The Futhark

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Hello everyone,

Welcome to the World of Runes. How will we proceed through this, for many perhaps new, realm? I think it is best when I walk you along the Runes in the traditional order, also known as the "futhark".

First some kick-off information, so everyone knows what on earth I am talking about.

So... Futhark? What is that? The word "futhark" is derived from the names (actually the beginning sounds) of the first 6 Runes. In the Viking Runes (which are 25 runes) the Runes are divided in 3 times 8 Runes and 1 separate one. Each set of 3 is called an "aettir" (give it your best Swedish accent, it sounds almost like "at-teer", where the stress is put on the last part of the word).

Each aettir is ruling over a certain aspect of life/being. The first aettir, also called Freyr's Eight, deals with love, life and happiness. The second one, also named the Hagal's Eight, deals with financial matters like money and success. Then we have the third aettir, known as the Tyr's Eight. This one is the aettir for intellect, understanding and spiritual growth. The last Rune is the strange one. It is a blank Rune, that stands for Karma or life growth.

Now we have gotten past this (I hope you still are with me, because this is merely the portal to the Rune World) I can explain a bit more about the futhark.

For this I have to tell you the names of the first 6 Runes. Those are:

Fehu

Uruz

THurisaz

Ansuz

Raido

Kenaz

Put all the capitals in a row and you get.... futhark. The "TH" for Thurisaz is one "letter" in the old Germanic language, that is why it counts as one.

The futhark is the traditional form, as I already said, in which the Runes are depicted. There are other ways, but I restrict myself to this one. Firstly because I do not want to confuse you, and secondly I do not want to confuse myself.

I hope I have sparked some interest in some of you, and hope to talk to you again in the next article, when I will go into the first Rune, Fehu.

Paul (Holland)

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If you wish to find out more about the Runes you can visit Paul’s web pages:

The Rune page is at http://www.pagan.demon.nl/runes.htm

The Rune image page is at http://www.pagan.demon.nl/runeimage.htm

Or you can email him direct with any questions that you may have at: paul@pagan.demon.nl

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