The Folk Futhark
Introducing Witan Svan Herul’s recent creation, the Folk Futhark!
This is THE rune set of the Asatru Folk Assembly and our Hofs! If you’ve seen any of Witan Svan’s murals, you may have noticed that he uses runes from all four of the main futharks: Elder, Younger, English, & Armanen. The purpose of this, and of the Folk Futhark in general, was to create a living tradition of runes for our modern Folk.
We are no longer Proto-Germanic, nor Vikings, nor Saxons of the Heptarchy, and we are certainly not all Armanen… We are modern Aryans, with our roots spreading across all of Europa, and we are building a modern tradition of Asatru and rune work. This Futhark holds the same concepts and mysteries of the Elder Futhark runes, but some of the staves themselves are borrowed from the other three rune rows.
With all this being said, I will start writing short lessons on each of the Folk runes, and explaining why Witan Svan chose different staves, if applicable. We will study a few runes a month, starting after Ostara!
Now that we talked about the Folk Futhark and what it means for the AFA and modern Asatru, I'd like to start a rudimentary rune study, beginning with the first three runes.
FEHU- This is the first rune of every main futhark, and often symbolizes cattle or wealth, as cattle WAS wealth for our ancestors. Going beyond that, Fehu can be read as a rune of opportunity and potential. Some have equated it to the potential energy that existed before the Big Bang! This fits well with the idea that the Futhark, when studied in order, tells the story of the Cosmos from the beginning to the rising of Gimle out of the waters.
While the concept and name are the same as the Elder Futhark, the stave has been replaced with the Armanen rune known as FA, which is described as "the primal fire"
URUZ- This is always the second rune of any given rune row. It’s also one of the runes that means the same thing in both Elder and Armanen rows, although with added connotations in the Armanen.
As Fehu is potential power, or wealth in cattle, or opportunity waiting to happen, Uruz is the logical next step in the greater story told by the Futhark. Uruz is raw, primordial power, it is the aurochs of our ancestors’ days. If Fehu is your potential energy, Uruz is having your fists up. Fehu is energy waiting to be used, Uruz is energy READY to be used. Uruz is having a round in the chamber. Uruz is being centered and grounded and ready to defend or attack.
THURISAZ- The third rune of most rune rows, it is the next step after Uruz.
Where Uruz is having your fists up, or your weapon loaded, Thurisaz is throwing the punch or firing the first round. The point in the middle of the rune represents the APPLICATION of the potential energy represented in the previous two runes.
Thurisaz also represents Þórr, the Warrior Prince of Heaven and Earth. Think of the top of the symbol as Heaven/Asgard, the bottom as Earth/Midgard, and the middle point as Thunor charging forward to unleash the might of Mjolnir on anything that seeks to harm the worlds of Gods and Men.
Gothi Trent East
Njordshof District