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Here comes the second rune:
URUZ =Strength
The wild ox is fierce / With horns above / A bold fighter who steps the moor / A mighty creature I
The wild and single minded ox / swings it's horns fiercely / a bold being, stalking the moors II
Strength, manhood/womanhood, a wild ox - When the wild ox was domesticated - a nearly impossible task- it could help transport heavy loads. Learn to adapt yourself to this time. Humility is called for. To learn how to rule you must learn how to serve. The rune of termination and new beginnings - the ox follows the migration pattern to spend winter in a sheltered valley. Growth and change may go through your winter or dark time before proceeding to grow with renewed strength. A bond is being severed; the new life will be greater than the old. Seek among the ashes to discover your new strength. Cycles are at work here, death, rebirth, winter spring, the cycle will continue whatever you do to try and slow it down. III
The wild ox was a symbol of manhood attained, But he freely obeys the seasons change.
Gratitude
Be thankful for the love in your heart and grateful for the courage to face your pain and for your strength of spirit. Count your blessings, gratitude for having survived the past. If your are beginning to heal, be thankful you have finally begun.IV
Name: Ur
Number: 2
Sound: U
Colour: Green
Origin: Hallristingor carving
This is the symbol of the wild oxen. The wild and untamed side of the nature of cattle. The primal energies of creativity and fertility. There is an element of danger in this rune. In this context cattle where originally wild creatures. The rune shows the horns of a bull ready to charge. It was impossible to find wild cattle. Their capture was dangerous but success could lead to a sudden addition in wealth. This could be through immediate slaughter or through breeding to improve the bloodline. This rune indicates great power or potential but also danger from letting forces get out of control.V
This represents the wild martial side of cattle. The bull as opposed to the cow. In ancient Germany an initiation rite required that each adolescent male took part in slaying an auroch. By the nature of initiation this represents dramatic change, something that needs to be met without flinching. Whatever the change is, it will require the shouldering of new responsibilities. It implies a challenge lies ahead. If strength, determination and stamina are used, success is assured. The querent will need willpower to make lasting changes; they are something they can only bring about themselves. This represents a testing time, one that can prove productive if ' the bull is grabbed by the horns'. II
The energy behind this rune is the life force of the masculine polarity. This contains primal earth energy, the impulse 'to be'. The energy behind the forms of nature which survives all forms of destruction. Reforming itself into new patterns when the old ones are outworn. The energy of this is raw, primitive and unbelievably strong.
Germanic name: Uruz
2 of 1
Anglo-Saxon: Ur
Norse: Ur
Phonetic: U
Traditional meaning: Aurochs
Symbolises strength, persistence, durability and adaptability to environmental changes. The Aurochs is a savage beast / Is fierce and has huge horns / A great roamer of the moorlands / It fights with its horns / It is a courageous brute. Trans. RI Page In Germania it was used as a test for adolescents to become accepted as warriors in the tribe. This was necessary as the strength and survival of the tribe depended on its warriors. In German and Dutch the word 'Ur' means 'primal' or 'ancient'.VI
Planetary Rulership = Mars (passive) The Aurochs (Bos Primigenus) was a wild bison, now extinct, somewhat like the North American buffalo. The youths of the Germanic tribe had to kill an Aurochs to join the ranks of the adult warriors. The planet Mars is also significator of masculine energy. Indicates a chance to prove oneself. Energy and innate ability can handle forthcoming responsibility. Natural change and the letting go of childhood, replacing it with the unfamiliar territory of adulthood. Stamina and the natural power of resistance, energy determination and will power. Represents the male partner or strong willed woman. Rune of standing on one's feet. VII
The rune of the aurochs, wild force and energy of the ox. Good health and strong natural powers of resistance. Strong emotions and the true will are represented here. This is a forceful, driving masculine rune. Rules over changes, which are unexpected but can be dealt with. These are natural changes and do not need to be avoided. VIII
-The wild ox - Bos Primigenus.
-To go to adulthood through rite or ritual
-Masculine polarity - to be
-Strength, determination and stamina
Meaning: aurochs, Divinatory: Strength. Strength and responsibility. Not a force to exert over others but to stop others exerting over you. Use strength to keep focused on your path and to stop yourself being overbalanced. Many people equate strength with dominance and inflexibility. They confuse pride with strength, whereas pride is a weakness created by ego. To face up to weakness is a true strength. XI
The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is concerned with domestic cattle. Both 'Aelph' and 'Feoh' stress the interrelationship of wealth and power. In the first rune the ox has gone underground to reappear strikingly in the second rune as the wild ox. The strength and tenancy of the ox commanded respect. In runic society power not only resided in wealth but in force and freedom. The untamed is dominated by no - one. The possession and defence of personal territory (the home) is revealed as a respected and necessary pursuit. There is a double reference to horns in this verse. Horned helmets where perhaps used as talismans to induce the strength of the ox into it's wearer. In Hickes thesaurus and in Medieval glosses (word lists with equivalents in other languages) this rune is glossed by the Latin word 'Noster', which is the possessive pronoun 'our'. This arises from the fact that the word for 'aurochs' and 'our' in Old English was 'ur (e)'. Such examples of separate meanings for the same sound can mean that there is a symbolic relationship between the meanings. The ox is a possessive creature protecting his home ground. This ties in with the rune for 'home'. Deprived of space to call their own they may suffer the same fate as the aurochs, extinction.IX
The great European wild ox, known as the Aurochs. Killed off in Britain in the 1200's, the last one being shot in Poland in 1627. Aurochs horns where reserved for the use of aristocrats. The traditional Scottish drinking cup, the Corn, was an aurochs horn, tipped with chased silver. A set of nine aurochs drinking horns were buried with a Celtic lord in his mound at Hochdorf near Stuttgart, Germany (6th BC). A fine example was used until recently at Dunvegan Castle in Scotland, 2,500 years later. The rune for power, stamina, perseverance and healing, it cannot be used selfishly. In the younger Futhark, 'Ur' means drizzle or slag. XII
Julius Caesar described aurochs in De Bello Gallico as slightly less than an Elephant in size and the colour and shape of a bull. Symbol of great strength, speed and challenge to the hunter. Parallel implied in its defence against the hunter which compared to man defending against the invader. The bull believed to be dedicated to Thor. Achievement may also have been a meaning, hunting of aurochs providing ultimate test of strength and initiative. XIV
Rune of solidification and firm establishment, with ' both feet on the ground'. Colossal strength is the keynote here, draining strength from the depths of the earth. Represents the pioneer spirit. A bold power promoting enduring strength and dispelling weakness and self doubt. Rune stands for a determined effort of the will and that the querant will experience strength, good health and energy. Your focus as well as your strong desire, shapes your circumstances and places you in a powerful position. The rune of changes and challenges, sometimes sudden and unexpected and often vital to your goals. Auspicious developments may now be solidifying but items gained may come slower than first anticipated and accompanied by responsibility. Spirit power are the Druth or Dryads.XVII
Try to define this one from the first one - they both refer to cattle, but in different ways. Now on to Number 3!