Isa means ice, cold and freezing that creates stagnation and lack of emotions or the bitter frost for the uncontrollable emotion of hatred. Ice projects beauty and danger at the same time. Stepping in any direction at this time is not advantageous and patience is needed to get over this adverse time. You have many things in the backdrop that you can work on before you need take action. If you use this time wisely, nothing will be lost and much will be gained. It’s like when the planet Mercury is retrograde a couple times a year; those particular three-weeks are a time to expect and plan for delays, missed appointment and electronics to go haywire, and from experience, all of the above can be the case. Ego and mind are represented by Isa. A reality check is needed to make sure the ego is working in real rather than in the imagined world. Ego is Latin for “I” as in me, myself and I. The hostile I makes sure you’re number one in everything. However, the I who is more worried about self-respect over fallacious self-importance wins the prize of being loved and appreciated. No lessons can be learned without forgiveness, honesty, gratitude and surrender of control when needed. Otherwise you’ll wallow in the stagnant pond of self-pity. Woe is those whose ego presides because friends are hard to find when you are so self-absorbed. Self-control is the key to thawing this lonely self-made kingdom. The unruly power of your emotional sea has frozen in mid-wave forcing major restrictions, troubles and confusion. The key to a happy kingdom is acceptance of who you are and comfortable with who you're becoming.
Maybe it’s time to give the other person in your life some space, and perhaps at the same time, you realize that you need a bit of space too. In fact, it’s not necessarily a bad thing but a healthy thing if done right. You could be an extra in the old movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and of course with the weird music and everything. Personally, I’d rather not break something when I could have waited because rushing will break something.
Look at things from all perspectives possible and do some homework to determine your best course of action. Timing is everything in life, and when it’s time to rest, rest, and when it’s time to act, act.
A period of inactivity can give you time to take control of a situation. Isa can protect or destroy if misused. Isa reminds you to analyze ulterior motives of yourself and other people. Perhaps if certain things are paused for at timeout, personal motives may become quite obvious. Those in manipulative relationships find themselves swept up in the roiling changes of going nowhere without time to think before acting. Most decisions don’t need to be made right away and should be contemplatively thought through before acting. If haste the case, you certainly cannot meet the needs of others, until recognize your own needs. Hel, goddess of the underworld, is the harsh teacher of this rune.
Fire and ice are the reoccurring drama of Norse mythology. In fact, drops of water from the meeting of the worlds of fire and ice in a yawning abyss created the hermaphroditic god-like giant, Ymir, whose sweat begot all other beings. In the end, our mythological heroes that were created by this meltdown were slain and the land turned back into the dark wasteland between fire and ice. The moral to the story is the cyclic nature of destruction, rebirth and fate are moving as slowly as a glacial crawl but are unstoppable until they exist no longer. Delay in plans can be a blessing in disguise that warrants patience for the time to act. The presence of Isa near other rune or tarot cards can constrain interactions between them and perhaps some things should be put on hold…
Keywords: Ice, Ego, Self Image, Challenge, Focus, Creation, Delay, Slow-Moving, Immobility, Stasis, Stillness, Contraction, Rest, Reinforcement, Destruction, Clarity, Misery, Patience, Contemplation, Rushing, Fate
Associated Tarot Cards: Hermit, The Hanged Man & 4 of Swords
Astrological Signs: Virgo & Aquarius
Planets: Moon & Saturn
Norse God: Hel is the greedy, harsh and cruel Goddess of the Underworld
Other Spellings: As Is, Iss, Isar & Isaz
Pronunciation: Ee-saw