The Aettir and working with Runes

 The 24 runes of the elder FUTHARK are separated in 3 aettir by each 8 runes. Aett means family/clan or similar.

The Aettir are named according to the first letter of each line as "Freyr's Aett" after the god Freyr; "Hagal's Aett" and "Tyr's Aett". In some publications you may find the second aett named after Hödr or Heimdall. However, this is not commonly accepted and mentioned only in single publications. Also it is disputed whether the separation in Aettir and their names is actually historic as we find such references only as of the 17th century. In favor of a historic separation in 3 aettir as such we have the fact that there are so called "secret" runes which need as a reference the separation in 3 lines of runes in order to make sense.

For the purpose of this Blog I am following the separation and the naming of the aettir as it is commonly accepted.

According to Arntz, each Rune can be attributed to a specific god whereby the god's name does not  necessarily have to start with the attributed Rune's name. 

As an example, Othala is not Odin's rune. Instead we have Ansuz which refers to the Aesir in general but to Odin as their head in specific. Unfortunately Arntz is a bit unspecific when it comes to the attributed god for each rune and  - as far as I see it - has not mentioned a name for each and every rune specifically. It may be important for ritual work though to have the correct rune for the god or goddess you intend to work with. Also when meditating on the runes and their collective and individual meanings, it is helpful to include these aspects of attribution. It is obvious also that the wrong attribution in ritual will most likely result in failure. 

I will make further references to the attributions in future posts to come related to the single runes.

When studying runes, I recommend to take a very wide and open approach. Some of the runes' meanings have changed, as also the letter's literal meaning has changed. You can see this when comparing the initial meaning according to what we know about the elder FUTHARK with the Rune Poems. Of course the Rune poems also have the intention to be something like a learning aid but we will see some of teh changes. When you plan to work with runes, you need to take into consideration that the meaning can be very diverse. Thus, your focus has to be precise. It is not enough to know the most common interpretation. It is like with the Tarot, most people know only the meaning of the cover page of a Card but never open the cover and look at all the different layers behind and below. 

Meditate about the Rune, imagine the meaning compared to the people who used it first. Imagine a changing world and developing society and a changing language and symbolism. 

When thinking about Fehu, you first see cattle. But cattle changed to wealth, movable property...

Again I invite you to use all your imagination and use it from as many angles as you can, present, past, future, from a rural society in an environment that makes life  not always easy, where life means hard work and everyday is a fight. Imagine these people asking the gods for help. Think about a society that becomes more stable, the meaning of life changes.... you get the point. 

The study never ends, there is so much to learn and experience....