“Sacrifice.” That’s the “missing” Ingwaz rune to me. Not senseless sacrifice, though. It’s the sacrifice of the seed to the ground for the harvest later. It’s the sacrifice of the first born of the herd to assure the rest of the lambing season is prosperous. It is the sacrifice of something you have now, so you will have something (usually more) later.
So where did “antler crowned figure” come from? Well, there were these series of dreams see… (Stop rolling your eyes, you voluntarily followed me, you know.) Where I learned my particular (read: bastardized) interpretation of Ingwaz from a tall male figure who wore a mask of green [leaves] and bore a pair of grand antlers on his head. If those horns were headdress or firmly attached, I never was able to see.
There was a flurry of activity with that stoic gent, and then business was concluded and I went on to the next rune and the next set of adventures. As an aside, this is also where I was introduced to Esse, but not as the tall svartalf asshole I know him now, but as a squat and visually nonthreatening dverg.
It has been years since I last saw that antler crowned figure. But the season of the year, my release from Esse’s “influence”, and Odin’s directive is giving me an push to seek him out again.
But this time, I have no reason to enter his grove and nothing that I can offer in sacrifice for his attention.
Alright, Old Man, you’re up to some shit and I just haven’t figured it out yet.