At a glance

• Sound: f
• Place: rune 1 of 24, the first rune of Freyr's aett
• Also known as: Feoh
• Keywords: wealth, abundance, cattle, prosperity, Freyr, new beginnings, energy in motion, movable wealth, earned success, generosity

Lore and history

In the Old English rune poem, Feoh was called a comfort to every man, yet the poem adds that it must still be given away freely if one hopes for honor before the Lord. The Old Norwegian rune poem struck a different note, warning that wealth can breed strife among kinsmen, picturing the wolf that lives and waits in the forest. The Old Icelandic rune poem carried that same warning forward, linking wealth to discord among kin and to the shimmer of gold. Together these three poems preserve one deep teaching: this was movable wealth, cattle and coin alike, and it was wealth that had to circulate and be shared rather than hoarded, or it would sour into conflict. Fehu stands as rune 1 of 24 in the Elder Futhark, the first rune of Freyr's aett and the opening rune of all three aettir, carrying the sound f.

In a reading

In modern rune practice, Fehu is the rune many of us hope to see at the start of a reading, a bright signal of abundance, earned prosperity, and energy in motion. When it is drawn or comes up in a casting, we take it as a nudge that resources, whether money, opportunity, or momentum, are flowing toward us, and that the flow stays healthy when we keep using and sharing what we have rather than clutching it tight.

Working with Fehu

Many of us carry a Fehu charm or carve it into candles and intention work when we are starting a new venture, asking for prosperity to move, or wanting to set fresh energy into motion.

A little more

The English word fee actually descends from this rune's name, feoh. Long before coins were common, cattle themselves were currency, and that root sense of wealth as something living and countable has survived for well over a thousand years in everyday speech.

Keep exploring

• After it: Uruz
• All 24 runes