Nordic Wiccan

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Uruz Rune

The u rune ᚢ is Uruz meaning wild ox, health and strength.

The aurochs is proud and has great horns;
it is a very savage beast and fights with its horns;
a great ranger of the moors, it is a creature of strength.

This rune is associated with strength, tenacity, courage and survival skills. The energy of this rune is raw, powerful, and distinctly masculine .

Uruz is symbolized by the Auroch, or ox. The ‘auroch’ was a species of wild oxen or huge bovine, similar to a longhorn bull, that was once found all over Europe. They had become extinct since sometime in the 17^th Century. Aurochs were reputed to have had horns as long as six feet and were highly prized by people as drinking horns. Paintings of aurochs have been found in Neolithic caves. It was believed that the hunting of the aurochs had a significance as a ‘rite of passage’ for boys entering manhood. Uruz is the rune of the ‘God of the Sacred hunt’ and his shaman or priest.

It is a masculine rune that corresponds to the fierce power of ice, as in the movement of glaciers. Therefore Auroch moves with determination and purifies all it touches. It can be used for defense, crop fertility, good weather, strength and healing. Excellent in bind runes for healing purposes.

The ancient people of the Norse saw the horn of the auroch as a symbol of strength. It was used to swear oaths upon, make firm friendships by and to clinch deals.

Thurisaz Rune

Thurisaz originated from the rune T, called thorn (defense) or thurs (giant) in the Scandinavian rune poems for th. Thor.

Giants cause anguish to women;
misfortune makes few men cheerful.

That is the nature of things
and not always evil in intent.
Even good people sometimes cause
good people harm.

Thurisaz is a force of defense and destruction. In ancient times, as well as in some places today, bramble or thorny bushes were used to fence and protect boundaries. One form of Norse execution was to throw criminals into thorns. Thor is the God that protects sacred enclosures in much the same way that the thorny hawthorn, blackberry or rose bush does.

The message 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 has to offer us. What may at first appear to be negative, possibly even destructive, may well turn out to contain an important lesson.

It was known as a war rune, one used to cause unmitigated fear and panic in the opponent. But although extraordinarily destructive, it is also extremely protective. A ring of Thuriasz runes will keep out anything harmful or destructive.

The Thurisaz rune may indicate conflict or protection; as in protection from conflict. On some levels, it represents the subconscious. The energy of conflict is neutral in, and of itself. It is important to the Norse worldview to accept the dynamics involved here. With Thurisaz in play, the strength of the individual’s will and the opposing will from the environment will be at odds.

Acceptance

Runes

Thor

Teiwaz Rune

The Teiwaz t-rune ᛏ is named after Tyr, justice, honor and was identified with this God.

Tyr is the way.
He is the sky father
who guides us
thru life winding paths,
never abandons us
to darkness.

Teiwaz is the rune of the God Tyr. Tuesday was named after him. It is a rune of justice, strengths, warriors and order.

Like the warrior God Tyr, the Teiwaz rune represents inner strength, morality and honor. In Norse mythology and cosmology, the God Tyr’s sacrifice of his hand to allow the binding of the Ferris Wolf, was a noble one. Tyr is noted for his sense of duty and ethical responsibilities, in contrast to the pantheon of deities who are not concerned with such. The Teiwaz rune symbolizes all qualities associated with the God Tyr, including strength, heroism, duty and responsibility. It is said that Teiwaz is 'Tyr’s Rune'.

The Teiwaz rune is one of the oldest runes in the Elder futhark, having remained virtually unchanged from the earliest Bronze-age rock carvings, and it’s meanings and implications remain true. Teiwaz focuses the attention and forces discipline. Embodied in this rune is the energy of discrimination. It is one of courage and dedication.

The Teiwaz rune is phallic in shape and contains the embodiment of masculine energy, which resides in both men and women. The qualities of Teiwaz are often exerted and looked for in men more so than women, as a way of measuring and judging them. Teiwaz, the rune, is one of fatherhood and all that it entails.

The Teiwaz rune symbolizes new challenges and initiations into new understandings. It represents voluntary sacrifice made by someone who understands exactly what they are giving up and why.

Remember, the truth will always be victorious in the end .

Strength

Temperance

Tyr

Stan Rune

Stan for st (stone).

From the outside the stone is a riddle, even though a cow steps on it. But when two stones are rubbed, sparks fly out. Perhaps there is a moon shining from somewhere or perhaps it is just cool and quiet.

