Thurisaz (ᚦ)
Pronunciation: THUR-ih-sahz · Latin equivalent: TH (þ) · Freyr’s ætt, third rune
Name and meaning
Proto-Germanic þurisaz, “giant” — the þurs, the jötunn as raw hostile force. The rune gave its shape and sound to the letter þ (thorn), and the Anglo-Saxon poem indeed calls it the thorn: sharp to the grasp, cruel to rest among.
In the rune poems
Attested in all three — as the thorn in the Anglo-Saxon poem, and as the giant outright in the Norwegian and Icelandic verses, where it is called the torment of women and the dweller in rocks. The double name is the double nature: small piercing defense, vast crushing threat.
Upright
Reactive force, the defended threshold, the hammer raised against what comes over the wall. A warning heeded in time; conflict that can be met squarely. Power available — handle it by the haft, not the head.
Merkstave
The giant loose: danger, malice, compulsion, force used recklessly or turned on the wrong target. Acting in anger you will pay for. The thorn in your own hand.
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