Odin is also a shaman, travelling between the worlds on his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir.Īnsuz is a balanced rune. These elements are combined in the personage of Odin, who exhibits the characteristics of both chieftain and shaman - a god of wisdom as well as war. This rune represents the instinctive, primal energy of uruz tempered with the discipline and experience of thurisaz. The Giants may seem to be evil and destructive to the Aesir, but they bring about change, and eventually clear the way for a new age.ĪNSUZ (As/Ansur/Os) : Odin Phonetic equivalent: A (as in 'fall')Īuthority figure, leader, mind & body balance, justice, shaman, clairvoyantįor wise decisions, success, leadership to help in divination and magic What may at first appear to be a negative, destructive event, may well turn out to contain an important lesson. The lesson of this rune is 'to learn you must suffer', meaning not only literal suffering, but also in the biblical sense of 'allowing' - allowing one's destiny to unfold as it should, and allowing one's self to experience all that life offers us. After all, you can't have a mythic hero without dragons to slay or giants to fight! These obstacles are not necessarily destructive things, but are placed in our path to strengthen and teach us. Thurisaz is the first of the 'obstacle' runes. Hardship, painful event, discipline, knowledge, introspection, focusĪid in study and meditation, self-discipline, clearing out a bad situation THURISAZ (Thorn): giant Phonetic equivalent: TH (as in 'thing') The boy who has killed the aurochs has just entered manhood, and has therefore been initiated into the first level of the mysteries - the awareness that the source of life is death. The energy of this rune is raw, powerful, and distinctly masculine, in the sense that it is pure, elemental fire. It also represents an awareness of death and our own mortality, which may well be the only thing which truly distinguishes us from other animals. Following the kind of mundane, day to day survival represented by fehu, it is the first recognition by mankind of the divine in nature, and his first attempt to control it through the use of sympathetic magic. Uruz is the rune of the God of the sacred hunt and his shaman/priest. The aurochs is the epitome of the wild animal, as opposed to the domesticated cattle represented by fehu.
Paintings of aurochs have been found in Neolithic caves, and it is believed that the aurochs hunt had some significance as a rite of passage for a boy entering manhood. This may or may not have been an exaggeration. Slightly smaller than elephants, and had horns as long as six feet, which were highly prized by the Germanic as drinking horns. The aurochs was a species of wild ox, similar to a longhorn bull, that was once found all over Europe, but which became extinct sometime in the 17 th Century. To strengthen the will, increase sexual potency and energy for hunting URUZ (Ur): aurochs Phonetic equivalent: UĮnergy, passion, vitality, instinct, wildness, sexuality, fertility, the unconscious, primitive mind, irrationality, shamanic experience, rite of passage The first step in breaking away from this situation is to catch a glimpse of what is possible, without dwelling on what security we may lose to attain it.
In many ways, we have become as domesticated as the cattle, living our day to day existence without wanting or even being aware of anything more being possible. We all must begin with the mundane reality of our lives, although many people never get beyond this. Oz might be a fun place to visit, but after a while all you really want to do is go back to Kansas.įehu reminds us that we must be secure in our physical situation before embarking upon any spiritual journey. It is also our home, for after all our wanderings we will still need to attend to our physical needs and ground ourselves in the simple pleasures of home, family, and good work. It is whatever we think we are seeking, which frequently bears no resemblance to what we will eventually find. Prosperity, money, wealth, concern with physical and financial needs, goals, promotion, self-esteem, centeredness, karmaįor money, business, promotion, finding a job, achieving a goal, starting new enterprisesįreyr, Brisingamen, Gullveig, Dwarfs, Sigurd & the Otter's Goldįehu is both the day-to-day reality of our lives and the catalyst that awakens us to what lies beyond.