The Elder Futhark: 24 runes, three aettir

How to read the labels Historical what the old sources say. Later tradition what later writers added. Modern modern practice and my own notes.

The Elder Futhark is the oldest runic alphabet: twenty-four runes, used by speakers of early Germanic languages from about the first century CE to around 800. It is the row almost every modern rune set uses, and it is where I suggest every beginner starts. On this page you will find the runes in order, the three groups they fall into, how to say their names and a simple plan for learning them by heart.

The order: f, u, th, a, r, k

Historical Unlike the Roman alphabet, the runes had their own fixed order, and the row is named after its first six sounds: f, u, th, a, r, k. We know the order because several objects carry the whole row, or most of it, carved in sequence.

The most famous is the Kylver stone, found in 1903 on the Swedish island of Gotland. It is a grave slab from around 400 CE, carved on its underside so that the writing faced the dead, and it carries the oldest complete futhark known. It is now in the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm. After the 24 runes there is a sign like a little fir tree and the word sueus, which reads the same in both directions and whose meaning is unknown.

The Vadstena bracteate, a gold pendant from Sweden made around 500 CE, also carries the whole row. Sadly it was stolen in 1938 and never recovered, but it is known from drawings and from a second pendant struck with the same stamp.

The two objects do not agree in every detail. On the Kylver stone, Perthro comes before Eihwaz, and the row ends with Dagaz and then Othala. At Vadstena, Eihwaz comes first, and Othala comes before Dagaz. Both orders are historical. This site follows the order most modern books use: Eihwaz thirteenth and Perthro fourteenth, as at Vadstena, and Dagaz twenty-third and Othala twenty-fourth, as at Kylver. If another book uses a different order, it is not a mistake.

The three aettir

Historical The Vadstena bracteate divides the row with dots into three groups of eight. These groups are called aettir (singular aett), from Old Norse ætt, which can mean a family or a direction. In later centuries the groups had a practical use in cipher runes, puzzle writing in which a rune is shown as two numbers: its group and its place in the group.

Later tradition Modern books often name the groups Freyr’s aett, Hagal’s or Heimdall’s aett, and Tyr’s aett. Those names are not found in early sources. On this site they are simply the first, second and third aett.

Modern Some readers find a theme in each group: beginnings and the material world in the first, forces outside our control in the second, and people, relationships and inheritance in the third. These patterns can help you study, but they are modern. The original grouping was probably just a practical way of organizing the alphabet.

First aett: Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raidho, Kenaz, Gebo, Wunjo. Sounds: f, u, th, a, r, k, g, w.

Second aett: Hagalaz, Naudiz, Isa, Jera, Eihwaz, Perthro, Algiz, Sowilo. Sounds: h, n, i, j, ï, p, z, s.

Third aett: Tiwaz, Berkano, Ehwaz, Mannaz, Laguz, Ingwaz, Dagaz, Othala. Sounds: t, b, e, m, l, ng, d, o.

The 24 runes and how to say them

Historical Each rune had a name, an ordinary word that began with its sound. Nobody wrote the early names down, so scholars reconstruct them from the later Old English, Norwegian and Icelandic names. Nobody alive has heard them spoken, so the pronunciations below are approximations. You will hear other versions in videos and classes, and that is fine.

A few guidelines get you close:

• Stress the first syllable of every name: FEH-hoo, OO-rooz, AHN-sooz.
• Say the vowels roughly as in Spanish or Italian: a as in “father,” e as in “bed,” i as in “machine,” o as in “more,” u as in “rule.” A line over a vowel, as in ūruz, means it is long.
• Th is the soft th of “thin,” not the th of “this,” except in Raidho.
• Z at the end of names like ansuz was a buzzing sound, as in “zoo.” In Old Norse it later became an r-like sound.
• J in jēra sounds like the y in “year,” not the j in “jam.”

Several names also have other modern spellings, such as Raido, Kaunaz, Elhaz, Sowelu or Othila. The reconstructions of Kenaz, Algiz and Perthro are especially uncertain, and each rune page explains why.

Runes that look like letters

Historical Several runes look like Roman letters with the same sound: the runes for f, r, h, i, b and m are close to F, R, H, I, B and M. That is one of the clues that the runes were adapted from a Mediterranean alphabet. But watch out for false friends. Wunjo looks like a P but is w. Ehwaz looks like an M but is e, and Mannaz, which looks like nothing in the Roman alphabet, is m. These are the most common beginner mistakes.

Other pairs are easy to mix up because they look like each other:

• Fehu and Ansuz: Fehu’s branches rise, Ansuz’s slope down.
• Ansuz and Laguz: Ansuz has two branches, Laguz one.
• Ehwaz and Mannaz: Ehwaz dips in the middle, Mannaz crosses.
• Thurisaz and Wunjo: Thurisaz has its triangle in the middle, Wunjo at the top.

Why the lines are straight

Historical Runes are made of straight lines, mostly upright staves with sloping branches, and very few horizontal strokes. A common explanation is that runes were often carved on wood, where a cut along the grain is hard to see and can split the wood. Whatever the reason, the straight, angled shapes are part of what makes a line of runes look like writing. When you draw them, keep the staves the same height and the branches at a steady angle, and avoid curves and flourishes.

Early carvers could write in either direction, and a rune turned around often meant the same letter. In modern use, a reversed rune may confuse readers, so draw each rune facing the way it appears in the table.

A two-week learning plan

Modern Learning the futhark by heart usually takes a week or two of short daily practice. Here is the plan I suggest.

1. Days 1 to 3: the first aett. Say the eight names aloud in order, then draw the eight shapes while looking at the table. Do this once or twice a day. The sounds spell the start of the word futhark: f, u, th, a, r, k, then g, w.
2. Days 4 to 6: the second aett. Add h, n, i, j, ï, p, z, s. On day 6, cover the table and draw the first aett from memory. Check and correct in a different color.
3. Days 7 to 9: the third aett. Add t, b, e, m, l, ng, d, o. Try the first two aettir from memory.
4. Days 10 to 12: the whole row. Draw all twenty-four from memory, saying each name as you go. Then try it a little faster.
5. Days 13 and 14: random practice. Write the names on slips of paper, draw one and then draw its shape. Or ask a friend to call out runes for you.

Be patient with the pairs that look alike. When you know the shapes, read one rune page a day, starting with Fehu. Each page gives the history, the rune poems and the modern meaning, so you learn the rune as writing first and as a reading prompt second.

Writing your own name

Writing your name in runes is a lovely first project. Write sounds, not spellings: “knight” has no k or gh sound, so it needs neither. Some English letters have no rune: use Kenaz for a hard c, Sowilo for a soft c, k plus w for q and k plus s for x. Th and ng are one rune each. Two careful people may spell the same name differently, and both can be right if they can explain their choices. If you plan to use your runic name on jewelry or a tattoo, check it against at least two other reliable sources, and look at the finished design for any accidental resemblance to a symbol you do not intend.

The Elder Futhark and the later rows

Historical The Elder Futhark was not the last runic alphabet. In Scandinavia it shrank to sixteen runes, the Younger Futhark, during the eighth century. In England and Frisia it grew to between 26 and 33 runes, the Anglo-Saxon futhorc. Most modern rune sets use the Elder Futhark because it is the oldest and the most complete for its language, and because the rune poems let us trace each name. You can read the whole story on where runes come from.

When you know the row, you are ready to try a simple reading. Start with how to cast runes, and keep the runes hub close for everything else.