Wunjo Rune Tarot Spread – The Magick of True Joy

Wunjo (ᚹ)is often translated simply as joy, but in the runic current this is no fleeting happiness. Wunjo teaches us how to cultivate the magick of true joy — a deep and lasting happiness that isn’t dependent on outer circumstances or other people’s approval. It’s a joy that arises from our alignment with the spirit within, and from the megin that flows naturally when we trust ourselves.

The Anglo-Saxon rune poem reminds us:

“Who uses it knows no pain, sorrow nor anxiety, and he himself has prosperity and bliss, and also enough shelter.”

Wunjo is not a promise that life will be free of sorrow. Rather, it shows us how to stand in a deeper current where joy is not stolen by circumstance. It teaches us that the illusion of separation is the true root of suffering. When we dissolve that illusion, we find that joy was never absent. It was our birthright all along.

Wunjo in the Futhark and Uthark

In the Elder Futhark, Wunjo is the eighth rune, the culmination of the first aett. It arrives as a harmonic resolution — the mead shared in the hall after battle, the peace that follows effort, the deep contentment that comes when thought, word, and deed are aligned. It’s the state of soul that arises when we are in right relationship with wyrd.

Shift the lens to the Uthark, and Wunjo (now the seventh rune) reveals another face. Here it’s not merely the experience of joy but the magickal will that creates it. It’s the breath that carries intention into the world. It’s Odin’s will to hang upon the Tree for nine nights, or the will of the dead to cross Modgunn’s bridge into Hel and join their ancestors. This is joy as a consequence of alignment and courage.

Glory Twigs and the Breath of Joy

In early charms and poems, we hear whispers of wuldortanas. The ancestors used these “glory twigs” or rune wands to channel victory, blessing, and wish-fulfilment. Carving Wunjo into a sacred ash wand transforms it into a living conduit of joy-willed-into-being. The wand becomes a microcosmic Yggdrasil: a bridge between worlds through which breath (ond), will (hugr), and joy (wynn) can flow.

Working with a Wunjo glory twig reminds us that joy isn’t something that “happens” to us — it’s something we create and breathe into the world through conscious alignment.

The Sacred Seven

In the Uthark sequence, Wunjo’s position as the seventh rune carries its own symbolism. Across many traditions, seven is the number of harmony and good fortune. It signifies the bridge between matter and spirit. Think of the seven colours of the rainbow—each distinct yet together forming wholeness—or the seven days of the week, each with its own quality yet part of a unified flow.

Bifröst, the Rainbow Bridge, beautifully images this sevenfold harmony: a radiant arc linking Midgard and Ásgard under Heimdall’s watch. In Wunjo’s current, Bifröst is the principle of crossing—breath and will spanning the gap between matter and spirit. Working Wunjo is learning to walk the bridge within: to align the many “colours” of the self until they cohere into wholeness. In a cross-tradition sense, when the chakras align, we move with confidence from sorrow to joy, from separation to communion.

Wunjo Rune Tarot Spread

This spread can help you explore where joy lives in your life, how you might be blocking it, and how to align more deeply with the magick of true joy. It also incorporates Wunjo’s deeper teachings of will, alignment, and sacred breath.

1. The Source Within – How aligned am I with my inner source of true joy? (A challenging card here suggests that you need to do shadow work or clearing.)
2. The Joy Thieves – Where do I allow others (or myself) to steal my joy?
3. Pleasure vs Joy – Where might I be confusing fleeting pleasure with lasting joy?
4. Joy as Will – How can I harness my will to create joy rather than wait for it to arrive?
5. Joy in Service – How does my joy ripple outward to inspire and support others?
6. The Bridge Across Sorrow – A practice, habit, or attitude that will help me remain aligned with joy even through challenge.
7. The Rainbow’s Crown – The blessing that unfolds when I choose joy as a conscious act of will.

The seven positions echo the sevenfold current of Wunjo itself. Each card is a “colour” in the spectrum of joy, revealing how your spirit can radiate in harmony.

CLICK HERE for a sample reading with the Wunjo Rune Tarot Spread.

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