RUNES SECRETS REVEALED

RUNES SECRETS
Tyriel Admin
Fehu
“Every beginning has within it the seeds of its own end.”
Uruz
“Mind over matter – matter over mind”

Uruz – “Oo – Ruse” – Literally: “Aurochs” – Esoteric: Endurance,
Thurisaz
“If we must fight for peace then let us find our peace in battle.”
Ansuz
“Find your ears before you search for words.”
Raidho
“The journey is the destination.”
Kenaz
“The student surpasses the teacher.”
Gebo
“For every gift a curse.”
Wunjo
“Great minds think alike, though fools seldom differ.”

“Be careful what you wish for…”
Hagalaz
“Don’t try to fix what we should break before it breaks us.”
Nauthiz
“Consciousness is the Necessity.”

“That which does not destroy me makes me stronger.” – Nietzsche
Isa
“Ice only appears to stop a river’s flow.”
Jera
“Patience up to a point. Know your time, but work your wyrd always.”
Ihwaz or Eihwaz
“The path is hard and lonely and there is no end to sight.”
Perthro
“The beginning and end are set. What’s in between is yours. Nothing is in vain, all is
remembered.”
Algiz
“Fear has its place in every heart. Courage is only a response.”
Sowilo
“The guide leads you to the doorway, then waits for your return.”
Tiwaz
“What is higher than the self is the Self become Higher.”
Berkano
“The most obvious Truth is hidden deep within, and only you will ever know it.”
Ehwaz
“The mind will trust the body, the body will trust the mind.”
Mannaz
“We are each a savior, each a god.

It is the fear of what this means which binds us to the realm of humankind.”
Laguz
“Our future selves call us from infinite pasts, and each night are eroded with our
dreams.”
Inguz
“Only when we know our solitude to be different from our loneliness

can we be whole enough to honor another’s place.”
Dagaz
“Time is an illusion that once realized, is lovingly embraced, none the less.”
Othala
“We inherit ourselves.”

RUNES SECRETS
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The study of the runes and their meaning is a study of personal

development, spiritual growth and the spread of consciousness
throughout human societies and into the universe. The Elder Futhark
Runes are a complete system of magic, and the oldest form of western
wisdom.
In “The Book of Rune Secrets ” (Available on Amazon)I hope to show
you that they are also a complete system of psychology that can lead the
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The runes are a set of keys (or notes) that have served me so well in
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for the 21st Century’ available exclusively on bandcamp. The album has
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Check out my post on Rune Books and Curriculum to find a book list of
popular resources. I encourage you to read everything with a critical
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This journey into the runes is very close to my heart, and I’d love it if
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subject by subscribing via email.
I have been studying the runes for over decade, and they were passed
down to me from my mother and to her by her mentor. Think of me as
an advisor, consultant and friend.
In 2002 I hung, mind open to the collective unconscious, upon Yggdrasil
for nine nights, similar to the myth of Odin. I traveled to many of the
worlds on the World Tree. When I came back, I had learned the runes,
intuitively. I felt no hesitation in believing strongly in my own ability to
interpret them, and have felt no intimidation when digesting volume
after volume of published literature.
Now, I want to help pass on with what I’ve learned. Rune Secrets is a
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this for you; for though we may or may not have ever met, we walk a
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-Tyriel, Rune Secrets Admin.
Fehu – Rune Meaning
“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, Hamingja, luck,
personal power, circulation of power, financial strength, prosperity
Psi: Beginner’s Mind, presence, freedom, first impressions, young love
Energy: mobility, luck, charisma, dynamic power, liquid and mobile
transferable energies, abundance, circulation, ‘mana’, sexual attraction
Mundane: money, recent purchases, reputation, freshness,
fashionability
Divinations: New beginnings, social success, foresight, energy, travel,
money, control; or greed, failure, atrophy, poverty, endings.
Governs:
• Delegating your energy to another, power transference or projection; the
sending rune
• Drawing gravity into the personal sphere
• Promotion of personal and social evolution, changing circumstances of
importance
• Increase in personal monetary wealth
• Beginner’s mind and presence as a tool for consciously creating a fresh
start
My notes:
Fehu is actually the rune of ‘luck’. The universe is not so much made up
by chance, as by luck. Luck is a hidden but real energy field inherent in
your ‘hamingja’. Fehu governs the capacity to hold this luck and use it
like a magical ability. This basic energy, your accumulated luck, is the
foundation of the wealth and power in your life. Courageous deeds are
central to increasing one’s ‘luck’.
Circulation of power, wealth and the mobility of all things is a key
aspect to Fehu. These are associated with new beginnings, but keep in
mind that there are no true new beginnings or endings, only the
conscious marks of transformation. This can be most effectively
understood while studying the runes as a cycle in and of itself (visually,
a circle). The use of this principle leads to beginner’s mind and to
presence as a tool for consciously creating a fresh start.
Indeed, money will work for you best under the guidance of the energies
implicit in Fehu. Yet money is only a mundane and simplistic
representation of Fehu’s nature. It’s best to think of wealth as food,
water, shelter, clothing, sustenance and mobile assets, rather than
needless luxury.
In starting new endeavors, Fehu will activate the will, restore self-
confidence and assist in goal-setting followed by immediate action. Use
the symbol and its teachings against procrastination. It is a reminder to
think for yourself, which is fundamental to working with the runes. I
find that the vibration of this rune to be in alignment with the principles
of sexual attraction, first impressions and young love. Fehu is a reminder
for us to act out of the present moment.
The conscious use of money for right ends is the domain of Fehu. In
society today it is important that we explore new definitions of wealth
and come to a realization of what is truly valuable. Wealth is a creative
process in every sense of the word, not a static and measurable mass. I
encourage the exploration of this idea right away.
Further reading:
Fehu Extended Rune Meaning by Mahryan
Fehu – Extended Rune Meaning
FEHU – reformatted for clarity April 2009

Alternate Names: Feoh, Fe, Feh
Elements: Fire, Earth
Sex: Feminine
Basic rune meaning: Cattle, Wealth
Extended rune meanings: Expansive energy, New beginnings, Control,
Abundance, Social Success, Foresight, Travel, Reputation, Material
wealth, Generosity, Power, Sexual Energy
Good things given
Good things received
Pleasure in life maintained
• The primal cow Audhumla
• Primal origin: life force; expansive energy
• Cattle: mobile property, wealth, money, earned income
• New beginnings
• The circulation of power and wealth Personal attitude and expectations
toward money/wealth
• Self confidence/esteem [1] (Aswyn)
• Sexual energy [2]
Fehu is important in probing what is profit and gain. Fehu usually
represents fulfillment – something strived for is within grasp, but there
may be opposing forces, which can be overcome with diligence. When
in misery or grief, the drawing of Fehu brings comfort (Blum speaks of
nourishment as a function of Fehu.)
Primary Concepts in the Fehu Rune Meaning:
Sustainability
The gifts of Fehu must be worked for, received with thanks and
humility, and what is possessed must be looked after with respect.
Resources must be guarded against time of need –- but not hoarded, and
especially not for profit. This is a difficult balance to find and maintain
on 21st Century Earth (or perhaps at any time for humankind, given the
verse from the Hávamál, quoted under “Magic” below).
Circulation
There is strong emphasis that the gifts of Fehu, in whatever form, must
be circulated. Aswynn (Principles, p.8) underlines the non-monetary
wealth associated with Fehu, pointing to the relationship of cattle to the
food chain – the chain of energy re-cycling. Cattle feed on grasses (the
Fehu symbol resembles grass or corn) and provided humans with mobile
resources of necessities (meat, dairy, hides). Money in contrast is
ultimately useless in itself (paper, metal) and so has no direct link to the
necessary life cycle. [3]
Birch Air (1999) [4] suggests regarding the need to for circulation, that
wealth can also be knowledge (and knowledge is a form of power).
Denali states the same idea in terms of “mental energy units”. He notes
that we are close having electronic transfers of money in a way that
equates closely to the Fehu notion of energy transfer.5 He also points out
that fire requires circulation (of air) in order to burn.
Expansive energy
Fehu is associated with the life giving cosmic fire of Muspellheimr that
melted the hostile ice and was thus instrumental in the creation of
Midhgardhr, but will be equally so in its destruction at Ragnarok
(Aswynn; Mountfort; Thorsson):
“This is the fire generated out of water and in the dark depths
of the multiverse – and in the dark corners of the self (Thorsson,
Runelore p.115)”
This verse suggests a depth connection with Laguz, of the coming into
consciousness (being) of energy born via water, which may burn out of
control as Laguz may drown.
Both runes are associated with the mystery of creation and destruction
through the eternal process of coming into being – dynamic evolutionary
force.
On this Tyriel (2005) commented:
“Fehu is the expansive energy that creates the universe, but
even in that creation, the seeds of its own destruction are
inseparably sown, So, though Fehu can feel very fresh, always
remember that new beginnings also mean old endings, and new
endings at some point, that are inevitable.”
Another expansive energy relationship of Fehu to Hamingja, personal
energy, power and good fortune inherent in each person. We inherit a
store of Hamingja at birth from previous lives, ancestors, which may be
added to or depleted depending on our actions. (Aswynn).6
The area of reputation (Aswynn; Thorsson) is therefore related to
Hamingja and our reputation is not only part of our wealth in this life,
but our legacy to our kin who follow. We can feed our Hamingja by the
energies we call to ourselves (and Aswynn notes that thoughts are a form
of energy.)
Cattle die, kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But the good name never dies,
Of one who has done well
Cattle die, kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But I know one thing that never dies,
The glory of the great dead
[From the Havamal; Trans. Auden & Taylor]
The Valkyries look after the bravest of the fallen warriors, and this is
usually seen as relating to the after-life. Personally, I think it refers to the
Hamingja of the previously ‘great dead’ in their present lifetime and
explains why some people seem to have “the luck of the gods.” A fallen
warrior may become great again and is looked after in a more troubled
life period because of what has been earned in the past.
Other Thoughts
Fehu Rune position:
That Fehu the first rune represents mobile property and earned wealth,
while OTHALA represents inherited property, strongly contributes to the
argument for Othala as the 24th rune. On the other hand, most ancient
concepts were of circles not straight lines (although three Aetts seems to
point more to three rows that divisions in a circle (then again, astrology
has 12 divisions in a circle, so why not 24?). In a circle Fehu and Othala
would lie side by side – what we come into the world with and what we
leave behind – except that we also begin with our inherited wealth, and
part of our Hamingja is inherited. I’m still inclined to see DAGAZ as the
bridge between life cycles – the process that carries the inheritance from
Othala to the new cycle of FEHU.
Murk Stave
Fehu Reversed:
Failure, Greed, Atrophy, Loss, Destruction, Discord, Dullness,
Hoarding, Impoverishment
• Greed and/or wastefulness
• Collapse into success
• Bad luck (resting on innate good fortune as in inherited Hamingja)
• Lack of control
• Loss of something valuable (probably material, but could be social, like
a friendship or status)
• Blockage: Lack of fertility, physical or creative; broken spirit (overly
domesticated and slow; used, owned, cowardly) (Tyson)
• May indicate a disguised blessing; a need for temporary retreat;
conservation of energy or other resources
In an otherwise positive reading, such as this one, A reversed Fehu can
sometimes indicate a frustrating delay or obstacle before the goal is
successfully reached. There is an association with the wolf Fenris
(offspring of Loki) who at Ragnarok escapes his chain and runs free
wreaking complete destruction (Mountfort). Another association exists
with snakes as blockages (Denali, Gundarsson) and Birch Air (1999)
suggests snakes in association with Fehu may represent a need to shed
old skins in order to recognize and enjoy the wealth we have.
Reversed in readings questions to ask are:
What is true profit?
What is the lesson of the loss?
Where is true nourishment? (Blum)
Magical Interpretation:
The first charm I know is unknown to rulers or any of human
kind:
Help it is named, for help it can give
In hours of sorrow and anguish
• Fertile harvest
• Help in a crisis situation (Aswynn)
• Money, friendliness, merit
• To increase Megin (‘luck,’ charisma, energy reserves) (Denali)
• Personal/social evolution (Thorsson)
• Workings for power and control: power and energy needed to begin a
working (Pennick); power channelling or transference (Thorsson);
drawing projected power into the personal sphere (sun, moon, stars)
(Thorsson);
• Strengthen psychic powers (Thorsson)
• Sending thoughts and delegating energy to another (Denali)
• To break the spirit of an enemy; to render incapable of action; to create
fearful dependence (Tyson)
Bindings
Used with another rune Fehu will increase the power of its companion
rune(s). Applied negatively, Fehu will be destructive (burn out of
control). Birch Air gives the example of Fehu and Thuriaz as violently
destructive. I would add this is likely even if the runes are used in their
positive aspects – too much power for pretty much any human being to
be hurling around!
Uruz – healing (Pennick)
Ansuz – wealth/success via intellectual means (Pennick)
Othala – reward through perseverance (Pennick)
Dagaz – increase in wealth (Pennick)
Gebo – to give Fehu’s sexual energy as a gift (Denali)
Raidho – to control and direct Fehu’s sexual energy (Denali)
Associations
Deities:
Frey and Freyja(Pennick; Thorsson; Aswynn); Nerthus the earth goddess
(Mountfort); Frigga (Thorsson); Niord, god of wealth (Aswynn)
Zodiac:
Taurus (Pennick)
Aries (Mahryan) Aries is a fire sign and represents the beginning of the
life cycle. Taurus is an earth sign, with a kind of strength associated with
the Bull, more suited to Uruz
Tarot: Tower (Pennick)
Colour: Brown, red
Tree: Elder (Pennick)
Plants and Herbs: Stinging nettle (Pennick)
Metal: Gold (Aswyn; Mountfort; Thorsson)
Footnotes:
[1] Aswynn relates self esteem to the Hamingja aspect of Fehu also.
[2] Birch Air (1999) wrote that Fehu relates to charismatic sexual
energy, “pure sexual attraction… that fiery power that could just easily
blaze out of control.” I am uncertain about Fehu’s role in sexual
attraction, but it makes sense that our Hamingja energy affects our
sexuality.
[3] But note Denali on this. We have to be realistic: in this time money is
the primary form of material wealth, which is certainly one aspect of
Fehu, and it is certainly mobile – far more so than a herd of cattle.
Money is also power, and if circulated properly distributes wealth and
power.
[4] She specifically discusses her travels with Sammie when he was sick
and the number of conversations she had up and down the coast about
caring for dogs.
[5] This is an interesting observation because it is free of critique. Social
scientists have observed the trend to paperless wealth transfers quite
negatively as “smoke and mirrors.”
[6] I wonder, therefore about the relationship to Inguz (but then I never
do quite get Inguz)?
Uruz
“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
Psi: determination, persistence, freedom, courage, will, territoriality,
independence
Energy: Vital formative force, archetypal patterning, raw primal power,
survival, healing, endurance, manifestation, organic structuring
Mundane: physical health, stamina
Divinations: Strength, constancy, vitality, tenacity, pattern, luck, health,
pragmatic knowledge, understanding; or weakness, obsession,
misdirected force, inconstancy, sickness, ignorance, uncontrolled rage,
insensitivity, brutality
Governs:
Shaping and forcing fortunate circumstances creatively through will and
inspiration
Self-healing and maintenance of good mental and physical health
Assertion of home ground, personal space, independence and freedom
Strength and tenacity, courage, persistence against all odds
Ability to control aggression and take responsibility
Rites of passage, especially into adulthood
My notes:
While FEHU is the symbol of a domesticated cattle, and Uruz is a
symbol of the wild bovine, a reminder that cattle were once wild
creatures. If Fehu represents young lovers, Uruz represents young
warriors.
Though Uruz energy is also heavily invested in the hamingja, it is not
suited for easy, conscious control as Fehu is. It is the rune of powerful
unconscious shaping energies that need to be guided wisely as they
manifest. It is an early reminder within the series that the untamed
powers of creativity are not without danger – a reality quite clear in our
modern technological civilization. It is the user’s skill and practiced
techniques that will control the energy unleashed by this rune. It is the
rune of independence, asserting oneself and one’s territory.
Life’s persistence and its endless resourcefulness in the task of survival
are all implicit within the rune meaning of Uruz, thus it is a rune of
manifestation, regeneration and endurance. The organic patterning
energy of Uruz laces up the skin, sustains the ego and can be used to
protect the psyche from trauma. Self-healing is the energy which pulls a
diseased or ill form back toward its ‘primal blueprint’: the original,
invisible shape intended by nature’s design.
Uruz is the rune of the inner-King and inner-Queen. We can assert our
right to exist and be free in the very same primal authority that the
aurochs did theirs. It is the will to live passionate and free.
Uruz is linked to the god Thor and so continues on toward THURISAZ.
Thurisaz
“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
Psi: enthusiasm, struggle against unconsciousness, male sexual prowess
Energy: enthusiasm, self-empowerment, chaos, active defensive force,
breaker of resistance, destructive storms
Mundane: storms, tools, weapons, conflict
Divinations: Reactive force, directed force, vital eroticism, regenerative
catalyst, constructive conflict; or danger, defenselessness, compulsion,
betrayal, dullness, disease, explosive violence, annoyance, strife
Governs:
Destruction of enemies, curses binds and fetters
Awakening of the will to action
Breaking resistance of blockages in body, mind and spirit
Increased potency and prowess in romantic relationships
Understanding of the division and separation of all things
Aiming the use of psychic force
The combination of right/left brain processes for generating powerful
realization
My Notes:
It’s not uncommon for the rune meaning of Thurisaz to be described as a
thorn that is most sharp, a grim and evil thing to take grip on or touch.
However, it is representative of Thor and his hammer, protecting Asgard
from the thurses, giants who resist the expansion of consciousness
throughout the multiverse. In every respect, the energies of Thurisaz are
a forceful enemy of unconsciousness, ignorance and the rule of brute
violence. Thurisaz represents the warrior that combines consciousness
and wisdom with matters requiring force. Thor is the champion god of
courageous and free human beings and the ultimate physical fighting
force.
Thurisaz is also a fertility rune in the sense that it breaks down the
barren and hard, rocky realms into workable soil as to bring fruitfulness
to crops and wombs. The best mental state for working with the rune is
enthusiasm, rather than anger or fear, as the former will much better
sustain right awareness and diminish the potential danger of dealing with
strong Thurisaz magic.
This early rune is representative of the use of tools and technology (so
is KENAZ, to an extent), whether physical or psychological, especially
as weapons of protection or active resistance against forces detrimental
to the expansion of consciousness and awareness signified by DAGAZ.
Human consciousness is a state of mind that evolved from pre-existing
state of unconscious which continually strives to re-establish itself.
Unless we promote consciousness actively in living out our lives we will
succumb to entropy.
The power of Thurisaz is easily located because it is on the borderline,
the frontier of consciousness. It is wise to never start a fight, but if one
has started, be sure to finish it.
Ansuz – Rune Meaning
“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.
Psi: mental stability, communion, inspiration, listening
Energy: sovereign ancestral god, animating spirit, breath,
communication, exploration, order, answers
Mundane: words, conversation, symbols, elders, music
Divinations: Divine inspiration, word-power, synthesis, transformation,
intellect, open paths of communication; or misunderstanding, delusion,
manipulation by others, boredom, bad advice
Governs:
All powers of naming and conceptualization
Convincing and magnetic speech and writing, and the power of
suggestion and hypnosis
Acquisition of creative wisdom, inspiration, ecstasy and divine
communication
Reason, analysis and good advice
Connecting and networking
Listening to oneself and one’s own particular inner-voice
My Notes:
Odin’s gifts to the first humans is said to be the breath of life and
inspired mental activity, along with form, speech and the cognitive
senses. The root energy of this rune triggers inspiration and ecstatic
mental states. The ability of our minds to work with patterns (which
computers for the most part completely lack) is inherent in the energies
of Ansuz. Thorsson aptly states that Ansuz is the “rune of ancestral
sovereign power of the mind consciousness, inspiration, enthusiasm and
the power of the use of symbols for transformation of consciousness.”
The spirit takes up its residence in the human body when the babe
breathes its first breath. It leaves the body with the last breath. Breath is
the actual point of osmosis between the physical world of the human
being, and the transpersonal energy that animates the universe. Emphasis
on the breath is seen in meditation practices in all traditions. Inspiration
means to breathe in the exalting or quickening influence of cosmic
awareness. The breath is also connected to ancestry, as even the word
spirit comes from the same root as breath. Our ancestral lines are
unbroken with those of the gods still to this day, in blood and in breath.
Ansuz governs our mental capacities to name all things.
Whereas THURISAZ deals with chaotic forces, Ansuz is a rune of
ordering. Naming a thing properly can give power over that thing, and in
ancient traditions, naming has often been used to dispel mischievous
spirits, bind demons or break psychological fetters. The relationship also
is indicative chaotic events can be used to shape ordered circumstances
and one’s own thoughts, or the thoughts of others. Ansuz is suggestive
of the relentless patterns that modern chaos theory declares are universal
in every system. The newest theories of language are also found in the
mysterious order and ‘strange attractors’ of chaos linguistics.
It is here that all speech can be deciphered and understood as well, so
Ansuz is a rune connected with listening and speech: communication
and meaning in general. Use such skills wisely for manipulation can,
through temptation, become an end in and of itself, and corrupt the
power of the rune. The problems with propaganda and misdirection are
that the mind will follow its own words into confusion and create
hypocrisy, which will damage the hamingja. Thought and action are
most powerful when aligned and honesty is the best policy.
The rune of secrets, silence and true listening is BERKANO, but there is
a type of listening that will allow one to hear the Voice of the universe,
and this power lay within the power of Ansuz. The rune of higher
reasoning and mental abilities particular to human is MANNAZ. These
three runes, used in conjunction are extremely powerful.
Further Reading:
Ansuz – Rune Meaning Analysis
Ansuz – Rune Meaning Analysis
Ansuz is another complex rune, and its energies and manifestations are
very predominant in our time. The common interpretation is that this
rune signifies “a god”, that is, one of the Aesir, particularly Odin. It
refers to a personal ancestry that traces back to the old gods, and therefor
our divine inheritance. It is also linked to the mouth, breath and speech,
persuasion and inspiration.
The Passing of Breath
It may be very useful to examine Ansuz as meaning “the

