Wunjo
Wunjo is the reconstructed name of the eighth Elder Futhark rune; its Old English descendant, Wyn or Wynn, appears in the Old English Rune Poem. Like Gebo, Wunjo is not part of the Younger Futhark, so the only surviving rune poem stanza we have comes from the Old English Rune Poem. From Wikipedia, it's translated as:
Who uses it knows no pain,
sorrow nor anxiety, and he himself has
prosperity and bliss, and also enough shelter.
This stanza is why Wunjo is often said to represent joy. A life of no pain, sorrow, or anxiety, a life of prosperity and bliss and sufficient shelter - that does sound like a joyful experience, even now.
Joy can mean a lot of things. The thing that stands out the most for me is its transience. The stanza describes joy almost as a condition of life, but in my experience, joy is rarely permanent. It comes into our lives by design, such as through happy life events, like a wedding, and by happenstance, such as a pleasant encounter on a walk. It's on us to be open to joy and seek it as we can in our lives.
Within the stanza, there is also a sense of material sufficiency: the person has prosperity, bliss, and enough shelter. I read this as comfort without the endless pursuit of more. If Fehu was about building wealth, Wunjo is about knowing that wealth is not the only thing worth having. This too seems to be present in the lack of sorrow and anxiety, the lack of pain. And while the stanza does not describe the type of pain, it is fair to say that in a modern context, pain would be not only physical, but mental, emotional, and spiritual as well.
The idea of joy, often fleeting, with moderate comforts and a relief from suffering, leads me to see Wunjo as a rune of not only joy, but of harmony as well.
Wunjo, at its brightest, shines with this moderate prosperity. It is a life well lived, in comfort without excess, and one that finds happiness in the moments of life, small and large. At its darkest, Wunjo is very dark. It is dissatisfaction with one's current circumstances. It is constantly chasing the next rush of happiness or drowning in one's own losses. It is swallowing one's pain to make someone else happy.
When I see Wunjo in a reading, I take a moment to assess where I am. Am I physically okay? What about mentally or emotionally? What about spiritually? Wunjo may be speaking to me about my current state and whether it needs to be altered or maintained. As usual, I also look to the other runes in the first aett: Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raidho, Kenaz, and Gebo. Within my reading practice, I also consider patterns created by runes occupying corresponding positions in the other aettir: Sowilo and Othala. These relationships can help me see how Wunjo's joy is being expressed. Sowilo's success may suggest that joy has been tied to achievement. Othala's emphasis on group dynamics may indicate the need to lean into the group for greater harmony.
For me, Wunjo is joy and harmony. It is up to the reader to determine if Wunjo's appearance speaks to the need to look for joy in their lives or savor their circumstances.
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