Study › Runes & Norse › Laguz
Laguz (ᛚ) is the twenty-first rune of the Elder Futhark. Its name means "water", and its meaning is flow: energy in motion finding its level, intuition, and steady effort that needs no forcing. Reversed, its meaning turns against you.
Keywords: flow, water, intuition, steadiness, ease
What does the Laguz rune mean?
Laguz is the twenty-first rune of the Elder Futhark. It comes after Mannaz, and Ingwaz comes after it.
Its name means "flow", whether of water or of energy, and the uninterrupted running of a process. Mystical and meditative states belong to this same quality of flowing. In magick Laguz can stand for good, healthy energy; in health work it is the free flow of blood and the fluids of the body. Anything that is a continuous process can be strengthened by Laguz, so that it runs strongly and without a break — as water flows, so flows Laguz.
Laguz and Ingwaz are opposite archetypes that complete each other. Laguz flows and moves. Ingwaz is complete, and nothing flows out of it. Together they are stronger than either one alone.
Laguz is a stream — gentle, unbroken and moving. It can also stand for emotions and love. It is a process that flows smoothly, without stagnation.
Its still opposite is Ingwaz.
Laguz in a reading
Laguz in love
Upright: Feelings move freely. Deep emotional waters. An intuitive connection. A bond that grows through small, steady care, day after day.
Reversed: Feelings are blocked. Emotional turbulence. Ignoring intuition. A bond left untended. Care given in bursts, then dropped.
Laguz and money
Upright: A steady cash flow, built by steady work. Small efforts, made every day, add up. Trusting your gut in business. Income grows as long as you keep at it.
Reversed: Cash flow interrupted. Effort comes in bursts, then stops. Ignoring your gut. Unstable income. Work started and not kept up.
Laguz and health
Upright: Good circulation. Blood and every fluid in the body flow freely. Water as a healer. Healthy habits kept up every day. Steady recovery, step by step.
Reversed: Poor circulation. Trouble with the blood or other body fluids. Blockages and fluid imbalance. Good habits started, then dropped. Recovery stalls.
Laguz on the spiritual path
Upright: Going with the flow. Emotional depth. Strong intuition. A daily practice, kept up gently. Growth that comes from showing up every day.
Reversed: Resisting the flow. Drowning in emotion. Intuition is blocked. Practice started, then dropped. Restless and unsettled.
Laguz reversed
Reversed, Laguz blocks the flow: emotions overwhelm, intuition fails, and effort stops and starts. It asks for steady work, a little each day.
Laguz in the rune poems
The rune poems are the oldest sources for the runes' meanings. Here is what each one says of Laguz, first as written, then in English.
Norwegian Rune Poem
Lǫgr er, fællr ór fjalle
foss; en gull ero nosser.A waterfall is a River which falls from a mountain-side;
but ornaments are of gold.
Icelandic Rune Poem
Lögr er vellanda vatn
ok viðr ketill
ok glömmungr grund.
lacus lofðungr.Eddying stream
and broad geysir
and land of the fish.
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
Lagu byþ leodum langsum geþuht,
gif hi sculun neþan on nacan tealtum
and hi sæyþa swyþe bregaþ
and se brimhengest bridles ne gym[eð].The ocean seems interminable to men,
if they venture on the rolling bark
and the waves of the sea terrify them
and the courser of the deep heed not its bridle.
Questions
How do you pronounce Laguz?
Say it "LAH-gooz".
What does the Laguz rune look like?
Laguz (ᛚ) is an upright line with a short stroke slanting down from its top to the right.
What does Laguz mean reversed?
It asks for steady work, a little each day.