At a glance

• Sound: m
• Place: rune 20 of 24, the fourth rune of Tyr's aett
• Also known as: Man, Mathr
• Keywords: humanity, self, community, interdependence, kinship, mankind, social bonds, relationships, belonging

Lore and history

In the Old English rune poem, the rune called Man was remembered as a person, a joy and a delight to kinsmen. It carried the sound of M and stood among the letters of Tyr's aett, the third of the three aettir in the Elder Futhark's twenty four runes. Its name meant man or humankind, not any one hero or god but the human being itself, set down among runes for gods, animals, and forces of nature as if to say that people too belonged in the telling.

In a reading

In modern rune practice, Mannaz speaks to the self as it exists in relationship: who we are among our people, our community, our web of ties. When it is drawn, many of us read it as a call to notice how we show up for others and how they show up for us, or as a nudge to lean on the support around us rather than go it alone. In a casting it often points to matters of cooperation, social standing, or the shape of our own character as seen by those who know us best.

Working with Mannaz

Some carry Mannaz when they want to feel steadied in their sense of self while still open to connection, a reminder that humanity is something we hold both individually and together.

A little more

Many modern rune teachers point out that the shape of Mannaz, two diagonal strokes meeting a central stave, looks almost like two figures leaning toward one another, a visual echo of its meaning of kinship and interdependence.

Keep exploring

• Before it: Ehwaz
• After it: Laguz
• All 24 runes