Defense, warding off of evil, shield, guardian. Meaning: The protective urge to shelter oneself or others. Merkstave: Addiction, stagnation, loneliness, malaise. Pertaining to things feminine, feminine mysteries including female fertility, and vagina. Initiation, knowledge of one’s destiny, knowledge of future matters, determining the future or your path. Meaning: A secret matter, a mystery, hidden things and occult abilities. Merkstave: Confusion, destruction, dissatisfaction, weakness. Indicates that you have set your sights on a reasonable target and can achieve your goals. Enlightenment, endurance, defense, protection. Meaning: Strength, reliability, dependability, trustworthiness. A major change, repetition, bad timing, poverty, conflict. Life cycle, cyclical pattern of the universe. Hopes and expectations of peace and prosperity. A time of peace and happiness, fruitful season. Meaning: The results of earlier efforts are realized. Stands for: A year, a season, a good harvest Treachery, illusion, deceit, betrayal, guile, stealth, ambush, plots. Merkstave: Ego-mania, dullness, blindness, dissipation. Standstill, or a time to turn inward and wait for what is to come. Psychological blocks to thought or activity, including grievances. Necessity, extremity, want, deprivation, starvation, need, poverty, emotional hunger. Merkstave: Constraint of freedom, distress, toil, drudgery, laxity. Meaning: Endurance, survival, determination. Pain, loss, suffering, hardship, sickness, crisis. Merkstave: Natural disaster, catastrophe. Controlled crisis, leading to completion, inner harmony. Meaning: Wrath of nature, destructive, uncontrolled forces, especially the weather, or within the unconscious. Delirium, intoxication, possession by higher forces, impractical enthusiasm. Merkstave: Stultification, sorrow, strife, alienation. If restrained, the meaning is general success and recognition of worth. Ecstasy, glory, spiritual reward, but also the possibility of going “over the top”. Merkstave: Greed, loneliness, dependence, over-sacrifice. All matters in relation to exchanges, including contracts, personal relationships and partnerships. Meaning: Gifts, both in the sense of sacrifice and of generosity, indicating balance. Nakedness, exposure, loss of illusion and false hope. Merkstave: Disease, breakup, instability, lack of creativity. Vital fire of life, harnessed power, fire of transformation and regeneration. Meaning: Vision, revelation, knowledge, creativity, inspiration, technical ability. Disruption, dislocation, demotion, delusion, possibly a death.

Merkstave: Crisis, rigidity, stasis, injustice, irrationality. Personal rhythm, world rhythm, dance of life. Seeing the right move for you to make and deciding upon it. Meaning: A journey, vacation, relocation, evolution, change of place or setting. Merkstave: Misunderstanding, delusion, manipulation by others, boredom. Meaning: Communication, signals, inspiration, enthusiasm, speech, true vision, power of words.

Stands for: The Asa-Gods, Ancestral God, Yggdrasil, ash Evil, malice, hatred, torment, spite, lies. Merkstave: Danger, defenselessness, compulsion, betrayal, dullness. Protection against adversaries. Instinctual will, vital eroticism, regenerative catalyst. Lust, brutality, rashness, callousness, violence. Merkstave: Weakness, obsession, misdirected force, domination by others. Meaning: Freedom, energy, action, courage, strength, tenacity, understanding, wisdom. Merkstave: Loss of personal property, esteem, or something that you put in effort to keep. Sign of hope and plenty, success and happiness. Luck, abundance, financial strength. Stands for: Cattle, domestic cattle, wealth In some cases, like Gebo and Isaz, the rune is symmetrical, so it’s normally considered a merkstave when the rune lands facing down.

The second ætt is ruled over by Heimdall and the third and final ætt is ruled over by Tyr.Ī Merkstave is when a rune appears to be ‘upside down’ or facing down. The first ætt is ruled over by Frey and Freyja, the deities of fertility. It consists of 24 runes divided into three groups of eight, known as an ætt (singular of ættir), which are said to be ruled over by both a god and goddess. It was used by Germanic tribes and its inscriptions are found on artifacts like amulets, tools, weapons, from the 2nd to 8th centuries. The Elder Futhark is the older form of the runic alphabets.

Runes elder futhark meanings