Runecasting with the Giantess

Thurisaz is the third letter of the Elder Futhark; in Old Norse it is called Þurs. It was used in Anglo-Saxon England where it was called "thorn" or "þorn." It is pronounced with the voiceless TH sound, as in thigh, think, and through. It shows up as early as AD 200, in the Thorsberg Chape inscription.

Because the letter was called "thorn," some people suggest that the rune represents a thorn or that "thorn" is a kenning for a giant. Rather, þurs (giant) is a mnemonic for the letter, to assist the Old Germanic tribes in learning it. As seen in the Icelandic rune poem, "cliff-dweller" is a kenning, describing this being as someone living in the mountains. Researcher Lotte Motz classified several types of giants, and Þursar were monstrous, hostile giants, related to the Hrímþursar (frost giants).

Thurisaz also stands for boundaries: those you set up, those you tear down, and those that require long contemplation before you move against them. One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to set up a natural boundary to mark property was simply to grow a hedge of brambles around the perimeter. Just as the Old English rune poem describes, you can't throw yourself into such a barrier without shredding your own flesh. As a giant, Thurisaz has the ability to smash through any barrier around him, and when he sets up a defensive perimeter, no one is getting past him. This makes Thurisaz both the unstoppable force who crashes through every boundary, and the boundary that holds every force back. In the Old Norse mythology, giants were the personification of nature and the chaos it can bring, and the gods strove to enforce order and security amid this chaos, though they were fated to lose this war. "Nature bats last," as the saying goes. Giants also represented the Other, forces we can't understand, coming from realms beyond our humble little world.

The only way to get around these boundaries is another aspect of Thurisaz: stopping and thinking about it. Don't throw yourself into the brambles to transgress into someone else's area. Take your time, walk along the hedges, look for patterns to how it's growing, seek a thinning spot likely to let you through. This rune represents gateways and thresholds, the point where one realm borders another and you cross over. This is a rune of decision-making and contemplating significant changes you're about to undertake. You have you understand when it's time to look for a strategy or a compromise for passage, and when it's time to break through the wall and tear everything down.

When you feel life is getting to be too much, when people need too much of your time and energy, call to Thurisaz to help you establish your boundaries. Uruz gives you the power to announce yourself and establish your presence; Thurisaz gives you the power to protect it from anyone who would violate it. You have to value yourself enough to tell people, "Come no further, I've given you enough. The rest of me belongs to me." You have to see yourself as something worth protecting. This giant is also ready to carry you through the boundaries you face, those that don't need to be respected, those constructed for antiquated reasons, generational prejudice, the walls set up by petty tyrants and bottlenecks. Imagine his long stride reaching over any obstacle, or his huge feet kicking through them in an explosion of rubble, stomping these inequities back into the level ground.

Thurisaz is neither benevolent nor malevolent: he's a force of nature. His sheer power is associated with Þorr, just as Þorr is associated with going out and slaughtering giants. When this giant shows up in your life, you can expect hardships that will test who you are and what you're made of. This isn't malicious action: it's a crucible in which you're being tempered. When you find the strength to move through the barriers between you and your goals, you will necessarily come out on the otherside changed, improved, growing in ways you might not have anticipated.

Keywords: Catalyst, Defense, Challenge, Breakthrough, Barriers, Force