Study › Runes & Norse › Naudhiz
Naudhiz (ᚾ) is the tenth rune of the Elder Futhark. Also spelled Nauthiz, its name means "need", and its meaning is necessity: the will and discipline that force a thing to be done. It cannot be reversed.
Keywords: need, necessity, discipline, will, constraint
What does the Naudhiz rune mean?
Naudhiz is the tenth rune of the Elder Futhark. It comes after Hagalaz, and Isa comes after it.
Its name means "need" — both being in need, and the pressure that forces a thing to be done. Coming after the necessary destruction of Hagalaz, it marks the moment just after the breaking, when discipline and willpower matter most: the time to keep the collapse from spreading and to turn an unavoidable setback into a season of growth. It carries the feeling of winter, and of the ancient struggle to survive it while knowing that spring waits just beyond. In runic magick Naudhiz is often used to reinforce the effect of other runes, or on its own to compel something into being.
Naudhiz is a non-reversible rune. It stands for need, and for help in a time of need, and it is closely tied to discipline and willpower. To read Naudhiz in a spread it often helps to draw a second rune and interpret the two together.
It comes after the breaking of Hagalaz, when discipline matters most.
Naudhiz in a reading
Naudhiz in love
Longing for what is missing. Staying together out of necessity. Patience and self-restraint. The will to make it work. Limits within the relationship.
Naudhiz and money
Financial need. Spending only on essentials. Budget discipline. Determination to earn. Tight constraints.
Naudhiz and health
The body's needs must be met. Rest has become a necessity. A strict regimen. Willpower aids recovery. Physical limitations.
Naudhiz on the spiritual path
A deep inner need. Hardship that teaches. Spiritual discipline. Strength of will. Growth within limits.
Can Naudhiz be reversed?
No. Naudhiz looks the same either way up, so it has no reversed meaning: it reads the same however it falls.
Naudhiz in the rune poems
The rune poems are the oldest sources for the runes' meanings. Here is what each one says of Naudhiz, first as written, then in English.
Norwegian Rune Poem
Nauðr gerer næppa koste;
nøktan kælr í froste.Constraint gives scant choice;
a naked man is chilled by the frost.
Icelandic Rune Poem
Nauð er Þýjar þrá
ok þungr kostr
ok vássamlig verk.
opera niflungr.Grief of the bond-maid
and state of oppression
and toilsome work.
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
Nyd byþ nearu on breostan; weorþeþ hi þeah oft niþa bearnum
to helpe and to hæle gehwæþre, gif hi his hlystaþ æror.Trouble is oppressive to the heart;
yet often it proves a source of help and salvation
to the children of men, to everyone who heeds it betimes.
Questions
How do you pronounce Naudhiz?
Say it "NOW-theez".
What does the Naudhiz rune look like?
Naudhiz (ᚾ) is an upright line crossed by a short slanted bar.
Can Naudhiz be reversed?
No. Naudhiz looks the same either way up, so it has no reversed meaning.