How to Memorize Rune Meanings

Memorizing Elder Futhark Rune Meanings
fehuuruzthurisazansuzraidhokenazgebowunjo
hagalaznauthizisajeraihwazperthroalgizsowilo
tiwazberkanoehwazmannazlaguzinguzdagazothala
The Elder Futhark Runes: The Aettir.

Here is a list of the Elder Futhark runes, their literal translations, and some keywords I’ve found that best hint at the meanings of these runic mysteries.

I’ve included the ASCII rune symbols for copy and pasting. If you use this on your blog or site, please link back to https://runesecrets.com … thank you!

First Aett

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Fehu – “Fay-Who” – Literally: “Cattle” – Esoteric: Mobile Property, New Beginnings, Wealth

Uruz – “Oo – Ruse” – Literally: “Aurochs” – Esoteric: Endurance, Formation, Manifestation

Thurisaz – “Thor-is-as” – Literally: “Thurses” or “Giants” – Esoteric: Strong one, Conflict, Tool/Weapon

Ansuz – “Anne – suhz” – Literally: “a god” – Esoteric: Breath or Ancestral Sovereign Spirit, poetic inspiration

Raidho – “Ride-ho” – Literally: “Ride” or “Wagon” – Esoteric: Journey, Vehicle, Righteousness

Kenaz – Literally: “Torch” – Esoteric: ‘Ken’ or Knowledge, Craft, Controlled Fire

Gebo – “Gay-boo” – Literally: “Gift” – Esoteric: Fair Exchange, Sacrifice, Sacred Marriage

Wunjo – “Won-joe” – Literally: “Joy” – Esoteric: Hope, Harmony, Perfection

Second Aett

Hagalaz – “Hag-all-az” – Literally: “Hail” or “Hailstone” – Esoteric: Crisis or Radical Change, Opportunity

Nauthiz – “Not-this” – Literally: “Need-fire” or “Necessity” – Esoteric: Constraint, Friction

Isa – “Iss-ah” – Literally: “Ice” – Esoteric: Stasis, Stillness, Self

Jera – “Yehr-ah” – Literally: “Year” – Esoteric: Harvest, Patience, Cycles

Ihwaz (also: eihwaz) – “Yew-was” – Literally: “Yew” – Esoteric: Mysteries of Life and Death, Timeless, Eternity

Perthro – “Per-throw” – Literally: unknown – Esoteric: The Norns, Fate/Chance, Lot-Cup

Algiz (or Elhaz) – “Al-jiz” – Literally: “Elk” – Esoteric: Protection, Higher Self, Divine Connection

Sowilo – “So-iölo” – Literally: “Sun” (Sol) – Esoteric: victory, guidance, goals

Third Aett

Tiwaz – “Tea-waz” – Literally: “The god, Tyr” – Esoteric: Justice, Sacrifice, Sovereign Order

Berkano – “Burr-can-oh” – Literally: “Birch Goddess” – Esoteric: Birth, Sanctuary, Plantlife

Ehwaz – “eh-was” – Literally: “Horse” – Esoteric: Trust, Teamwork, Love, 

Mannaz – “Man-az” – Literally: “Mankind” – Esoteric: Humankind, Mind and Memory, Intelligence

Laguz – “Log-uhz” – Literally: “Water” or Ocean – Esoteric: Unconscious, Collective Memory, Unity of Life

Inguz – “Ing-guz” – Literally: “Seed” or “The god, Ing” – Esoteric: Creation, Replication, Wholeness 

Dagaz – “Day-gahz” – Literally: “Day” or Dawn – Esoteric: Awakening, Enlightenment, Invisibility

Othala – “Oh-thall-ah” – Literally: “Homeland” or “Ancestral Lot” – Esoteric: Inheritance, Estate, Peace on Earth

Inguz – Rune Meaning

“Only when we know our solitude to be different from our loneliness
can we be whole enough to honor another’s place.”

Inguz – “Ing-guz” – Literally: “Seed” or “The god, Ing” – Esoteric: Process, space

Rune of isolation or separation in order to create a space or place where the process of transformation into higher states of being can occur. Rune of gestation and internal growth.

Psi: internal growth, personal development, the power of suggestion, the inner-child, wholeness

Energy: earth-god, stored energy, gestation process, male mysteries, subtlety, planned bursts

Mundane: male sexuality, agriculture

Divinations: Resting, gestation, internal growth, expectation, time for oneself; or impotence, scattering, movement without change, frivolity, immaturity.

Governs:

  • Storage and transformation of power for ritual use.
  • Stored Energy
  • Passive meditation and centering of energy and thought
  • Sudden release of energy
  • All forms of subtle, creative action


My Notes:

Represented by the very ancient god image Ing, Inguz is a rune of male fertility. The English language participle “-ing” adds to any verb the idea of acton. Do-ing, Be-ing, See-ing, etc. The addition of “ing” represents action in the actual process of activity (rather than an object). Thus, even common elements within our most common language use “ing” to infer the process of creation.

Inguz is that potential energy that must accumulate gradually in storage before being released as a single surge of energy. It represents the process of a mental ‘seed’ desire implanted by the conscious mind into the subconscious for incubation and gestation, later to emerge as a new creation in your life affairs. Inguz governs the process of seed into catalyst, and the self-sacrifice of one form to bring into being a new form, and the characteristics inherited because of this transformation.

Thus, Inguz contains within its lore the true meaning of sacrifice. Such sacrifice occurs when one form is called upon to die so that a newly evolved form may begin to grow. This is one of the cornerstone concepts in what is known as the ‘male mysteries’. To die for something, such as a cause or an ideal such as freedom, a universal theme in warrior traditions, is thus connected to the energies of Inguz.

There is great wisdom in creating an analogy between this fundamental act of nature and the mystical act of generation. The failure of a magical operation is often caused by the lack of the operator ‘letting go’ of some past form of manifestation so that a newly desired form can be born. All humans live in the past to some degree or another, but one must apply the laws of nature which call for death of the old in order to bring about transformation into new energies and new forms. This sounds simple to do on an intellectual level, but in practice it is requires masterful artistry.

Inguz signals the integration of the four selves: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. It is the drive toward completion and totality and acts as the catalyst for movement toward wholeness. Where Berkano signifies the outer child, hidden within the wisdom of Inguz is the activation of one’s inner-child.