Isa is the rune number 11 of the Viking runic alphabet. His drawing is a vertical stripe, like a crack that cracks on the ice. This rune symbolizes delays, freezing, flight, or standing still. Isa represents circumstances in which the instinct advises you to stop and wait for a more propitious moment.

Runic number: 11
Other names: Is, Iss, Isaz, Icz, Isar, Ice
Element: Ice
Equivalent letter: I
Associate Gods: Verdandi (Norne)
Translation: Ice
Meaning: Freezing. A lack of change, stagnation
Gemstones: Yellow Quartz, White Quartz, Opal
Isa Rune meaning: Norse Rune for Ice
This rune represents the threat of ice, as when it forms a thin covering that can break when stepped upon, causing some fatality.
Like the harsh Viking environment where winter seemed eternal, something is frozen and paralyzed in your life, yet beneath the icy coating the seed awaits to sprout and subsequently blossom.

Deity associated with the rune Isa

Although the rune Isa is associated with Verdandi, the Norna that sustains the present, it does not have a god related to it. However, it possesses an essential element: ice. In Scandinavian mythology, there were two opposing energies that would create life, and they are fire and ice.
For the ancestral Viking culture, before creation, there was only darkness and two worlds: Niflheim, or the world of ice, in the north, and Muspellsheimr, or the world of fire, in the south.
The ice is potentially life, where the seed of the cosmos is found. The vapors of the southern fire caused the melting of the northern veins and with the successive heat, began to flow glaciers, rivers, and seas, giving rise to the world and the beings of it.
Interpretation of the rune Isa in a Divinatory Spread
The meaning of Isaz in the runic Tarot is linked to the place occupied, to the runes that accompany it (if it is not an Odin Spread), and will also depend on the theme you asked about.
What does Isa mean by a rune in the right position?
The rune Isaz, represented by ice, is linked to disloyalty, deceit, falsehood, entrapment, swindling, and devastation, all disasters that come from the cold environment.
The restrictions, setbacks, and impediments alerted by the rune Isa are transient, except if it is accompanied by a test rune like Nauthiz, then it would entail incessant adversities and continuous efforts.
Meaning of ISs as a person
It details a quiet, distant, and icy person, either because he is interested or distrustful. It is someone little sociable who likes the practical and palpable of life, without considering the emotional or emotional.
If Isa is accompanied by runes in an inverted position can point to a harmful individual, who does not show his real goals, perhaps it is a swindler or a person who shows a fictitious honest appearance.
Meaning of Nauthiz as a situation
- Isa is the nordic rune for ice and represents cold, and hibernation, so something is holding you back and forcing you to remain immobile. Some situation stagnates in your life: an idyll, a job, a training… But remember that this freezing, problems, and postponements are temporary, like frost.
- Together with Hagalaz, Thurisaz, or other runes of misfortune as Nauthiz, they indicate that the difficulties worsen and seem never to end. You must rethink new goals, give up and leave behind the plans that have not borne fruit. You only need to be alert for signs of revival.
- Right now circumstances beyond your control prevent you from moving forward, so you must wisely give up for a while and wait. With the appearance of Isa, triumph is almost impossible, as your strength diminishes and you are exposed to causes beyond your control. It is time for a deep personal transformation.

Isaz as advice in a Rune Casting
Iss or Isa suggests you be patient, just as the seed under a thick icy blanket waits until the good weather arrives and with it the heat that melts the ice that prevents it from sprouting and later growing.
Calibrate your decisions well and be sensible in new meetings, approaches, or links, so as not to fall into something unpredictable. Do not be fooled by contrived appearances or attractive and false ways of being. Although the frozen ground seems solid, it can break and damage you.
Don’t be stubborn, pay attention to what you anchor yourself to, for it holds you back. Let it go, let it go, and be free. When you do, the situation that traps you will melt. Do not fight, let go and wait for a better time, especially if next to Isa there are favorable runes like Wunjo, Berkana, or Jera.
Interpretation of the Rune Isa Inverted
Isaz inverted means the same as right, since is symmetrical its spelling does not vary. It can be said that Isa has no inverted position in a runic rune.
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