 Germanic name: GEBO
(Anglo-Saxon: GIFU; Old Norse: none; Phonetic value: G)
Traditional meaning: gift
The god primarily associated with this rune is Odin, although some people allocate this rune to Thor. In fact, there are certain
aspects of Gebo connected with marriage contracts and boundary-markers which are indeed attributes of Thor. The element of this rune is
air. Giving, as well as receiving, has always been an important part of Northern European customs, as is well documented in the Havamal.
The implication is that a gift was given on the understanding that a gift was to be received in return. It is therefore not only a
matter of giving, but also of receiving. Everything points to balance and equilibrium. The shape of the rune confirms this: two crossed
bars, their arms of equal length.
  Germanic name: WUNJO
(Anglo-Saxon: WYNN; Old Norse: none; Phonetic value: W, V)
Traditional meaning: perfection
The god primarily associated with this rune is Odin. But there is an Anglo-Saxon magical tradition
connecting this rune with the god Uller. The name of this rune is usually translated by
other rune-workers as "joy" or "pasture." This association with joy is evidently derived from the rune-name's similarity to the modem
German word Wonne.
Although this interpretation is not altogether
wrong, more light will be shed on our understanding of this rune if we concentrate on the original meaning of the word, i.e. "perfection," according to the philologist Jacob Grim. In all pagan traditions,
gods are seen as being partly good and partly bad, just like us - except that these characteristics are portrayed in the gods on a
grander scale. The Odinic aspects of Wunjo are more beneficial than is implied by the writers of the Eddas, in which Odin is
usually depicted as a warmonger, or an evil sorcerer. Wunjo contains all that is beautiful and lovable in Odin who after all is the fulfiller of wishes. |
