Nied

Kiama

Nied, prnounced by me: 'Nee-êd'

Also called 'Nauthiz', and if so, pronounced by me: 'Now- theez'.

Usually it is seen as representing Need and Wants. Often it is seen as representing a hard time of need, where the main lesson to learn is what your main needs and desires are, and, of course, how to cultivate patience to be able to deal with it. This is often a very challenging Rune, and not the most pleasant of Runes to come up in a throw.Some have interpreted as representing Constraint, and a time of severe constraint in which the lesson to be learned is how to deal with our self-limitations and how to use such limitations or weaknesses to better ourselves. It is sometimes said that the role of the hard times (Constranit) is to identify our 'shadow' areas, as such shadow areas are where our growth is stunted, and these areas are also where we find things to project onto others... It is important to learn from this Rune, as Rlaph Blum says:

"When at last you can look upon Nauthiz with a smile, you will recognise the troubles, denials, and setbacks in life as your guides, teachers, and developers."

When this Rune shows up in a reading, it could represent setbacks in your plans, and you should think twice about what you have planned: There may be good reason for setbacks! Also, when this Rune shows up, it can be telling you that when these setbacks ocur, you should use the extra time wisely on other things: Just as when a fisherman cannot go to sea, he repairs his nets.

Kiama
 

zorya

does this rune have a merkstave interpretation?
 

Umbrae

As a merkstave it represents constraint of freedom, distress, toil, drudgery, deprivation, starvation, need, poverty, emotional hunger.

As a person, it indicates a menial worker, or a bureaucrat (Are they not the same?).
 

zorya

thank you umbrae! still waiting for your book ;)
 

Kiama

AH, sorry: Forgot the merkstave thing! I usually read merstavs differently to Umbrae... I assume Umbrae reads Merkstave as the symbol facing the ground, wheras I do it like I would Tarot cards... With the symbol still being visible but upside down, thus rendering some Runes non-merkstave-able! This is probably a very untraditional way to read Runes in fact, so I apologise now to you all! ;)

Kiama
 

zorya

hi kiama! welcome back!
you might want to check out the thread "merkstave".
 

einhverfr

Nauthiz analysis

The Proto-germanic root is *Nauthiz. This becomes nyd in O. E, nauth in Old Norse, and need in Modern English. There are several interesting connections with this rune. Probably one important corollary is that of friction.

The ONRR and OIRP tend to emphasize the constraint aspects of the rune's difficult aspects. "Need makes for a difficult situation/ The naked freeze in the frost." (ONRR, Thorsson translation). If one is unprepared for need (for example of warm clothing in the cold), it can be fatal.

The OERP also states that this need is a "help and a salvation if it is heeded in time" (Thorsson translation). If one needs something, and one acts soon enough it creates a positive effect.

Another important derivative is that of the needfire, which was a ceremonial fire started through friction of one piece of wood against another. Note that the pictogram could be portraying something of this sort. If one is prepared for friction, one can carry it through to the ignition of a fire. This is one of the major goals of spiritual discipline. In the words of Gurdjeff "in the beginning it is all roses, roses. Later on, it is all thorns, thorns." Gurdjeff was observing that spiritual disciplines take, well, discipline and that while things seem great in the beginning, it is not long until it just becomes hard, grinding work. The end result however, is the spiritual breakthrough like the ignition of a needfire from the friction of wood against wood.

So if I can summarize, Nauthiz represents three things: Necessity, the result of ignoring necessity, and the breakthroughs that come from persevering through friction.
 

einhverfr

One more thing-- childbirth and Nauthiz

Sigdrifumal specifcally states that one should carve this run on one's nails to avoid being betrayed by another man's wife. This is in stanza 7, in the section on Ale runes.