Berkano Rune in Practice: Birth, Growth & Nurturing

BY NICOLE LAU

Introduction: The Great Mother's Embrace

Berkano (ᛒ) is the rune of birth, growth, and the nurturing feminine. This practical guide provides hands-on techniques to work with Berkano's power to create new beginnings, support gentle growth, enhance fertility, and heal through nurturing. Whether you're starting new projects, seeking to conceive, nurturing relationships, or healing gently, these practices will help you embody the Great Mother's loving energy.

Daily Berkano Practices

Morning Nurturing Activation

Begin your day with Berkano's gentle energy:

1. Stand or sit with hands over your heart and womb/sacral area
2. Trace Berkano (ᛒ) on your lower belly (womb center)
3. Visualize soft green-gold light filling your entire being
4. See yourself as the Great Mother—creating, nurturing, protecting
5. Speak aloud: "I am the mother. I create and nurture. I birth new beginnings. I grow gently and patiently. I am fertile and abundant."
6. Feel the nurturing power flowing through you

Duration: 3-5 minutes
Best for: Daily nurturing energy, feminine activation, gentle power

Growth Awareness Practice

Berkano teaches through gentle observation:

1. Throughout your day, notice what's growing around you
2. Plants, projects, relationships, ideas—all are growing
3. Ask: "What does this need from me to grow well?"
4. Provide gentle support—don't force, don't rush
5. Draw Berkano when you nurture something
6. Notice: growth happens naturally when properly nurtured

Duration: Ongoing awareness throughout the day
Best for: Learning to nurture, supporting natural growth, patience

Self-Nurturing Check-In

Quick practice for self-care:

1. Pause and place hands over your heart
2. Visualize Berkano glowing green-gold
3. Ask: "What do I need right now?"
4. Listen to your body, heart, spirit
5. Give yourself what you need—rest, food, comfort, love
6. This is Berkano—nurturing yourself as the mother would

Best for: Self-care, listening to needs, gentle healing

Berkano Meditation Practices

Great Mother Meditation (20 minutes)

Preparation:

• Sit comfortably, hands on womb/sacral area
• Have Berkano visible or drawn before you
• Optional: Hold rose quartz or moonstone
• Light green or pink candles

Practice:

1. Grounding (3 min): Breathe deeply. Feel your body. You are here, ready to nurture.
2. Becoming the Mother (5 min): Visualize yourself as the Great Mother—not your personal mother, but the archetypal Mother. You create. You nurture. You protect. You love unconditionally.
3. The Womb of Creation (7 min): Feel your womb (physical or energetic) as the sacred space of creation. What are you birthing? A project, a relationship, a new self? Hold it in your womb with love.
4. Nurturing (3 min): Send nurturing energy to what you're creating. Gentle, patient, loving. No force—just support.
5. Integration (2 min): Return to normal awareness. The Mother remains within you. You can nurture anytime.

Best practiced: New Moon, Monday evenings, when starting new projects

Birch Tree Visualization

For new beginnings and growth:

Close your eyes and see yourself as a birch tree. You're the first to grow in spring—pioneer, brave, resilient. Your white bark glows. Your roots go deep into earth. Your branches reach to sky. You grow where nothing else can. You purify and renew. You are Berkano—the first, the mother, the nurturer. Feel this strength. You can begin anywhere. You can grow through anything.

Duration: 15 minutes
Best for: New beginnings, courage to start, pioneering spirit

Galdr: Berkano Rune Chanting

Basic Berkano Galdr

Chant: "Berkano, Berkano, Berkano" (pronounced BAIR-kah-no)
Repetitions: 9 times
Technique: Chant softly, gently, like a lullaby. Feel nurturing, mothering energy.

