The Runes

Fehu is the first rune of the Elder Futhark and the opening stave of Freyr's aett, the eight runes given to the vanir.

Uruz is the second rune of Freyr's aett, and its name is the aurochs, the great wild ox now extinct, taller at the shoulder than a man and impossible…

Thurisaz is the third rune of Freyr's aett, and its name carries two faces at once: the thorn that pricks and the thurs, the giant or frost-troll of…

Ansuz is the fourth rune of Freyr's aett, and it belongs to Odin, who hung nine nights on the world-tree, wounded and given to himself, until he…

Raidho is the fifth rune of Freyr's aett, and its name means riding, the journey, the wheel that turns and the cart that rolls.

Kenaz is the sixth rune of Freyr's aett, and its name is the torch, the controlled flame carried in the hand, and by extension the hearth-fire and…

Gebo is the seventh rune of Freyr's aett, and its name means gift, the sacred exchange that binds giver and receiver into mutual obligation.

Wunjo is the eighth and final rune of Freyr's aett, and its name means joy, the settled gladness of a clan gathered and a feast well held.

Hagalaz is the first rune of Hagal's aett, the second row, and its name is hail, the ice that falls from a clear sky and beats down the standing…

Nauthiz is the second rune of Hagal's aett, and its name means need, necessity, the constraint that pins you down and the lack that drives you on.

Isa is the third rune of Hagal's aett, and its name is ice, drawn as a single unbroken vertical stroke, the simplest shape in the whole row.

Jera is the fourth rune of Hagal's aett, and its name means year, the harvest, the full turn of the seasons.

Eiwaz is the fifth rune of Hagal's aett, and its name is the yew, the evergreen tree of the graveyard whose wood made the great bows.

Perthro is the sixth rune of Hagal's aett, and its name is most often read as the lot-cup, the dice-box from which fate is poured.

Algiz is the seventh rune of Hagal's aett, read as the elk-sedge, the sharp marsh-grass that wounds the careless hand, or as the elk's antlers raised…

Sowilo is the eighth and final rune of Hagal's aett, and its name is the sun, the source of light and life.

Tiwaz is the first rune of Tyr's aett, the final row, and it belongs to Tyr, the one-handed sky-god of justice who put his right hand in the wolf…

Berkano is the second rune of Tyr's aett, and its name is the birch, the first tree to colonise bare ground and so the mother of the forest.

Ehwaz is the third rune of Tyr's aett, and its name is the horse, sacred to the vanir and prized as the joy of princes.

Mannaz is the fourth rune of Tyr's aett, and its name simply means man, the human being, humanity itself.

Laguz is the fifth rune of Tyr's aett, and its name is water, the lake, the flowing element that finds its own level and will not be held in a fist.

Ingwaz is the sixth rune of Tyr's aett, named for Ing, the old form of Freyr, the seed-god, fertility made male.

Dagaz is the seventh rune of Tyr's aett, and its name is day, specifically the dawn, the threshold moment when night turns to light.

Othala is the eighth rune of Tyr's aett and the last of the Elder Futhark, and its name means the ancestral homestead, the inherited land that passes…