2026 – A Year of Magik and Wonder

Here’s something thoughtful, warm, and a little provocative - an article that invites the reader to loosen their grip on the mundane and rediscover the divine woven into daily life.

We live in a world that moves quickly. Tasks stack, notifications ping, and the rhythm of modern life can feel like a long, unbroken line of obligations. In that pace, it’s easy - almost inevitable - to forget that Miðgarðr is not merely functional. It is divine. It’s layered with beauty, mystery, and moments that shimmer just beneath the surface of our routines. The magik never left; we simply stopped noticing.

Reopening ourselves to wonder isn’t about escaping reality. It’s about seeing reality more fully.

Most people assume wonder is something that happens to them—an unexpected spark, a rare moment of awe. But wonder is less an accident and more a skill. It begins with attention.

When you pause long enough to watch sunlight move across a room, you’re practicing wonder.

When you listen—really listen—to someone’s story, you’re practicing wonder.

When you notice the way a tree bends toward the light or how a stranger’s kindness shifts your entire day, you’re practicing wonder.

Attention is the doorway. Magik is what walks through.

We’ve been trained to value certainty. We want explanations, answers, and control. But the world is not a solved puzzle. It’s a living, breathing mystery.

There is wonder in the things we can’t fully explain:

Why certain people feel familiar the moment we meet them

Why music can move us to tears

Why a place we’ve never been can feel like home

Why intuition sometimes knows before logic catches up

As Ásatrúar, it should come naturally to acknowledge life is richer than pure mechanics. Óðinn teaches us mystery isn’t a threat to understanding—it’s an invitation to keep exploring. This becomes even clearer when working with the mysteries of the runes.

Children don’t wait for permission to be amazed. They marvel at ants, clouds, shadows, and the shape of their own hands. They ask questions that adults have forgotten how to ask.

Reclaiming that curiosity doesn’t mean becoming childish. It means becoming more fully Aryan.

Try asking yourself:

What here is beautiful?

What here is surprising?

What here have I never noticed before?

Curiosity turns the familiar into the extraordinary.

Let’s make 2026 EXTRAORDINARY!

Try taking your morning galdr to the next level or starting a morning galdr for the first time. Visualization is key to manifestation and this is a great way to train that spiritual muscle.

Find a quiet space

Galdr Ansuz, Laguz, Uruz three times before entering

Inhale for a count of 7

Visualizing a golden orb growing in your solar plexus.

Visualize the rune glowing with energy before you

Hold your breath for a count of four and visualize a beam of light from the golden orb going out to the rune and charging it

Exhale with the galdr of the rune while continuing to visualize the rune before you. Use all of your breath for this.

Now, get out there and make 2026 a year of magik and wonder for yourselves, your families, and the AFA.

Goði Lane Ashby

lashby@runestone.org