest is followed by winter so you should make sure you have stored enough wisdom to face your next challenge. This is another turning point in life, not a goal. There are greater harvests ahead, but like the farmer, you must prepare the land, sow the seed, tend the seedlings and feed the fruit.

Reverse
Jera has no reverse.

Converse
Success or reward must be rooted out. You have latent talents or abilities which must be discovered.

Runic Number: 12

Color:  Light Blue

Element: Earth

Polarity: Male and Female

Associated gods: Frey, Freyja

Astrological Correspondence: The Sun
 

Tarot Talk by Leila Vey I don't normally say someone is wrong, because so much rides on personal insight, interpretation and experience. However, I get a big red "X" flashing in front of my eyes when I see Jera associated with the Fool on many Tarot sites. The Fool is an innocent with a clean slate, about to embark on a journey - destination unknown. It stands for potential, blitheness, trust and risk. Jera, on the other hand is a rune of fruition, a result of seasons of labor, reaping what one sows, etc. This idea of reaping rewards from seeds sown can be used to argue a link with Justice, but I personally feel Jera is best associated with Judgement. Jera means “year,” or “harvest.” Its presence on the Judgement card reinforces the idea that we reap what we sow. Karma, the natural and impartial law of cause and effect, serves as the highest court of judgement, and we inevitably reap its rewards, whether they are positive or negative. With the end of the harvest, or reckoning, comes a new “year,” or beginning, so this is not the fulfilment of a goal so much as a turning point, or start of a new cycle. visit Leila's site at http://tarot.leila.ca

The Rune Poem: Verse XII Jera
Harvest is the hope of men, then the gods,
Heaven's holy Kings,
Allows the earth to yield
To prince and pauper, glorious fruits.
 

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