Laguz is the Rune of water.
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
Lagu byþ leodum langsum geþuht,
gif hi sculun neþan on nacan tealtum
and hi sæyþa swyþe bregaþ
and se brimhengest bridles ne gym[eð].
The sea seems interminable to people
If they shall venture on a rolling ship
And the waves of the sea terrify them,
And the sea-stallion heeds not its bridle.
Norwegian Rune Poem
Lögr er, fællr ór fjalle foss;
en gull ero nosser.
Water is that which falls from the mountain;
as a force; but gold objects are costly things.
Icelandic Rune Poem
Lögr er vellanda vatn
ok viðr ketill
ok glömmungr grund.
Wetness is churning water,
and a wide kettle,
and the land of fish.
Water is the basis and essence of life. Carbon based life actually developed in water and the bodies of mammals still consist to 50-70 % of it. Therefore, this Rune is also closely connected to Niflheim, the world of mist, which is the source of most or even all water that flows through the nine worlds, depending on which source we look at. Niflheim is one of the first two worlds that comes into existence, the other one being Muspellheim, and once they interact, the first organism, Ymir, comes into existence.
In a Norse context water also played a very important role as the Norse, especially during the Viking Age, were a seafaring people. This meant that waterways were essential for trade and warfare but also in order to discover new lands. On the other hand, water and especially the ocean was also a rather scary and dangerous place. We can see this in the fact that the Norse had a Goddess that was responsible for collecting all the sailors that drowned during their journeys. Her name is Ran and she is a Goddess of the sea whose name is usually translated as “robbery”. She collects all the drowned sailors by using a large net that she drags through the oceans and brings them back to her watery hall where she rules over the ocean alongside her husband Aegir.
Laguz is a Rune that we can use in order to make things flow. We are all creatures of habit and while that’s not a bad thing in itself we’re constantly in danger of getting stuck in established behavioral patterns. Laguz can be used to break up such patterns in a somewhat softer way than Hagalaz does and bring more flexibility to our lives.
It is also a Rune of nourishment and can very well be combined with the forces of Sowilo and Berkano in that regard. Meditating on Laguz can help us to see, which aspects of our personality and behavior we want to nourish and which parts we would better let wither and die.