The Elder Futhark is the oldest form of the runic alphabets, used from roughly the 2nd to 8th centuries AD by Germanic peoples across northern Europe. It consists of 24 characters, each serving as both a letter and a symbol carrying cosmological meaning.
The name “Futhark” comes from the first six runes: Fehu (ᚠ), Uruz (ᚢ), Thurisaz (ᚦ), Ansuz (ᚨ), Raidho (ᚱ), Kenaz (ᚲ). The Elder designation distinguishes it from later alphabets: the Younger Futhark (16 runes, Viking Age) and the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc (28–33 runes).
The 24 runes are divided into three groups of eight called Aetts (families):
First Aett (Freya’s Eight): Fehu (cattle, wealth), Uruz (aurochs, primal force), Thurisaz (giant, challenge), Ansuz (god, communication), Raidho (journey, rhythm), Kenaz (torch, knowledge), Gebo (gift, exchange), Wunjo (joy, harmony).
Second Aett (Heimdall’s Eight): Hagalaz (hail, disruption), Nauthiz (need, constraint), Isa (ice, stillness), Jera (harvest, cycles), Eihwaz (yew tree, resilience), Perthro (cup, fate), Algiz (elk, protection), Sowilo (sun, vitality).
Third Aett (Tyr’s Eight): Tiwaz (Tyr, justice), Berkano (birch, growth), Ehwaz (horse, partnership), Mannaz (humanity, self), Laguz (water, flow), Ingwaz (Ing, gestation), Dagaz (day, breakthrough), Othala (ancestral home, inheritance).
In divination, runes are drawn from a pouch and read either individually or in spreads of three (past-present-future) or more. Reversed runes — called “merkstave” — traditionally indicate blocked or inverted energy, though not all practitioners use reversals.