Runes

Wunjo

Also known as: ᚹWunjo rune*wunjōWynnWunju

Wunjo (ᚹ) is rune 8 of the Elder Futhark; its modern keywords are joy, belonging and harmony.

Wunjo is rune 8 of the Elder Futhark — the runic alphabet used roughly from the 2nd to the 8th century — and rune 8 of Freyr's ætt (an ætt is one of three groups of eight runes). It writes the sound "w", and in the Unicode block "Runic" it is ᚹ. The shape is like the letter P with a triangular bowl at the top of the staff.

The name *wunjō means "joy". The Old English poem (wynn) speaks of the joy of one who knows little sorrow and has enough; the rune is absent from the Younger Futhark. 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 Wunjo is linked above all with joy, belonging and harmony. Wunjo is today the rune of joy and belonging: the sense of being in your place among your people. It encourages celebrating small good moments.

As the rune of the day in Cards of the day, Wunjo has two short texts. The first: "Wunjo is joy. Notice the moments today when things feel good — at the table, in conversation, in work you enjoy — and stay in them a little longer." The second: "Joy grows in company. Wunjo invites you to reach out to someone close or to do something together, however small." A question worth staying with: "Where do I feel I truly belong?"

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, Wunjo 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 "ᚹ Wunjo — I let myself feel joy" as a reminder of your own intention.

RUNE OF THE DAY