Berkano
Birch / Birth
About Berkano
Berkano is the rune of the birch tree and represents birth, growth, and the nurturing feminine principle. The birch is the first tree to grow in cleared or burned ground — a pioneer species that prepares the soil for the forest that follows. Berkano carries this energy: gentle, persistent, life-giving force that creates the conditions for growth.
Upright Meaning
New life, new growth, new beginnings. Berkano is the birch tree — the first tree to colonize cleared ground, the pioneer of new growth after destruction. A birth (literal or metaphorical), a fresh start, or the gentle emergence of something that has been germinating in darkness. This is nurturing energy — not the aggressive force of creation, but the patient tending that allows new life to take root.
Reversed Meaning
Stalled growth, infertility (creative or literal), or nurturing that has become smothering. Something that should be growing is being blocked — either by external circumstances or by excessive care that prevents the new thing from developing its own strength. Reversed Berkano asks whether you are truly supporting growth or secretly preventing it.