passing of breath.” This short conceptual epigram links its
communication aspects to its ancestral overtone, as well as to the idea
that Odin gave us the original breath or “inspiration” to live as humans.
“Inspiration” is etymologically linked to the breath, and further back to
the word enthusiasm by the Ancient Greeks, who would use the word to
signify “god-breathed”. It is entirely possible that this is a cross-cultural
idea.
In terms of the ancestral lines, not only blood and genes are passed, but
something less tangible — a breath passed from parent to child since the
beginning.
The Passing of Breath also links this rune to communication: language,
linguisitcs and the ordering effect that symbols have on human
consciousness. The transmuting effects of symbols on the mind in
undeniable — and herein lay a great magic to uncover.
Underlying all this is our basic need to “pass our breath”, that is: share
meaning, communicate, persuade and order the universe symbolically. It
is not only the gene that needs to survive, but the meme: the memory.
The Name.
Giants Versus the Aesir
The gods of the Aesir represent order and consciousness (contrasted to
the prior rune, Thurisaz, which represents unconscious and proto-
conscious forces, the “giants”) so Ansuz’ chief magic is that of ordering
and transmuting the unconscious into the conscious through symbols.
This war between the giants and the gods, is actually a very perceptive
metaphor for the pre-conscious, unawakened forces that struggle against
the awakening consciousness in the universe. We can see this war play
itself out everywhere, within us and without.
Ansuz represents the civilizing, ordering tendency that language, oral or
written, brings to the otherwise wild and chaotic semi-conscious or
totally unconscious intelligence that existed prior. Properly used, its
power is meant to awaken, not impede, human potential toward
godhood, that is, the expansion of the Aesir’s aims in the universe.
More of this war, which culminates in the ancient idea of Ragnarok will
be understood by looking into the rune prior to this in the Aett, Thurisaz.
I will also include much more about this idea in my upcoming book.
The Magic of Naming
Central to this rune is the magic of “Naming” which is so fundamental to
our minds that it should be explored, in depth, by any serious seeker of
human mysteries.
Naming includes the use of symbols, definitions, classifications, labels
and all attempts at signifying something through words. It extends into
the domain of sharing such symbols in a community (communication)
and attempts at transforming the understanding of Others through
persuasion. That we all do this, constantly, is what makes us human. The
drive to make the process powerfully conscious is the quest of the
magician, and done consciously, Naming has a supreme affect on the
hearts and minds of those exposed to it.
Poetry and Word-Consciousness
It is no accident that our dreams use images in a highly subjective and
poetic form, where certain images that may otherwise seem concrete
tend to represent entirely different ideas. Cultivating an ability to
decipher the symbols your unconscious uses to communicate with you
through dreams and visions will also strengthen your ability to listen
more deeply to the unconscious symbols others use while speaking.
Indeed, this near-psychic ability has marveled people since the dawn of
human history. A careful attention to people’s choice of words, whether
intuitive or practiced, has likely long come across as mind-reading,
prophecy, and clairvoyance.
Listening as a word-conscious being is a large part of mastering the
magic of Naming. As Odin’s particular magic often revolves around his
poetry (we could also call it spellsong), it is important to emphasize the
study of poetry — the ability of those who understand poetry to use it as
a kind of “divine cypher” cannot be underestimated. It is essential to
probing the unconscious symbol-matrix of the Self and its Society and
Culture.
This representative nature is key to understanding communications from
other life forms (plants, animals) and higher beings who may not have an
immediately understandable form, and must communicate with you
indirectly. Much of the universe is like this. Therefor, human language
must transcend itself if it hopes to communicate with the non-human
intelligences in the surrounding world. Such communications sometimes
come with a sort of divine protection, a gift of insight directly from the
gods, or perhaps the god-within. Pursue Algiz to explore such
possibilities further.
Persuasion
Our Western society is persuasion-obsessed. Though persuasion has
always played a part in human interactions, our particular epoch is
riddled with the pseudo-science of changing people’s beliefs on a mass
scale through the use of words. There are volumes now written on the
subject, and we may explore the idea very deeply.
The verbal art of persuasion falls squarely into the realm of Ansuz
magic. Though so often twisted to the task of marketing, public
relations, propaganda, persuasion itself is not a negative thing.
Manipulative uses of Ansuz, however, can soon lead us into a blacker
realm of magic and psychology. Remember: it is rare the individual who
can deceive others without sooner or later deceiving him or her self. It is
indeed the Truth that shall set us free.
Contemporary Exploration
All the modern language sciences would be useful to exploring this rune
at extremely great depths. Linguistics is the study of the encoding of all
languages. Etymology is the study of the ancestry of words and how
language evolves over time. Memetics — ‘meme’ being a buzz word of
the past decade — is the study of how symbols and ideas spread through
complex human communities, horizontally through space and vertically
through time. Finally, Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols,
divided into three branches: Sematics, which is the relation between a
sign and the things to which they refer; Syntactics, which is the relation
among signs in formal structures (such as sentences) and Pragmatics,
which is the relation between signs and their effects on those people who
use them.
In an age of massive changes to communications, the way information is
transmitted and the psychology of persuasion, Ansuz becomes a very
important rune in understanding and reflecting upon these changes — as
well as what has NOT changed. We have unparalleled access to the
related sciences involved.
Murkstave: Ansuz Reversed
There are a host of limits and reversed energies — pitfalls to watch for
when using Ansuz. What follows are two major ones.
Dishonesty
Ansuz energies are very often twisted past the point of mere persuasion
into the domain of bullshit and point-blank lying. We all, invariably,
invent stories and lie to ourselves to one degree or another — we must
be sure to study the virtue of honesty to self and others — dishonesty is
very harmful to the spirit. Breaking one’s word was considered
dishonorable, to the ancients.
Repeat a lie enough, and you will come to believe it. It is a weak magic
that relies on illusion. Ansuz is most powerful when aligned as close as
possible to reality. But therein lay another treacherous flaw inherent in
over-dependence on this rune.
Over-Conceptualization and Duality
The word “tree” can be defined in many ways: as a plant with a hard
bark, a source of wood, as growing leaves and forming a canopy, either
deciduous or coniferous. But neither the word tree or its definition, or its
visual image in our minds — however vivid — is an actual tree.
Here we approach the limit of Ansuz, and there is a very strong,
unconscious tendency in Western society to believe too heavily in the
name, too heavily in the idea, or theory, while neglecting the infinitely
more complex, subtle and interconnected nature of the universe.
Naming and describing does not necessitate understanding. Yet, our
minds have the unconscious habit of believing that if we can name,
describe, theorize, explain, then we have true understanding. We mistake
this layer of symbols, this ‘psychotopography’, as the real world all too
easily. We often confuse the map for the actual territory.
Labels are always reductive. Classification always fragments and divides
a universe which is not, in and of itself, divided. This can trap us in a
mode of thinking that is out of alignment with the truth. Beware this veil
of words: it may fool us into believing that just because we have a word
for something, we know what it is, and needn’t investigate further.
Words can expand understanding, there’s no arguing this. But it is wise
to see that they can form walls as well.
And what about a thing that is real, but no word in our language exists
for it? Or no word in any language? Can we think about such things, and
experience them, regardless?
Conclusion
A word itself makes nothing more or less real, except in our minds,
though this is not to understate the power and potential of our minds!
Symbols shape and order consciousness. They can increase
consciousness, but they can also lower it. Words affect people, and
people affect the world. Words may inspire us to action, or mold the
beliefs which guide our lives and shape the attitudes in our society.
Remember though, that that ‘action’ is beyond the energy of Ansuz.
Ansuz only inspires it.
You may talk the talk — but that is often a far cry from walking the
walk — which may actually be why the rune Raidho (Ride, or Journey)
follows Ansuz.
Raidho
“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
Psi: the story ‘form’ in the psyche, freedom from imprisonment, self-
mastery
Energy: cosmic cyclical law, rhythm, presence (active)
Mundane: street-smarts, common sense, travel, movement, taking
action
Divinations: Rationality, sound advice, action, justice, ordered growth,
journey; or crisis, rigidity, stasis, injustice, irrationality, control freak,
hypocrisy, wrongful imprisonment, restlessness.
Governs:
Living in the present
Access to “inner advice” and our inner compass, following the heart
Movement within one’s natural limits
Blending with personal and world rhythms, consciousness of right and
natural processes
Mastery of circumstance and control of situations, taking the lead
Establishment of creative rhythm in activities
Protection while traveling
Decision-making followed by immediate action
My Notes:
Raidho is the rune of ordered movement of energies in time and space as
it pertains to human awareness. It is the rune of leading by example and
of actions that speak louder than words. Though ANSUZ may tell the
stories, Raidho lives the stories. It represents our deepest personal life
journey and the ultimate failures of language to communicate our
experience to others. Something to notice about Raidho is the habitual
way in which our minds concoct story and identity.
Use Raidho to recognize the direction in which your daily life pulls you,
for there is a compass within you that can be tapped into using the
energy of this rune. Following your interests and your love, your greatest
wishes and dreams, is the best way to read the Raidho compass of the
inner world. By meditating on Raidho you will begin to see time and
space as a personal reality rather than something imposed on you from
outside. You will also be able to realistically assess your potential and
gain knowledge of limits and physical laws.
To enter the present is to journey away from unnecessary fears and past
experiences that act as too much baggage to travel effectively with.
Whether physical travel, inner travel or travel ‘through time’, Raidho is
an energy that is always active within our lives, from an epic trip around
the world, to a visit to the refrigerator for a snack, so the journey into the
present moment is always accessible to us, whether we sit in quiet
meditation or are mindful of our movements and actions.
The old ways made it easier for ancient people to live in the present
moment, a skill most valuable in the practice of esoteric arts. Because of
its capacity to bring focus and awareness to the present, Raidho will
expose hidden dangers along the path, so that no strange place or new
circumstance can sneak up on us during our travels.
Raidho teaches of the correct balance between respecting our own rights,
and the rights of others. It is linked to kingship, leadership and nobility,
which are not acquired by virtue of birth but earned or held by merit. A
context of moral responsibility and integrity accompany all use of this
energy. It is similar in this respect to TIWAZ.
Kenaz
“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
Psi: observation, clarity of thought, cognitive faculties, humility
Energy: Controlled energy, transformation (pheonix fire),
teaching/learning dynamic, illumination
Mundane: art, technique, improvement of skills, school, the stars
Divinations: Artistic or technical ability, craft, transformation,
offspring, new information; or disease, decay, breakup, inability, lack of
creativity, ignorance, arrogance, elitism, over-conceptualization
Governs:
Illumination (torchlight) when exploring transpersonal pathways
Creative inspiration, enthusiasm for learning
Exploration of paradigms in the search for truth
Exposing the hidden to gain new knowledge, esp. through study,
reflection and new information
Strengthening of abilities in all realms
Female occult secrets
The light within, the observer
My Notes:
Kenaz is the symbolizes the control and harnessing of fire for warmth
and illumination. It represents our having harnessed forces and energies
greater than ourselves. Where THURISAZ is the creation of tools, the
rune meaning of Kenaz speaks to their skillful use. It signifies the
mystery of transformation and our power to create as nature does.
Ancestrally, we each must carry our own torch, creating a path of light
that flows through the darkness. These torches are never extinguished,
and can be used as signposts in the navigation of the ancestral stream,
and to acquire the knowledge and tools from our ancestry represented
within ANSUZ that are rightfully ours to use in the present lifetime.
The scientific method and art as an exploration of truth exemplifies
Kenaz, as do all fearless forays into the darkness of the unknown
(represented by PERTHRO) in search of illumination. Also consider that
there is inborn and hereditary knowledge, and that one of the cognitive
faculties governed by Kenaz is intuition.
Kenaz is like a torchlit library, and the energy is clearly filled with
unlimited potential to learn and to map. Sometimes a good deal of
digging around is necessary to uncover the knowledge that will help. Do
not forget that the map is not the territory, as Kenaz represents the
acquisition of knowledge, not the knowledge itself. Not truth, but the
search for truth.
In matters of learning, which can be complemented by the protective
teaching force of ALGIZ, it is wise to remember that humility is the
prime requirement of a good student, and that no one learns more than
the teacher. Therefore arrogance, elitism and authoritarianism signify a
disconnect with the principles of Kenaz. Information wants to be free!
Gebo
“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 flase 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.
Wunjo
“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.
Hagalaz
“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
Psi: disruption, change, personal past
Energy: power beyond human ability to harness, perfect pattern, seed

