Ansuz — (pagan) god, áss
sound a · Proto-Germanic *ansuz · rune 4 of 24
The mysterium tremendum of the runic row — the banner of Odin as the numinous god of magic and ecstasy. It is the rune involved in the creation of humankind: it bears the gifts of önd (breath, spirit, the animating principle) and óðr (inspiration), with which the gods endowed Ask and Embla. Ansuz is the receiver-transformer-expresser of spiritual force and numinous knowledge: power is received from the æsir, transformed within the human being, and poured back out into the world in magical and religious acts.
Core meaningmodern reconstruction, 20th c.
The mysterium tremendum of the runic row — the banner of Odin as the numinous god of magic and ecstasy. It is the rune involved in the creation of humankind: it bears the gifts of önd (breath, spirit, the animating principle) and óðr (inspiration), with which the gods endowed Ask and Embla. Ansuz is the receiver-transformer-expresser of spiritual force and numinous knowledge: power is received from the æsir, transformed within the human being, and poured back out into the world in magical and religious acts. It is the rune of the word, song, poetry, and magical incantation (galdr), and also the ancestral force passed down by blood: the unseen bond between the ancestral gods and their people.
Ansuz in divinationmodern reconstruction, 20th c.
Paxson: the rune of Odin, of word and consciousness — mental/creative and especially verbal activity, wisdom or the need for it, inspiration; in a spiritual context, ecstatic experience or the action of Odin himself. The strongest “rune of the mind.”
Ansuz reversed (merkstave)modern reconstruction, 20th c.
Paxson (via Aswynn): in a “negative position” — disconnection from one's own true spirit, problems with communication, or spiritual imbalance; on the physical plane it may concern the breath/lungs.
Ansuz in rune magicmodern reconstruction, 20th c.
- strengthening active and passive magical powers and clairvoyance
- persuasive, magnetic speech, the gift of suggestion
- attaining creative wisdom, inspiration, ecstasy, and divine connection
- banishing death and dread through the knowledge of Odin
- galdr: “ansuz-ansuz-ansuz… a-a-a-a… as-as-as…”
- Paxson (practice): set up an altar to Odin in your study, state the kind of verbal craft you need, draw Ansuz on your forehead, chant the rune, and drink consecrated mead; call upon Huginn and Muninn to aid thought and memory.
The historical layerhistorical fact
The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name *ansuz means “(pagan) god, áss” — that much comes from the rune poems and comparative linguistics. The esoteric readings above are a 20th–21st-century reconstruction, not an attested ancient practice — see the Elder Futhark reference for what is actually historical.
Sources
Esoteric core and magical workings — Thorsson, Futhark (1984); divination/shadow/practice — Diana Paxson, Taking Up the Runes (2005). Both are 20th–21st-century revival, not antiquity and not proof.
Questions about Ansuz
What does the Ansuz rune mean?
Ansuz (*ansuz) — (pagan) god, áss. The mysterium tremendum of the runic row — the banner of Odin as the numinous god of magic and ecstasy. It is the rune involved in the creation of humankind: it bears the gifts of önd (breath, spirit, the animating principle) and óðr (inspiration), with which the gods endowed Ask and Embla.
What does Ansuz reversed mean?
Paxson (via Aswynn): in a “negative position” — disconnection from one's own true spirit, problems with communication, or spiritual imbalance; on the physical plane it may concern the breath/lungs.
How do you pronounce Ansuz?
The sound is “a”; the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name is *ansuz.