Fehu Rune Meaning

The Fehu rune (ᚠ) is the first rune of the Elder Futhark. Its name means "cattle", and cattle were the main measure of wealth for the early Germanic peoples. So the Fehu rune meaning is movable wealth: money, income and resources that come and go, and the flow of energy that grows when you put it to work.

What the Fehu rune looks like and how to draw it

Fehu looks like a Latin F with slanted arms: one vertical stave with two short branches that rise to the right. Like the other runes, it has no horizontal lines, because runes were carved into wood and a line along the grain was hard to see.

To draw Fehu, make one vertical stroke from top to bottom. From the top of it, draw a short stroke up and to the right, then a second, parallel stroke from about halfway down the stave. Fehu writes the sound F and comes first in the row, which is why the whole alphabet is called the futhark, after the sounds of its first six runes: f, u, th, a, r, k.

Two common mistakes: branches that point down give you Ansuz (ᚨ), and branches on the left give you a mirrored Fehu. The shape is often read as a pair of cattle horns, but that is a later interpretation, not evidence from the sources. To write your own name in runes, use the rune converter.

Fehu upright meaning

Upright, Fehu speaks of earned wealth, income and the abundance you already hold. It is a rune of beginnings: a new venture, a first profit, a resource you can invest. Its central idea is that wealth moves. Cattle had to be fed, herded and driven to market, and in the same way money and energy have to be directed, not just stored.

All three rune poems describe Fehu as wealth, and all three add a warning. The Anglo-Saxon poem calls wealth a comfort to everyone, but says each person must share it freely to win honour. The Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic poems call wealth a source of strife between kinsmen, and the Icelandic poem gives gold the kennings "the flood's beacon" and "the grave-fish's path". So upright Fehu is prosperity together with responsibility for it.

Reversed Fehu meaning

Fehu is not symmetrical, so you can draw it reversed in a reading. Reversed Fehu points to money that is leaving: a loss, overspending, a delayed payment or delayed income. Its second meaning is greed and the fear of going without, when wealth is held so tightly that it stops moving.

Reading reversed runes is a modern divination practice: no early source says anything about a reversed position. Treat reversed Fehu as advice, not a verdict: check your spending, your debts and what you are holding on to too tightly.

Fehu in love and relationships

In a love reading, upright Fehu describes a relationship that both people invest in and that grows because of it: generosity, care shown through actions, and security. For someone single, it can mean a beginning, a new connection with real value on both sides.

Reversed Fehu in love points to an unequal exchange: one partner gives more, the other keeps score, or money becomes a reason to argue. Next to Gebo, the rune of the gift and partnership, Fehu speaks of a fair exchange between two people.

Fehu as a money rune: work and finance

For questions about work and money, Fehu is the most direct rune in the Elder Futhark. Upright, it promises income, a bonus, a good deal or a strong start to a project, but it asks you to manage what you earn: invest it rather than spend it all at once. Reversed Fehu at work warns of losses, unpaid money and decisions made out of fear.

Some modern practitioners draw three Fehu runes side by side, or join them into one sign, to attract money. This "triple Fehu" is modern esoteric practice, not historical tradition: no early inscription uses such a formula. If that kind of work appeals to you, read how to make runic sigils or build your own sign in the bindrune generator.

Fehu in a reading and with other runes

In a one-rune draw, Fehu answers a question about resources: what you already have and where to direct it. If Fehu comes up as your rune of the day, it is a good day for money matters, paying bills and the first step of a new project. In a three-rune spread, Fehu in the past position shows a resource you can rely on, and in the future position an income you still have to earn.

Rune combinations are a modern interpretation, and you read them together with the question:

• Fehu and Jera: income from patient work, a harvest that arrives in its own time.
• Fehu and Gebo: a deal, a partnership, an exchange that benefits both sides.
• Fehu and Othala: movable wealth next to inheritance and family property, a question of what to keep and what to put to work.
• Fehu and Uruz: strength and drive for a new venture.
• Fehu and Nauthiz: a shortage of money, a time to protect your resources.
• Fehu and Isa: stagnation, frozen funds, a delayed payment.

To draw a rune and read its meaning, try the online rune reading. If you were born between 30 June and 14 July, Fehu is your birth rune: read about the character of Fehu people on the Fehu birth rune page.

Fehu belongs to Freyr's aett, the first of three groups of eight that form the Elder Futhark. Named for the god of fertility, harvest, and prosperity, this aett gathers the runes of generative force - beginnings, primal strength, gifts, joy.