formation, objective confrontation, destructive natural forces, chaos
Mundane: bad weather, obstacles, surprises, shelter
Divinations: Change according to ideals, changes for the long-term
good, controlled crisis, corrections, completion, inner harmony; or
catastrophe, crisis, stagnation, loss of power, loss of property, short-term
disappointment, victim-consciousness, obsession with the past, blame.
Governs:
Completeness and balance of power, integration of unconscious shadow
elements
The inevitability of Fate, Wyrd, Orlog
Evolutionary progress and operations of becoming
The outworking of a perfect pattern
Protection through banishing or exorcising disharmonious patterns,
protection
Awareness of the unconscious ideas for eventual processing
Causing discomfort in others by awakening their own subconscious
‘garbage’
Hagalaz Rune Meanings Notes:
Hagalaz signals a major shift of energies as the Elder Futhark begins its
second row of aetts. Hagalaz is the rune of objective confrontation with
past patterns. It will uncover the vast flow of energies around and
through human energy systems. Its nature is completely impersonal and
it represents power generally beyond human ability to harness.
Hail shocks you with stinging hardness (confrontation) then it melts into
water which creates germination of seeds (transformation). The ancients
describe hail as a grain rather than as ice, thus creating a metaphor for a
deeper truth of life. It contains the seed of all the other runic energies
and this can be seen in its other form, a six-fold snowflake. Spiritual
awakening often comes from times of deep crisis.
As the ninth rune, Hagalaz has a special place in the ordering, as nine
has particular significance in the elder futhark. Nine signals completion
of a perfect pattern. Nine months is one of nature’s most regular human
cycles, that of the gestation period for a baby in a mother’s womb. In
this sense it is a protective rune, and assists us in acceptance of the
unalterable, the seeking of shelter and patience while things blow over.
Hagalaz can be used as a force of repulsion or banishment. It is used in
work to process and dispel the effects of subconscious baggage and
‘shadow elements’ so that your life pattern can carry itself forward in its
pure form. Hagalaz has the magical energy of a ‘spring cleaning’. It
reveals the personal past, past lives and early environmental factors in
childhood development. It follows that LAGAZ, from which hail is
ultimately made, is also a rune of profound unconscious exploration and
personal depth.
Hagalaz can be used as a curse against others, aimed to bring up their
suppressed inner conflicts and thus impeding them. It is a clean curse, as
the recipient is only experiencing the ill effects of their own
accountability. It is a dark, feminine power and can been associated with
witchcraft and destructive female magic.
Lessons of Hagalaz: Rune of Disaster and
Healing
In my personal rune set, I replaced the elder futhark Hagalaz symbolwith
the younger futhark Hagalaz variation a while ago, a personal choice,
and I should take this opportunity to explain why.
In the face of disaster, compassionate human beings discover that they
do not break, but become stronger. We discover that our communities
come together, even on a global scale, in face of unimaginable
destruction. When the universe shows its inimical side, the side that
couldn’t care less about average human affairs, it’s as if we come
together to show overwhelmingly that we care for one another. When the
universe demonstrates that it cannot be depended upon, that it is more
than able to wreck havoc, we react by showing that we can depend upon
one another.
This reactive human response to the crisis and catastrophe that Hagalaz
can often represent is a strange magic, but one of great potential.
We can also point to the immense wisdom in preparing for the worst, in
allowing ourselves not only to imagine catastrophe, but to incorporate it
into our plans for the future.
We see from the Japanese, in the past few days, after their massive 8.9
earthquake, tsunami and the threats to their nuclear power plants, a tragic
event that will have taken 10,000+ lives. But consider this: the Japanese
have for a good number of years held incredible standards for their
buildings and construction — everything is made to bend, to wiggle.
These standards were in place to protect their cities and their people
against the worst forms of earthquake… the kind they recently
experienced. It likely saved millions of lives.
While it is hard to wrench our focus from the spectacular chaos and
destruction of Hagalaz, we ought to keep in mind a great, untold story:
that planning and foresight, that the willingness to contemplate the
worst, is a powerful form of wisdom for an individual to have, and
even more-so an entire people. It may not be positive thinking — but it
has positive consequences. It is an example of taking the negative
aspects of a rune and transmuting it for positive ends.
So today, let us contemplate the younger futhark symbol for Hagalaz —
the potential for us to unite and heal in the face of unimaginable
destruction, to show our strength and courage in the face
of catastrophe and the wisdom of looking ahead in order to safeguard
against the worst the universe can throw at us.
Nauthiz
“Consciousness is the Necessity.”

“That which does not destroy me makes me stronger.” – Nietzsche
Nauthiz – “Not-this” – Literally: “Need-fire” or “Necessity” – Esoteric:
Constraint, Friction
Key Concepts: Need, resistance, constraint, conflict, drama, effort,
necessity, urgency, hard work, need-fire, life lessons, creative friction,
distress, force of growth, the consequence of past action, short term pain
for long term gain
Psi: resistance, need, effort
Energy: necessity, coming forth into being, urgency
Mundane: doing what must be done, chores, hard work
Divinations: Resistance (leading to strength), recognition of örlög
(ultimate law, primal truth), innovation, need-fire (self-reliance),
personal development and life lessons, achievement through effort; or
constraint of freedom, distress, toil, drudgery, laxity, warnings, worry,
guilt, moral cowardice, unfulfilled or unrecognized needs.
Governs:
Overcoming distress or negative örlög
Acceptance of the unchangeable
Development of magical will, the manipulation of wyrd
Understanding the dynamic force of “resistance” in the process of
creating
The generation of creative energy for problem solving
Protection of one’s own needs
Recognition of personal need
Love magic; especially to obtain a lover
My Notes:
Without resistance, form would fall apart. Every action has an equal and
opposite reaction. It is the basic resistance of unconscious forces against
newly evolved consciousness, but also the overwhelming need for
evolution of consciousness, and that unconscious resistance to it.
The mysteries of necessity are at the core of Nauthiz. It is central to
manipulating Wyrd so that desired outcomes can be attained through
negotiating with the energies of the Norns. Invoking need is more
powerful than wishing, but what we need and what we desire are not
always the same. In this sense, Nauthiz can protect us from ourselves,
but its lessons are often harsh. The force of the past exerts its effect on
us in the present. Previous action catches up with us and attempts to
restrain and restrict future action, which is the counter-movement of the
cyclical processions of JERA. However, armed with humility we can
learn our lessons from not only our own errors, but the mistakes and
successes of others.
Action governed by Nauthiz is rooted in common sense. The magic of
common sense is that it is not so common, because our desires and ideals
eclipse our true need and perception of real circumstances. As a war
rune, Nauthiz empowers the invoker to have the courage and wisdom to
recognize what must be done in an otherwise complex situation.
Necessity is the mother of invention. No pain, no gain. It is connected
with the harshness of reality, like Hagalaz.
We have a painful fear of necessity and a love hate relationship with our
needs. This is illustrated most excellently in the symbol of Nauthiz as
two sticks rubbing together to create the ‘Need-Fire’. Our need for fire
as a species is balanced with our fear of the power of fire. Consider this
well and you will develop a profound understanding of this rune.
German Linguist Guido Von List writes in the early 1900s writes:
“Whoever is able to grasp the primal cause of phenomenon, and
whoever gains knowledge of organic lawful evolution and the
phenomena arising from it, is also able to judge their
consequences just as they are beginning to ferment. Therefore,
this person commands knowledge of the future and also
understands how to settle all strife through …. the way of fate.
Therefore: ‘Use your fate, do not strive against it.’”
Further Reading:
Nauthiz Rune Meaning Analysis
Nauthiz – Rune Meaning Analysis

