When you are learning to read runes, you want one page you can keep beside you. Not a long essay, just a clean list you can scan while you hold a rune in your hand and try to remember what it says. This runes chart gives you exactly that: the whole Elder Futhark, all 24 runes, with each symbol, its name, its sound, and its core meaning in a single glance.
Think of it as a map rather than a full guide. Use it to find your footing quickly, then follow the links for depth. When you want the full story behind any single rune, our rune meanings guide covers each one in detail, from upright to reversed.
The Elder Futhark Runes Chart
The Elder Futhark divides into three groups of eight, and each group is called an aett (plural aettir). Reading across, you get the rune, its name, the sound it carries, and a short keyword meaning to anchor it in memory. Click any name for the full meaning.
Freyr’s aett (runes 1 to 8)
| Rune | Name | Sound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ᚠ | Fehu | f | Wealth, cattle, moving abundance |
| ᚢ | Uruz | u | Strength, the wild ox, vitality |
| ᚦ | Thurisaz | th | Protection, conflict, the thorn |
| ᚨ | Ansuz | a | Wisdom, messages, insight |
| ᚱ | Raidho | r | Journey, movement, the right road |
| ᚲ | Kenaz | k | Knowledge, the torch, creativity |
| ᚷ | Gebo | g | Gift, exchange, partnership |
| ᚹ | Wunjo | w | Joy, harmony, belonging |
Heimdall’s aett (runes 9 to 16)
| Rune | Name | Sound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ᚺ | Hagalaz | h | Disruption, hail, sudden change |
| ᚾ | Nauthiz | n | Need, constraint, patience |
| ᛁ | Isa | i | Stillness, ice, a pause |
| ᛃ | Jera | j/y | Harvest, cycles, reward for effort |
| ᛇ | Eihwaz | ei | Transformation, the yew, endurance |
| ᛈ | Perthro | p | Mystery, fate, the unknown |
| ᛉ | Algiz | z | Protection, the elk, a shield |
| ᛋ | Sowilo | s | Success, the sun, wholeness |
Tyr’s aett (runes 17 to 24)
| Rune | Name | Sound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ᛏ | Tiwaz | t | Justice, honor, the warrior |
| ᛒ | Berkano | b | Growth, birch, new beginnings |
| ᛖ | Ehwaz | e | Partnership, the horse, trust |
| ᛗ | Mannaz | m | The self, humanity, community |
| ᛚ | Laguz | l | Intuition, water, the unconscious |
| ᛜ | Ingwaz | ng | Fertility, potential, gestation |
| ᛞ | Dagaz | d | Breakthrough, dawn, awakening |
| ᛟ | Othala | o | Heritage, home, inheritance |
How to Read the Chart
Each row gives you three handles on a rune, and together they make it stick.
The sound comes first because the Futhark is an alphabet before it is an oracle. Fehu carries an “f,” Uruz a “u,” and the word Futhark itself is simply the first six runes read aloud: F, U, Th, A, R, K. Say the sound as you look at the shape, and the name follows more easily. A few sounds surprise people. Jera can read as “j” or “y,” and Eihwaz carries a soft “ei.” For the finer points of saying each name out loud, see our rune names and pronunciation guide.
The name and its keyword give you the meaning. Most rune names are ordinary Norse words for ordinary things: Fehu is cattle, Berkano is the birch, Laguz is water. The meaning grows straight out of the object, so an image will carry you further than a memorized definition.
Then there are the three aettir. Each group of eight was named for a Norse figure, and the runes within an aett tend to share a rough theme. Freyr’s aett leans toward creation and daily life, Heimdall’s toward challenge and change, and Tyr’s toward people, law, and the self. Learning them eight at a time is far kinder to your memory than trying to swallow all 24 at once.
Using the Runes Chart in a Reading
A chart earns its keep the moment you actually pull a rune. You draw one, you see the shape, and your mind goes blank. That is completely normal in the first months, and a chart at your elbow is the fix.
One simple way to lean on it while you learn:
- Draw your rune and find its row before you reach for any meaning from memory.
- Read the keyword, then close your eyes and ask how that word touches your question.
- Notice which sense of the word feels true today, since Fehu might mean money one week and self worth the next.
- Only then check whether the rune landed upright or reversed, and let the chart’s keyword bend accordingly.
The chart hands you the vocabulary. Your own reflection supplies the sentence. Over a few weeks, you will glance at the row less and trust your reading more, until the table becomes a comfort rather than a crutch. For the full method, walk through our guide on how to read runes, and keep the deeper rune meanings open for any symbol that puzzles you.
A Note on the Younger Futhark
The chart above shows the Elder Futhark, the oldest runic system, used across Germanic Europe from roughly the 2nd to the 8th century. By the Viking Age, the alphabet had been reshaped into a shorter set.
That later system, the Younger Futhark, held just 16 runes. The Norse spoken language had gained sounds while the runic alphabet actually lost letters, so a single Younger rune often had to cover several sounds at once. It is the script you find on most Viking rune stones. If your interest runs toward the Viking era specifically, our Younger Futhark runes guide lays out that 16 rune chart on its own.
For divination and study today, most readers work with the 24 rune Elder Futhark on this page, because each rune carries its own clear meaning.
Runes Chart FAQ
How many runes are in the Elder Futhark?
The Elder Futhark contains 24 runes. They are arranged in three groups of eight, and this chart lists every one with its symbol, sound, and meaning.
What are the three aettir?
An aett is a group of eight runes, and the Elder Futhark holds three of them. They are named Freyr’s aett, Heimdall’s aett, and Tyr’s aett, in that order. Learning the runes one aett at a time makes the whole set far easier to hold in memory.
Is there a runes chart I can print?
Yes. This page is built as a scannable quick reference, so you can print it or keep it open on your phone while you practice. Many readers tuck a printed copy inside their rune bag or beside their casting cloth for those early readings when the meanings have not yet settled.
What is the difference between the Elder and Younger Futhark charts?
The Elder Futhark chart has 24 runes and dates from the earliest runic period. The Younger Futhark chart, from the Viking Age, has only 16. Fewer runes had to represent more spoken sounds, which is why most modern practitioners learn from the fuller 24 rune Elder chart shown here.