Tiwaz: (Tyr). Victory, justice. The rune is shaped like an arrow, so one can visualize it going straight to its target. Tyr is the god who consented to bind the Fenris wolf by tricking him. In so doing, he voluntarily lost one hand.
Berkana: (birch). Nurturing, fertility. There is a sense of protection for the abandoned, in a gentle caring way. Growth is implicit.
Ehwaz: (horse). The rune may indicate a pair of horses in the original etymology. The rune can relate to a vehicle, including in the sense of how one adapts to circumstances. Partnerships (marriage or business) may be alluded to with this rune. "Bonding" may be a factor. Cooperation and adjustment may be ideas to consider.
Mannaz: (man). Cooperation for the benefit of the whole. The use of the mind to further such cooperation and success (however defined) may be considered here. There's a sense of the individual in relationship to the group, as well as the role of the intellect.
Laguz: (lake). This rune may relate to love (being half an Ehwaz). There's also the sense of that old saying, "still waters run deep". It has much tie to the emotional state of a person.
Inguz: (Frey). As can be seen below, this rune has two forms. (As do some of the others.) I see it as a seed, gestating below the surface of the soil, in a period of apparent stagnation. But the seed is waiting. Processes we cannot see have been finely honed. This rune may mark a dark night within a person, through which they must travel. In a sense, it is sort of an initiatory rune. I see Jera as a positive outcome of a passage through Inguz.
Othila (Ogthala): (ancestral land). The sacred enclosure; sometimes Gaia herself. The old Norse and Germans were tribal, as are some Native American tribes today. The land held both itself and the family/tribe. There's an interdependence between the land and those who live upon it (sadly forgotten by many of our politicians...); it may be this which is explored here. There may also be a strong sense of safety implicit in this rune.
Dagaz: (day). This rune symbol swoops around like the infinity sign. Day and night -- it can touch the extremes, or what appear to be extremes. It is a rune of paradox, and I have found it a strengthening rune for me, in that it allows the contradictory parts of myself to explore and talk with one another. It breaks down, and builds up -- a truly syncretic rune that I'm not doing justice in my description of.
Many writers place Othila after Dagaz instead of the way it is listed here. Me, I still seem to interchange them, but decided for ease of reference to place them in the order they are contained in the picture presented back on the Futhark home page.
