Conversations with Color: On the Covenstead with Runa Troy

The interviewer: A magpie deck representing the collor Yellow.

The interviewee: Runa Troy.

Runa Troy is a longtime solitary Witch whose practice bridges the everyday and the unseen. Through divination, dreamwork, and Land-based ritual, they help seekers deepen their connection to themselves, their craft, and the world around them. Runa teaches dreamwork, kitchen witchery, and the Elder Futhark Runes, while also offering personalized readings,and creative mentorship for writers and artists looking to weave spirituality into their work. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Runa’s covenstead practice is rooted in permaculture, folk magic, soil-grown medicines, storytelling, and ritual. Their approach is deeply grounded in ethics, consent, and lived relationship with the Land, creating a spiritual ecology that is both practical and magical.

The topic: Magical life at Runa Troy's home, the Covenstead.

Yellow:

"Let's talk about the joys of your home!"

Runa Troy: "Creating joys at home is one of my favorite things; totally down for talking about that."

Yellow:

"Tell me about a time of joy on the Covenstead when waiting was over and your needs were met."

Runa Troy: "I struggled to put to words an answer for this because living close to the Land often feels like a constant hurry-up and wait game, and my needs feel met because its needs are met. This ranges from materials management (compost, mulch, feed, seed, etc.) to assessing the cosmic weather and energies for when might be best to plant, harvest, preserve, brew, perform magic, or rest. Add on the factor of if the climate is going to cooperate with said plans, makes everyday type harmonies so powerfully joyful. Like when we’ve been out of mulch and the local arborist brings us a load, or the feed troughs are getting dangerously low and suddenly I’ve got enough reading orders that popped up overnight to pay for it, to needing egg cartons so desperately in order to share the bounty with our local food bank, and suddenly a friend pops by with a huge box of recycled ones. Or the late August rain storm that shows up unexpectedly because we’ve all been doing weather witchery, and the parched land is quenched like answered prayers. These types of moments are the micro joys that keep a Witch going. It’s the tiniest moments of balance and contentment that feeds my energy and nourishes my soul."

Yellow:

"Who or what at home renews your vitality and brings you peace?"

Runa Troy: "I am the luckiest Witch in the world most days because my partner sees me fully and loves me unconditionally. They are my sounding board, touchstone, and their love drives me to be better every day. We work together to bring the covenstead into a place of serenity and abundance. Prioritizing our peace has been a mantra for a lot of years together now. There is something so precious and sacred about sitting together (often with our pup, Sprite) under the willow and watching the sunset like it’s the main attraction of our lives."

Yellow:

"When you're waiting and in need of generosity, what kind of nurturing do you need from your environment?"

Runa Troy: "I need space, quiet, and solitude if I’m in need of nurturing while waiting or having to accept energy I wasn’t expecting to need. This isn’t always possible, but even five minutes touching grass and feeling the earth’s energy underneath me helps. I will also go spend time with my animals. They listen well and understand how sometimes even in a mutual aide scenario, it can be hard to rewire trauma response of hyper independence, for which I suffered from for years. Being left alone to process my thoughts, to journal, and to remember that the scales of energy are constantly in motion."

Yellow:

"What physical and emotional traits help you avoid feeling stuck?'

Runa Troy: "I move with the seasons. I work the Land. I grow as much of the food I eat as possible. All of these things help me avoid feeling stuck, because the seasons will change, plants grow and need tending, and harvests need doing and preserving. Movement begats movement, as it were. Emotionally, I will allow myself to feel stuck and examine it through meditation, dreams, and journaling, and sometimes divination; but staying the same or in one place is not an option when you move through moon cycles or are switching seasons."

Yellow:

"How does solitude and being by yourself help you restart anew?"

Runa Troy: "I am a Witch first, for sure; but, at my core I’m a writer. A writer needs time to think.A pen and paper (or my laptop) are not far away when I’m alone. Being able to get words on the page, regardless of what they are for always recharges me. And if it’s not writing, it’s reading. Next to the notebook is likely one of the several books I’m reading at any given time. Reading and writing are solitary pursuits and being alone with them is some of the most powerful time I spend."

Yellow:

"Goodbye! May clear vision be yours in whatever you do."

Runa Troy: 💖