Runes Interpretation : THURISAZ
This is the troll-rune as used in the Norse poem For Scirnis or Skirnir’s Ride. It has the power when employed in a sequence of three to alter the meanings of succeeding runes. Its use was said to evoke demons from the underworld, and it was also known as ‘Hrungnir’s heart’, after the legend recorded by Snorri Sturluson of the killing of the giant Hrungnir by Thor. The giant’s heart was said to be like the runic character, sharp-edged and three-cornered, and on the Skane bracteate 1 Thurisaz is written !\ which is perfectly in accord with this description.
ASRP reads ‘thorn’ for the meaning of this rune. This description of a sharp and evil thing to touch, uncommonly severe to those who sit amongst them, applies as well to the enemies of the Æsir as to thorns. NRP and IRP retain ‘giant’ as the meaning, and ascribe to these creatures a penchant for torturing women. This could well be a sexual allusion, as the ideas of the thorn and the penis are not unrelated, as the archaic but still current slang term ‘prick’, meaning the male member, ably demonstrates.
The shape-shifting power of this rune is that ascribed to trolls or ogres. That it is hardly favourable is supported by the NRP gloss that ‘misfortune makes few men cheerful’.
Thurisaz is pronounced th as in ‘thin’.