Stan represents a stone. Whilst this can be taken to represent a blockage in one’s path, it is more that this represents the Ethel stone raised in memoriam of a land owner and in acknowledgement of the new owner. In this it is a record of one’s great deeds, a mark of one’s strength, skill, achievements. A rune which represents be able to confidently boast about what you have done that it may forever be remembered.

Stan represents an obstruction in our path, like a boulder at the entrance to a cave. It also represents the stone playing pieces used in board games. Symbolically, it represents a link between heavenly bodies and earthly beings. This rune can be used to obstruct and turn back any opposition in our lives.

Stan is a rune to use when you have achieved much and wish to make your mark more permanent, it is a good rune to use on one’s CV or resume when proving that one is employable, though I’d make it invisible to avoid awkward questions.

Sowulo Rune

Sowilo or sæwelo is the name of the s-rune, meaning sun s. Sunna, guide, purity.

The sun is ever a joy in the hopes of seafarers
when they journey away over the fishes' bay,
until the courser of the deep bears them to land.

Sowulo represents the power of the Sun. In almost every religion in the world, the Sun is held most sacred. To the Norse, the sun was known as Sunna or Sol and was considered feminine. The sun’s light and warmth symbolizes life, nurturing, growth and all that is good.

According to Norse cosmology, the sun is driven around the heavens in a chariot chased by a great wolf, which intends to devour it when it reaches Ragnarok. The sun is associated with the horse, as Norse mythology dictates that the sun is carted through the sky by a horse and chariot. Sowulo then, is also associated with the horse.

As a representation of power, nothing compares to the Sun in this world. With the Sowulo rune, it represents success and glory. The Sun is very much an active symbol. The Sowulo rune encourages one to take positive action and move forward along their path, taking a brief pause to bask in the sunshine, warmth and healing rays of the sun along the way.

The Sowulo rune represents someone or something that is a ‘guiding light’ for others, a teacher or mentor. Sowulo can also be viewed as a ‘road map.’ It lights the way.

Sowulo is the rune of potential and success, energy and expansion. Sowulo promises that goals will be achieved and honor bestowed. It presages a union between the conscious and the unconscious, but it also counsels restraint.

Weather

Sunna

Raido Rune

Raido ride, journey, quest; is the name of the r -rune of ᚱ.

When one sits in one's home
everything looks so easy;
talk is easier than action.
To walk in another's shoes
and do better,
that is a most difficult task.

This rune represents the path of a person’s life and how it interacts and intersects with other people’s life paths.

Raido reminds us that although it may seem that we have accomplished our goals, life and change continue and we must go along with the flow. Raido points out the right (or best) path among a selection of choices and alternatives. We will eventually end up where we began, but on a higher level and with a better perspective. The journey never really ends.

Radio literally makes things go. Where Fuhu f makes things go, Radio represent the directed pathway on which it will travel. It is used as a conduit for taking control and beginning new projects.

Recognize that everything comes in cycles. By following these cycles you will be able to progress quickly and efficiently and live your life with the flow of the seasons. Embrace hard times in the certainty that the harder it is now, the more beautiful things will be in the future.

Cweorth Rune

Cweorth or Eoh for q (Fire, action, power).

We have been through the fire
We have been the funeral pyre
We have learn to purify, to cast aside
that which keeps us from living fully
And now we blaze as well as flame.

Cweorth is the Fire-Twirl - the Fire of Cremation that transforms the spiritual body at death. This is the Rune of Valhalla where the Einheriar feast with the Gods. It represents a flame, and through this, the transformation of one state of being into another, this can be either through the funeral pyre, or through alchemy.

Fire is a purifying, masculine energy, associated with the South, and connected to strong will and energy. Fire both creates and destroys, and symbolizes the fertility of the God. Fire can heal or harm, and can bring about new life or destroy the old and worn.. For color correspondences, use red and orange for Fire associations.

Like Ken/Kaunaz, it is a rune of Fire, but where Ken is the smith's Fire that forges, or the torch of Truth that lights the way, Cweorth is the Fire of purification and destruction, the funeral pyre that burns away the dead flesh. The home of all Fire in the Norse cosmos is Muspellheim, the fire-world. Its keeper is Surt, the great grim Fire giant who engineered the beginning of Midgard, deliberately steering his fiery realm into the ice-world of Niflheim. Surt is the Keeper of the Funeral Pyre, and he is a no-nonsense deity who demands perfection.

The Cweorth is to help someone get through burning times, and have the strength to excise what needs to go. With those obstacles cleared, new things might grow and mature in their place. It is a good rune to use when wishing to change something negative into something positive, for instance, hatred to love, poverty to wealth, sickness to health.

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Saturday, February 15, 2014