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This Blog summarizes a practical guide designed for anyone interested in runes and rune reading, particularly those looking to apply it practically. It offers inspiration and support for regular practice and focuses on essential aspects of reading and interpreting each rune. 

Each rune is presented with a profile with associated pictorial analogies, colors, elements, plants, trees, stones, and power animals as well as thought-provoking ideas for interpretation. Additionally, there will be practical tips and suggestions, on a separate site, for various forms of rune spreads, rune casting, and other uses for runes.

The Little Runes Dictionary Books and Course

 

Please also check out the Books (in English and German) and Online Course associated with this Blog.

 

The Elder Futhark

 

The term "Futhark" is derived from the first six runes of the runic alphabet: Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raido, and Kenaz. The Elder Futhark consists of 24 runes, which are divided into three groups called Aetts. These groups are the Aett of Love (Freya/Freyr Aett), the Aett of Order (Hagal/Hagalz Aett), and the Aett of Knowledge (Tiwaz/Tyr Aett). Each rune represents a phonetic sound and a word, with deeper meanings derived from runic poems. These poems, mostly from the Scandinavian region, especially Anglo-Saxon sources, form the basis for interpreting the runes and reading rune spreads.

Aett of Love

 

This Aett, named after the goddess Freya or the god Freyr, focuses on practical aspects of living a good life, such as fertility, wealth, ownership, home, family, and professional and social standing. It emphasizes love, trust, compassion, appreciation, security, and connection to the world. The runes in this Aett form opposing pairs.

Fehu

 

This rune is fundamentally positive, symbolizing prosperity, fertility, and success. It signifies good health and strong physical and mental condition, and it refers to both material and spiritual possessions. It encourages investing or using what we have, emphasizing that giving or investing can lead to greater returns. It also urges using inner energy and willpower to achieve goals through hard work.

Uruz

 

 

This rune symbolizes the primal power of nature and Mother Earth, as well as our inner willpower. It is associated with rooting and security, conveying courage and trust in our inexhaustible strength. It encourages adaptability and resourcefulness, urging us to embrace change and accept challenges while following our instincts.

Thurisaz

 

This rune is associated with crisis, disagreement, conflict, confrontation, and change. It represents the wild and chaotic elements of the world that exist before creation. While it threatens the existing order, it also offers an opportunity to question and improve. Change may bring insecurity, and an important decision affecting the future is imminent. The rune advises going with the flow and carefully choosing your own path to gain necessary experiences.

Ansuz

 

This rune symbolizes stability, order, prosperity, and vitality. It encourages faith in the divine and the power of the gods, ensuring you are in good hands. It represents communication, wisdom, inspiration, honesty, and eloquence, and brings blessings in health, happiness, relationships, and success in training and education. The rune advises listening to your inner voice, expressing your wishes, being creative, and shaping the world according to your ideas. It can also represent a leader, advisor, or father figure in your life.

Raido

 

This rune is associated with movement, development, and journeys, whether physical or spiritual. It represents being on the path of destiny, including possible deviations or detours. It signifies personality development through life’s journey and encourages learning from experiences and mistakes to gain knowledge and wisdom. The rune can also indicate changes in circumstances, breaking out of deadlock situations, a turn of fate, search, and progress. It may suggest an upcoming visit, move, new job, or trip.

Kenaz

 

This rune represents enlightenment and knowledge. It encourages discovering and expressing your inner light, letting go of the old to create or experience new things, and using your higher potential. It motivates understanding things in detail and redesigning them for your own purpose. The rune inspires you to become enlightened and then enlighten others, raising awareness of your individual importance and influence on the world, and taking responsibility for your actions.

Gebo

 

 

This rune symbolizes talent, generosity, good fortune, relationships, love, and partnership. It motivates recognizing and expressing your talents or gifts in the world. It advises focusing on yourself and understanding your place in the world. In relationships, it signifies positivity and indicates strong partnerships. The rune encourages hospitality, generosity in moderation, and any form of exchange, including existing or future contracts.

