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RunerNO

Rune 4 of 16

óss – The Oss rune

Sound
a nasal, o, æ
Meaning
river mouth

The Norwegian rune poem

Óss er flæstra færða fǫr; en skalpr er sværða.

The river mouth is the way of most journeys; but the scabbard belongs to the sword.

The Norwegian rune poem is from the 1200s and has one verse per rune. The original is in the public domain; the translations are our own.

Commentary

The Norwegian poem reads the rune as a river mouth — where the journey begins. The Icelandic one reads the same sign as áss, god, meaning Odin. Two traditions, one sign.

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