Uruz

“Mind over matter – matter over mind”

Uruz – “Oo – Ruse” – Literally: “Aurochs” – Esoteric: Endurance, Formation, Manifestation

Key Concepts: life force, physical health, courage, organic structure, manifestation, formation, healing, vigor, endurance

The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the Elder Futhark u rune ᚢ is *Ūruz meaning "wild ox"[1] or *Ūrą "water". It may have been derived from the Raetic alphabet character u as it is similar in both shape and sound value. The name of the corresponding letter in the Gothic alphabet is urus.

The Icelandic word for "rain" and the Old English for "aurochs" go back to two different Proto-Germanic words, *ūruz and *ūrą (although possibly from the same root). The Norwegian meaning "dross, slag" is more obscure, but may be an Iron Age technical term derived from the word for water (cf. the Kalevala, where iron is compared to milk).

Because of this, it is difficult to reconstruct a Proto-Germanic name for the Elder Futhark rune. It may have been *ūruz "aurochs", or *ūrą "water". The aurochs is preferred by authors of modern runic divination systems, but both seem possible, compared to the names of the other runes: "water" would be comparable to "hail" and "lake", and "aurochs" to "horse" or "elk" (although the latter name is itself uncertain). The Gothic alphabet seems to support "aurochs", though: as the name of the letter 𐌿 u is urus.

It is recorded in all three rune poems, and it is called Ur in all, however with different meanings:

Rune Poem:[2]	English Translation:
Old Norwegian ᚢ Úr er af illu jarne; opt løypr ræinn á hjarne.	Dross comes from bad iron; the reindeer often races over the frozen snow.
Old Icelandic ᚢ Úr er skýja grátr ok skára þverrir ok hirðis hatr. umbre vísi	Rain is lamentation of the clouds and ruin of the hay-harvest and abomination of the shepherd.
Old English ᚢ Ur byþ anmod ond oferhyrned, felafrecne deor, feohteþ mid hornum mære morstapa; þæt is modig wuht.	The aurochs is proud and has great horns; it is a very savage beast and fights with its horns; a great ranger of the moors, it is a creature of mettle.

Runic Number: 2

Meaning: Physical and mental strength and health. For males – virility and manhood; for females – femininity, womanhood, fertility.

Translation: Auroch, i.e. the European giant ox.

Gemstone: Carbuncle

Color: Dark Green

Polarity: Male

Element: Earth

Gods: Thor, Urdl

Astrology correspondence: Taurus

Tree: Birch

Plant: Iceland Moss

Psi: determination, persistence, freedom, courage, will, territoriality, independence

Energy: Vital formative force, archetypal patterning, raw primal power, survival, healing, endurance, manifestation, organic structuring

Mundane: physical health, stamina

Divinations: Strength, constancy, vitality, tenacity, pattern, luck, health, pragmatic knowledge, understanding; or weakness, obsession, misdirected force, inconstancy, sickness, ignorance, uncontrolled rage, insensitivity, brutality

Governs:
Shaping and forcing fortunate circumstances creatively through will and inspiration
Self-healing and maintenance of good mental and physical health
Assertion of home ground, personal space, independence and freedom
Strength and tenacity, courage, persistence against all odds
Ability to control aggression and take responsibility
Rites of passage, especially into adulthood

While FEHU is the symbol of a domesticated cattle, and Uruz is a symbol of the wild bovine, a reminder that cattle were once wild creatures. If Fehu represents young lovers, Uruz represents young warriors.

Though Uruz energy is also heavily invested in the hamingja, it is not suited for easy, conscious control as Fehu is. It is the rune of powerful unconscious shaping energies that need to be guided wisely as they manifest. It is an early reminder within the series that the untamed powers of creativity are not without danger – a reality quite clear in our modern technological civilization. It is the user’s skill and practiced techniques that will control the energy unleashed by this rune. It is the rune of independence, asserting oneself and one’s territory.

Life’s persistence and its endless resourcefulness in the task of survival are all implicit within the rune meaning of Uruz, thus it is a rune of manifestation, regeneration and endurance. The organic patterning energy of Uruz laces up the skin, sustains the ego and can be used to protect the psyche from trauma. Self-healing is the energy which pulls a diseased or ill form back toward its ‘primal blueprint’: the original, invisible shape intended by nature’s design.

Uruz is the rune of the inner-King and inner-Queen. We can assert our right to exist and be free in the very same primal authority that the aurochs did theirs. It is the will to live passionate and free.