ᚦ · sound “th” · Giant, thorn
Thurisaz (ᚦ) is rune 3 of the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark, in Freyr's aett. Its name means giant, thorn.
A thorn at the gate: a necessary conflict, a test, or a defensive boundary. Something forces you to stop and decide before you go further.
Danger from acting rashly, or from a threat you have ignored. Anger or spite may be driving; guard against hasty decisions and needless fights.
Pause at the threshold and choose on purpose.
The Elder Futhark name is usually reconstructed as thurisaz, a giant or thurs, one of the hostile powers in Norse myth. The Old English rune poem calls the same sign thorn, and that gentler name is the reason modern readers picture a barrier or a defensive point. The sound is the th of English "thing".
Thurisaz marks a threshold where something has to be decided. In a reading it can show a real obstacle, a conflict you cannot avoid, or a boundary that needs defending. It rarely says stop forever. It says stop, look, and choose your response before you move.