Draft content, not yet reviewed.
Attested
Found in inscriptions or medieval manuscripts.
Īsaz is the eleventh rune of the Elder Futhark and writes the sound /i/.
All three rune poems name this rune for ice: īs in Old English and íss in Norwegian and Icelandic. The Old English poem describes ice as very cold and slippery, glittering like glass or gems. The Icelandic poem calls it a crust over rivers and a roof over the waves.
Reconstructed
Scholarly reconstruction from linguistic evidence.
The Proto-Germanic name is reconstructed as *īsaz, "ice."
In practice today
How people use this rune now, in divination, magic, and devotion. Valid in its own right, and labeled modern so it isn’t mistaken for history.
In Ralph Blum's modern divination system, this rune (spelled Isa) is read as a standstill.
Practice today: wyrd, galdr, and other old words people use when working with the runes now.