Elder Futhark · Tyr's aett · rune 20 of 24
ᛗMannaz
The human, seen among other humans.
- Name means
- man, human being
- Sound
- m
- Aett
- Tyr's aett
- Evidence
- well attested
What Mannaz means
*Mannaz is the human being, the word behind Old Norse maðr and English man. Tacitus records that the Germanic peoples sang of Mannus, son of the earth-born Tuisto, as the founder of their nation, so the name reaches back to a story about the origin of people rather than about an individual. That is the rune's grain: humanity as a shared species, and the self as a creature that exists in relation to kin, household and community. The popular modern reading of Mannaz as the private, psychological Self is a twentieth-century overlay on a much more social word.
What the rune poems actually say
All three poems have a stanza. The Old English is the darkest in the sequence: a man in his mirth is dear to his kinsmen, yet each must fail the other, since the Lord by his decree commits the poor flesh to the earth. The Old Icelandic maðr calls man the delight of man, the augmentation of dust and the adornment of ships. The Old Norwegian likewise makes man the increase of dust, then adds a line about the hawk's talon.
Evidence rating: well attested — Name and meaning securely reconstructed, and a rune poem addresses it.
In a casting
In practice this is the person-rune. Readers take it as the querent themselves, or the people around a question: allies, rivals, colleagues, family. It comes up when a situation turns on reputation, on how others see you, or on the willingness to ask for help rather than carry a thing alone. Ralph Blum's reading of it as the Self made that inward interpretation the common one.
Reversed
The staves-and-cross form used in many Elder Futhark sets looks the same when turned, so some readers keep Mannaz out of the reversible group altogether. Sets that draw it with a clear peak do reverse it, and read isolation, self-deception, poor company, or a person quietly working against their own interests.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Mannaz rune mean?
*Mannaz is the human being, the word behind Old Norse maðr and English man. Tacitus records that the Germanic peoples sang of Mannus, son of the earth-born Tuisto, as the founder of their nation, so the name reaches back to a story about the origin of people rather than about an individual. That is the rune's grain: humanity as a shared species, and the self as a creature that exists in relation to kin, household and community. The popular modern reading of Mannaz as the private, psychological Self is a twentieth-century overlay on a much more social word.
What do the rune poems say about Mannaz?
All three poems have a stanza. The Old English is the darkest in the sequence: a man in his mirth is dear to his kinsmen, yet each must fail the other, since the Lord by his decree commits the poor flesh to the earth. The Old Icelandic maðr calls man the delight of man, the augmentation of dust and the adornment of ships. The Old Norwegian likewise makes man the increase of dust, then adds a line about the hawk's talon.
What does Mannaz mean reversed?
The staves-and-cross form used in many Elder Futhark sets looks the same when turned, so some readers keep Mannaz out of the reversible group altogether. Sets that draw it with a clear peak do reverse it, and read isolation, self-deception, poor company, or a person quietly working against their own interests.