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In volume 15 of the Ah! My Goddess manga (This is the Taiwanese
version), we see Belldandy making some predictions with runes. (If you
can't read the words at the side, they are Verdhandi and Urduhr, the original
names of the Norns.)
Let's see what the runes are, from the visible bottom-most left corner up. - Thursiaz, - Ehwaz, The Blank Rune, - Ansuz, - Isah, - Hagalaz Then we also see Belldandy holding out three runes to Urd.
They are :
- Berkana, -
Algiz, - Wunjo.
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Now, let's decipher the meanings of the runes. (I've no idea how to use these to read fortunes, and I'll be using the direct divinatory translations as such.)
Thursiaz
: Giants.
The strength of the individual's will and the opposing will power
from the environment, hardship, painful event, discipline, knowledge, introspection,
focus, order vs. chaos, subconscious mind. (An Obstacle rune)
Wunjo : Glory.
Success, recognition of achievements, reward, joy, bliss, achievement
of goals, contentment.
Ehwaz :
Horse.
Emotional responses; adaptability; subjectivity.
The Blank Rune : Cause of all Causes.
The reason for all causes, seed of beginnings. The unknown, or unknowable
knowledge.
Ansuz :
Odin.
Higher sources of communications from either within or outside the
self.
(An alternate meaning would be strength and power, tempered by wisdom
and experience.)
Isah :
Ice.
Blockages, frustrations and any hindrances. Also : Inactivity, stagnation,
potential, patience, reflection, withdrawl, rest.
Hagalaz
: Hail.
Disruptive forces creating change in one's consciousness. Also :
Sudden loss, ordeal, destruction, disaster, clearance, testing, karmic
lesson, drastic change.
Berkana
: Birch.
Fertility, health, new beginnings, growth, conception, plenty, clearance.
Algiz :
Protection
The ability to defend yourself and protect that which is nearest
and dearest to you. Protection, assistance, defence, warning, support,
a mentor, an ethical dilemma.
For reference, World of Elegance, Urd's Angel, was sealed up inside Urd, never to come out again after Urd took one look at her and screamed to World of Elegance to get out of her sight and never appear again. Since an Angel is a Goddesses' best friend, soul partner and everything, it was quite a loss to Urd....
Now, Belldandy said there would be reunion of friends after chaos
later in the manga. If we look at her readings from the top down (starting
with Hagalaz, at Urduhr), we find that a disruptive force in Urd's life
(as well as an added loss) is the beginning of a lesson to be taught to
Urd to overcome an ordeal and loss through a drastic change in herself.
Then, comes Ansuz and Isah. Angels respond strongly to emotional
callings (and from the Soul), so much more so that they can totally ignore
a Goddesses' verbal commands if the calling from within is strong enough.
Urd's inability to call out World of Elegance at first was because of a
hinderance, Urd was frustrated about this too. World of Elegance was patiently
inactive for this period of time although she had the potential to be called
out through a certain means.
Next is the Blank Rune. Looking at its meaning of the reason for
a cause, the chaos/disruptive force to begin will/might be a cause for
an emotional calling from within (looking from above), ignoring any hinderances
and obstacles that would otherwise get in the way. Belldandy has a hand
in helping this event occur because she told Urd about the joy of having
an Angel by her side, which Urd then took into consideration.
Following that, we see Thursiaz (looks like Wunjo from an angle)
and Ehwaz. Urd will have a test of wills between the command she gave World
of Elegance and the emotional calling she has for her angel. It will be
a painful thing for her to accept herself as what she is, and what her
Angel will remind her of forever, but it requires a discipline to accept
the truth. Thinking back, Urd understands herself better and knows that
she must accept her heritage, and all this happens amidst the chaos of
Skuld's power magnifying (Alpha-707) machine, to which she must
bring order to (order vs. chaos) with her Angel. This will be a hurdle
Urd has to cross, both for herself and for her attemp at angel summoning.
World of Elegance will only appear now, however, through the emotional
calling by Urd that she needs World of Elegance.
Then the Runes held out to Urd in Belldandy's hand are specifically
Urd's fortune.
A new beginning occurs for Urd when her Angel is finally released
from the bonds that held her within Urd, unable to come out by mere verbal
commands.
It was only because of the need to rescue and protect Skuld and
Keiichi from harm was Urd able to call out World of Elegance, and that
Urd had a problem because to call out her Angel would mean facing the side
of herself she never wanted to see, and never wanted to believe in. She
felt conflict about her ethics of accepting her heritage, especially seeing
it in World of Elegance.
But, finally, glory arises as Urd calls out World of Elegance. Urd
has finally attained joy and happiness as a reward for accepting herself,
as well as the contentment of having done so. She has finally achieved
her goal of acceptance.
Got It?
I think Kosuke Fujishima did some really in depth study into this Rune-fortune reading and had a heck of a time collating all of them into his storyline. There is the possibility that in that frame (with 177 at the bottom) there were more fortunes to be told about Urd's life, but the runes couldn't be seen... Anyway, this is my interpretation of the runes found here.