“The lame can ride,
The handles can herd,
The deaf can do deeds of valor,
Better to be blind,
Than burned on a pyre,
A corpse is of no use to anyone.”
- Hávamál
The handles can herd,
The deaf can do deeds of valor,
Better to be blind,
Than burned on a pyre,
A corpse is of no use to anyone.”
- Hávamál
Literal Meaning & History
The meaning of this word is need. The thing about need is that for it to exist there has to be shortage. As such this word has also been used etymologically both historically and in modern times in that context.
Neyð is the current icelandic form of this word.
Hungursneyð (hungurs-neyð) is famine (the need of hunger).
Hungursneyð (hungurs-neyð) is famine (the need of hunger).
As with the english word need, this term doesn’t just exist as a noun, but also as a verb, though there is significant difference in the meaning between the languages.
To need in english is to require something.
Að neyða in Icelandic is to force or coerce. Not in the sense of forcing a door open, but in the sense of forcing a person, or forcing the flow of water. It’s a term that doesn’t refer to a single moment, but to a whole event, or a change of the path of things.
To need in english is to require something.
Að neyða in Icelandic is to force or coerce. Not in the sense of forcing a door open, but in the sense of forcing a person, or forcing the flow of water. It’s a term that doesn’t refer to a single moment, but to a whole event, or a change of the path of things.
Figurative Meaning & Symbolism
This is Need.
And remember, for there to be need, something has to be missing.
This is not “really want”.
This is not “could use”.
This is Need.
And remember, for there to be need, something has to be missing.
This is not “really want”.
This is not “could use”.
This is Need.
This is a rune represents need in all it’s forms.
It is being burdened with things that make life more difficult for you.
It is oppression and hardship.
It is prolonged suffering.
It is the unyielding barriers.
It is despair.
It is the slow path of restoration.
It is being burdened with things that make life more difficult for you.
It is oppression and hardship.
It is prolonged suffering.
It is the unyielding barriers.
It is despair.
It is the slow path of restoration.
While the last rune, Hagalaz, dealt with short term suffering that sooner or later ends, this rune, Nauthiz, deals with the long term, the slow, the things that can get better, but won’t just end or stop. To compare to something physical, Hagalaz is like a broken bone, Nauthiz is like chronic pain.
This isn’t a hard day’s work, this is a hard life.
I keep pressing the importance of context, and here too, there is context.
This rune doesn’t tell you what is needed, who needs it or how need comes into play, for that you need context.
This rune doesn’t tell you what is needed, who needs it or how need comes into play, for that you need context.
And the thing about need is, that not all need is the same. Not all need is debilitating. Hence the quote from Hávamál.
Need isn’t something that can’t be fulfilled, can’t be treated, can’t be solved, but it will never be solved overnight.
And even if it can never be fully solved, fully fulfilled, fully treated, it can be managed, compensated for, even lived with.
And even if it can never be fully solved, fully fulfilled, fully treated, it can be managed, compensated for, even lived with.
Need isn’t just a rough patch or bump in the rode, it’s a shitty road, but even on a shitty road there are things you can do to make the ride a little easier, and the road might yet get a little bit better, and sometimes… sometimes you can get off the road, change your path.
Suggested Homework
Find a small need.
Not a big need, big needs are easy, a small need.
Not a big need, big needs are easy, a small need.
Something small in your own life. We all have these things.
One of your boobs might be bigger than the other, which is normal, but can make “finding a bra that fits properly” a bit tricky, or can even mean that the strain on your back is just slightly uneven and can cause problems that way.
Maybe you hate your nose.
Maybe you struggle understanding something specific.
Maybe you “can’t” do something you really really want to be able to do.
Maybe you’re scared of butterflies.
Okay, so some of these might be bigger needs than others, but the reason for “small personal need” in this context is so that it’s easy to go down the rabbit hole of “big personal problem” or even “societal issue that sucks so badly” and while it’s important to think about those things, the smaller things are easier to do this exercise with.
Write down your little personal need, the thing that won’t go away and has no available simple solution at this time.
Now write down all the little things you do to compensate and make this need less pressing.
Write down the things that genuinely help and those that you do that don’t.
Examine how you’re working on making this problem lesser for yourself.
Now write down all the little things you do to compensate and make this need less pressing.
Write down the things that genuinely help and those that you do that don’t.
Examine how you’re working on making this problem lesser for yourself.
Read that hávamál verse again.
Try and carry it with you, the simple fact that no matter how bad a problem is, no matter how utterly unsolvable it may seem, it doesn’t mean that there is nothing that can be done to make it suck just a little bit less.
Try and carry it with you, the simple fact that no matter how bad a problem is, no matter how utterly unsolvable it may seem, it doesn’t mean that there is nothing that can be done to make it suck just a little bit less.
