Casting Runes
Fehu: domestic cattle, wealth | possessions won or earned, earned income, luck / abundance, financial strength in the present or near future / sign of hope and plenty, success and happiness / social success / energy, foresight, fertility, creation/destruction | reversed or merkstave: loss of personal property, esteem, or something that you put in effort to keep / indicates some sort of failure / greed, burnout, atrophy, discord / cowardice, stupidity, dullness, poverty, slavery, bondageUruz: auroch, a wild ox | physical strength and speed, untamed potential / time of great energy and health / freedom, energy, action, courage, strength, tenacity, understanding, wisdom / sudden or unexpected changes (usually for the better) / sexual desire, masculine potency / the shaping of power and pattern, formulation of the self | reversed or merkstave: weakness, obsession, misdirected force, domination by others / sickness, inconsistency, ignorance / lust, brutality, rashness, callousness, violence
Thurisaz: thorn or a Giant | reactive force, directed force of destruction and defense, conflict. Instinctual will, vital eroticism, regenerative catalyst / tendency toward change / catharsis, purging, cleansing fire / male sexuality, fertilization | reversed or merkstave: danger, defenselessness, compulsion, betrayal, dullness / evil, malice, hatred, torment, spite, lies / a bad man or woman
Ansuz: the As, ancestral god, i.e. Odin | a revealing message or insight, communication / signals, inspiration, enthusiasm, speech, true vision, power of words and naming / blessings, the taking of advice / good health, harmony, truth, wisdom | reversed or merkstave: misunderstanding, delusion, manipulation by others, boredom / vanity and grandiloquence
Raidho: wagon or chariot | travel, both in physical terms and those of lifestyle direction | a journey, vacation, relocation, evolution, change of place or setting / seeing a larger perspective / seeing the right move for you to make and deciding upon it / personal rhythm, world rhythm, dance of life | reversed or merkstave: crisis, rigidity, stasis, injustice, irrationality / disruption, dislocation, demotion, delusion, possibly a death
Kenaz: beacon or torch | vision, revelation, knowledge, creativity, inspiration, technical ability / vital fire of life, harnessed power, fire of transformation and regeneration / power to create your own reality, the power of light / open to new strength, energy, and power now / passion, sexual love | reversed or merkstave: disease, breakup, instability, lack of creativity / nakedness, exposure, loss of illusion and false hope
Gebo: gift | gifts, both in the sense of sacrifice and of generosity, indicating balance / all matters in relation to exchanges, including contracts, personal relationships and partnerships | merkstave: greed, loneliness, dependence, over-sacrifice / obligation, toll, privation, bribery
Wunjo: joy | joy, comfort, pleasure / fellowship, harmony, prosperity / ecstasy, glory, spiritual reward, but also the possibility of going “over the top” / if restrained, the meaning is general success and recognition of worth | reversed or merkstave: stultification, sorrow, strife, alienation / delirium, intoxication, possession by higher forces, impractical enthusiasm / raging frenzy, berzerker
Hagalaz: hail | wrath of nature, destructive, uncontrolled forces, especially the weather, or within the unconscious / tempering, testing, trial / controlled crisis, leading to completion, inner harmony | merkstave: natural disaster, catastrophe / stagnation, loss of power / pain, loss, suffering, hardship, sickness, crisis
Nauthiz: need | delays, restriction / resistance leading to strength, innovation, need-fire (self-reliance) / distress, confusion, conflict, and the power of will to overcome them / endurance, survival, determination / time to exercise patience / recognition of one’s fate / major self-initiated change / face your fears | reversed or merkstave: constraint of freedom, distress, toil, drudgery, laxity / necessity, extremity, want, deprivation, starvation, need, poverty, emotional hunger
Isa: ice | a challenge or frustration / psychological blocks to thought or activity, including grievances / standstill, or a time to turn inward and wait for what is to come, or to seek clarity / reinforces runes around it | merkstave: ego-mania, dullness, blindness, dissipation / treachery, illusion, deceit, betrayal, guile, stealth, ambush, plots
Jera: a year, a good harvest / the results of earlier efforts are realized / time of peace and happiness, fruitful season / can break through stagnancy / hopes and expectations of peace and prosperity / the promise of success earned / life cycle, cyclical pattern of the universe / everything changes, in its own time | merkstave: sudden setback, reversals / a major change, repetition, bad timing, poverty, conflict
Eihwaz: yew tree | strength, reliability, dependability, trustworthiness / enlightenment, endurance / defense, protection / the driving force to acquire, providing motivation and a sense of purpose / indicates that you have set your sights on a reasonable target and can achieve your goals / an honest man who can be relied upon | reversed or merkstave: confusion, destruction, dissatisfaction, weakness