Nauthiz (or Naudhiz) represents the need-fire, and in every way related
to necessity, constraint and the inevitability of human suffering. The
Nauthiz rune meaning has no reverse, but it is one of the runes whose
positive and negative interpretations are closely intertwined. One doesn’t
really seem to come without the other. As harsh a rune as this can be,
Nauthiz also reveals to us the ways of transmuting our distress into
greatness and success.
Symbolism in Nauthiz
Symbolically, it seems that NAUTHIZ refers to two sticks

rubbing together to create fire. It is also invoked in the common practice
of crossing one’s fingers for protection and luck. If one replaces the
symbol of HAGALAZ with the Younger Futhark symbol of a six-
pronged star, the first three runes of the second Aett appear to be linked
as a kind of countdown, alluding perhaps to Ragnarok. Nauthiz’ position
in the second Aett tells us that, like the other runes of this row, that its
workings are inimical to human desires, and that its laws are set in stone,
so to speak, whether we like them or not.
The Love and Hate of the Need-Fire
The need-fire is a symbol of our love-hate relationship with fire, and
other advanced human technologies. In the history of our species, fire in
a controlled state has been a necessary tool, perhaps among the first
significant discoveries of the evolving human mind. It has led to the
further ability, in our own times, to discover and harness all sorts of
useful energies: electricity, light and even atomic power.
But our dependence upon these fearsome energies can often be our
undoing – for fire is not ever completely tamed, and is all too able to
turn on its supposed masters. As a result of this principle, conflict and
struggle are inherent in Nauthiz – for better or for worse. In this sense,
the rune has a lot in common with THURISAZ.
Identifying Our Needs
Our relationship with our needs is often fraught with urgency, as they
can sometimes go ignored, taken for granted and forgotten, only to be
suddenly all-too-apparent. For example, from moment to moment we
very rarely pay attention to something so fundamental as our breathing,
but if we are short of air, we notice immediately, even reacting quite
violently to satisfy our need for it. Such reactive force is locked tight
within the magic of Nauthiz.
Our basic needs are easy to identify: clean water, food, shelter,
clothing… but our many other needs can become terribly complex. We
need our family, and we need love. We need time to ourselves but also
companionship. We need power over ourselves and over our estate. We
need to contribute to the world, but over-sacrifice and you’ll find ruin.
Sometimes our needs conflict even with one another!
Complex needs are complicated to identify and complicated to fulfill.
We can lead ourselves into deep ruts and create immense problems by
ignoring our more complicated needs, and find we have toiled for
naught. The universe is constantly teaching us of our needs, and it has
little mercy. Therefor it is wise to spend time on considering one’s own
needs very deeply, so that we can learn our lessons in advance of them
being forced upon us by circumstance.
In hard times and desperate situations, Nauthiz allows us to do what
must be done, when there appears little choice. Too often, we must pick
the lesser of two evils, and sometimes in the attempt to properly fulfil
our needs we are shown a darker side of ourselves than we care to admit
is real. As necessity rears its head, constraint also appears – there may
not be much choice at all. For more on constraint we look to the next
rune in the Elder Futhark, ISA.
Life’s Lessons
Nauthiz is related to the Norns and fate, and there are various takes on
this. Never the less, understanding of need is essential to manipulating
Wyrd. A major way that this is so is the understanding of cause and
effect, or karma. Our past actions create consequences. In other words,
we are presently a pattern that has been woven together from our
experiences and beliefs, and projects itself toward the future and our
fates.
Our pattern will always draw to us the type of lessons that we need to
learn. It will naturally shape consequences, over and over if necessary,
until we change our pattern in some way. This will produce new
consequences, and therefor present new lessons.
Recognizing these lessons is a particular act of awareness and meditating
upon Nauthiz will assist you. If a lesson is not recognized and met
consciously, we are doomed to repeat it until we can evolve past it. It is
implied that for some lessons, this can take many lifetimes.
Isa
“Ice only appears to stop a river’s flow.”

Isa – “Iss-ah” – Literally: “Ice” – Esoteric: Stasis, Stillness
Rune of concentration of things in a static or frozen state. Rune of
stillness and the Ego-Self.
Psi: mental faculties, focus, ego, self-image/self-identity
Energy: stillness, contraction, stasis

Mundane: cold, self-preservation, harsh reality
Divinations: Concentrated self, ego-consciousness, self-control, unity of
being; or egomania, dullness, blindness, dissipation, immobility, self-
centeredness, lack of change, psychopathy.
Governs:
Development of concentration, will and focus
Halting of unwanted dynamic forces as an act of self-defense (ard
against demonic influences)
Basic ego integration within a balanced multiversal system
Power of control and constraint over other wights (entities), emotional
outbursts
Focus of the will into single-minded action
My Notes:
Ice is beautiful and treacherous. It lulls the traveler to sleep with its
peace and serenity. Nice locks life under its surface and keeps it
motionless. However, there is little else as powerful as the slow moving
glacier, which can tear apart even the bedrock as it inches forward.
Although ice generally shows itself as it is, with little glamor, there is
little so treacherous as a weak spot in the ice that will swallow the
unwary with surprising swiftness, and soon enough leave hardly a trace.
The hidden part of an iceberg, which represents 90% of its bulk, can
remain hidden and gut a ship with little mercy. This is how the ancients
saw ice: inimical, even hostile to life. Therefore this third rune of the
second aett is yet another rune that represents an aspect of the harshness
of reality.
In the most elementary dynamic, Isa is a building block of the physical
world, slowing down fire energy and solidifying it.
Isa is a rune of control. As your ego-self grows in strength through
spiritual thinking and training, this construct matures into the
individualized YOU (or the ‘I’).
There is a dark side to this enhancement of ego as you can see by the
dark side of Isa. When not kept under control, the ego-self can take a
path into ego-trips of self-aggrandizement, superficial desire and fall for
the glitter of false trappings instead of real spiritual substance. Those
who claim to know with too much certainty: beware!
Isa will control and quiet emotional distress, but be wary! It will not
eliminate any persistent root cause of unpleasant circumstance. But it
can help in extending stillness into your aura. Isa is particularly useful in
attaining stillness of presence.
Jera – Rune Meaning
“Patience up to a point. Know your time, but work your wyrd always.”
Jera – “Yehr-ah” – Literally: “Year” – Esoteric: Harvest
Rune of harvest and reward for, or reaction to, right actions in a
horizontal (naturally ordered) cyclical process. Rune of peace on the
land and in the heart.
Psi: psychological time, patience, the measurement of time
Energy: good harvest, orbits, cycles, progress, biorhythms, right effort
Mundane: waiting, gardening, farming, the seasons, harvest
Divinations: Reward for positive action, plenty, peace, proper timing; or
repetition, bad timing, poverty, conflict, regression.
Governs:
Fertility, creativity and harmony with the land
Peace, prosperity and plenty
Realization of the cyclical nature of the multiverse, invoking the power
of time and cycles
Bringing other concepts gently into material manifestation
Initiating gradual and lasting change in flow of life
My Notes:
The summer harvest was winter food, the seeds from the harvest became
next summer’s crop. So while attentiveness to cultivation of the present
moment is paramount, within the present moment lay the wisdom for
future planning.
The cycle of the seasons is not so much associated with time, but the
inflow and outflow of the land’s breath. The rhythms of sleep, dusk and
dawn, the heartbeat, the breath, all these are keys into unlocking Jera’s
subtle nature. Like Isa, Jera is has an unstoppable energy, gradual but
unrelenting, unhurried but persistent, indifferent to human influence.
Nature has a way of persistently marching on. Jera’s changes are not
sudden or explosive, and cannot be forced. The key is making small,
gradual changes every day, for the better. Taken alone these events may
seem trivial, but they are cumulative and proceed forward with all the
inevitability of earth’s journey around the sun.
Jera is a rune of patience and movement with the harmony with natural
tides of life. Moving with such life rhythms brings abundance and
plenty. The cyclical recurrences in the biosphere and of the astronomical
procession spirals through time, and contains many more profound
secrets than does our common involvement with linear time, calendar
dates and the clock.
Jera has to do with right timing. Jera is in the maxim “This too shall
pass”, the proverb, “As you sow, so shall you reap”, and in the modern
adage, “time heals all wounds.” Using this rune is the key to
understanding the mysteries of time and the psychological importance of
dividing and managing time. Deadlines bring out the best in us and
motivate us to grow to levels beyond our present ability. It also moves us
to strategically taking action when the time is right. Take advantage of
the ups and coast through the downs.
Jera can magically speed things up or slow things down, and
manipulation of subjective time in this manner is governed by this rune.
In this rune we see the most stark western counter-point to the maxim
‘time is an illusion’. If a person sows no seeds, does no work, plants no
goals and desire in his or her thoughts, Jera will bring about situations
which reflect that lack. The ultimate consequences of past human action
unfold into the future.
“Time and I Against Any Two.”
Ihwaz or Eihwaz – Rune Meaning
“The path is hard and lonely and there is no end to sight.”

Ihwaz (also: eihwaz) – “Yew-was” – Literally: “Yew” – Esoteric:
Yggdrasil or Kundalini
“The axis or process of spiritual becoming.” Upper and lower
worlds meeting in Midgard (earth). Rune of the mysteries of life and
death.
Psi: death mysteries, the timeless, kundalini,
Energy: axis of heaven-earth-hel, secrecy, encoding, immortality, the
chakra system (hvel)
Mundane: longevity, initiations, trees
Divinations: movement toward Enlightenment, endurance, initiation,
protection; or confusion, destruction, dissatisfaction, weakness, death
Governs:
Initiation into the wisdom of the World Tree (Yggdrasil) and hvel
(chakras)
Liberation from the fear of death.
Development of spiritual endurance and hard will to gain initiative
Spiritual vision
Communication between levels of reality – the Worlds or Yggdrasil
My Notes:
Eihwaz begins the second half of the 24 rune Futhark and represents the
vertical axis, whereas Jera represents the horizontal. It is also indicative
of the verticality and energy of the human spine. The spine (the pelvic
region not included) has 24 vertebrae, which I do not believe is a
coincidence in the case of the elder futhark.
The spine is the channel for one of the most powerful energy flows in
the human psyche, which Yoga has termed Kundalini ‘fire’. It is the
flow of megin energy up from the root hvel (chakra) to the crown hvel in
the mind, bringing cosmic consciousness. Attempting to awaken
Kundalini fire too early in your training can cause serious harm.
The needle of the yew is poisonous, containing a toxin that affects the
central nervous system. The vapors from the toxin can become
concentrated in close proximity to the tree. As a conifer/’evergreen’, it is
associated with immortality, and the mysteries of life and death. Death is
understood as the Great Initiation into the mysteries of life. To die before
you die is to discover what in life is truly important. In psychology, this
often happens as a result of near-death experiences.
The fear of physical death is one of the great inhibitors of humankind’s
potential for total freedom of mind and spirit. Eihwaz gives you the
power to recall your past lives, in short fragments or in more complete
segments, and as a result confirm your death in this life as only one stage
of a greater journey. Invoke Eihwaz as you conduct a meditation or
dream exercise for the purpose of discovering past life patterns in the
present. The answers lay not in memory, but in the clues of your here
and now.
Eihwaz can be invoked for communication with the underworld and the
dead. It is wisest to remain within your own ancestral stream when doing
this, as your ancestors have reason to respond to your inner call. There
should be sufficient reason to invoke such dark workings, but it is not an
‘evil’ exercise.
Perthro
“The beginning and end are set. What’s in between is yours. Nothing is
in vain, all is remembered.”
Perthro – “Per-throw” – Literally: unknown – Esoteric: The Norns,
Fate, Lot-Cup
Rune of fate and the unmanifest. Rune of probability and the role of
luck in the evolutionary process of the all things. Universe at play.
Psi: co-incidence, living with the unknown, the art and magic of
guessing, pattern recognition, prophecy
Energy: evolutionary force, luck, nothingness, the unborn, the
unmanifest
Mundane: gambling, random occurrences, guessing
Divinations: Good omen, knowledge of örlög, fellowship and joy,

