[Vilturj] 03 - Anossa

[moonvoice]

Anossa (Ah-NOSS-uh or Ah-NOAS-uh) - (also known as; Ass, Ace, Ansuz, Us, Oss (Norwegian and Icelandic), As, Os, Ossil, Aniss, Othil, Athil)

Value - Open to some controversy. Generally a sharp 'AH' or 'O' as in 'rock', but also; O as in 'boat'

Numeric Order - 3 or 4

Traditionally Represents - The Mouth-Piece. The Voice. Odin. The Word. Ash. Shaman (Oraite/Ilkara'te). Urt. Breath.

Represents - Odin. Wolf. Raven. Eagle. Horse. Snake. Dragon. Ash. Wednesday. Oats. Ash Wednesday. Kingship. Knowledge. Communication. Spoken/Written Word. Wisdom. Ostara. East. Easter. Breath. Well-Being. Word. Rising. Ash. Acceptance. Phoenix. Odinnic/Othinnic Self-Transformation. Intellect. The Shaman. Lesavny. Urt. Ilkara'te.

A scourge of illness
traps the barren families
but speaking, they go forth
into new cities, to celebrate the sun.

- Vilturj Rune Poem

Anossa is the mouth-piece, the valuable word, and the mouth that speaks the valuable word. For this reason the Anossa rune has come to symbolise the raven and the phoenix/firebird, who both acknowledge the power of the voice and language, and use it wisely. Anossa is the womb of the mouth, the mouth-womb, from it we give birth to words, ideas, and communicate the many mysteries of spirituality.

Anossa is mostly a joyful rune, it represents enthusiasm and inspiration, the rush of energy that one gets during a spiritual or creative 'growth spurt'. Anossa is the force behind suddenly wanting to go on holiday, or wanting to exercise, draw or work ritual. It is also the force behind spontaneous compassion, and the drive that compels healers to heal others.

Anossa as a teacher can teach you to accept what you have been rewarded with. You have earned it. The rewards may be positive or negative, and they always bring limitations. But with the limitations come new forms of freedom, and Anossa helps you to acknowledge where they lie. One of the keywords of Anossa is that of 'acceptance'.

Anossa represents the power of chanting, singing and basically word-power. People who have read The Wizard of Earthsea series by Ursula Le Guin as an example, will understand what I mean. Anyone who uses words in ritual can definitely benefit by working closely with this rune. Understanding that every word you utter has power, and that every word needs to be measured with either intellect or emotion, or a good balance of both, begins to intimately change one's life and how you are viewed by others. Anossa is excellent for helping this transition. Remember, according to the runes, the originator of all speech was Odin, or the gods, and as such, everything you utter has the whisperings of Odin behind it. Will you use that power for good, ill, or not use it all and appear foolish?

In Vilturj, Anossa was also representative of the Urt, and the breath needed to carry the Urt back into the body. It is innately associated with healing the soul through the breath. It is also the breath that powers our voice. Because we consider breath to be divine (it contains the soul, and is intimately connected to it), the voice by nature is divine. We must be careful of how we waste our breath on useless words, Anossa in Vilturj can represent someone who either needs to learn how to pay more respect to their inner divinity through voice and breath, or someone who has the ability to teach others this respect.

Anossa in a casting can signify the arrival of a spiritual teacher. Anossa reminds one to listen and learn, but to also remember your free will and personal responsibilities. One can learn from Odin, but it is not wise to trust him, or to forget your own intuitions. It can also signify the power of speech and how it can conquer tyranny. It represents the freeing power of expressing one's spiritual force.

Merk - This rune can represent the presence of propaganda, or powerful use of language being used to lie and manipulate. It can also represent misunderstanding within a relationship (particularly when tied with runes like Berkana), and even flat out delusion, psychotic or drug-induced or otherwise. It almost always means that the communication channels have been 'screwed with', either deliberately, or accidentally, by either side.

Inverted Anossa can also represent the dangers of misusing language, and when combined with one of the 'younger' runes can come to represent plagiarism or flat out lying/exaggeration. It represents a heavy bias if people are trying to give you advice, it can even point out a lying, or unknowledgeable rune-caster when lying alongside a Merked Pertho! Though I don't recommend you go about accusing the person in front of you unless you're very experienced. Anossa inverted can also represent a stifling or suffocation of existing intellect, either because of health reasons, or mental reasons.

In Ritual - In ritual, this rune is excellent for both receiving and conducting and sending energies, it is an excellent conduit. Scratched into a quartz point, particularly on wands, it can add a fair bit of power to the workings and to the tools. It can also be used for all forms of breath work, acknowledgement of sacred breath and word magic.

When working with healing energies, Anossa works best if the sick or dis-eased client has the rune drawn upon them or if the energy of the rune is invoked. Anossa is also a good protective rune for those who work their magic conscientiously. It tends to work best in association with violet.