The rune Wunjo or Joy rules the virtue of cheerfulness, which is as necessary to the Teutonic hero as strength or generosity. A cheerful mind through all hardship was seen as a great part of courage, as Sigurdhr, the greatest of Teutonic heroes, tells: "Ever the fearless, but the fearful never / will fare well in a fight / To be glad is better than of gloomy mood / whether all fall fair or foul"

This gladness showed forth the strength of will to endure all sorrows and hardships of a time much more beset with bodily struggle and threats than our own. For the vitki, it is a sign of the ability to maintain her/his enthusiasm for the Work in spite of all the disappointments, discouragements and strife within that come in the process of learning magick. Wunjo is the first rune of the will itself, as well as the rune of a balanced, integrated personality. To reach the goal of wunjo, you must be able to keep your pains and sorrows from looming too large in your life, yet you must know a few troubles in order to understand how to deal with problems when they do arise. Wunjo is the rune of fellowship and the bindings of kin, as distinct from the social contract of Gebo.

For the vitki, wunjo is the rune which melds the different sides of your own being into a whole, relieving tension and binding the sides of the self together as the kinsmen in the hall are bound. The reference to fortress enough hints that the vitki is never truly set apart from his/her base of power, but is able to keep the unwavering brightness of outlook which is her/his strength through all trials, because there is no weak spot in him/her which would be in danger of crumblin with stress.

Wunjo is used to battle all kinds of despair and sorrow which weaken the soul, especially when these stem from magical struggle. It is particularly useful in cases when emotional healing is needed, as it both strengthens and balances the self.

Wunjo is a good rune to use in healing rifts between people, especially between family members, and to unite varying groups of people. It is more powerful if a common threat or goal exists; it raises awareness of similarities and lowers the uneasiness that comes with unfamiliarity between people.

In the personal sphere, wunjo aids the twinned powers of courage and cheerfulness and helps self-confidence, bettering the self-image and giving the person a strong standpoint from which to relate to the world. It can also be used to make yourself pleasant and generally beloved.

The woe-working side of wunjo´s being are its capabilities to cause overconfidence, complacency or trust and affection towards an unworthy wight. It can dim awareness of the meaning of problems and lower alertness. The powers that enable this rune to deal with despair also enable it to lull warines and suspicion; it can attract someone to a person or goal which will work woe to him/her. Wunjo is a good rune if you are a leader of some sort, but the power a beloved leader has over her/his followers can easily work either for weal or woe. Also, magickally binding someone to yourself should be thought of as putting that person into a kind of slavely, which without good cause is a work against all right.

The being of the rune wunjo is shown forth on one level of the story of Baldr. Frigga gains the oaths of everything (except the little mistletoe) in the Nine Worlds that they will not harm Baldr, bringing him into their calin, as it were. This warding leads the gods to merrily toss weapons at him, a game which gives Loki his chance to put an arrow of mistletoe into the hands of the blind Hod and thus slay Baldr.

Wunjo is good in physical healing because it melds its healing of the mind and heart with the ability to bind the recovery of the mind with the recovery of the body. It workds best in warding against contagious disease by strengthening the immune system on all levels.

Ritually, wunjo rules the use of scents, which work as a vibrational key to harmonize all aspects of the working, both incense smoke and the use of oils, which both ward and strenthen the vitki. It tends to be more a passive than active harmonizer (considered against thurisaz, say), and most useful in creating charged atmosphere or bind-runes for a taufr meant to have a long term effect.

The best stones to use with wunjo are topaz, a traditional bringer of joy and warder against madness and sorrow, and rose quartz, which is said to open the heart and raise your sense of self-worth and ability to love. The newly found stone kunzite has also been proved to work well with this rune.

You approach what seems to be a fairground of olden days. People of all ages and races move along colourful stalls displaying a myriad of goods, from delicious-smelling food to crafts and weaponry. There is so much to explore and enjoy!

After having tried many of the available amusements, you find a place by the river, and stretch your body on the grass to allow for the sunshine and carefree spirit of the day to involve you in full. For this special moment, you put aside all burdens you have been carrying in and from all worlds and must have dozed off, because you are woken up by ... a group of youths?

'Aim higher! You will not get even close to hit me this way!'

With a start, you sit up and see a group of youngsters gathered around a beautiful blond boy of fifteen-sixteen years of age. The youth seems to be challenging them... to hit him! He is the target for the group´s attacks!

"Is this another macho boy game?" you considere with a sigh, already willing to interfere with events. "Time to check things out first before moving into action though".

You approach the group, and suddenly stop on your feet, because you realise Who is standing in the middle as a living target: Baldr, the Divine Child and Youth of Joy in Norse myth and religion, the firstborn of Odin and Frigga, who cannot be harmed by anything, except for a single spot in his body and by a tiny mistletoe. Then my attention shifted to the crowd following Him. Understanding and shame dawn on you like an arrow sinking on its target.

You laugh shakenly and from your corner of the field, and cheer... against Baldr, of course (in the circumstances!).

A bell sounds in the distance and the children disperse. Mealtime, for sure for them, so you finally get closer to a smiling Baldr.

'Hi', You greet. 'You did well with them'.

'So you saw us? What do you think of the game now? Macho boy stuff?" Baldr sits on the grass and points for a place by his side.

Your turn to blush as you sit on the grass beside Him.

'I do owe you apologies for my thoughts earlier today. There is much more to You than I had first contemplated, Youth of Joy..."

'Which is? He prods gently, stretching on the grass and closing his eyes. You know though that deep down He is all ears, alert and vivacious.

You pause and then continue:

'This is what I saw in the deep layers of the Game You played here: there is daring and challenge in your, and a sort of giving of the Self which is not openly apparent. You allowed yourself to be the willing Target and yet survived unscathed. One of your Mysteries is that there is strength in letting yourself be vulnerable . You were very giving hope, fun and joy to those children, challenging them to overcome their own limitations in many other levels. Not only the physical one.'

'So you don´t find me such a macho boy?' he teases, eyes wide open now.'You know, I am not that perfect in the end..."

'And so waht?' you reply. 'It is that very tiny spot that may wound you forever that make you so special, for you truly are strong, yet vulnerable as well. I prefer you this way, because this is the mystery you share with us mortals. Your frail spot means to me the small imperfections that make people in general and you in particular need as much love as you merit it, and so make you unique. Child of Joy whose Spirit lives within us all, why would I want you perfect then?'

Baldur's face glows so brightly and changes. You see in His changeable features the faces of people who brought you joy, young and old, friends, mentors and lovers, the ones who inspired you, of all sexes, races and creeds. Then He changes into Baldr again.

'Have you got a special wish I could grant you this very day?' He asks.

'Perhaps this could be my opening line to You too?' You enquire back, love and laughter dancing in your full being.

Baldr traces the sigil of the rune Wunjo in the air, and the rune projects itself to involve your mind, body, heart and soul, filling your whole being with Joy and Contentment.

You are too bemused to say or do anything. Then Baldr tilts slightly his head, smilesand gives you a long, measuring look.

Suddenly everything was bright and perfect and ... you rush to hug the Child of Joy and Eternal Inspirer, Odin´s and Frigga´s firstborn, the Heir of the greatest of all Norse Sacred Couples.