evolutionary change; or doom*, psychological or emotional addictions,
stagnation, loneliness, delusion, fantasy, unknowability.
*Doom is the way in which the uncontrolled aspects of our self conspire
in our destiny. It does not necessarily mean death.
Governs:
]Perception of the layers of örlög and wyrd
Manipulation of cause and effect
Placing runic forces in the stream of Nornic law
Alteration of probability and dependence on luck
The creation of favorable circumstances
Chance, gambling, divination and the art of guessing
My Notes:
It is important to remember that the true meaning of Perthro is unknown
to scholars, as it is not a recognized word, and though many have agreed
that the idea of a ‘lot cup’ seems fitting, I think that this ‘unknown’ or
‘nameless’ quality is extremely significant.
A ‘lot cup’ is an ancient dice box from which ‘lots’ were cast by
warriors seeking knowledge of their fate before a battle. Perthro
represents orlog, a concept of the larger matrix of the universal law of
cause and effect. It encompasses the fixed and unalterable law of action
and reaction. Wyrd is the working out of the law of cause and effect on a
personal level. It is not unalterably fixed, like orglog is. A person can
move about within the web of their wyrd in accordance with their degree
of conscious development (and using the rune Nauthiz).
There is a large portion of our unmanifest future that rests on an element
of chance. This awareness must be incorporated into the lore of Perthro
and divination is a way to discern the parameters of that element of
chance. Divination through casting of lots using dice or runes provides
conscious indicators of unconscious ‘lay’ or pattern of cause and effect
as it pertains to any specific future happening.
Of all the runes, this one is the most mysterious, perhaps next to Eihwaz
before it, because Perthro deals with the mysteries within the runes
themselves and the birth of the universe. On one hand this allows you to
intuit original knowledge about the runes that may have been
suppressed, destroyed or incompletely passed on over the centuries. On
the other hand, the ‘how to’ techniques are less defined than with other
runes, for we are dealing with fundamental mysteries of the universe.
Orlog plays out as the consequences of the cosmic and primal laws
themselves unfold from beginning of the universe until the end. All
patterns are interdependent and interwoven, throughout all existence.
The proper relationship between Perthro and Nauthiz is that Perthro
allows you to become aware of the hidden and relatively fixed workings
of the deep law of cause and effect, which in turn give us the ability to
see into the unmanifest and peer into the unknown. This is wyrd, and lay
within our influence if we have knowledge of how our personal fate can
be manipulated. Nauthiz helps you get around the workings of orlog,
using the forces of resistance to change direction of the flow of wyrd.
Together, these two runes govern the magic of ‘the Wyrding Way’.
All the records of all events are stored here, so Perthro’s power helps the
recollection of knowledge that is hidden within the collective
unconscious of humankind, especially human lore lost over the course of
the centuries. The same process is responsible for prophecy. Perthro will
assist the birthing of a great idea into your environment by raising
awareness of the forces arrayed against its manifestation. Co-incidence
and deja vu play an enormous role in the recognition of the fundamentals
of this rune.
Perthro – Rune Meaning Analysis
The meaning of the word ‘PERTHRO‘ is unknown to the scholars, as it
seems to have no other origin outside the runes. Rather than suppose that
the word is lost, I treat this as intentional, as I must with all the names
and their positions in the Aetts. Therefor, the reason that Perthro is
unknown is because of all the runes it represents the unknown: Fate, the
unmanifest, the unknowable and the nature of chance. Together all of
these suggests Wyrd (the manipulation of chance and fate).
A Note on Using the ‘Blank Rune’
The rune meaning of Perthro includes Wyrd, Fate, the mysteries of the
unknown and unknowable. Most agree that it represents a ‘lot-cup’. It is
the rune of the runes. Because this is so, we can immediately see why a
‘blank rune’ is an unnecessary addition to the 24 elder futhark runes.
Typically, the ‘blank rune’ represents exactly those things that can be
discovered and explored through Perthro — adding a blank rune into the
strictly ordered futhark is at best redundant, and at worst a confusing
impediment to genuine understanding (at least in the context of the
system described by Rune Secrets.)
The Power of Guessing
Though on the scale of everyday life we tend not to think about it, we
live in a multiverse of unknowns and unknowables. We live by certain
axioms — we can depend on gravity, on sunlight, that we are in a
primarily physical world. Often, we possess unexamined, if pragmatic
assumptions. In the end, these are simply our best guesses. Perthro is the
‘guessing’ rune, something we constantly do, but that is a remarkable
ability, in both psychological and magical contexts.
Guessing is an unbelievably extensive component of our interactions
with the universe. The cosmos forces us to make such guesses
constantly: we cannot ever stop guessing, barring a perfectly silent mind
or perfect enlightenment. The mystery perpetuates itself! Science has
never come close to running out of questions — there will always be
more questions than answers, in any form of knowledge.
A guess, especially an unexamined one, is really a bid for certainty in a
chaotic world. Perthro is the rune of questions, doubt and guessing, so it
makes sense that it was inscribed on ‘lot-cups’ and used for luck in
gambling and other games of chance and/or strategy.
The Game of Life
The ‘guessing game’ that this playful universe invites us to celebrate is
infinitely complex, spontaneous and beautiful — the stakes can
sometimes be high, but for better or for worse, Perthro frames the
makeup of the universe as uncompromisingly playful. Remember that
the second Aett is composed of Orlog: the elements of reality that are
inimical to human life, that continue on despite our wishes and designs.
The universe is unapologetically playful even when we do not feel like
playing.
The biggest game, with the highest stakes, is our life and death. This is
where the idea of Fate comes into play. Fate is a tricky subject — it is a
word often used but perhaps mostly misunderstood. It represents the
things and events chosen for us, instead of by us. Examples include
parents, date of birth, birthplace and all the initial conditions of our lives.
Fate represents the patterns of your thought and behavior which attract
people, events and environments into your life. It is the unchangeable, or
unchallenged factors that someday will lead to your death. The idea of
‘doom’ is when fate has become like a curse.
Fate and Wyrd
Fate is governed by the Norns, who must be negotiated with if things are
to change. Wyrd, or the ‘Wyrding Way’, is the magic we all possess
(and often unknowingly use) that we can learn to use in order to change
or guide our fate, where necessary, or alternatively discover it and work
with our Fates instead of against them. One such application is
discovering certainty over your purpose in life, and how you can
transform your patterns to align yourself to that purpose. This is perhaps
the highest function of Wyrd: the removal of fetters which hold us to our
negative patterns and the perfection of our positive patterns so that we
can accomplish, in this lifetime, what we are meant to do, what we chose
to come to this world for. Part of the game is that we have to guess and
gamble, taking risks even with these highest of stakes.
Fate is the study and manipulation of consequences. There are
innumerable factors within our lives, both conscious and unconscious,
within ourselves or our environment, which we may or may not have any
awareness of. These causes (and effects, which then in turn became
causes) form our patterns, our ‘primal cause’. The laws of cause and
effect play themselves out and lead us into our future selves. Whatever
control and awareness we can gain over these consequences, that that
extend we can guide our fates, use Wyrd, or work with the unchangeable
rather than toiling in futility against it. This magical working is at the
core of Wyrd, and it allows us to shape our destinies and often the
destinies of those who depend on us in some way.
Perthro in Divination
Much is hidden and unkowable. Perthro can represent the

void from which all things manifest, itself being the unmanifest, the
unknowable in the sense that it is yet to exist. If it once existed, it may
be accessed through our collective unconscious with LAGUZ, or our
memories via MANNAZ.) In a rune lay, Perthro will often mean just
that. The runes sometimes say: “Your guess is as good as mine.”
For a more basic metaphysical interpretation, see the entry on Perthro –
Rune Meaning.
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There are 22 more runes to study over the next 15 weeks and I hope
you’ll join us in their contemplation.
Algiz
“Fear has its place in every heart. Courage is only a response.”

Algiz (or Elhaz) – “Al-jiz” – Literally: “Elk” – Esoteric: Protection,
Higher Self
Rune of the essential link or connection with the patterns of divine
or archetypal consciousness, such as the Valkyrie. Rune of the
possible danger of realizing this link when unprepared.
Psi: divinity, higher self, the state of listening
Energy: protective teaching force, the divine plan, Valkyries
Mundane: protection, safety, spirituality
Divinations: Connection with the gods, awakening, higher life,
protection; or hidden danger, consumption by divine forces, loss of the
divine link, fear.
Governs:
Strengthening of hamingja (personal gravity, ‘luck’) and life force
through courageous deeds
Mystical and religious communication with non-human sentient beings
Communication with other worlds, especially Asgard
Protection/defense
Receiving instruction on the magical potential of the runes
Banishing the fear of death
My notes:
Algiz is the single strongest energy connected with my own existence. It
is a protective teaching force that promotes independence and autonomy
as well as faith. Courage in the face of fear is central, not the absence of
fear, because fear may or may not be a warning to us that protection and
defensiveness is necessary. Algiz supplies the insight necessary to make
such judgments and stand in true service to Asgard.
The spiritual force, hamingja, generated by Algiz envelops the invoker
with so much energy that he or she becomes sacred, set apart and
protected by Divine power. The image of the Valkyrie in mythology is
fully representative of the way in which the energies of Algiz work to
protect you. Meditating on the image of a Valkyrie in her teacher, swan
and warrior forms is a powerful method of invoking Algiz energy.
The Valkyrie will not assist in evading punishment for wrong deeds, or
illegal or immoral acts. It will act to soften the blow of punishment if the
person willingly accepts accountability for the harm cased by his or her
acts and begins to take steps to compensate.
Do not mistake the archetypes encountered through use of this rune. Ask
them politely of their purpose and to identify themselves. Good entities
always will respond favorably to such requests, and mischievous or
harmful entities tend to become offended or refrain from answering.
Have courage and fortitude, as you will sometimes be tested. These
entities come in many forms, so be prepared to open your mind as to
allow their unique methods of communication to take place.
Other topics:
Activation of the Higher Self
Perception of the Divine Plan
Knowledge of the Ultimate Good in all things/events
Listening correctly to the Voice of the Universe (as non-human sentient
beings ie. Valkyries, gods, giants)
Being tested by such entities and instructed
Algiz – Rune Meaning Analysis

ALGIZ (also called Elhaz) is a powerful rune, because it represents the
divine might of the universe. The white elk was a symbol to the Norse of
divine blessing and protection to those it graced with sight of itself.
Algiz is the rune of higher vibrations, the divine plan and higher spiritual
awareness. The energy of Algiz is what makes something feel sacred as
opposed to mundane. It represents the worlds of Asgard (gods of the
Aesir), Ljusalfheim (The Light Elves) and Vanaheim (gods of the
Vanir), all connecting and sharing energies with our world, Midgard.
The Symbolism of Algiz
The symbol itself could represent the upper branches of

Yggdrasil, a flower opening to receive the sun (SOWILO is the next
rune in the futhark after all,) the antlers of the elk, the Valkyrie and her
wings, or the invoker stance common to many of the world’s priests and
shamans. In a very contemporary context, the symbol could be
powerfully equated to a satellite dish reaching toward the heavens and
communicating with the gods and other entities throughout this and
other worlds. I find this metaphor particularly useful, due to my embrace
of technology, but if it doesn’t work for you, use the older
interpretations.
Aligning with the Divine Plan
As a part of the second Aett, whose inimical nature is primary to the
interpretations of the symbols, Algiz represents the divine plan as set
apart from individual affairs, even in spite of human concerns entirely.
Understanding the divine plan is ultimately beyond us while we live as
human beings, save that it is for the greater good.
Algiz requires faith to work with. Like DAGAZ, it can be seen as the
continual unfoldment of universal intelligence, particularly
consciousness in all its forms. This puts the denizens of Midgard in a
central role.
Activating the Higher Self
When Odin sacrifices himself to Himself to receive the runes, it can be
interpreted that Odin was setting an example for us: to sacrifice the
things that make us small or petty, to give up our fetters, addictions and
vice to seek something much greater within ourselves. Algiz lifts us
away from the limiting egocentricity which comes part and parcel
with ISA‘s rune vibrations.
Alignment with the divine plan activates our Higher Self, pushes us from
within toward the self-actualization of MANNAZ. In doing so, Odin
invites us to seek godhood, just as he once did, and give ourselves over
the the pursuit of wisdom, higher awareness and service to the heavens.
In exchange for such a sacrifice (which you may eventually see as no
‘real’ sacrifice at all as you explore TIWAZ and GEBO), a number of
specific magical and psychological benefits are bestowed upon us.
Protection
The first of these is protection, as is to be expected because of the rune’s
esoteric meaning. Alignment with the divine makes a person sacred —
set apart from the mundane and therefor blessed by divine protection.
The courageous garner favor with the gods. This can be in the form of
increased luck, stronger Hamingja, and this protection is renewed by
passing certain ‘tests’ of one’s courage and honor, often administered by
Odin in one of his various forms.
Communication with Divine Entities
The second is the ability to communicate with gods and entities of the
Higher Realms, particularly Heimdall and the Valkyries, who are the
guardians of Valhalla and watch over their favored warriors. The
symbol, reversed, might be used to access the realm of the dead, giants,
and the unconscious. Tread carefully!
The Protective Teaching Force
Thirdly, Algiz is a channel for the protective teaching force, that power
which great teachers and mentors transfer to students or seekers, a
relationship also touching on KENAZ. Its intensity ranges from divine
guidance to sitting in a classroom during a lecture from a favorite
teacher, but it is the same energy, and can manifest in countless ways.
Teachers and mentors come in many forms and often test our humility
and our readiness, requiring our attention, our service and our unique
ability to think for ourselves and integrate knowledge into the mix of our
own associations and life experience.
Beware the so-called ‘guru’ who acts in order to convert you to his
views, opinions and thoughts. How to think, and why to think for
yourself, should always be more important than what to think. Avoid
accepting as mentors those who do not truly wish to assist in awakening
you to your own, unique powers — they’d rather an ornament to their
own ego.
Facing Fear with Courage
Finally, Algiz is the rune of Fear, and the proper use of fear.
Where PERTHRO represents the unknown, ALGIZ represents the
courage we must exercise in order to face our fear of the unknown. Algiz
gives us the counter-phobic urge to move toward our fears and conquer
them rather than be ruled by them.
Courage is not the absence of fear, but the will to right action in spite of
it. It is important to move toward fear rather than avoid it, because it is in
the dark areas obscured by your fears that you can truly grow and learn
to live fully.
Wisdom and courage are the two things you can take to the very doors of
death, and up into Valhalla, accumulating Hamingja which will carry on
into your next life. Therefor, they are both divine pursuits and invaluable
qualities.
Important Psychiatric Warning on the Dangers of Algiz
The divine power of Algiz is intoxicating and dangerous to the
untrained.
Communication with other worlds can be intense and hazardous to the
unprepared, resulting in psychiatric conditions like mania or
schizophrenia — in other times such patience may have been shamen,
sorcerers or oracles, but our culture has largely lost the knowledge and
methods by which a person is prepared for these roles.
If you are experiencing an overload of Algiz, you may be hearing voices,
feeling paranoid and ‘receiving’ new ideas and awareness that is not
normal for you. You may feel invulnerable or filled with energy. Some
of these experiences are quite authentic. However, it is extremely
important that you are able to cope with the necessities of your life and
care for yourself in the mundane world!
If you cannot eat or sleep, and are experiencing symptoms of psychosis,
or uncontrollable emotional outbursts, seek help from a psychiatric
expert. They are here to help you. I speak from experience, and I
promise that coping with your powers and attaining self-mastery are
much more essential to the right path.
It is much more powerful and courageous to find a stable center within
yourself, be in control of your emotions and mind, and be able to eat,
sleep and speak clearly in a way others can understand, even relate to. If
you need the help of medication while you learn to cope, it may sting
your pride at first, but in the long run, it will help!
If you cannot cope with the day to day mundane aspects of your life, you
cannot cope with the divine — their seeming duality is an illusion! At
the level of the Higher Self, they are one and the same. You will find this
paradox at the root of the DAGAZ rune meaning.
Good luck, and be wary.
Sowilo
“The guide leads you to the doorway, then waits for your return.”
Sowilo – “So-iölo” – Literally: “Sun” (Sol) – Esoteric: wholeness,
success
Rune of guidance, goal setting and success.
Psi: central nervous system, seat of the soul, revelation, wholeness
Energy: sun-wheel, strengthening the hvel/charka, cosmic energies,
motivation, life-giving force, action
Mundane: sunlight, fire, meeting of goals, confidence, taking action
Divinations: Guidance, hope, success, goals, honor, life purpose, faith in
outcomes; or false goals, bad advice, false success, gullibility, loss of
goals.
Governs:
Transmutation of thought into energy for action
Activating highest values
Strengthening of psychic centers (hvel aka Chakras)
Increase in spiritual will and optimal health
Guidance through the pathways, “enlightenment”
Victory and success through individual will
My Notes:
It is the rune of the sun. It is the counter-force to cosmic ice in the rune
Isa. Sowilo represents the force of fire in the physical and mental world.
It promotes invigoration, dedication, optimism and persistence in any
endeavor. It will ward against the harmful opinions of others to keep the
heart focused on its purpose.
The hvel (Old Norse term equivalent to the Sanskrit word chakra) are the
spinning energy wheels in your body. They look like miniature suns to
the psychic eye. By increasing the capacity of the hvel to handle greater
flow of megin energy leads to optimum health levels and advanced
psychic capabilities.
The ancient mystics were intuitively aware that the sun provides this
planetary system and its life forms with many diverse cosmic energies
necessary for the evolution of the life force, and indeed, it is the power
of the sun (and stars) that encompasses the dynamic energies inherent in
all things within its system, as once it was all being forced within its
unfathomably hot furnace. Sowilo exposes matters to the clear light of
day and strikes suddenly like lightning in a controlled and centered burst
of overwhelming, massive action.
Sowilo contains the ancient code of honour. These are the common
sense guidelines and morality that hold a society together beyond the
letter of the law and holds the individual to ‘do the right thing’. Sowilo is
also the rune of success and victory, and is therefor associated with the
next rune in the order, Tiwaz. It gives us the power to win and connects
us with revelations concerning our life’s purpose, and insight into
actions that will guide us in our endeavors. The science of Neuro-
Linguistic Programming has a lot to offer in terms of insight and mastery
of this rune, as does the psychological study of success.
Tiwaz
“What is higher than the self is the Self become Higher.”

