Elder Futhark
The oldest runic alphabet of the Germanic peoples — 24 symbols used both as writing and as a tool for divination and reflection.
The Elder Futhark is the oldest of the runic systems, dated to roughly the 2nd through 8th centuries CE: Germanic tribes across Northern Europe used it for writing, and — according to later sources, including Icelandic sagas — for divinatory and ritual practice as well. Its name comes from its first six runes, F, U, Þ, A, R, K. The alphabet has 24 runes split into three groups of eight ("aetts"), and each rune carries both a sound value, like a letter, and a symbolic one, like an archetype: Fehu is resource and wealth, Ansuz is voice and revelation, Dagaz is breakthrough and dawn. In modern practice, a rune draw — one rune for the day, three runes for a situation — isn't used to predict events but as a compact image to reflect on: a short archetypal picture frames a question more sharply than an abstract train of thought. A handful of runes (Gebo, Hagalaz, Isa, Jera) are traditionally read without a reversed meaning — their effect is considered independent of orientation.
See also
Bind Rune
A symbol formed by combining two or more Futhark runes into a single image, used to merge and reinforce their meanings in an intention practice.
Archetype
A universal, recurring image or role (the Sage, the Hero, the Mother) that structures human experience — a central concept in reading Tarot and myth.
Intention
A consciously formulated decision to act in a given direction, which self-inquiry practices anchor to symbolically "clean" moments, like the New Moon.
Meditation
The practice of consciously watching your thoughts or breath without interfering with them, used to calm the mind and support self-inquiry.
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