Uruz ᚢ

Uruz: the aurochs

Icelandic rune poem:

Úr er skýja grátr, ok skára þverrir, ok hirðis hatr

The shower is the lamentation of the clouds, and ruin of the hay-harvest, and abomination of the shepherd.

Aurochs were wild, bison-like cattle, later hunted to extinction. Uruz is linked to Audhumla, the primordial bovine of Norse mythology who licked the salty rime from rocks and revealed Buri, the grandfather of the gods. It is a rune of vitality, of physical health and strength, and of manifestation. It is a masculine rune, associated with the warrior spirit and endurance, (the aurochs could survive Nordic winters in the wild,) but also with insensitivity and violence.

There are several instances in the Rune Song trilogy when Adelais or a seidhkona (‘wise woman’ of the old gods) sings the rune song of uruz to invoke its healing strength in a sick or wounded friend.

For introductions to other runes, there’s a pull-down menu here. More details about the Rune Song epic fantasy trilogy via my ‘books’ pages or on Amazon UK or Amazon.com. All books are published by Second Sky / Hachette and are available in print, ebook, and audiobook formats.