Berkana

This rune, as with most runes can be read either upright or reversed.

Berkana is associated with a transformation made by individual decision for a positive natured future and formation of resolve within what we can call self-opinion.

What do you think of yourself? In what areas are you strong? In what areas do you need work?

A process of self-evaluation and this always involves honesty with your-self. It sounds a great deal easier than it actually is, to do. Being honest with your-self.

I'll leave this for personal consideration and contemplation. The self-evaluation of what your own qualities are. 

As well as qualities that you may not have spent much time or have been uncomfortable indeveloping.

Compassion, patience, fairness, humility, concern for others, caring and generosity.

I use concern for others here. To consider that if there isn't fruit on your own tree it'll be impossible to feed anyone else.

The indications given, by this rune, are for one to clear away inner-personal negative influences and re-adjust your thinking nature of who you are through the self-evaluating

process. 

When I was a Scientologist they advised strongly against this process known as "why finding" and that it's a dangerous thing to self evaluate for several reasons.

They advise that it's better to seek out a mentor, auditor or expert to create a list of areas of needed self-development.

I only mention this here because of the fact that Berkana also holds this advice.

There is a certain degree of caution. Mainly because we tend to be biased when it comes to self-criticism.

It might help to consider that there's a difference in asking advice from everyone you're acquainted with or from actually working with a trained professional.

In the overall scheme of the relationships that have already been addressed on this card have given a similar thought formation to the way Berkana addresses the nature of the

being seeking advice. When you consider, once again, the vast multitude of aspects that are within the nature of any single individual.

But here it's a more focused relation in dealing not only with noticing what could be fine tuned with your personal nature but also becoming aware of what could be blocking

that fine tuning process. What's getting in the way?

It involves a careful look into your own personal behavior patterns and also the reasons that you feels that your actions, thoughts and feelings are right and true.

Are justified or, on the other hand, just seem ridiculous, even to yourself.

If there's something that needs to change, then what'll it actually take for that change to occur? What can I improve on? Rather than, What is wrong with me?

It's not a bad idea to write a list of the qualities and strong points that you consider of your behavior and also make a list of the weaker points in your thought patterns.

Be honest and show the list to no one else to criticize. It is for you to consider.

If you do actually make a list it can end up as a very long list. It can be sectioned in categories like never, sometimes, hardly ever, mostly and always.

Then you place behaviors under those columns. Like, clever, angry, smart, frustrated, peaceful, focused, scattered, tense, calm, pissed off,

nervous, loving, paranoid, horny, happy, sad, dense, compassionate, uncaring, stoned, drunk, sober, self conscious, agreeable, dis-agreeable, and so forth.

Once you have this list and you think you've covered pretty much every aspect you can think of then look at it. 

This is your opinion of yourself.

What's called the Mirror of the Soul.

For now it's good enough but a more advanced work is done with this list later on down the path by listing the elements that are more closely associated to each item.