Explore Elder Futhark Rune Meanings and Magic Symbols.
“Don’t try to fix what we should break before it breaks us.”
Hagalaz – “Hag-all-az” – Literally: “Hail” or “Hailstone” – Esoteric: Crisis or Radical Change
Key Concepts: hailstones, crisis and catastrophe, disruption, radical change, destructive elements of nature, severe weather, the uncontrollable, unavoidable unpleasantness, Jungian shadow, psychoanalysis, regression, acceptance of the unalterable
“Great minds think alike, though fools seldom differ.”
“Be careful what you wish for…”
Wunjo – “Won-joe” – Literally: “Joy” – Esoteric: Hope, Harmony, Perfection
Key Concepts: joy, perfection, the art of correct wishing, correct application of the will, well-being, contentment, hope, expectation, relationship, family, bonding, trusted kinsfolk, shared ideals or aims, group harmony, symbols of shared identity, optimism, cooperative effort, like-mindedness, friendship
Psi: contentment, optimism, like-mindedness, wishful thinking, shared identity
Energy: harmony of like forces, effortless ease, fellowship, fulfillment, wishing, genuine friendship,
Mundane: parties, friendship, family, community
Divinations: Joy, harmony, fellowship, accomplishment, prosperity; or stultification, sorrow, strife, alienation, warns of caution, blindness to danger, deception, betrayal.
Governs:
Strengthens links and bonds
Invocation of fellowship and harmony.
Banishes alienation and other inharmonious impediments to trust
Creating joy through the use of true will
Realization of the link and multiplicity of relationship of all things
The art of correct wishing, ‘law of attraction’
My Notes:
Wunjo is the inner urge for realization of your soul’s true will to achieve perfection of consciousness and the drive to this realization in this life-time. It wards off woe and sorrow so that the abundant gifts of the multiverse have no trouble bestowing themselves upon you. In Wunjo we find harmonious energies characteristic in functional families, group affiliations, healthy societies and nations and ultimately, the world.
It is here we find the force of Love curing the warrior who has hate in his or her heart. Because the Northern tradition was abruptly cut short in its evolution of conceptualizing Love as a cosmic force, we have to search for ideas in the Elder tradition that would indicate its latent potential. We find this idea especially in the rune meaning of Wunjo, for Wunjo carries all the elements of Love between and among human beings. Wunjo is the rune that guides harmonizing human energies into a whole. It is the alignment of individual will with the will of the community and ultimately with the divine will. The rune of Love and Unity between all life is LAGUZ, and it’s interesting to me that they have similar shapes.
Alienation and failing community is a severe problem in our society now, which can be deeply troubling to almost every human exchange we engage in. Alienation presents itself as mistrust. In a social group with no overriding objective, it’s only a nuisance. In a community service group, the project fails. In a family, it can lead to disaster. Wunjo can reduce alienation by broadcasting love into the chaotic human energy field. Yet rather than being performed abstractly with no conscious awareness of the intervening energies, the invocation of Wunjo is focused by the magical will of the operator for specific results. This is a technique paralleled (and complimented by) modern Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
The art of correct ‘wishing’ is perfected by seeking your unique purpose in life and aligning your thought and action with it. It is the motivation to act upon your true will which opens the path to completing your personal purpose in this lifetime. Step by step, life by life, we fulfill our cosmic destiny. This is the essence of the Law of Attraction, and a core magic of the Nothern tradition.
“For every gift a curse.”
Gebo – “Gay-boo” – Literally: “Gift” – Esoteric: Fair Exchange, Sacrifice, Sacred Marriage
Key Concepts: gifts, giving, taking, trade, sacrifice, process of exchange, balance, compensation, equilibrium, law of reciprocation, altruism, the gravity of equals and opposites, generosity, hospitality, honor
Psi: gratitude, forgiveness, appreciation
Energy: Exchanged powers, sacrifice, dissolution of barriers through gifting
Divinations: Generosity, gift, magical exchange, honor, sacrifice, divine vision; or influence buying, greed, loneliness, dependence, over-sacrifice, unbalanced behavior, dishonesty
Mundane: material gifts, thankfulness, trade
Governs:
Sex magic
Mystical union and ‘Sacred Marriage’ between partners
Understanding of the true meaning of gifting and binding
Giving of oneself from within
Harmony between brothers and sisters and lovers
Favours, contracts, obligations, debt and oath-taking
My Notes:
Gebo is perhaps one of the runes which has the most lore. When we say X-mas, the X is unconsciously representative of this rune. In the Havamal, the Cosmic Law of Compensation is written as ‘Better not to over-pledge as a gift demands a gift’, and ‘No man is so generous he will jib at accepting a gift in return for a gift’.
