Elder Futhark

Elder Futhark is the oldest and most complete runic alphabet: 24 runes arranged in three groups of eight, called aettir. It was used throughout the Germanic world from approximately 150 to 800 CE, attested on hundreds of surviving runestones, bracteates, and objects. The name “Futhark” comes from the first six rune-names: Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raidho, Kenaz.

The three aettir

The 24 runes are divided into three aettir (families or groups of eight): Freyr’s Aett (Fehu through Wunjo), Heimdallr’s Aett (Hagalaz through Sowilo), and Týr’s Aett (Tiwaz through Othala). This division is ancient and appears in the rune poems; it may reflect a cosmological arrangement that paralleled the three great wells beneath Yggdrasil.

Freyr’s Aett covers wealth, strength, divine speech, journey, torch, gift, and joy — the productive and relational forces of life. Heimdallr’s Aett covers disruption, need, ice, harvest, the yew, mystery, protection, and the sun — the more complex, double-edged forces that demand understanding. Týr’s Aett covers justice, growth, partnership, humanity, water, fertility, breakthrough, and ancestral inheritance — the mature forces of community and completion.

The rune poems

Three rune poems preserve the traditional meanings: the Norwegian Rune Poem, the Icelandic Rune Poem, and the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem (which uses a 28-rune expanded Futhark). Each poem gives a stanza for each rune name, often in the form “X is [quality]; [illustration].” Together they provide the corpus-grounded frame for understanding what the runes meant to their practitioners.

Runes and galdr

Hávamál and Sigrdrifumál make clear that runes were not simply written — they were chanted (galdr) and carved together. The rune is activated by voice; the carved form is the anchor. Elder Futhark remains the foundation of modern Norse spiritual practice, both as a divinatory system and as a medium for galdr.