Extended Berkano Galdr

Chant: "Ber Ber Ber, Berkano Berkano Berkano, Berkaaano"
Purpose: The extended "Berkaa" creates a cradling, nurturing vibration
Use when: Nurturing projects, seeking fertility, gentle healing

Fertility Galdr Combination

For conception or creativity:

Chant: "Berkano-Ingwaz-Jera" (Birth-Fertility-Harvest)
Repetitions: 3 rounds of 3
Posture: Sit with hands on womb/sacral area

Galdr Tips for Berkano

• Chant gently, softly—this is not forceful energy
• Visualize soft green-gold light like spring growth
• Feel yourself becoming the nurturing mother
• Let the sound create gentle, loving energy
• End feeling nurtured and nurturing

Berkano Rituals & Ceremonies

New Moon Birth Ritual

Timing: New Moon, Monday, spring
Duration: 60 minutes

Materials:

• Green and pink candles
• Rose quartz and moonstone crystals
• Birch branches or leaves
• Seeds (literal seeds to plant)
• Soil and small pot
• Rose petals
• Journal and pen

Ritual Steps:

1. Create nurturing space: Make your altar soft, gentle, beautiful—like a mother's embrace.
2. Light candles: Say: "I call upon Berkano, the Great Mother. I call upon Frigg, protector of children. I call upon the birch tree, first to grow. I birth new beginnings."
3. Charge crystals: Hold them and chant Berkano galdr 9 times.
4. Plant seeds: Literally plant seeds in soil. As you plant, state what you're birthing (project, relationship, new self, etc.).
5. Great Mother Meditation: Full practice. Become the mother.
6. Nurturing vow: Write in journal: "I vow to nurture [what you're birthing] with patience, love, and gentle care."
7. Seal the work: Trace Berkano on your womb. Say: "I am the mother. I have birthed. I will nurture. So it grows."
8. Close: Thank the powers. Tend your planted seeds daily—as they grow, so does your creation.

Follow-up: Water and care for your seeds daily. Watch them grow. This teaches Berkano's patience.

Fertility Enhancement Practice

For physical or creative fertility:

Materials:

• Rose quartz and carnelian
• Raspberry leaf tea
• Rose oil
• Pink or green cloth

Process:

1. During waxing moon, create a fertility altar
2. Place crystals on pink/green cloth
3. Draw Berkano on your lower belly with rose oil
4. Drink raspberry leaf tea while visualizing your womb glowing
5. Chant Berkano galdr 27 times (3x9)
6. Say: "My womb is fertile. I create easily. Life flows through me."
7. Sleep with crystals under your pillow
8. Repeat nightly during waxing moon
9. Trust the natural process—don't force

Note: This supports but doesn't replace medical care if needed.

Gentle Healing Bath

For nurturing yourself through healing:

Ingredients:

• Rose petals (love, nurturing)
• Chamomile (gentle healing)
• Milk or oat milk (nourishing)
• Rose quartz
• Pink or green candles

Method:

1. Draw a warm (not hot) bath
2. Add rose petals, chamomile, milk
3. Place rose quartz in bath
4. Light candles
5. Before entering, trace Berkano on the water 9 times
6. As you soak, visualize the Great Mother holding you
7. You are her child—she nurtures you completely
8. Let yourself be held, loved, healed
9. Soak for at least 20 minutes
10. Emerge feeling nurtured and renewed

Best timing: When you need gentle healing, self-care, mothering

Berkano Talisman & Amulet Crafting

Nurturing Amulet

Materials:

• Rose quartz or moonstone
• Green or pink paint
• Green cord

Creation Process:

1. Cleanse the stone with rose water and moonlight
2. On a Monday during new moon, paint Berkano on the stone
3. On the reverse, add a mother symbol (womb, tree, heart)
4. Hold the amulet and perform Berkano galdr 9 times
5. Sleep with it for 3 nights to bond
6. Wear it when you need nurturing or are nurturing others
7. Touch it and remember: you are the mother, gentle and strong

Recharging: Place in moonlight, especially new moon, or hold during Great Mother Meditation

Growth Journal

For tracking gentle development:

1. Get a beautiful journal dedicated to growth
2. Draw Berkano on the first page in green
3. Daily, record what's growing in your life
4. Note what you're nurturing and how
5. Weekly, review—notice the gentle progress
6. Monthly, celebrate growth—even small growth is growth
7. This trains you to see and support natural development

Berkano for Specific Situations

Starting New Projects

1. Use the New Moon Birth Ritual
2. Plant literal seeds as you start the project
3. Nurture both daily—seeds and project
4. Don't force—support natural development
5. Be patient—growth takes time
6. Trust Berkano's gentle process

Seeking to Conceive

1. Use the Fertility Enhancement Practice
2. Work with Berkano during waxing moon
3. Carry rose quartz and carnelian
4. Nurture your body gently—good food, rest, love
5. Trust your body's wisdom
6. Seek medical support if needed—Berkano supports, doesn't replace, care

