Study › Runes & Norse › Fehu
Fehu (ᚠ) is the first rune of the Elder Futhark. Its name means "cattle", and its meaning is wealth: money, and the energy that grows when it flows and fades when it is hoarded. Upright, Fehu brings new beginnings and growth. Reversed, it warns that something has stopped flowing.
Keywords: beginnings, dynamism, wealth, money, growth
What does the Fehu rune mean?
Fehu is the first rune of the Elder Futhark. It opens the Futhark, and Uruz comes after it.
Fehu opens Freyja's Aett, the first family of eight runes.
Its name means "cattle", which for ancient peoples was the very measure of wealth: a family with a larger herd had a better chance of surviving the winter and carrying its line forward. So Fehu stands for the energy of material survival and prosperity — the weight a person carries in the physical world, and the power to provide within it. Today it appears most often as money, though it is never only money.
The essence of this energy is movement. Like a herd, it can be raised, spent, traded and grown — unlike land or a house, which simply stay where they are. It grows by flowing through you rather than by being held back, the way a river stays alive only while it keeps running. Underneath, Fehu is the principle of increase itself: energy that expands and takes up more room over time, as a seed becomes a tree. Met with respect and understanding, it is the force by which wealth multiplies.
The runes were won by Odin, who hung nine nights on Yggdrasil, the World Tree, to learn them.
Fehu in a reading
Fehu in love
Upright: A new bond is beginning. Feelings stir and move between you. The bond grows richer over time. Generosity keeps affection alive. Love grows as long as it flows.
Reversed: Nothing new begins between you. Feelings stall and go stale. What was shared runs thin. Love is measured and withheld. The bond stops growing.
Fehu and money
Upright: A new source of income opens. Money moves quickly and works for you. Wealth accumulates. Income rises. Assets grow as they circulate.
Reversed: New ventures fail to start. Money sits idle and loses value. Wealth slips away. Income shrinks. Growth stalls when money is hoarded.
Fehu and health
Upright: A fresh start for the body. Energy moves freely and quickly. Vitality is in good supply. Resources are there to invest in well-being. Strength builds as you keep moving.
Reversed: The body struggles to make a fresh start. Energy feels sluggish and stuck. Reserves are running low. More strength is spent than earned back. Recovery slows and stalls.
Fehu on the spiritual path
Upright: A first step on a new path. Energy stirs and seeks direction. Inner riches begin to show. Material and spiritual gain go hand in hand. Growth follows every effort.
Reversed: The path never quite begins. Inner energy goes flat. Inner riches are left untended. Attachment to money crowds out the spirit. Growth stops for lack of effort.
Fehu reversed
Reversed, Fehu turns its flow around. Nothing new begins, money and feelings stop moving, and what was gathered slips away. It asks what you are holding on to that should be moving.
Fehu in the rune poems
The rune poems are the oldest sources for the runes' meanings. Here is what each one says of Fehu, first as written, then in English.
Norwegian Rune Poem
Fé vældr frænda róge;
føðesk ulfr í skóge.Wealth is a source of discord among kinsmen;
the wolf lives in the forest.
Icelandic Rune Poem
Fé er frænda róg
ok flæðar viti
ok grafseiðs gata
aurum fylkir.Source of discord among kinsmen
and fire of the sea
and path of the serpent.
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
Feoh byþ frofur fira gehwylcum;
sceal ðeah manna gehwylc miclun hyt dælan
gif he wile for drihtne domes hleotan.Wealth is a comfort to all men;
yet must every man bestow it freely,
if he wish to gain honour in the sight of the Lord.
Questions
How do you pronounce Fehu?
Say it "FAY-hoo".
What does the Fehu rune look like?
Fehu (ᚠ) is a straight upright line with two short branches rising to the right from it, like the letter F.
Is Fehu a good rune?
Upright, yes: it speaks of new beginnings, gain and growth. Reversed, it warns of loss and of energy that has stopped flowing.