The exchange of gifts, whether physical or otherwise, is a highly meaningful act, as is the idea of trade. It is associated with magical rings, which give kings the ability to share powers with their followers, as is expected of leaders. The need for exchanged energies and powers to remain equal in amounts is at the heart of the rune Gebo. In the Havamal it also says ‘A man should be loyal through life to friends, and return gift for gift; Laugh when they laugh, but with lies repay a false foe who lies.’ Though this might conflict with the New Age morality, it was the ancient way of expressing ‘what goes around, comes around’.
Elsewhere in Northern lore we find, that there is always a price to pay. Every decision you make requires the acceptance of one thing and simultaneous sacrifice or release of another. For more on that sacrifice, see INGUZ. Self-sacrifice (for honor in battle or for the greater good) is a common theme with the death of warriors. Odin on the tree sacrifices ‘himself to Himself’ in his shamanic initiation to discover the knowledge and wisdom of the runes.
Gebo is also tied deeply to the exchange of sexual energies between male and female, and so it deeply governs mystical union, sacred oaths of marriage and sex magic. For more on sacred marriage, one must uncover the mysteries of EHWAZ.
“The student surpasses the teacher.”
Kenaz – Literally: “Torch” – Esoteric ‘Ken’ or Knowledge
Key Concepts: torch as a symbol of knowledge and intellect, illumination, searching for enlightenment, shedding light on matters, quest for truth, skills and abilities, creativity, art, craftsmanship, cunning, acquisition and application of knowledge, occult female secrets, intuition, enthusiasm in teaching/learning, study, kin-fire, opportunity, playfulness
“The journey is the destination.”
Raidho – “Ride-ho” – Literally: “Ride” or “Wagon” – Esoteric: Journey
Key Concepts: the journey of Life, stories, heroism, means of transportation, right action, movement, motion, taking charge, being in control, initiative, adventure, decision-making, direction, counsel, the right path, the inner compass, leadership, kingship, nobility held by merit, moral responsibility, integrity, respect for the rights of others, innate knowledge of right and wrong, celestial procession, rituals
“Find your ears before you search for words.”
Ansuz – “Anne – suhz” – Literally: “Woden” – Esoteric: “Breath” or “Ancestral Sovereign God”
Key Concepts: order, gods, Odin, transmission of intelligence, communication, reason, inspiration, language, breath, sound, origins of language, the Voice of the Universe, spellsong, casting, chanting, ancestors, passing of the breath along the ancestral line, evolution of gods, speech, poetry, discussion of runes, memetics, semiotics, etymology, linguistics.
“If we must fight for peace then let us find our peace in battle.”
Thurisaz – “Thor-is-as” – Literally: “Thurses” or “Giants” – Esoteric: Strong one, Resistance
Key Concepts: Unconscious forces, sociological forces, Thor, Loki as giant, chaos, destruction by natural forces, complexities of aggression, conflicts, disputes, psychological problems, lightning, breakthrough, aggressive male sexuality, battering down barriers, thorn of awakening, trouble, enthusiasm
Continue reading Thurisaz – Rune Meaning
“Mind over matter – matter over mind”
Uruz – “Oo – Ruse” – Literally: “Aurochs” – Esoteric: Endurance, Formation, Manifestation
Key Concepts: life force, physical health, courage, organic structure, manifestation, formation, healing, vigor, endurance
“Every beginning has within it the seeds of its own end.”
Fehu – “Fay-Who” – Literally: “Cattle” – Esoteric: Mobile Property, New Beginnings, Wealth
Key Concepts: Wealth, money, food, sustenance, intial conditions, luck, personal power, circulation of power, financial strength, prosperity
