Kenaz (ᚲ)
Pronunciation: KEN-ahz · Latin equivalent: K · Freyr’s ætt, sixth rune
Name and meaning
Two names survive for this rune, and they could hardly differ more. The Anglo-Saxon poem’s cēn is the torch — known flame, bright in the hall. The Norwegian and Icelandic poems’ kaun is the sore — an ulcer, grievous to children. Modern practice overwhelmingly reads the torch, but the sore is worth remembering: fire also festers.
In the rune poems
Attested in all three, under the split names above — one of the clearest cases of a rune meaning different things to different rune-writing peoples.
Upright
The controlled flame: knowledge, craft, skill at the forge, revelation — the dark corner suddenly lit. Creative fire with a handle on it. Favorable for learning, making, and the moment of understanding.
Merkstave
The torch guttering or the sore opening: false illumination, a skill misused, exposure of what the dark was kindly hiding, energy burning inward. Instability where there was warmth.
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