Perthro: lot cup, vagina | uncertain meaning, a secret matter, a mystery, hidden things and occult abilities. Initiation, knowledge of one’s destiny, knowledge of future matters, determining the future or your path / pertaining to things feminine, feminine mysteries including female fertility etc. / good lot, fellowship and joy / evolutionary change | reversed or merkstave: addiction, stagnation, loneliness, malaise
Algiz: elk, protection | protection, a shield / the protective urge to shelter oneself or others / defense, warding off of evil, shield, guardian / connection with the gods, awakening, higher life. It can be used to channel energies appropriately / follow your instincts / keep hold of success or maintain a position won or earned | reversed: or merkstave: hidden danger, consumption by divine forces, loss of divine link / taboo, warning, turning away, that which repels
Sowilo: the sun | success, goals achieved, honor / the life-force, health / a time when power will be available to you for positive changes in your life, victory, health, and success / contact between the higher self and the unconscious / holeness, power, elemental force, sword of flame, cleansing fire | merkstave: false goals, bad counsel, false success, gullibility, loss of goals / destruction, retribution, justice, casting down of vanity / wrath of god
Tiwaz: Tyr, the sky god | honour, justice, leadership and authority / analysis, rationality / knowing where one’s true strengths lie / willingness to self-sacrifice / victory and success in any competition or in legal matters | reversed or merkstave: one’s energy and creative flow are blocked/ mental paralysis, over-analysis, over-sacrifice, injustice, imbalance / strife, war, conflict, failure in competition / dwindling passion, difficulties in communication, and possibly separation
Berkano: Berchta, the birch-goddess | birth, general fertility, both mental and physical and personal growth, liberation / regenerative power and light of spring, renewal, promise of new beginnings, new growth / arousal of desire / a love affair or new birth / the prospering of an enterprise or venture | reversed or merkstave: family problems and or domestic troubles / anxiety about someone close to you / carelessness, abandon, loss of control / blurring of consciousness, deceit, sterility, stagnation
Ehwaz: horse, two horses | transportation / may represent a horse, car, plane, boat or other vehicle / movement and change for the better / gradual development and steady progress are indicated / harmony, teamwork, trust, loyalty / an ideal marriage or partnership / confirmation beyond doubt the meanings of the runes around it | reversed or merkstave: not really a negative rune / a change is perhaps craved / feeling restless or confined in a situation / reckless haste, disharmony, mistrust, betrayal
Mannaz: man, mankind | the Self; the individual or the human race / your attitude toward others and their attitudes towards you / friends and enemies, social order. Intelligence, forethought, create, skill, ability / divine structure, intelligence, awareness / expect to receive some sort of aid or cooperation now | reversed or merkstave: depression, mortality, blindness, self-delusion / cunning, slyness, manipulation, craftiness, calculation / expect no help now
Laguz: water, or a leek | flow, water, sea, a fertility source, the healing power of renewal / life energy and organic growth / imagination and psychic matters / dreams, fantasies, mysteries, the unknown, the hidden, the deep, the underworld / success in travel or acquisition, but with the possibility of loss | reversed or merkstave: an indication of a period of confusion in your life / you may be making wrong decisions and poor judgements / lack of creativity and feelings of being in a rut / fear, circular motion, avoidance, withering / madness, obsession, despair, perversity, sickness, suicide
Ingwaz: Ing, the earth god | male fertility, gestation, internal growth / common virtues, common sense, simple strengths, family love, caring, human warmth, the home / rest stage, a time of relief, of no anxiety / a time when all loose strings are tied and you are free to move in a new direction / listen to yourself | merkstave: impotence, movement without change / poduction, toil, labour, work
Dagaz: day or dawn. | breakthrough, awakening, awareness / daylight clarity as opposed to nighttime uncertainty / time to plan or embark upon an enterprise / the power of change directed by your own will, transformation / hope and happiness, the ideal / security and certainty / growth and release / balance point, the place where opposites meet | merkstave: a completion, ending, limit, coming full circle / blindness, hopelessness
Othala: ancestral property | inherited property or possessions, a house, a home / what is truly important to one / group order, group prosperity / lLand of birth, spiritual heritage, experience and fundamental values / aid in spiritual and physical journeys / source of safety, increase and abundance | reversed or merkstave: lack of customary order, totalitarianism, slavery, poverty, homelessness / bad karma, prejudice, clannishness, provincialism / what a man is bound to
