Practical Meanings of the Futhark Runes

This article presents the runes of the Elder Futhark, their description, and practical meanings. The Futhark is a runic alphabet consisting of 24 runes.

FEHU – Money, material wealth, income.

URUZ – Strength, energy, beginnings. Used for formulas like “tank,” meaning to break through everything in your path and achieve your goal.

THURISAZ – The word means “thorn.” This is courage, aggression, brute force, conflict.

ANSUZ – Everything related to thoughts, ideas, and words. Usually used for inspiration, new ideas, eloquence, and so on. In formulas of enslavement, it usually goes with Nautiz, for example, Nautiz-Ansuz-Isa, meaning “I slow down one’s thinking by force”.

RAIDO (RAIDHO) – Journey, movement. Usually used in formulas for travel or movement to a destination. The well-known formula “Expelling Cross” – Nautiz-Raido, if you need to urgently evict someone – cockroaches, guests, a queue, a bothersome person, and so on.

KANO (KAUNAN, KENAZ) – Fire, ignition. Usually used in formulas for relationships, igniting interest and feelings. But I also saw it in healing formulas, for example, for youthful skin.

GEBO – Receiving something. Information, things, money, and so on. However, in relationship formulas, it always means Communication.

WUNJO – Joy, triumph. Usually it ends up a rune formula, symbolizing the result.

HAGALAZ – Destruction and erasure from the face of the earth. Everything related to the destruction of relationships, things, health, and so on. It is generally used in curses.

NAUTIZ (NAUDHIZ, NAUTHIZ) – Coercion, rough influence. An irreplaceable rune if you want to strongly influence someone.

ISA (ISAZ) – A complex rune… It is ice. Meaning everything related to stopping, inhibiting, and fixing (freezing) something. For example, Nautiz-Raido-Isa, this is the inhibition of someone’s journey or some kind of work.

JERA – Means Cycle. Used in formulas where the action should be repeated as a cycle and without interruption.

PERTHO (PERTHRO) – The most ambiguous rune, with many interpretations… It can be applied differently in various formulas.

1) Symbol of the Bag. The shape itself resembles an open bag. Therefore, the meaning is either “open and let something in” or “open and receive something” or conversely, to push something unnecessary out of your surroundings.
2) Death. It means to exit the body.
3) Exiting the situation, breakthrough.

EIHWAZ (EHWAZ) – A new beginning, re-evaluation, a new stage. It is usually used in formulas where you need to change circumstances or something.

ALGIZ – Appeal (the shape of the rune = a person with hands raised in prayer). The rune symbolizes an appeal to the Gods and receiving strength for the formula. It can also mean a shaman himself, for example, in formulas for protection and defense – Tyr Algiz Othala Algiz Tyr – Othala in the center means home, the Algiz on either side mean it is the home of the magician, and Tyrs are his strength and intention to protect himself.

SOWILO – The sun. In any formulas where you need to “lighten” the path and understand something. It is widely used in healing formulas.

TEIWAZ (TIWAZ, TYR) – The rune of the Warrior, courage, and perseverance. It can mean a Man.

BERKANO (BERKANA) – Always means Woman and everything related to motherhood, care, kindness, healing… It is usually used in healing formulas or to designate Woman, for example, in love spells.

EWHAZ (EHWAZ) – From Norwegian, it means “horse.” The rune is used for passing through circumstances and obstacles, roughly speaking, “not to go on your own, but to ride a horse.”

MANNAZ – Means Man, used to represent the victim in the rune formula.
For example – Nautiz Mannaz Raido – “I force such-and-such to come to me,” that is, the personality is bound to the rune, by itself it means nothing. By the way, in runic circles, the victim is usually called “rabbit,” this is a tradition. And if we encounter somewhere a phrase like “this formula is bound to the rabbit,” it means that there is almost 100% Mannaz, and it is precisely on it that the influence is bound.

LAGUZ – Water, flow, smooth changes. Used either for cleansing, or in the same meaning as Raido, but more gently and unobtrusively.

INGUZ (INGWAZ)- Influence. It helps to transform forces to influence oneself or others. Often used in healing to mobilize strength.

OTHALA (OTHALAN) – means Home. It is everything related to family, home, real estate, property (except for money).

DAGAZ – means “day,” that is, transformation for the better – the night has passed, it has become light and much better. Usually, used in good luck charms and healing formulas.

Mylene Maelinhon (c)