Tiwaz – “Tea-waz” – Literally: “The god, Tyr” – Esoteric: Justice,
Sacrifice
Rune of the balance and justice ruled from a higher rationality. The
rune of sacrifice of the individual (self) for well-being of the whole
(society).
Psi: spiritual warrior, honour, righteousness
Energy: sovereign order, sacrifice, right decision making
Mundane: the rule of law, fairness, peace keeping
Divinations: faith, loyalty, justice, rationality, self-sacrifice, analysis,
victory, honesty, even-handedness; or mental paralysis, over analysis,
over-sacrifice, injustice, imbalance, defeat, tyranny.
Governs:
Obtaining just victory and success in battle, litigation or legal matters
Building spiritual will and development of sound judgement
Develops the power of positive self-sacrifice
Develops the “force of faith” in magic and religion
My Notes:
Tiwaz is a warrior rune named after the god Tyr who is the Northern god
of law and justice. Tyr is related to the north star in the Anglo-Saxon
Rune Poem, around which the fixed stars in the night sky appear to
rotate. Ancient seamen used Polaris as their main navigational aid in
their long journeys, and the symbol as an arrow pointing upward is
perhaps made in reference to this. This symbolizes the positive ordering
of the cosmos and humankind through law and justice and our moral
compass. Chaos comes to order through the attributes of awakened
consciousness and the guiding principles concerned with carrying out
such an awakening.
Tyr is a one-handed god with a long history, and his hand was sacrificed
to trick the wolf, Fenris, into being chained. Tiwaz is just victory
according to the law of accumulated right past action. To rule justly, one
is asked to make many self-sacrifices, and Tiwaz can develop the power
of positive self-sacrifice and temper over-sacrifice. The belief that
courage and a right cause carries the day is governed by Tiwaz. It is the
common justice of the people rather than the use of law by tyrants (a
word that uses Tyr as a root)
Tiwaz will bring about a correct balancing of the scales so that you are
assured a fair hearing and fair decision. Do not be thrown off balance by
the chaos of your environment. Like the North star, you must remain
true and calm, assert your case with confidence and let the energies of
your orlog assisted by the force of Tiwaz bring about a right solution.
Should you need reassurances that there is value in building up positive
patterns in advance of emergency, this is the time you will see its
greatest manifestation. You have earned the right to a fair and just
decision. Tiwaz will be used to bring fair distribution of the earned
energies from your ancestral stream.
Tiwaz can be used to bring about a missionary zeal for a righteous cause.
The most powerful insight we can draw from Tiwaz is that we must
target our energies in the single most correct place, just as the arrow or
spear symbolized by the rune must. Call upon Tiwaz for justice.
Berkano
“The most obvious Truth is hidden deep within, and only you will ever
know it.”
Berkano – “Burr-can-oh” – Literally: “Birch Goddess” – Esoteric:
Birth, Sanctuary
Rune of continued growth and continual rebirth or renewal in all
things. The rune of becoming.
Psi: secrecy, silence, safety, mature wisdom, dependence
Energy: container/releaser, female fertility, trees and plantlife
Mundane: motherhood, healing, gardening, child raising, the womb
Divinations: Birth, becoming, life changes, shelter, liberation,
sanctuary, secrets; or blurring of consciousness, deceit, sterility,
stagnation, conspiracy, insecurity
Governs:
Rebirth in the spirit
Strengthens the power of secrecy
Works of concealment and protection
To contain and hold other powers together
Realization of stillness, the Now-ness of all things
Bringing ideas to fruition in the creative process
My Notes:
Berkano has the energy of a birch grove, and is an hidden sanctuary in
times of need. The birch is the first tree to awaken in the spring time, and
so Berkano is about the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Healing of all
sorts is strongest through this rune, particularly recuperation,
rejuvenation, purification, detoxification and regeneration. Purification
& detoxification can be strengthened in combination with LAGUZ.
This is the rune of maternity and represents the ready womb for child-
bearing. Also represented here is the the concealment and protection of
what is coming into being, in the most mundane sense, pregnancy
shelters the baby until it is ready to enter this world. There is no safer
place for us, as living things, as the womb. It was a time of secrecy,
silence and utter safety and dependence. We knew implicitly that our
mothers going to exceptional lengths, doing all they could to protect us,
and although we cannot consciously remember this experience, it is still
accessible to us through deep meditation and work with Berkano.
Motherhood, the wisdom that comes with maturity and the patience
developed by nurturing children are all mental and spiritual strengths
emphasized through use of this particular rune. While INGUZ represents
the inner-child, Berkano represents the outer-child: the power of
dependence, trust and the certainty of love. While connecting with one’s
own inner-child may be more in harmony with the domain of INGUZ,
the endeavor of seeing the inner-child of all beings, in the outer-world, is
a quest undertaken as the understanding of Berkano broadens.
Secrecy with Berkano is not a wicked thing, but a power that can be used
to great effect. It is the mastery of silence as a device for listening and
protecting. It is a life giving rune, so is best used to assist life, to heal
and to protect. It will enhance efforts to give oneself, and others, the time
and space they need to grow on their own. The creation of time and
space is a magical act done consciously through restraint and silence,
even concealment of one’s hand in the affair altogether. This ability is
magical, requires great humility and is an enviable feminine power.
Ehwaz
“The mind will trust the body, the body will trust the mind.”
Ehwaz – “eh-was” – Literally: “Horse” – Esoteric: Trust
Rune of harmonious teamwork and trust. Rune of pairs of entities
working together for a common goal.
Psi: trust between individual entities, sexuality
Energy: trust, cooperation, the Fetch
Mundane: animals, teamwork, friendship
Divinations: Harmony, teamwork, trust, marriage, loyalty, a friend; or
duplication, disharmony, mistrust, betrayal, nightmares, indecision, an
enemy.
Governs:
Activating the energies of your inner Fetch
Ability to detect deceit and uncover subtle queues
Facilitates swiftness in every regard
Establishing trust and bonds with animals (ie. horse whisperers)
My Notes:
Ehwaz symbolizes all the various bodies as vehicles for travel and
movement. Twins represent the Sacred Marriage of the Inner and the
Outer, or mind and body. The horse and rider metaphor is the best way
to represent the symbiotic relationship between two individualized, yet
harmonious beings. Anyone who has had the least exposure to the value
of a horse to a person, family or clan would understand the esoteric code
hidden within Ehwaz.
Ehwaz is not force, but persuasion, suggestion and co-operation. Control
issues that birth questions such as ‘who is the boss?’ are settled and
accepted with assistance of this rune. Making the best of a situation,
making the necessary adjustments to a relationship and the finding of
means are frequent activities that focus on Ehwaz can assist. In every
way it represents flexibility, adaptability, pragmatism. It is the activation
and use of instinct, using gut over the analysis or reasoning
of MANNAZor ANSUZ.
The loyalty, trust and dependence build between two partners with each
passing day forms a web of emotional and spiritual one-on-one
connections which becomes highly resilient as time goes on. Genuine
friendship develops, for it’s own sake, the kind of bond we die for. It is
the combination of emotional energies with the intellectual spark to
produce harmonious partnership represents the friendship with parents
blossoming upon adulthood.
Ehwaz is particularly relevant to the energies which bond man and
woman together in lawful marriage. Its energies can unify two people in
a strong cooperative relationship and attract the right persons for
partnership in work, business, teams or service.
Ehwaz is the rune of the psycho-spiritual construct called the Fetch.
Your Fetch is the opposite gender as you, inactive in the material plane
but still quite accessible within your spirit. Activating the Fetch can
assist you in attracting to yourself the right partner as your life mate. It
will also refresh an existing marriage or committed relationship by re-
energizing the two conscious minds of the partners in the coupling.
Most people do not realize that the answer to the great mysteries of the
opposite sex are found within their own mental make-up when a
communication link is established between oneself and one’s Fetch. One
might imagine the Fetch, in modern terms, as the dormant DNA which is
still active on a psychic level, though the physical manifestation has
already chosen and developed its gender. Likewise, we are able to create
an emotional understanding with any other human being, because within
ourselves, we find the Other.
Other topics:
Learning of ourselves through others.
Mannaz
“We are each a savior, each a god.

It is the fear of what this means which binds us to the realm of
humankind.”
Mannaz – “Man-az” – Literally: “Mankind” – Esoteric: Humankind,
awareness
Rune of the Divine structure of intelligence in the human soul or
psyche. Rune of the horizons of human existence and collective
potential.
Psi: mind & memory (Hugin & Munin), the difference between human
and all other life, development of the intellect, rational mind, perfected
intelligence
Energy: psychic order of the gods reflected in humankind, projection of
Self into time
Mundane: thinking, planning, analysis, the human condition, people at
large (contemporary: the masses)
Divinations: Divine structure, sustainability, intelligence, awareness,
social order, divine influence in life; or depression, mortality, blindness,
self-delusion, collective suicide, bigotry, elitism, intellectual arrogance.
Governs:
Self-Actualization
Realization of the divine structure in humankind
Increase in intelligence, memory and mental powers (passing tests)
Unlocking the third-eye hvel, the “mind’s eye”
Activating the dynamics of your own inner Christus, or Higher Self
Awareness of our roles as co-creator with the gods and nature
Mental and spiritual potential
My Notes:
In a spiritual sense, nobility refers to those who seek to comprehend the
mysteries of Life and who strive to master these mysteries for greater
awareness. Access to the Higher Self or ‘Christus’ of the soul is not
restricted, as religions maintain. Even the staunchest athiest has a path to
Enlightened Being, without ever having to profess belief in a god or
faith. All humans can rise to this state as Perfected Human, regardless of
name, race or creed. Christus is merely a Greek word which serves as a
title given to any human being who evidences a state of unity with the
Universal Mind, or God/Goddess. One could as easily use the word
Buddha, as in Buddhism, or Illumined, as in Hermetic Philosophy.
From its very beginnings, the Northern spiritual tradition has maintained
a path by which each individual human being can become a Christus,
that is a completely self-actualized person, in time (lifetimes) and with
great study and personal commitment. Furthermore, in the North this
archetype is imparted within humankind as a genetic link, not a
contractual link, with the gods. The promise is equality with the gods as
an attainable human potential, which is one of the basis of occultism and
the Enlightenment (the philosophy behind science).
Access to the collective unconscious of earth and humanity can also be
gained by invoking Mannaz. Mimir’s Well is the Northern equivalent of
the Sanskrit Akashic records. It contains information which provides
answers to the deepest mysteries of Life, as well as being a storehouse of
new knowledge waiting to be discovered. Mannaz is the rune of Mimir’s
well, for Mannaz is the rune of human consciousness which ever seeks
wisdom and insight to continue its evolutionary progress toward
Perfected Human. See also LAGUZ for insight into the Well.
Mannaz is the rune of human intelligence and the rational mind. This
rune is a particularly beneficial one for academic studies, tests and any
contests of an intellectual nature. It is well placed when the task of
dealing with matters that affect a society or entire civilization, especially
those rooted in the individual human mind.
Further Reading:
Mannaz – Rune Meaning Analysis (series)
Other topics:
Horizons of human potential
Extensiveness and diversity of human existence
The range of all human collective actions, and variations on the primal
blueprint
Mannaz – Rune Meaning Analysis

