Uruz is the Protogermanic word for Auerochs, a huge and powerful form of wild cattle that went extinct in the early 17th century.
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
Ur byþ anmod ond oferhyrned,
felafrecne deor, feohteþ mid hornum
mære morstapa; þæt is modig wuht.
Aurochs is fearless and greatly horned
a very fierce beast, it fights with its horns,
a famous roamer of the moor it is a courageous animal.
Norwegian Rune Poem
Úr er af illu jarne;
opt lypr ræinn á hjarne.
Slag is from bad iron;
oft runs the reindeer on the hard, frozen snow.
Icelandic Rune Poem
Úr er skýja grátr
ok skára þverrir
ok hirðis hatr.
Drizzle is the weeping of clouds,
and the diminisher of the rim of ice,
and the herdsman’s hate.
The Auerochs was a very impressive animal, bulls reaching a shoulder height of 1,80 m while weighing up to 1’000 kg. So this Rune clearly represents strength and bravery but also endurance. The moor as well as frozen snow are both very tiring to cover and drizzle is the kind of rain that can go on for hours and hours. Uruz is a very archaic force and can be used to dig deep into our mental, psychological and physical reserves. Being connected to this ancient energy, that was essential in the evolution of carbon-based life, also links Uruz to the past of our species or more specifically to our Ancestors. Ancestor worship was an essential part of the Germanic and Norse spiritual practice as it was and is in most animistic and holistic systems all over the world. These days most of us deny the importance of having a good connection to the past and to our own Ancestors as the human species is not very well behaved as history can confirm. Since we see ourselves as being better than the ones that came before us we have decided to cut our ties with the past, which is about as smart as a plant ripping out its own roots. Doing so we have condemned ourselves to repeating the mistakes our Ancestors made even though we do so electronically these days and mainly inflict emotional and psychological damage as we’re technologically evolved and no barbarian brutes.
So Uruz is the Rune of strength and endurance but also the Rune that can connect us to our personal past. An easy way to check if we use the Rune in a healthy way is to see if we actually get stronger and more enduring or just colder, harder and more vengeful. Also reconnecting with our past should make us more grateful to be here and more respectful of our environment and all the species that we share this beautiful planet with and not more close-minded, ignorant and hateful as these are clear signs that what we’ve actually connected to the shadow-side of Uruz…