Mannaz (ᛗ) — Human, Self, Social Bond

Mannaz (ᛗ), twentieth rune and fourth of Tyr's ætt, is the rune of maðr — the human being as social creature, defined by kinship and mutual obligation. The Old Icelandic Rune Poem says: 'Maðr er manns gaman' — man is the joy of man, yet also an augmentation of the earth (the grave awaits). The stave-form of Mannaz shows two figures leaning into each other — the fundamental unit is not the individual but the pair, the bond, the community. In the Völuspá, the first humans (Askr and Embla) receive their gifts (önd, óðr, lá) from three gods acting together; humanity itself is born of collaboration among the Æsir.

Cross-Tradition Resonances