Mannaz’ rune meaning has been eroded perhaps more than any rune by
Christian revision and values, so it is important to me to clearly analyze
this rune and to emphasize that you should think for yourself, and think
hard. If any rune has locked within it the potential to help you think
powerfully, it is MANNAZ.
Symbolism in Mannaz
Mannaz as a symbol can represent a number of things. Odin’s two

ravens, Huginn, who represents mind (thinking) and Muninn, who
represents memory, is a common theme here. The symbol could also be
a representation of the arch at the top of an old well, implying the power
of the mind to plumb the depths of Mimir’s Well: our collective
unconscious or our ancestral memory.
It may represent a multiple of WUNJO, being the total of the human
tribes, friend and enemy alike, and all the conflict inherent in our united,
but divided world. Another possibility is that it is DAGAZ-on-two-legs,
alluding to our potential to attain enlightenment. All of these ideas
would make sense.
The Horizons of Human Potential
Mannaz is a rune whose principles hold true in scale from the individual
to the whole of humanity. Range and variation in individual experience
is unfathomably vast. It is both our individual human potential to perfect
ourselves (the Perfected Human or savior idea is often alluded to here, as
is our ancestral connection to the gods [see ANSUZ]) and humankind’s
total potential to become a sustainable planetary civilization, utopia or
paradise. The most positive energies of Mannaz make realizing our
inner-savior and the possibility of heaven on earth into a real, attainable
goal. If you feel strongly that we could solve the problems that beset and
threaten humankind, then you are already activating Mannaz in your life.
The Building Blocks of Society
Mannaz is our ability to analyse and predict, to wilfully generate effects
and shape our individual and collective future. It is the drive to better
ourselves and society. This rune helps us realize our place in the big
picture, where our energies and abilities are most perfectly positioned to
shape Self and Society toward our ideals.
The harshness of the human world necessitates our co-operation with
one another for our personal and collective survival, whether we like it
or not. Here the joy and bliss of fellowship represented by WUNJO is
balanced by the suffering of the human situation and its manifestations.
Socially, Mannaz can be seen as the tendency of anarcho-syndicalism —
that is, the basic fact that humans organize into progressively larger
groups, whether these be tribes, city-states, nations, cultures or
civilizations. Many such organizations can exist along side one another,
and that they exist at all is because we use our minds to create sense and
order.
Ordering Principles
Whether you believe we do this for better or for worse, the human mind
is an ordering-machine, spotting patterns and organizing tremendous
amounts of data into knowledge, experience and wisdom. ANSUZ is
also a rune of bringing order to chaos, but through language and poetry.
The mind has a stubborn drive to understand the human situation.
Though knowledge of it seems so tremendously overwhelming and
unavailable, we feel the pull of Mannaz to analyze, predict and think
deeply about things, a drive that if faithfully followed will always push
our intellect to its limits… for as mankind’s scope increases, so does our
own.
Mind in Time
Mannaz speaks to us of our own shrouded origins, for instance, the lack
of memory we have of our birth, and childhood. In a collective sense our
species have existed for millions of years before recorded history, but
living memory of those times have been lost.
Yet these secrets are still there to be discovered deep in our unconscious,
for our ancestors have lived through them and they are in our breath,
blood and genetic makeup. This is an aspect of Mimir’s well, or the
Sanskrit Akashic Records, an eastern parallel.
Mannaz, too, covers the human situation in all its complex, chaotic
scope in the present day. But rather than representing that chaos, it is the
rune of the hidden structure and divine order to these affairs, the idea
that there is reason and purpose to the affairs of humankind.
Projected into the future, Mannaz speaks of our limitless potential in
face of the infinite years ahead of us. It is the horizons of all that each
individual has ever thought or done, is thinking or doing, and can ever
think or do. Mannaz is the rune of the genius and the visionary.
We see that the mind operates inside of time, and that a deep relationship
to time is necessary for mental functioning. Without time, the mind goes
silent. Both JERA and IHWAZ, positioned above Mannaz in the Aettir,
have a lot to do with time.
Self-Knowledge and Self-Mastery
Fear of the unknown is absent with Mannaz, as the unknown only fuels
those dealing with such magic to learn, excel, prepare, plan and master
themselves to the fullest extent possible.
Perverted use of such powers will have us attempting to manipulate
humankind and seeking to control those around us, as many in positions
of great power have done. Properly understood, we seek instead to
become the master of our own mind, with a strong, centered intellect and
a firm knowledge of our position in society. We know our passions, our
purpose, and we plan and revise those plans with graceful strategy,
confident that there is a higher, rational order to things than we have yet
understand.
The Vitki, or ‘Noble Mind’
On an individual level, Mannaz provides the inherent nobility in seeking
to master one’s own mind, the triumph of reason over instinct and
conditioning. It is tied to the ‘vitki’, the Norse word for an integrated and
self-disciplined mind. Humanity, like nobility , is earned through deeds,
rather than a birthright. This is a theme in the Northern mysteries, seen
in RAIDHO, TIWAZ and OTHALA most often, and it is well that we
should ponder over it at length. Why do we have such wickedness in
human behavior alongside such beauty?
Mannaz in Relation to Nearby Runes
The human archetype is often seen as separate and divine, because of the
radical differences between human behavior and that of other forms of
life such as the plant matter of BERKANO and the animal nature
of EHWAZ. But to avoid imbalance and toxicity (and our civilization
has become dangerously toxic) we must also understand also what
unifies us with all other Life, as the next rune in the third
Aett, LAGAZ (analysis), will reveal.
Mannaz, combined and balanced with an understanding of Laguz, may
reveal our roles as co-creator with nature. Further understanding of
Life’s unswerving longing to create is witnessed as we
understand INGUZ. That these runes are so solidly and sequentially
linked in both their positions in the Elder Futhark Aettir and in
conceptual analysis alludes to a greater unity in the rune row than is
typically obvious to those beginning their studies of rune magic.
Further Reading:
Mannaz – Rune Meaning (basic metaphysical outline)
Laguz
“Our future selves call us from infinite pasts, and each night are eroded
with our dreams.”
Laguz – “Log-uhz” – Literally: “Water” or Ocean – Esoteric:
Unconscious, Collective Memory
Rune of the unconscious context of becoming or the evolutionary
process. Rune of Life’s longing for itself.
Psi: emotion, psychic powers, unconscious mental processes, love,
dreaming
Energy: life energy, ocean spirit, origins of life, collective unconscious,
the astral plane, love as unity, evolution
Mundane: water, imagination, occultism, dreams
Divinations: Life, passing a test, sea of vitality and of the unconscious
growth, memory, dreams; or fear, circular motion, avoidance, withering,
depression, manipulations, emotional blackmail, lack of moral fiber,
fantasy, poison, toxicity
Governs:
Transpersonal powers
Mastery of emotion in order to shape wyrd
Guidance through difficult initiatory tests, ie. initiation into life
Increase in vitality and life force
Communication between your conscious mind to another’s unconscious
mind
Development of ‘second sight’ or prophetic wisdom
All powers of dreaming (lucid dreams, astral projection)
My Notes:
Water is the symbol of unconscious and invisible Life forces. All of life
is dependent on water, and therefore Laguz represents the universal
ocean, the supreme unity of all life: past, present and future. The dream
state and the Jungian “shadow” element both linger beneath its surface,
and the human unconscious is revealed when explored and exposed to
the conscious mind. We ‘take the plunge’. To the runic initiate the
unconscious forces are controlled for good use through mastery of runic
skills. Still, the initiate understands the potency of the unconscious sea to
break loose from its control and is ever watchful.
The substance of Laguz is everywhere present, pervades all things and
underlies all manifestation. It is the living energy out of which
everything is made. It sustains and enriches any idea that is projected
into it. The ability to see clairvoyantly and into the future are psychic
talents associated with Laguz, as is protection from physical and psychic
poisons.
The rune can be used in establishing a communications link from your
conscious mind, under willful intent, to the unconscious mind of another.
Caution and much wisdom must be exercised in such subtle
manipulations.
Water is a psychically chargeable medium, and this includes all vital
liquids such as blood and spittle. These are the fluids that carry your Life
Force and act as a bonding medium for many, if not all, of your psycho-
spiritual constructs.
Related Articles:
Laguz Rune Meaning Analysis (in-depth)
Laguz – Rune Meaning Analysis

This post is the first example of my 24 ‘Rune Meaning Analysis’ series,
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The Laguz rune meaning is “Water”.
Water is the ancient mirror — the first surface that the evolving ego had
to identify itself was the calm surface of a body of water.
We all have this surface identity of conceptual associations, this “I” or
“Me” experience. While ISA is concerned with the totality of that ego
experience, Laguz is concerned with transcending the ego in order to
experience the unity of all Life and the collective unconscious.
In exploring LAGUZ, the intellectual, mind level

of MANNAZ is but the very surface of things. In order to pierce the veil
and see past our thoughts of ourselves, we must delve deeper.
Ego is an academic term that obfuscates what Freud was getting at. He
himself never used the abstract term “ego”, it was added in translations.
Freud said ‘the I’ and ‘the it’ (id), a duality which the principles of
Laguz suggest we can transcend.
Laguz teaches us to look into the darkness of our unconscious, at what
the reflection — our constructed identity — is leaving out. Jung calls
this evasive body of self-ignorance the “Shadow”: what we fail to see
about ourselves, baggage we often refuse to claim as ours and often
project onto the world and those around us. The occult process of
embracing our dark side as well as our light and thereby growing in
wholeness and power, is very natural part of Laguz.
The reflection is also an apt metaphor, because “reflection” can be
interpreted as thinking or analysing, the domain of Mannaz. As the next
rune in the Ordering, Laguz suggests that the unconscious is much
vaster, that beyond thought is depth, and that our ideas and thoughts of
reality are mirror images. The reflection is not so much a property of the
water as the observer — it does not actually exist on the surface of the
water at all. In this way it is ultimately an illusion.
The true nature of water is that it is the great unifier of all Life. Laguz
represents life “as it is” and the challenges of transcending our ideas
about living so that we may truly live. I would argue that this rune is less
about survival and all about life’s overwhelming cry to be lived. Laguz
magic is not merely a ward against physical poison, but can free us from
our toxic psychic fetters that hold us back from fully living. One of these
fetters is our fear of Death.
In Norse mythology, those who fail to fully live, consistently over many
lives, become sleepy and remove their weary spirits from the cycles of
rebirth. They are ferried across the river to the shores of Hel, (which is
largely agreed to be associated most strongly with the HAGALAZ rune
meaning,) there to wait until Ragnorak, when the unconscious forces
(Loki, Fenris and the “giants”) bring a final battle upon the gods (ie. the
evolution of consciousness). Hel is not the burning torturous place that
the Catholics threaten us with. Laguz’ place in the Ordering suggests
that it represents Hel, as it is beneath IHWAZ (the cosmic axis of
Yggdrassil, the world tree). Therefor by association, Laguz could refer to
the unconscious, the collective unconscious, sleep, dreams and certain
aspects of the Death experience.
However, because water is the essential unifier of all Life, Laguz teaches
us that Death is an illusion created by our fearful ego, that our fear of
death is ultimately just a pathological fear of losing our ego identity.
This begs elaboration.
Most of our bodies are composed of water, which upon physical death
will return to the great cycle of the world’s waters once again. It has
passed through and been recycled by our atmosphere and all other life,
since the very beginning, and will continue to do this until the very end.
Even as we live, our fluids are only with us a short time before being
traded anew, and rejuvenated.
Our mineral composition, too, follows the same principles, as does our
energy (as energy cannot be created from nothing nor ever cease to
exist). It follows that aspects of our consciousness too are borrowed
from the universe for the sake of this temporary ego, and are permanent,
eternal components of the cosmos.
So what is there to lose upon death save that very self-reflection that
prevents us from seeing into the depth and unity of all things? Laguz
holds the key to unlocking such secrets, if we dare to reach into its well
to seek our true selves. We have tale that Odin magically did just this
when he removed one of his eyes to plunge it into Mimir’s Well, thus
revealing all things past and present to him. The psychic powers of
clairvoyance and clairaudience are thus clearly governed by Laguz.
The 5th axis of the Ordering tells us of Life’s Journey (RAIDHO), the
initiation into the runic mysteries and knowledge of the mysteries of Life
and Death (IHWAZ) and finally of the ultimate illusion of death as the
ego is surrendered (to begin a new journey). The three runes represent a
closed cycle of life, death and reincarnation, particularly the experiences
of such as a journey into our eternal selves.
Related Material:
Basic rune meaning of Laguz
Did you like this analysis? Please leave some comments, below,
so that I can refine it, and learn what kinds of investigations to
take into the other 23 runes that I intend to analyse. Thank you
for visiting RuneSecrets.com!
Inguz
“Only when we know our solitude to be different from our loneliness

can we be whole enough to honor another’s place.”
Inguz – “Ing-guz” – Literally: “Seed” or “The god, Ing” – Esoteric:
Process, space
Rune of isolation or separation in order to create a space or place
where the process of transformation into higher states of being can
occur. Rune of gestation and internal growth.
Psi: internal growth, personal development, the power of suggestion, the
inner-child, wholeness
Energy: earth-god, stored energy, gestation process, male mysteries,
subtlety, planned bursts
Mundane: male sexuality, agriculture
Divinations: Resting, gestation, internal growth, expectation, time for
oneself; or impotence, scattering, movement without change, frivolity,
immaturity.
Governs:
• Storage and transformation of power for ritual use.
• Stored Energy
• Passive meditation and centering of energy and thought
• Sudden release of energy
• All forms of subtle, creative action
My Notes:
Represented by the very ancient god image Ing, Inguz is a rune of male
fertility. The English language participle “-ing” adds to any verb the idea
of acton. Do-ing, Be-ing, See-ing, etc. The addition of “ing” represents
action in the actual process of activity (rather than an object). Thus, even
common elements within our most common language use “ing” to infer
the process of creation.
Inguz is that potential energy that must accumulate gradually in storage
before being released as a single surge of energy. It represents the
process of a mental ‘seed’ desire implanted by the conscious mind into
the subconscious for incubation and gestation, later to emerge as a new
creation in your life affairs. Inguz governs the process of seed into
catalyst, and the self-sacrifice of one form to bring into being a new
form, and the characteristics inherited because of this transformation.
Thus, Inguz contains within its lore the true meaning of sacrifice. Such
sacrifice occurs when one form is called upon to die so that a newly
evolved form may begin to grow. This is one of the cornerstone concepts
in what is known as the ‘male mysteries’. To die for something, such as
a cause or an ideal such as freedom, a universal theme in warrior
traditions, is thus connected to the energies of Inguz.
There is great wisdom in creating an analogy between this fundamental
act of nature and the mystical act of generation. The failure of a magical
operation is often caused by the lack of the operator ‘letting go’ of some
past form of manifestation so that a newly desired form can be born. All
humans live in the past to some degree or another, but one must apply
the laws of nature which call for death of the old in order to bring about
transformation into new energies and new forms. This sounds simple to
do on an intellectual level, but in practice it is requires masterful artistry.
Inguz signals the integration of the four selves: physical, emotional,
mental and spiritual. It is the drive toward completion and totality and
acts as the catalyst for movement toward wholeness. Where Berkano
signifies the outer child, hidden within the wisdom of Inguz is the
activation of one’s inner-child.
Dagaz
“Time is an illusion that once realized, is lovingly embraced, none the

