Rune 20 of 24 · Tyr's aett
Mannaz
“human being” · sound: m
Can be drawn reversed when reversals are on.
Historical evidence
The human being in all three poems (man, maðr). The Old English poem notes that each person is dear to their kin, and yet each must part from the others in death.
The name Mannaz is a modern reconstruction of the Proto-Germanic name; the Elder Futhark’s own names are not recorded.
In the rune poems (original texts)
Man byþ on myrgþe his magan leof:
sceal þeah anra gehwylc oðrum swican,
forðam drihten wyle dome sine
þæt earme flæsc eorþan betæcan.Maðr er moldar auki;
mikil er græip á hauki.Maðr er manns gaman
ok moldar auki
ok skipa skreytir
homo mildingr.Original texts as printed in Bruce Dickins, Runic and Heroic Poems of the Old Teutonic Peoples, Cambridge University Press, 1915. Public domain. The summary above is Scryway’s own; no translation is reproduced.
Modern interpretation
From 20th-century and later divinatory practice, written for Scryway. Not a historical meaning.
Keywords: self, community, the human condition
Upright
Yourself among others: identity, relationships, mutual help, and awareness of your limits.
Reversed
Isolation, or being judged and judging harshly. Self-deception.