Elder Futhark: the 24 runes and their meanings
The Elder Futhark is the oldest runic alphabet — twenty-four angular letters carved across northern Europe from roughly the 2nd century on, later beloved by diviners because each letter is also a word: wealth, ice, harvest, day. Historians read them as script; practice reads them as prompts. We hold both, comfortably.
Guides
Freyr's aett · runes 1–8
Hagal's aett · runes 9–16
Tyr's aett · runes 17–24
Runes here are a mirror for reflection and a piece of living history — not a prediction and not a promise. For entertainment and thought.
Where to start with the 24 runes
Twenty-four meanings is a small vocabulary, but it still helps to have a way in. Three easy starting points:
- Start at the beginning. Read the row in order from Fehu. The traditional order is part of the meaning, and each rune makes more sense next to its neighbours.
- Start with today. Open the rune of the day above, read its page and carry one idea from it until evening.
- Start with a question. If something specific is on your mind, the how-to-read guide walks you through a one-rune draw in ten minutes.
The three aetts, read as one story
The Futhark is traditionally split into three groups of eight, called aetts, each named after the god or force associated with its first rune.
- Freyr’s aett (1–8) moves from wealth and wild strength through the thorn, the spoken word, the journey and the torch, to the gift and joy. It is roughly the story of building a life among people.
- Hagal’s aett (9–16) opens with hail and need, then ice, harvest, the yew, the dice cup and protection, and ends in the sun. Weather you cannot control, and what you grow through it.
- Tyr’s aett (17–24) runs from justice and the birch through horse, human, water, seed and day to the homestead. Relationships, inner life and what you pass on.
Eight runes look the same upside down: Gebo, Hagalaz, Isa, Jera, Eihwaz, Sowilo, Ingwaz and Dagaz. On their pages you will find an “in shadow” reading instead of a reversed one.
Choosing a rune by theme
If you want a rune to study, draw in a journal or keep as a focus for a month, choose by the theme you are living with:
- Money and resources: Fehu for moving wealth, Jera for slow results, Othala for long-term foundations.
- Love and closeness: Gebo for balanced exchange, Wunjo for everyday happiness, Laguz for emotional depth.
- A pause: Isa, the stillness that preserves.
- Protection and boundaries: Algiz, with Thurisaz when a boundary needs to be firm.
- A new start: Berkana for gentle growth, Dagaz for a sudden turn towards clarity.
Where the rune names come from
The Elder Futhark was in use from roughly the 2nd to the 8th century. Around the Viking Age it gave way in Scandinavia to the Younger Futhark of just 16 runes, while in England an expanded set, the Anglo-Saxon futhorc, developed. No list of Elder Futhark names survives from its own time: names like Fehu or Isa are scholarly reconstructions, worked back mainly from three medieval rune poems — the Old English, Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic. These short verses give each rune a stanza and are the main historical source for what the names meant. Divination meanings are a much later, largely modern layer built on top of them.
Frequently asked questions
Which rune should a beginner learn first?
Fehu, simply because it opens the row and the order helps memory. If you prefer to learn by theme, start with the rune that matches what you are living through right now.
Are the Elder and Younger Futhark the same runes?
No. The Younger Futhark has 16 runes and grew out of the Elder one in Scandinavia. Most modern rune sets and readings, including this almanac, use the Elder Futhark of 24.
Is there a blank rune in the Elder Futhark?
No. The blank rune found in some commercial sets is a 20th-century addition with no historical basis. Many readers leave it out.