The runes are both letters and symbols. In divination, they may be read according to their traditional associations while also allowing the reader's intuition to speak through the image.
The meanings below are intentionally concise. Learn the rune itself rather than reducing it to a single keyword.
Fehu ᚠ
Wealth • Possessions • Abundance • Fulfillment
Fehu concerns movable wealth, prosperity, resources, reward, and the circulation of what you possess. It may indicate financial opportunity, but also reminds you that wealth must move rather than stagnate.
Reversed: Loss, blocked resources, greed, financial instability, wasted potential.
Uruz ᚢ
Strength • Vitality • Endurance • Transformation
Uruz carries the force of the wild ox: physical power, resilience, instinct, health, and the strength required to transform yourself.
Reversed: Weakness, exhaustion, missed opportunity, lack of confidence, resistance to change.
Thurisaz ᚦ
Force • Protection • Conflict • Thresholds
Thurisaz is associated with the giant and the thorn. It may indicate confrontation, powerful forces, protection, boundaries, or a dangerous threshold that must be approached carefully.
Reversed: Recklessness, conflict without purpose, vulnerability, poor judgment.
Ansuz ᚨ
Speech • Wisdom • Communication • Inspiration
Ansuz is strongly associated with communication, divine inspiration, language, knowledge, and messages. In spirit work, it can be particularly interesting when questions concern communication or receiving information.
Reversed: Miscommunication, deception, confusion, poor advice, words without substance.
Raidho ᚱ
Journey • Movement • Rhythm • Right Order
Raidho concerns journeys, travel, movement, cycles, and finding the proper course. The journey may be physical or entirely spiritual.
Reversed: Delays, wrong direction, disrupted plans, lack of harmony.
Kenaz ᚲ
Torch • Knowledge • Illumination • Creativity
Kenaz is the torch brought into darkness. It can represent learning, revelation, creative fire, skill, and something previously hidden becoming visible.
Reversed: Confusion, obscurity, creative block, loss of insight.
Gebo ᚷ
Gift • Exchange • Partnership • Reciprocity
Gebo represents the gift and the exchange between giver and receiver. It can indicate generosity, partnership, agreements, balance, and mutual benefit.
Reversed: There is traditionally no universally accepted reversal for Gebo. When surrounded by difficult runes, consider imbalance, obligation, strings attached, or an unequal exchange.
Wunjo ᚹ
Joy • Harmony • Success • Belonging
Wunjo brings happiness, fellowship, satisfaction, and the feeling of being where you belong.
Reversed: Disappointment, disharmony, isolation, delayed happiness.
Hagalaz ᚺ
Disruption • Storm • Upheaval • Necessary Change
Hagalaz is the hailstorm: sudden disruption that cannot simply be negotiated away. It can destroy what is fragile while clearing the way for something more resilient.
Reversed: There is traditionally no universally accepted reversal. Difficult surrounding runes may emphasize internal disruption or resistance to unavoidable change.
Nauthiz ᚾ
Need • Constraint • Necessity • Endurance
Nauthiz concerns necessity, limitation, hardship, and learning through circumstances that cannot immediately be changed.
Reversed: Desperation, frustration, unnecessary restriction, refusing to learn from difficulty.
Isa ᛁ
Ice • Stillness • Suspension • Concentration
Isa freezes movement. It can indicate waiting, silence, withdrawal, preservation, or the need to stop before proceeding.
Reversed: There is traditionally no standard reversal. Look instead at surrounding runes for what may thaw the situation.
Jera ᛃ
Harvest • Cycles • Reward • Right Timing
Jera is the harvest: results arriving because something has been cultivated. It emphasizes natural cycles and patience.
Reversed: There is traditionally no standard reversal. Delayed results or poor harvest may be suggested by difficult surrounding runes.
Eihwaz ᛇ
Endurance • Transformation • Threshold • Death/Rebirth
Eihwaz concerns the yew and the axis between life and death. It can indicate endurance, initiation, transformation, and passage through a difficult threshold.
Reversed: Traditionally not reversed. Difficult surrounding runes may emphasize resistance to transformation.
Perthro ᛈ
Mystery • Fate • Hidden Knowledge • Chance
Perthro is associated with mystery, secrets, chance, hidden forces, and things not yet revealed.
Reversed: Secrets, uncertainty, concealed information, unpleasant surprises.
Algiz ᛉ
Protection • Instinct • Divine Connection • Guardianship
Algiz is commonly associated with protection, warning, higher guidance, and the instinct to recognize danger.
Reversed: Vulnerability, ignored warning, poor boundaries, lack of awareness.
Sowilo ᛋ
Sun • Victory • Wholeness • Vitality
Sowilo is the sun: clarity, success, strength, illumination, confidence, and integration.
Reversed: Traditionally not reversed. Difficult surrounding runes may indicate burnout, excessive pride, or blocked vitality.
Tiwaz ᛏ
Justice • Honor • Courage • Sacrifice • Victory
Tiwaz carries the symbolism of Tyr: law, courage, honorable action, duty, and sacrifice for a greater purpose.
Reversed: Injustice, cowardice, imbalance, defeat, sacrifice without purpose.
Berkano ᛒ
Birth • Growth • Healing • Fertility
Berkano concerns birch, beginnings, nurturing, growth, renewal, and the development of something new.
Reversed: Stagnation, poor nurturing, delayed growth, difficulties within family or home.
Ehwaz ᛖ
Movement • Partnership • Trust • Progress
Ehwaz is associated with the horse and rider: cooperation, movement, trust, transportation, and progress achieved through partnership.
Reversed: Stagnation, mistrust, disrupted movement, lack of cooperation.
Mannaz ᛗ
Humanity • Self • Community • Mind
Mannaz turns the oracle toward the human being: identity, intellect, social relationships, community, and self-understanding.
Reversed: Isolation, self-deception, ego, social difficulty, failure to see your own role.
Laguz ᛚ
Water • Intuition • Emotion • Flow
Laguz is the water rune. It concerns intuition, dreams, emotions, subconscious currents, psychic receptivity, and surrendering to natural movement.
Reversed: Emotional confusion, blocked intuition, illusion, being overwhelmed by feeling.
Ingwaz ᛜ
Potential • Gestation • Completion • Inner Growth
Ingwaz concerns stored potential, fertility, gestation, and the completion of a process before a new beginning.
Reversed: Traditionally no fixed reversal. It may suggest something unfinished or potential that remains dormant.
Dagaz ᛞ
Dawn • Awakening • Breakthrough • Transformation
Dagaz is the moment darkness gives way to light. It can indicate revelation, breakthrough, awakening, and a decisive change of perspective.
Reversed: Traditionally no standard reversal. Difficult surrounding runes may show resistance to an emerging realization.
Othala ᛟ
Ancestry • Home • Heritage • Inheritance
Othala concerns ancestral inheritance, property, homeland, family, roots, and what has been passed down.
Reversed: Displacement, family conflict, inheritance problems, detachment from one's roots.
