Runes

Ansuz

Also known as: ᚨAnsuz rune*ansuzAnsur

Ansuz (ᚨ) is rune 4 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are word, message and inspiration.

Ansuz is rune 4 of the Elder Futhark — the runic alphabet used roughly from the 2nd to the 8th century — and rune 4 of Freyr's ætt (an ætt is one of three groups of eight runes). It writes the sound "a", and in the Unicode block "Runic" it is ᚨ. Shape: a staff with two branches sloping down to the right from the top.

The name *ansuz means a god of the Æsir. In the Old English poem the rune ōs is "the mouth, source of speech"; the Icelandic óss is tied to Odin, the Norwegian to a river mouth. The names of the Elder Futhark runes are reconstructions by linguists, and the rune poems — Old English, Norwegian and Icelandic — were written many centuries later and describe later alphabets. They tell us about a tradition, not about a certain original meaning.

In modern reflective practice Ansuz is linked above all with word, message and inspiration. Ansuz is today the rune of word, breath and inspiration. It encourages careful listening and plain speaking — an answer often arrives in a conversation, a book or a remark made in passing.

As the rune of the day in Cards of the day, Ansuz has two short texts. The first: "Ansuz is the rune of word and breath. Listen more closely than usual today — an answer may come in a remark made in passing." The second: "Words carry weight. Ansuz invites you to choose them with care: one honest sentence can do more than long explanations." A question worth staying with: "What do I want to say plainly?"

In AstroSensus runes are a tool for reflection, not a prediction. There are no reversed runes and no "blank rune" — the latter is a 20th-century idea, not part of history. In a spread of three or five runes, Ansuz is always read together with its position and the other runes. The rune can also be your avatar on social media, with the bio line "ᚨ Ansuz — I listen closely and speak truly" as a reminder of your own intention.

RUNE OF THE DAY