Rune 21 of 24 · Tyr's aett
Laguz
“water; lake” · sound: l
Can be drawn reversed when reversals are on.
Historical evidence
Water or sea in all three poems (lagu, lögr). The Old English poem speaks of the sea's terrors to seafarers; the Norwegian poem of a waterfall.
The name Laguz is a modern reconstruction of the Proto-Germanic name; the Elder Futhark’s own names are not recorded.
In the rune poems
Original
Lagu byþ leodum langsum geþuht,
gif hi sculun neþan on nacan tealtum
and hi sæyþa swyþe bregaþ
and se brimhengest bridles ne gym[eð].English
The sea seems endless to people if they must venture out on a rolling ship, and the waves of the sea terrify them, and the sea-steed pays no heed to its bridle.
Original
Lǫgr er, fællr ór fjalle
foss; en gull ero nosser.English
Water is what falls from the mountain as a waterfall; but treasures are of gold.
The Norwegian rhyme pairs each rune with a second line that rhymes with the first and often has no obvious connection to it.
Original
Lögr er vellanda vatn
ok víðr ketill
ok glömmungr grund.
lacus lofðungr.English
Water is a welling stream and a wide cauldron and the land of fish. Lake [Latin lacus]. Praised one.
Each Icelandic stanza ends with two words: a Latin gloss of the rune’s name and a poetic word for a king or chieftain that alliterates with the rune. Both are translated as they stand.
Original texts as printed in Bruce Dickins, Runic and Heroic Poems of the Old Teutonic Peoples, Cambridge University Press, 1915. Public domain. The English translations are Scryway’s own, made line by line from these texts; square brackets mark uncertain or added words. No published translation is reproduced.
Modern interpretation
From 20th-century and later divinatory practice, written for Scryway. Not a historical meaning.
Keywords: flow, intuition, the unconscious
Upright
Flow and intuition: going with the current, trusting feeling, dreams and emotional depth.
Reversed
Being swept along, confusion or fear of deep water. Trust your footing before trusting the current.