6/13/2016

?urisaz : giant
thurisaz.wav
Phonetic equivalent: th (as in 'thing')

DIVINATORY MEANINGS: hardship, painful event, discipline,
knowledge, introspection, focus

MAGICAL USES: aid in study and meditation, self-discipline, clearing out a bad situation

ASSOCIATED MYTHS & DEITIES: the Frost Giants, Loki

ANALYSIS: ?urisaz is the first of the 'obstacle' runes. These obstacles are not necessarily destructive things, but are placed in our path to strengthen and teach us. After all, you can't have a mythic hero without dragons to slay or giants to fight!

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. What may at first appear to be a negative, destructive event may well turn out to contain an important lesson. 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.