"U" or "OO"

Represents the great 
European wild ox, the auroch, 
and the drizzling rain

1st aett, 2nd rune

The primal forming force that gives 
structure to the primal fire. 
Together they form the forces 
of creation.

Patterning force, structure, 
formation, wisdom, and inner 
strength

Birch

Sphagnum

Emerald, green agate, malachite, 
aventurine, green beryl, chrysoprase, 
jade, green tourmaline

Dark Green

July 14 - July 29

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

The Germanic name: Uraz (Uruz)
 The Norse name: Ur
 The Anglo-Saxon name: Ur
 The Icelandic name: Ur
 The Norwegian name: Ur

Now extinct, the auroch was a wild 
ox whose main attributes were strength 
and ferocity. Uruz as the mother of 
manifestation represents form, structure, 
pattern, and order. While Fehu represents 
the active element of creative fire, Uruz 
is the energy that sustains this fiery 
life, and begins to weave it into the 
fabric of Oneness. The ice of Uruz is 
structured water, melting with the warmth 
of the sun, and thus giving life.
 As with wealth, strength also has its 
positive and negative polarities. On the 
positive side, being strong-particularly 
in your will and intention-can help you 
through the most difficult situations. 
On the negative side, too much strength 
can reduce your flexibility, making it 
harder for you to adapt and change when 
the need arises. In the case of the auroch, 
it became extinct by the thirteenth century. 
The message here is that you need to be strong, 
but strength alone will not sustain you or keep 
you alive. As more and more species become extinct 
every hour, we can see that it is imperative to 
be able to adapt to changing times. It is also 
crucial to understand that our strength as humans 
is innately connected to the strength of nature. 
When we destroy nature, we weaken and destroy 
ourselves.

Vanir-The family of gods who live 
in the upper world of Vanaheim. 
Associated with the Earth and 
sea, the Vanir rule the forces 
of nature. Some of the main 
figures are Njord, the god of 
the wind and sea, and of summer, 
and Frey, Njord's son, god of 
sunshine and spring. The goddess 
of love, Freyja, is Frey's twin 
sister. She wept for her husband, 
Odur (akin to Odin), when he went 
wandering the Earth in the form of 
the sun. Her tears formed drops of 
amber in the sea and drops of gold 
in the stones.

Ox, auroch, bison, bull, 
cow, horse, whale, dolphin, 
manatee, boar, sow, goat, 
ram, buffalo, bear, alligator, 
anaconda, baboon, sea eagle, 
gorilla, lion, hippopotamus, 
dinosaur

Water

2

Taurus

Strength

Just as Odin moved from one rune 
to another in Creation, one rune 
sets the tone for the next. Like 
the Fehu rune, Uruz takes its 
meaning from the great cow, Audhumla, 
representing the formation of all 
things. Fehu was the fire that 
creates and destroys, and Uruz 
was the drizzling rain and thawing 
ice that falls upon the Earth and 
begins the primal order of things. 
As Audhumla licked the stones of salt, 
it began the primal pattern that is 
mirrored in Oneness. Audhumla herself 
came from the dripping rime that was 
created when the world ice met the world 
fire.
 As Fehu provided the creative fire 
that drives the forces of Oneness, 
Uruz provided the structure for this 
creativity. Together they formed the 
basic forces that created this world, 
continue to sustain it, and will 
eventually destroy it. In a real sense, 
this sequence of birth, life, and death 
plays itself out not only on a lifetime 
level, but in every day of our lives. 
Every time we get up in the morning, 
move through the day, and then go to 
sleep at night, we are essentially 
acting out this basic sequence. In an 
esoteric or shamanic sense, this sequence 
brings transition, growth, and knowledge.