Wunjo

 

 

This rune symbolizes joy, happiness, social harmony, and domestic peace. It is highly positive in relationships and creative pursuits. It encourages optimism and focuses on what is possible, good, and beautiful. The rune signifies a time of satisfaction but advises reflection and preparation before facing new challenges. With patience, wishes will come true, and efforts will be rewarded. It can also represent sexual pleasure.

Aett of Order

 

Named after the first rune in the Aett, this rune represents the trials of the warrior and natural phenomena like hail, snow, and sun. It addresses the world's uncontrollable forces that can be destructive or bring about change. It views humans as both part of nature and as individuals seeking their own path. The runes in this Aett depict a journey through the seasons: fall, winter, spring, and summer.

Hagalaz

 

This rune is associated with hail and chaos, symbolizing threats and disruptions to order. It indicates potential problems in health, relationships, or work and suggests deadlocks or stubborn adherence to the past that require energetic efforts to overcome. It represents the violence of destruction and radical, irreversible change. Profound change may be necessary to break free from existing constraints and to grow personally. It suggests that initial destruction or loss may precede eventual success or gain.

Nauthiz

 

 

This rune symbolizes distress, emergencies, restrictions, and needs, requiring caution, attention, strength, and creativity. The current situation may appear dire, but it calls for patience, perseverance, and self-confidence to overcome. It suggests the need to correct course or change plans to restore balance and freedom. The rune urges identifying and addressing the causes of current suffering and learning from them. It emphasizes focusing on the present and confronting challenges. It motivates seeking help when necessary, without pride or suspicion.

Isa

 

This rune symbolizes danger, slowing down, and coming to a standstill. It advises taking a pause, being patient, and cautious before proceeding. There may be hidden dangers to consider before taking the next steps. It suggests focusing inward, finding clarity, and reflecting on oneself. The rune encourages authenticity and being true to oneself, rather than conforming to societal or external expectations.

 

Jera

 

 

This rune symbolizes reason, patience, and harvest. It signifies the end of stagnation, bringing hope for peace, happiness, and success from past efforts. It represents the natural cycle of life and emphasizes the importance of being in harmony with this cycle, doing things in the right order and at the right time. Patience is rewarded, as things will unfold naturally without force. The rune advises maintaining calm and conserving energy, as situations may resolve themselves. It can also represent a yearly period and is associated with roles like farmers or those in finance.

Eihwaz

 

 

This rune is positive for facing challenges, promising success to those who are resilient, disciplined, and flexible. It symbolizes the urge for change, motivation, and purpose-seeking, as well as premonitions, clairvoyance, prophetic powers, and inspiration. It often pertains to matters beyond rational understanding, inviting closer examination. The rune encourages trusting one's inspiration and following impulses without doubts. It indicates an impending ending with a new beginning, offering opportunities for release. It suggests that set goals can be achieved through overcoming conflicts and challenges.

Perthro

 

This rune is associated with free will, happy coincidences, surprises, joy, harmony, and memories, yet it also acknowledges life's uncertainties and limitations. It refers to chance or fate, including unplanned and unexpected events. It advises not surrendering to fate but instead being inspired and enriched by it, accepting things as they are and making the best of them. The rune encourages confidence in one's abilities to make decisions and solve problems. It can involve keeping secrets or revelations and is associated with femininity, women's fertility, and roles like entertainers or musicians.

Algiz

 

This rune conveys optimism, happiness, restraint, and protection. It assures us that we are cared for and watched over by a superior spiritual power, offering protection. It gives certainty that we have enough strength and self-confidence to protect ourselves and others. It emphasizes that by being happy ourselves, we can bring happiness to others, while also stressing the importance of maintaining boundaries and self-care. The rune advises following instincts to use forces appropriately and secure one's position, encouraging facing problems to enable progress and further development.

Sowilo

 

This rune is associated with the power of the sun, optimism, and the positive aspects of life. It symbolizes knowledge, vitality, life force, energy, efficiency, and good health. It suggests being in a strong position with favorable conditions for positive changes in life. Additionally, it recommends pausing, retreating, and regenerating. The rune indicates the potential for receiving helpful advice that brings hope. It also represents good luck, especially during journeys over water, and serves as a protective symbol for sailors.