Healing from Trauma

1. Use the Gentle Healing Bath regularly
2. Practice the Great Mother Meditation—let yourself be held
3. Be very gentle with yourself—no forcing healing
4. Seek professional help if needed
5. Remember: Berkano heals gently, over time
6. Trust the natural healing process

Berkano Affirmations

Speak these while visualizing or tracing Berkano:

• "I am the Great Mother"
• "I create and nurture"
• "I birth new beginnings"
• "I grow gently and patiently"
• "I am fertile and creative"
• "I nurture myself and others"
• "I trust natural growth"
• "I am gentle and strong"

Berkano Journaling Prompts

Deepen your relationship with Berkano through reflection:

• What am I birthing or creating right now?
• What needs my nurturing care?
• How can I be more gentle with myself?
• What's growing in my life?
• How do I nurture others? How do I nurture myself?
• What does the Great Mother mean to me?
• Where do I need to be more patient with growth?

Berkano Rune Combinations

Combine Berkano with other runes for specific goals:

• Fertility & Creation: Berkano + Ingwaz + Jera (birth + seed + harvest)
• Gentle Healing: Berkano + Laguz + Sowilo (nurture + flow + vitality)
• New Beginnings: Berkano + Dagaz + Wunjo (birth + breakthrough + joy)
• Protected Growth: Berkano + Algiz + Eihwaz (nurture + protection + growth)
• Creative Projects: Berkano + Kenaz + Ansuz (birth + creativity + inspiration)
• Motherhood: Berkano + Gebo + Wunjo (nurture + love + joy)

Working with Berkano's Shadow

When Berkano Energy Becomes Imbalanced

Berkano's shadow manifests as:

• Smothering—over-nurturing, not letting things grow independently
• Neglect—not nurturing what needs care
• Codependency—nurturing others while ignoring self
• Forcing growth—impatience with natural timing
• Clinging—not letting go when it's time

Balancing Practice: Remember that Berkano nurtures but doesn't control. Good mothers let children grow and eventually leave. Balance nurturing with allowing independence.

When Growth Seems Blocked

If nothing seems to be growing:

• Check: are you actually nurturing, or just wishing?
• Ensure proper conditions—seeds need soil, water, light
• Be patient—growth happens in its own time
• Trust the process—sometimes growth happens underground first
• Work with Berkano + Jera (nurture + right timing)

Troubleshooting Your Berkano Practice

"I don't feel nurturing"

• Start by nurturing yourself—you can't pour from empty cup
• Use the Gentle Healing Bath regularly
• Practice the Great Mother Meditation—connect with archetypal mother
• Start small—nurture a plant, then build from there
• Remember: nurturing is learned, not innate

"My project/creation isn't growing"

• Are you providing what it needs? (Like seeds need water, light, soil)
• Are you being patient? Growth takes time
• Are you forcing? Berkano is gentle—don't push
• Check timing—is it the right season for this growth?
• Trust: if you're nurturing properly, growth will come

"I'm exhausted from nurturing others"

• You're in Berkano's shadow—nurturing others while neglecting self
• Use the Self-Nurturing Check-In daily
• Set boundaries—you can't nurture everyone all the time
• Remember: even mothers need mothering
• Balance Berkano with self-care runes (Sowilo, Wunjo)

Integration: Living Berkano Daily

The most powerful Berkano practice is gentle, consistent nurturing:

• Nurture something every day—plant, project, person, self
• Be gentle with yourself and others
• Trust natural growth—don't force
• Honor the feminine—receptive, creative, nurturing
• Create beauty and comfort in your space
• Remember: you are the Great Mother—gentle and strong

Next Steps

You now have a complete toolkit for working with Berkano's nurturing energy. Use these practices to birth new beginnings, support gentle growth, and heal through love.

To deepen your understanding further, explore:

• Berkano Rune: Complete Guide to Meaning & Magic - Foundational knowledge and correspondences
• Berkano Rune Deep Dive: Norse Mythology & Symbolism - Historical and mythological context

May Berkano fill you with nurturing love, creative fertility, and the gentle strength of the Great Mother. You are the birch tree—first to grow, brave pioneer, gentle nurturer. Birth. Grow. Nurture. This is Berkano.