Old English Poem:
Lagu byþ leodum langsum geþuht,
gif hi sculun neþan on nacan tealtum
and hi sæyþa swyþe bregaþ
and se brimhengest bridles ne gym[eð].
The ocean seems unending to men,
if they must dare to venture on the unstable ship
and the waves of the sea greatly terrify them
and the sea stallion heed not its bridle.
I recently read a slightly atypical interpretation of Laguz that opened my eyes. The interpretation came from the excellent book "Wyrdworking - the Path of a Saxon Sorcerer" by Alaric Albertsson. I'll be doing a review of this shortly, I'm not done reading it yet.
Whereas most rune workers seem to focus on water as "intuition", mystery, and psychic ability, when not a literal interpretation, I feel those connections are more Greco-Roman, medieval, and new age in origin. Water is associated with the feminine through the tidal manipulation of the Moon, which goes through a cycle closely aligned with the menstrual cycle. Thus, Women=Moon=Tides=Sea. The feminine aspect is also linked to psychic ability.
Additionally, one cannot see underneath the surface of the ocean, deepening it's mystery.
This is all well and good, but it's not what the Rune poem is specifically referencing, and there is no evidence that the Nordic and Germanic traditions ever made these associations themselves. I believe if that's what the original author(s) intended to indicate, they would have. One can play the association game, connecting one thing to another, in an unending chain, until you no longer have anything remotely resembling the original subject matter. Where does one draw the line and say, "far enough" or "too far"? The ancient Norse and Germanics did indeed use kennings, but they didn't beat around the bush in such an obscure manner.
Looking at the poem again, line by line, here it what it states, as best as I can translate. I'm not an Old English scholar (I have studied it some) but I do have the benefit of the book, "A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary". Win!
Lagu byþ leodum langsum geþuhtLagu (Sea, Lake, Ocean) "seems" or "is thought" (geþuht) unending, tedious (langsum) to men (leodum).
It's a huge expanse, and it seems like it will never end. This is important.
gif hi sculun neþan on nacan tealtumIf they are obliged (sculun) to dare to adventure (neþan
1) on an unstable, precarious (tealtum) ship (nacan). Here, tealtum is the adj form of tealt, probably cognate with "tilt".
A ship on the ocean certainly rolls and tilts. That is fairly normal behavior when deep out at sea. This is the one place I slightly disagree with Alaric Albertsson: he translates the line as essentially an
unworthy, unsteady ship and takes the point of view that the ship is somehow built sub par, and that it reflects on the sailor (or divinatory querent) as inadequately prepared for the task. I'm not sure I agree. He places the emphasis of Lagu on the ship, rather than the water. Any OE dictionary will tell you however that Lagu, and all it's cognates, means water.
It all hinges on the exact meaning of "tealt". It seems most likely to me however that the line simply refers to the fact that a ship,
any ship, no matter how constructed, will roll on the waves and be unstable. It's simply part and parcel of sailing.
I think it's a reference to the raw power of the sea, and if you want to travel on it, it will take nerves of steel.
Despite my difference of opinion here, overall the message is the same, and he opened my eyes to what the poem was really saying. That'll teach me to read things for what they truly say and try not to let other populist ideas obscure the meaning.
One other thing to mention: "sculun" or sculan, is OE for "must", "to be obliged", "bound", to "have to"; so it's not that they want to do this kicks, but that they are
obligated to do this, most likely to provide for themselves and their family or community.
and hi sæyþa swyþe bregaþAnd the sea-waves (sæyþa) greatly (swyþe, swiþe) terrify them (bregaþ) .
This is clear enough. It's scary to see waves looming over you when deep out to sea. Sailing puts your courage to the test. (BTW, "hi" here does not mean "high", it means "they".. hi bregaþ -they (of seawaves) are terrified.)
and se brimhengest bridles ne gym[eð]And the sea stallion (brimhengest)heeds not it's bridle
Clearly here "brimhengest" (sea stallion) is a kenning for a ship, and heeding not it's bridle refers to difficult control, obviously. Should the sea get rough, even the best ship may be at the sea's mercy.
So what I take from this is, to paraphrase Mr. Albertsson, Lagu represents is a dangerous undertaking that may be more than you can handle. I'll add, but you probably have no choice. It's a difficult challenge, without guarantee of success. It's also unpredictable, the ancient mariners couldn't know when a storm wouldn't suddenly well up on them.
Lagu also ties in nicely with Sowilo, which says:
The sun is ever a joy in the hopes of seafarers
when they journey away over the fishes' bath,
until the courser of the deep bears them to land
It's apparent that the sun is quite a relief to seafarers, it provides them with guidance and navigation, and implies the anxiety that sailors must endure.
Last word: I never realized before what a negative rune Laguz truly is. The wide open sea is a scary place to have to travel. I'm glad I don't see this rune too often.
1 http://books.google.com/books?id=oZ03AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA166&lpg=PA166&dq=tealtum+%22old+english%22&source=bl&ots=oJEg_bxMVq&sig=zrW8Hn7fDknalCAW_bYSgtPBA5A&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zq2mT4eSNomJ6QHf4JSpBA&ved=0CKsBEOgBMAU#v=onepage&q=tealtum%20%22old%20english%22&f=false