Aett of Knowledge

 

 

This rune is named after the god Tyr, symbolizing justice, heroic fame, honor, devotion, and duty. It represents divinity, order, and justice, focusing on people and their relationships within the social community. It addresses the challenges and opportunities that arise from connecting and interacting with others, exploring the meaning of life in communal contexts. The sequence of runes in this Aett describes a developmental journey: individuals enter relationships to create something new that grows and influences the future.

Tiwaz

 

This rune primarily symbolizes victory, triumph, and success, particularly in legal matters. It suggests focusing on oneself and prioritizing personal needs over others', while also encouraging setting and steadfastly pursuing personal goals. It warns against trying to please everyone, as this often leads to pleasing no one and may require sacrifices. The rune calls for patience and caution to avoid self-sabotage and to utilize one's strengths effectively. Additionally, it can represent roles such as a scientist, philosopher, or scholar.

Berkana

 

This rune symbolizes youth, spring, the renewal of life after winter, confidence, and hope. It also represents femininity, motherhood, maternal care, nurturing, and the security of home and family. It signifies positive signs for personal and spiritual growth. The rune motivates opening up and forming new connections, both with oneself and others, promising that unity will bring new energy and beauty into life. It suggests paving the way for a joint new beginning, potentially ending loneliness and isolation. It implies opportunities for lasting change and indicates something new entering our life or something new being brought into the world by ourselves.

Ehwaz

 

 

This positive rune calls for change and teamwork, emphasizing cooperation, harmony, bonds, and relationships. It signifies a time of transition, associated with any form of change, movement, or transportation. The rune encourages deepening relationships and underscores the importance of partnership, cooperation, and mutual support. It advises moving forward decisively, without hesitation, letting go of doubts and allowing events to unfold. Confidence is warranted; with courage, one can achieve anything. The upcoming change may unfold steadily rather than abruptly, requiring successive overcoming of obstacles.

Mannaz

 

 

This rune symbolizes people, humanity, family, community, partnership, and social aspects. It represents our relationship with society, interactions with others, and the potential for contentment, happiness, and fulfillment within it. The rune indicates strong, intimate, possibly passionate relationships and encourages entering into them without compromising one's identity. It highlights that togetherness and collaboration can lead to new possibilities, urging the use of this potential to contribute and benefit from each other. It emphasizes that a community is more than just the sum of its individual members and asks to welcome and accept cooperation and support.

Laguz

 

This rune is associated with the power and flow of water, encouraging one to go with the flow. It symbolizes harmony in relationships and family matters, representing spiritual connections, affections, and emotional bonds between people. It can symbolize love or deep connections where people create something new together. The rune also addresses the subconscious, hidden aspects of life, urging introspection and following intuition to overcome fears. It acknowledges upcoming difficult challenges that may require setting priorities. Additionally, it can represent roles such as a sailor, fisherman, or lawyer.

Ingwaz

 

This rune symbolizes protection, origin, and potential, signaling a new beginning or transition into a new phase of life with fresh possibilities. It encourages courage, suggesting that with bravery, the future holds opportunities for starting anew. The rune points to the chance to free oneself from the old and unnecessary, returning to origins to begin afresh. It advises gathering personal strength and using it with focus and determination to initiate something new. Patience may be necessary to find the right timing for this new beginning, and it recommends organizing current matters to pave the way for future steps.

Dagaz

 

This rune embodies positivity across all aspects, associated with joy, adventure, growth, and clarity. It signifies a change, breakthrough, or imminent success, conveying optimism as obstacles are overcome, fostering confidence in favorable outcomes. It represents life's journey with its fluctuating phases, encouraging acceptance of constant change. The rune symbolizes hope and serenity, suggesting that challenges can lead to positive outcomes, and it emphasizes the fleeting nature of all aspects of life.

Othala

This rune is associated with domestic unity and harmony, representing home and family, as well as our spiritual and material heritage. It is highly positive regarding property. The rune encourages reflection on one's origins and values, urging protection of these aspects. It symbolizes safety and security, whether in a physical or spiritual sense, emphasizing the importance of stability and staying true to one's values and identity. Consistency promises prosperity, providing strength for growth and maturity towards inner harmony. Additionally, it can signify the potential for a new or improved home or taking on new commitments.