What are runes?
Before they were an oracle, runes were a way of writing. Germanic peoples carved them into stone, wood and metal for more than a thousand years, starting in the first centuries AD. The oldest version, the Elder Futhark, has 24 signs and is named after its first six runes: F, U, Th, A, R, K. In the Viking Age it was trimmed down to the Younger Futhark, with just 16 runes.
Every rune had a name that was also a real word: Fehu meant cattle or wealth, Isa meant ice, Sowilo meant sun. Those names, and the old rune poems that explained them, are where today's rune meanings come from. Modern rune reading, though, is largely a 20th-century practice, so it's best treated as a way to reflect on your situation rather than an unbroken Viking tradition.
The three rune families
The 24 runes are split into three families of eight called aettir (singular: aett). Each is named after a figure from Norse mythology and has its own flavor.
Freyr's aett, from Fehu to Wunjo, is about the material world and new beginnings: wealth, strength, communication, travel, joy. Hagal's aett, from Hagalaz to Sowilo, is about forces you can't control: disruption, need, waiting, harvest, fate. Tyr's aett, from Tiwaz to Othala, is about people and what you build with them: justice, growth, partnership, intuition, heritage.
How to read the spread
The three-rune spread follows the Norns, the three weavers of fate in Norse myth: Urd, what was; Verdandi, what is becoming; and Skuld, what shall be. The first rune shows what brought you here, the second what's happening now, and the third where things are heading if nothing changes.
If you'd rather draw a single rune, hold a clear question in mind, or simply think about your day. One rune works like a piece of advice: it doesn't describe the whole situation, it points to the energy you most need to pay attention to.
Reversed runes
A rune is reversed when it lands upside down. In modern practice that brings out its blocked or difficult side: the same energy, but stalled, delayed or overdone. This reading is also called merkstave.
Nine runes can't be reversed because they look the same either way up: Gebo, Hagalaz, Naudhiz, Isa, Jera, Eihwaz, Sowilo, Ingwaz and Dagaz. When one of them shows up, its message always reads the same.
The blank rune
Some rune sets include a stone with no symbol on it, the blank rune, usually read as fate or what can't be known yet. It isn't part of the Elder Futhark: it was popularized by a rune book in 1982. That's why it isn't used here; the 24 traditional runes are plenty for a reading.
The 24 runes and their meanings
Freyr's aett
Hagal's aett
Tyr's aett
FAQ
How many runes are there?
The Elder Futhark, the set used for rune reading, has 24. The Viking-Age Younger Futhark had 16, and Anglo-Saxon versions grew to more than 30.
How do you do a rune reading?
Hold your question in mind, draw one rune for quick advice or three to see the past, present and future of a situation, and read each rune in its position, noting whether it's upright or reversed.
What does a reversed rune mean?
That its energy is blocked, delayed or overdone. Nine runes can't be reversed because they look the same either way up.
Are runes Viking?
They're older: the Elder Futhark was in use centuries before the Viking Age. Vikings used a later, shorter version called the Younger Futhark.
What is the blank rune?
A stone with no symbol that some modern sets include to represent fate. It isn't a traditional rune; it became popular in 1982.