Runes

Ingwaz

Also known as: ᛜIngwaz rune*ingwazInguzIng

Ingwaz (ᛜ) is rune 22 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are ripening, potential and completion.

Ingwaz is rune 22 of the Elder Futhark — the runic alphabet used roughly from the 2nd to the 8th century — and rune 6 of Tyr's ætt (an ætt is one of three groups of eight runes). It writes the sound "ŋ", and in the Unicode block "Runic" it is ᛜ. The shape is a small diamond, in some inscriptions with lengthened sides.

The name *ingwaz is the name of the god Ing. The Old English poem says Ing was first seen among the East Danes and later went east over the waves. 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 Ingwaz is linked above all with ripening, potential and completion. Ingwaz is today the rune of ripening and potential: what grows out of sight before it is ready. It also speaks of closing a stage, which makes room for the next.

As the rune of the day in Cards of the day, Ingwaz has two short texts. The first: "Ingwaz is like a seed growing under the soil. Not everything needs to be visible today — work out of sight is still work." The second: "Closing a stage brings relief and room. Ingwaz invites you to finish one thing before starting the next." A question worth staying with: "What is quietly ripening in me?"

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, Ingwaz 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 "ᛜ Ingwaz — I let things ripen in their time" as a reminder of your own intention.

RUNE OF THE DAY