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June 2021 - Sauntering Day
Design notes from the artist: Chris Mackey
On June 19th, all over the globe, people will be Sauntering forth with a sense of appreciation and a spirit of exploring. The holiday became official in 1979, but the idea behind it has existed for eons. We hurry from appointment to appointment, task to task, cache to cache and forget sometimes that we need to slow down just a bit to truly see the beauty of the world all around us. Sometimes we need to be reminded that the very point of caching is to "Explore Your World". This month's geocoin is a tribute piece to a people who embodied the spirit of exploring unknown lands with an insatiable desire for discovery. The Norse peoples traveled incredible distances spanning half of the globe at a time when the average person might never venture more than a few miles from their homes. Every day I see that spirit embodied in cachers out in the world, but increasingly it seems to be overshadowed by cache count numbers. Sauntering Day is a reminder that we need to slow down sometimes in order to truly and deeply appreciate the world we're exploring. This coin is talisman for explorers setting forth to saunter into the world.
On the face of the coin we see the messengers of Odin, Hugen and Mugen. These ravens were more than mere messengers to the Gods. Even their names are words for thought and mindfulness. They would explore far and wide to observe the world and share that knowledge. They are synonymous with travel and a symbol for exploration. Between them lies a Binding Rune for safety in travel. While I've used runes appropriate to their themes in older designs, I've been fascinated to learn that some of these common runes can be bound together into binding runes of a more precise meaning. Surrounding our intrepid explorers are additional binding runes essential to your sauntering: Courage, Grace, and Vitality.
On the reverse of this coin is Yggdrasil, the sacred tree of life that represents the crossroads of all nine worlds of the Cosmos. Every possible corner of the Universe just waiting to be explored. Surrounding this symbolic universe is a quote from the Norse saga of Harald Hardrade that I find fascinatingly apt... "Ill is the result of letting fear rule thine actions." The fear of not reaching a destination quickly. The fear of not finding the cache. The fear of other goals delayed. All the fears that crush the beauty out of exploring the world represented by the wolf and dragon hiding beyond the tree. So get out by sun or moon and truly explore the world. Set aside your fears and worries. Walk with grace and courage. Slow down and make memories that last. Learn the fine art of Sauntering.
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