Draws energies together to 
create a magical pattern
 Heals both physical and 
mental ailments
 Knowledge and understanding 
of the self
 Magical strength and power
 Increases business opportunities
 Accesses the lays of power or streams 
of energy within the Earth
 Brings energy together and helps 
you realize your goals

Uruz, Uruz, Uruz
 U u u u u u u u u u
 U u u u u R r r r r
 U u u u u u u u u u 

Embodying the cosmic order, the Uruz 
rune contains an element of growth that 
is gained by overcoming obstacles. Uruz 
is the force that moves you to assert 
yourself in the world. The U-rune is the 
primal power and, in terms of divination, 
it stands for beginning to seek new life 
goals and increasing the energy present 
in old ones. Thereby, this rune helps to 
make things more stable and balanced, heal 
illnesses, and settle disputes.
 The U-rune provides an excellent vehicle 
for getting in touch with your strengths 
and, in turn, your weaknesses. By examining 
the energetic patterns that take place every 
second of the day, you can learn to influence 
this energy to your benefit. Everything is 
energy, and energy has pattern, and pattern 
has structure. The Uruz rune embodies the 
concept of pattern, and thus in a very basic 
sense has to do with the way Oneness is 
structured.
 As Fehu provided the creative fire to get 
patterns started, Uruz begins to give form 
and structure to them. It's important not 
to be too rigid as you structure your goals, 
but to remain flexible enough to adapt to 
situations and your surroundings. When 
setting up any goal, you first enter the 
Fehu phase, where the initial idea bursts 
forth like a flame in your mind. From this 
point, you move to the Uruz phase, where 
the magical pattern starts to take shape 
and you begin laying out the steps needed 
to create a successful outcome.
 The Rune of Strength and prowess suggests 
willpower, good health, and the rapid 
overcoming of forces arrayed against you. 
Uruz is a masculine and aggressive rune, 
but dangers lurk when it's reversed.
 Auroch is a kind of wild cattle, similar 
to bison, that once used to be widespread 
in Europe, however still becoming extinct 
by the middle of the XVII century. As oral 
tradition has it, auroch was somewhat 
smaller in size than elephant, featuring 
antlers approximately six feet in length 
that were highly appreciated by the Germans 
and used as horn cups for drinking out of. 
Drawings of auroch are found in neolithic 
caves, and on the basis of such we can suppose 
that auroch hunt meant the ritual of transition 
from the status of a boy into that of a mature 
grown-up man. Auroch symbolizes wild animal, 
opposition to a head of domestic cattle, the 
symbol of which is Fehu.
 Uruz is the rune of god in his sacred hunt, 
and at the same time that of shaman. Observing 
the earthly Nature, everyday survival denoted 
by Fehu, this is the first Man's recognition of 
the divine in Nature, and the first attempt to, 
through sympathic magic, influence it. This rune 
denotes awareness of death and our own mortal being, 
which separates us completely from animals. This 
rune's energy is crude, very strong and expressedly 
mascular; this is a simple, elemental Fire. The 
boy who has killed an auroch is only about to enter 
his mascular age; this is his initiation into the 
first level of mysteries - awareness that death 
is the source of life.
 When used in divination it signifies: passion,
vitality, instincts, wildness, sexuality, fertility, 
the subconscious, primitive thought, irrationality, 
shaman experiences, rite de passage.

For use in magik: to encourage 
and strengthen will, improve 
sexual potency and energy, 
hunt. 

When drawn in a casting in 
the upright position Uruz announces 
that essential for solution of the 
problem posed in the question are 
physical strength, energy, vitality 
and ability to endure, which are to 
be trained and developed.
 In its upright position this rune 
speaks of advancement in career. 
That advancement comes as a consequence 
of long-lasting endeavours with great
effort invested. This advancement 
promotion will yield a financial gain 
that will pay off each and all effort 
invested along that way. 
 The rune's inverted position tells 
that the person asking the question 
has had some exceptional opportunity 
for promotion i.e. advancement in career, 
however failing and missing such incautiously. 
Still, the golden opportunity that has not 
been utilized is no reason to grieve, as 
the rune says one could otherwise become 
a bitter and unhappy person. As one was 
not able to feel and assess the situation 
he was in, he would, hardly have found his 
feet in the supposed new role now gone, 
as he would not be able to keep control 
over such. 

Fehu Uruz Thurisaz Ansuz Raidho Kenaz
Gebo Wunjo Hagalaz Naudhiz Isa Jera
Eihwaz Perdhro Algiz Sowilo Tiwaz Berkana
Ehwaz Mannaz Laguz Ingwaz Othala Dagaz


Rune Interpretations

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