Ansuz Rune Meaning: Wisdom, Love and Reversed

Ansuz (ᚨ) is the fourth rune of the Elder Futhark, the oldest runic alphabet, used by Germanic peoples from about the 2nd to the 8th century. It stands for the sound A — and, in modern rune reading, for wisdom, communication and messages.

What Ansuz means

The name is reconstructed from Proto-Germanic ansuz, meaning a god — one of the Æsir, the family of gods that includes Odin and Thor. Because Odin is the god of wisdom, poetry and the runes themselves, Ansuz is often called Odin's rune.

The shape looks like an F with its two arms sloping downward. It is the A in the name Futhark: F, U, Th, A, R, K are the first six runes.

Ansuz rune pronunciation

Ansuz is usually said AHN-sooz, with the stress on the first syllable. Rune names are modern reconstructions, so you will hear small variations.

What the rune poems say

Medieval poems from England, Norway and Iceland give a verse for the rune that grew out of Ansuz, and each takes a different angle:

• The Old English poem calls it os, the mouth, and says it is the source of all speech.
• The Norwegian poem uses the same sound for a river mouth, the start of most journeys.
• The Icelandic poem names it as a god — Odin, lord of Asgard and Valhalla.

Mouth, river mouth and god: the common thread is a place where something comes out — words, a river, inspiration.

Ansuz rune meaning upright

Upright, Ansuz means:

• Communication — an important conversation, a message, a letter.
• Wisdom and good advice, often from someone older or more experienced.
• Inspiration — an idea arriving, a creative breakthrough.
• Signs — paying attention to what you are being told.
• Learning and study.

Ansuz reversed meaning

Ansuz is not symmetrical, so it can be drawn reversed (some readers call this merkstave). Reversed, it can mean:

• Miscommunication — something misheard or misread.
• Bad advice, or manipulation dressed up as wisdom.
• Not listening — to others or to yourself.
• Writer's block or a creative dry spell.

Ansuz rune meaning in love

Upright in love, Ansuz is about honest talk: the conversation that clears the air, saying what you feel, or a message from someone you have been thinking about.

Reversed in love, it warns of mixed signals, words that do not match actions, or two people talking past each other.

Quick reference

Ansuz rune tattoo

Ansuz is a common rune tattoo for writers, teachers, speakers and anyone who wants a symbol of wisdom or of Odin. As with any rune, the old poems give only short verses; the detailed meanings above come from modern rune reading, not from Viking-age sources.

Ansuz in a rune set

Ansuz looks like Fehu (ᚠ) with its arms turned down, an easy pair to mix up, so it helps to learn the shapes from a set you can hold. Our Elder Futhark rune set has all 24 runes in wood, with a bag for drawing. For the other runes, see Elder Futhark runes and their meanings, and for casting, how to read runes.