less.”
Dagaz – “Day-gahz” – Literally: “Day” or Dawn – Esoteric: Awakening
Rune of the hyper-consciousness. The process of concept becoming
realized.
Psi: paradoxical truth, incommunicable experience, conceptual
realization, Enlightenment, satori
Energy: twilight/dawn polarity, non-dual reality, unity, synthesis,
transmutation
Mundane: another day, daylight, the inevitability of dawn
Divinations: Awakening, awareness, hope-happiness, the ideal,
paradigm shift; or lack of vision, sleep, blindness, hopelessness,
cataclysmic change.
Governs:
Attaining the mystical moment through penetration of the secret of
paradox or non-duality
Reception of mystical inspiration – the gift of Odin.
Disappearance and the act of becoming the invisible
Invisibility as an organizing principle of Higher Consciousness
Synthesis of right-left brain dynamics.
Transformation of one thing into its opposite
Integration of female and male into complete being
My Notes:
Dagaz is the counterpart to the rune Jera. Both refer to time, Jera on an
annual cycle and Dagaz on a daily cycle. Both are runes of change – Jera
is a rune of gentle change, Dagaz is a rune of bold change, for example,
the burst of light at the moment of illumination. It contains within its
energies the experience called ‘satori’, a spiritual awakening experience
common in all cultures.
Archaeological evidence proves that Dagaz has been used as a symbol of
Light for more than four thousand years. It is the rune of hyper-
consciousness. Achievement of this state of mind SEEMS to be a
relatively rare occurrence in human life at this stage of evolution. When
chronicled, it marks the beginnings of the mission of a World Savior on
Earth.
Much has been written on the psychology and metaphysics of uniting
left and right brain functions. Dagaz holds dominion over this union and
is a tool that gives you great potency for present awareness and future
growth. It is reminiscent of the lemniscate, the symbol of infinity, and
the moebius strip, timelessness and illimitable potential, as well as an
overturned hourglass.
The ‘point of poise’ entails balancing polarities so that all mystery is
revealed to consciousness. The transformation of paradox into non-dual
awareness occurs with Dagaz energies. It is to find the center between
two extremes and maintaining a state of mind undisturbed by any mental
or emotional storm. At the center, all power is to be found and
equilibrium is a desirable attainment. This practice eventually leads to
the practitioner no longer requiring a single right or wrong answer to the
mysteries and many truths can exist complimentary to one another. No
one single belief or viewpoint is sufficient and so all beliefs and
viewpoints can be progressively abandoned. In the stillness and silent
questioning of the mind that is left behind, all truth resounds.
Dagaz can be used to gain absolute stillness. It is invisible transforming
power. The vibrational patterns of the self, or an object can be dampened
so that the perception of material things to the human eye grow faint.
Finding this point of poise takes great skill and practice with Dagaz but
mastery of this rune of enlightenment leads down the path of
disappearance. Mastery of invisibility leads to the understanding of
existence through its opposite: non-existence.
An interesting thing to keep in mind is that the futhark has no rune for
the night or for the moon. These are absences, not things. Darkness is
not darkness, it is a quality of the light. The sun is always ‘there’, it is
our world that spins around and causes the illusion that it is not. As well,
the light of the moon is a reflection of the sun’s light. There is little
reason to think that the ancients were not aware of this, even
mathematically. “Darkness is not darkness” is a wonderful saying to
meditate upon, and will reveal to the seeker that there is no true
opposites as we are often convinced of, but only polarities within the
supreme mystery of existence.
Othala
“We inherit ourselves.”

Othala – “Oh-thall-ah” – Literally: “Homeland” or “Ancestral Lot” –
Esoteric: Inheritance, estate, noble
Rune of anscetral spiritual power, divine inheritance and earthly
estate.
Psi: ancestral spiritual power
Energy: ancestral spiritual power, inheritance, heaven on earth, “The
gift of Ing”, paradise, utopia
Mundane: household, estate, inheritance
Divinations: A home or estate, group prosperity, group order, freedom,
productive interaction; or lack of customary order, totalitarianism,
slavery, poverty, homelessness, xenophobia, racism, genocide.
Governs:
Rightful inheritance from ancestral holdings
Collection of numinous power and knowledge from past generations
Acquisitions of wealth and property Right understanding of global unity
Security, safety, protection, the walls of Asgard
Ascension to King amongst men
Realization of Paradise
My Notes:
Othala deals with matters of family, estate, inheritance and ancestry.
Both Fehu and Othala are runes of wealth and continue the cyclical
nature of the runes by their positions as first and last. The difference is
that Fehu represents mobile expansive force of money as well as new
beginnings and Othala represents the permanent wealth of immobile
property accumulated by yourself and your ancestors over generations,
which is clearly the continuation of a long line back to the beginning.
You have several ancestral stream to explore before you find the one or
two that are dominant in your blood. Identify your natural talents and
explore the ancestral stream that would have contributed those talents to
you. There is a spirit or breath that has been passed on to you from many
sources as well as your genetic makeup.
The weight of virtuous deeds of past generations tends to accumulate
within a family tree over the generations, like being stored in an etheric
energy ‘battery’. Part of your inheritance, yours for the taking, is to
claim some of that energy for use in this lifetime. You must find what
provisions you must agree to for its payback into the ancestral stream as
you become one of the ‘ancestors’ yourself. Such a contribution will
likely be in the form of a virtuous deed on your part during this lifetime.
You may find that there is a deficiency of energy due to non-virtuous
deeds of certain ancestors, at which time you should seek the last link at
which there were surplus energies. As a major player, you will be aided
by honorable ancestors, who would see the breach restored and ‘things
set right’.
The ultimate realization of Othala in the rune progression is heaven-on-
earth, and the homecoming of the Savior and this is why I favor it as the
final rune of the cycle, over any Dagaz-ending theories. The ultimate
enlightenment is liberation and transcendence from the Self. Othala
means that we take responsibility for our own destinies, that the future is
a continual movement toward paradise, an alignment of the inner-
compass toward heaven on earth.
My belief is that Othala signals the final and eternal beauty of heaven,
and the love for one’s home. It signals a transcendence of geography,
both planetary and astronomical. It is the individual and family risen
above cultural and spiritual inheritance and the establishment of new
fundamentals. Indeed, this rune signifies the inheritance by the whole of
humanity of the planet itself, the restoration of the planet to its
harmonious and sustainable state, and the inherent responsibilities
thereof. It is the shift from basically existential modes of existence to
humanistic, even divine modes and that is why I believe it to be in the
correct position as the final rune.’
Further Reading:
Othala – Rune Meaning Analysis
Othala – Rune Meaning Analysis

Othala is a complex rune, infamously misused by the Nazis in their
attempt to promote ‘racial purity’ and expand their nation with
totalitarian fury. The power of the rune will become clear, and a closer
analysis of the rune will reveal how it could be properly used to potential
global effect without any mass violence whatsoever.
Othala traces back to certain words in Anglo-Saxon and
Norse whose oldest meaning is ‘noble‘ or nobility, and are associatively
linked to property, estate, homelandand nation-building. Othala’s core
power is the wise management of resources both physical and
psychic. Notthe ruthless efficiency that leads to totalitarian states or
monopolies, but a more harmonious give and take that leads to peace and
freedom amongst the people, a state of balance between order and chaos.
We have legends in every culture about this perfect, harmonious city or
place. Asgard, Atlantis, Avalon. Shangri-la, Shambala and Eden. We use
the word Utopia, which was an imaginary place that Thomas Moore
described in his book of the same name. All of these represent the inate
human understanding that we, as a species, have the potential to create a
harmonious and peaceful society.
Ancestral Spiritual Inheritance
It has been said that Othala contains the potential power of all the other
runes. The main energy involved in this is the ancestral spiritual power,
which connects us to our genetic wisdom, the unconscious and
sometimes awakened unity that links us back to the first humans who
began to think and seek something ‘greater’ than a simple ‘animal’
existence. This is one way in which Othala unites all of mankind,
throughout time.
However, some groups hearken to a past they have no record of and
cannot understand. It is common for us to romanticize the past. But, the
ancients are quite clear with us that the world has sometimes been a very
harsh place. Such romanticizing will not do. Although we may draw on
the past, it is perhaps better to tend to our own lot in the present,
honestly and with keen observation and judgement. We shall see that
Othala is actually a forward-looking rune, a rune of continuation of the
ancestral toward a collective destiny, not merely a reliving of the past.
The proper use for a group or community is to observe how it lives and
breathes, the methods by which it functions, the social-psychology of its
members, so one may gain a great understanding of families, groups and
community’s in general, and to celebrate the kinship of awakening with
others. A group that promote a culture of openness, fairness, honesty and
freedom is a healthy group. A group (or cult, or nation) that focuses on
conformity, making enemies with other groups, rigidness of thinking and
mindless devotion is, in reality, quite insane.
Sacred Enclosure and Homeland
Othala is the root of why we honor the blood that was shed to take and
defend a territory. That symbolic act of the warrior is representative of a
deeper act, which the Greeks expounded upon in their philosophy, which
is found amongst the druids and throughout mysticism the world over,
which is: the expansion of the light of individual and collective
human consciousness against the forces of ignorance and darkness
of the old ‘chaotic’ world.
This expansion is illustrated quite profoundly in the constant battle of
Asgard (consciousness) against the Giants (unconsciousness).
Seen as a sacred enclosure, Othala scales from merely a personal space
and living conditions, to a home or a community such as a town or city.
It scales to the level of a state or nation, and indeed, Othala rises even to
the height of an entire civilization.
At it’s apex, Othala represents an allegience to all life on the planet, a
global unity amongst humankind, and the potential ‘utopia’ that
humankind is destined to eventually build together. Though the Nazis
chose to try and do this through war, studied more deeply, Othala’s
vision of a united world is inevitable because of the power of ordinary,
every day, peaceful people interacting together in a mundane way,
profoundly spiritual in its simplicity.
Nobility
Rather than representing genetic inheritance and blood (which it of
course does but only on a lower level of meaning) Othala is actually the
movement of society to transcend these ideas, and embrace all humanity
as kindred, all the world as a single global nation. It is the rune of a
sustainable planetary civilization, a utopia, or paradise. The ‘noble’ is in
fact anyone who takes up the role of a person moving his portion of the
homeland/personal-communal sphere toward heaven-on-earth.
This idea of nobility is especially poignant, because it was not always
the case that nobility was bestowed due to blood. It could be merit, or a
spiritual inheritance of some sort. In many ways of thinking, to be noble
is to act noble. If you behave as a noble, as a king or queen, the power
of your hamingja will organize the world around you, slowly and surely,
to reflect this inner. The outer is merely a reflection of the inner.
Therefor it is essential to understand nobility as something gained
through one’s own actions and behaviors, not bestowed by birth, blood,
title, or any other external circumstance. Therefor, the understanding of
and responsibility for one’s inner-world is absolutely paramount, for its
very essence will structure the minute details of the world around you.
Relationship to Time
As may be obvious by now, Othala is a rune concerned with time, and a
past-and-future based sense. Jera, as the 12th rune, half of Othala’s
position, concentrates on the cyclical nature of time, whereas Othala
seems to indicate the arrow of time, as seen by the human mind.
Therefor it connects the past to the future, and our ancestors to our
eventual progeny.
Therefor, where Jera represents nature’s own ecology, Othala represents
our relationship as a species to the land, to this planet, in the form of
responsibility, stewardship and the potent and real consequences of
human actions on a mass scale.
The Power of the Domestic
All this above may sound grandiose, but Othala is powerfully rooted in
the mundane world. I will often define Othala in terms of the personal
estate, that is the family, community and business affairs. It extends
outward to include the political sphere, and then the human condition.
But first comes the home. There are many factors in a happy home, but
the nation should be measured by the extent to which these happy homes
exist, and can remain peaceful and free from oppression. That means
access to adequate shelter, food and water, education, love and respect
between its members, interesting work for the community and so on. The
home is often the outpost from which a good life is lived — “home is
where the heart is”.
One of Othala’s prime teachings may be that “One who is unable to be
trusted with the little things, cannot be trusted with the big things.”
Think that over carefully before assuming authority of any sort.
Othala Reversed
The perversion of Othala is the road toward totalitarianism, the
inappropriate use or waste of resources, the disruption of the peace and
security of home, and the denial of freedoms, sometimes in the form of
various slavery. Nationalism, contrary to what may be believed about
this rune, is a negative, energy-draining phenomenon, which creates
inevitable conflict and war. Nazi Germany may have been a particularly
extreme version of a nation, but the underlying trend is inherent within
all nation-states.
The negative consequences of a system of ownership also fall under the
murkstave of this rune. Ownership requires the co-operation and
agreement of the community. When ‘ownership’ becomes imbalanced,
more laws, more force, and more violence are required to uphold
entitlement. Citizens and members of the community must be
increasingly spied upon and mistrusted when only a few control the
wealth and power of the so-called ‘nation’.
There can be only one destiny for a family, community or nation that
does not live in balance, uphold the common justice of the people, and
strive for the freedom and prosperity of its every member, and it is grim
indeed.

RUNES SECRETS REVEALED

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RUNES SECRETS REVEALED

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RUNES SECRETS

“Every beginning has within it the seeds of its own end.”

“Mind over matter – matter over mind”

“Find your ears before you search for words.”

“The journey is the destination.”

“The student surpasses the teacher.”

“For every gift a curse.”

“Great minds think alike, though fools seldom differ.”

“Don’t try to fix what we should break before it breaks us.”

“Consciousness is the Necessity.”

“Ice only appears to stop a river’s flow.”

“The path is hard and lonely and there is no end to sight.”

“Fear has its place in every heart. Courage is only a response.”

“What is higher than the self is the Self become Higher.”

“We are each a savior, each a god.

“Only when we know our solitude to be different from our loneliness

“We inherit ourselves.”

The study of the runes and their meaning is a study of personal

“Every beginning has within it the seeds of its own end.”

Fehu – Extended Rune Meaning

FEHU – reformatted for clarity April 2009

“Mind over matter – matter over mind”

“Find your ears before you search for words.”

It may be very useful to examine Ansuz as meaning “the

“The journey is the destination.”

“The student surpasses the teacher.”

“For every gift a curse.”

“Great minds think alike, though fools seldom differ.”

“Don’t try to fix what we should break before it breaks us.”

Energy: power beyond human ability to harness, perfect pattern, seed

“Consciousness is the Necessity.”

Nauthiz – Rune Meaning Analysis

Symbolically, it seems that NAUTHIZ refers to two sticks

“Ice only appears to stop a river’s flow.”

Psi: mental faculties, focus, ego, self-image/self-identity

Energy: stillness, contraction, stasis

“The path is hard and lonely and there is no end to sight.”

Divinations: Good omen, knowledge of örlög, fellowship and joy,

Much is hidden and unkowable. Perthro can represent the

“Fear has its place in every heart. Courage is only a response.”

Algiz – Rune Meaning Analysis

The symbol itself could represent the upper branches of

“What is higher than the self is the Self become Higher.”

“We are each a savior, each a god.

Mannaz – Rune Meaning Analysis

Mannaz as a symbol can represent a number of things. Odin’s two

Laguz – Rune Meaning Analysis

In exploring LAGUZ, the intellectual, mind level

“Only when we know our solitude to be different from our loneliness

“Time is an illusion that once realized, is lovingly embraced, none the

“We inherit ourselves.”

Othala – Rune Meaning Analysis

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