Note that this technique is handy for recalling the runes, but it doesn’t always coincide with the way they’re meant to be pronounced as a single sound. Norse runes originated in the Germanic-Viking tradition and were used for writing, divination, and magic. There’s F - Fehu, U - Uruz, Th - Thurisaz, A - Ansuz, R - Raidho and K - Kaunaz. For example, ‘ Futhark’ makes up the first 6 runes (which is where it gets the name from). Using this aid makes it easier to recall the names of the Runes since every letter is the first letter of its corresponding Rune. Here we condense the three Aetts into small ‘phrases’ Futhark-gw, H-niji pas, and Tbem-ling-do. A handy way to remember the names of the Runes and to which Aett they belong to is to use the following:į-u-th-a-r-k-g-w - h-n-i-j-ï-p-a-s - t-b-e-m-l-ing-d-o The first is Freyr/Freyja’s Aett, the second is Heimdalls Aett and third is Tyr’s Aett. The Elder Futhark is ‘traditionally’ put in 3 parts or ‘Aetts’. * Eihwaz is not sufficiently correct for the letter ‘ Y’ as it is more accepted as an ‘ae’ sound.

This list is just what I have gathered so far from multiple sources and compiling it into something that I feel makes sense.įire, Torch - Beacon, Illumination, Understanding, Knowledge ᛈ - is one of these runes that are far from clear as to their meaning.

Note that many sources have differing interpretations of some of the more vague runes. The Elder Futhark (named after the initial phoneme of the first six rune names: F, U, Þ, A, R and K) has 24 runes, often arranged in three groups of eight runes each group is called an ætt (pl. Here’s the notes I’ve made on the Elder Futhark after studying and researching them online.

Elder futhark birth runes