Elder Futhark · Freyr's Aett
Fehu
Rune 1 - ᚠ
Upright
Wealth earned through effort is flowing toward you, or already in hand.
Fehu. Wealth earned through effort is flowing toward you, or already in hand. First of the Elder Futhark, and the rune of cattle -- portable wealth, the kind you can drive away with. It concerns what you have earned and can actually hold, and the obligation that comes attached to holding it. Rune 1 of the twenty-four. It is first of Freyr's Aett, the first eight - the aett of building a life: increase, partnership and the world taking shape. Upright, the stave stands in its clear aspect and can be worked with directly. Its keyword range runs through wealth, abundance, earned reward, and material security.
Merkstave
Resources are slipping away, or being hoarded out of fear.
Fehu merkstave. Resources are slipping away, or being hoarded out of fear. First of the Elder Futhark, and the rune of cattle -- portable wealth, the kind you can drive away with. Rune 1 of the twenty-four. It is first of Freyr's Aett, the first eight - the aett of building a life: increase, partnership and the world taking shape. Fallen merkstave, its force is being kept back rather than lost - held in, hoarded, or refused. The stave is intact; the flow is not. In merkstave, read these as strain, blockage, or the caution the rune is raising: loss, greed, insecurity, and squandered resources.
About the Elder Futhark
The oldest runic alphabet, used across Germanic Europe from roughly 150 to 800 CE.
No rune names or meanings are directly recorded for the Elder Futhark. The meanings used here are reconstructed from three later medieval sources - the Old English, Norwegian and Icelandic Rune Poems - which give a verse for each rune. 'Merkstave' (a reversed or ill-dignified rune) is a modern reading convention; runes with no natural upside-down form are read only for merkstave when the surrounding runes are adverse.
Full history →Meanings are a guide to a symbolic tradition, offered for reflection and entertainment. They do not predict the future or describe real people or events. See the Terms.