 Germanic name: FEHU
(Anglo-Saxon: FEOH,
Old Norse: FE,
Phonetic value: F)
Traditional meaning: cattle, wealth
This is the first rune of the first aett. The runes are divided into groups of eight (called aettir), which reflect the ancient
mystical numerological tradition of Northern Europe. The classical meaning of Fehu as handed down through various sources is cattle or wealth, in particular, movable wealth. In a
so-called primitive society such as existed in Northern Europe when the runes were first developed, cattle represented wealth. The
status of the chieftain was usually measured by the number of cattle which he or she owned.
In those days, cattle provided both a livelihood and a barter medium used in much the same way as money is used nowadays. Hence the
present-day association with the modern English word "fee," by which name this rune is also known. The possession of money or wealth
means that a certain level of responsibility is required on the part of the possessor.
 Germanic name: URUZ
(Anglo-Saxon:
UR, Old Norse: UR, Phonetic value: U)
Traditional meaning: aurochs
The aurochs was a ferocious native species of wild ox which is now extinct. The energy behind this rune is the life force of the
masculine polarity, the unconscious drive for manifestation. While the energy of Fehu is the active element in creation, the fire of
Muspelheim, the fire of Fehu interacts with the energy of Uruz, which is the element of ice, and life is generated.
Uruz contains a primal Earth energy - the inextinguishable impulse to be, the energy behind the forms of nature which survives all
attempts at destruction, re-forming itself in new patterns when the old ones are outworn. So the energy of Uruz is indestructible, raw,
primitive and unbelievably strong. Uruz symbolizes strength, persistence, durability and adaptability to environmental changes. On a
higher plane, Uruz represents healing energy-a strong, restorative recuperative physical process. This is the energy which
manifests itself along ley-Iines. Fehu and Uruz are closely interlinked, both relating to cattle. They are a pair, and operate together
in a process of creating and sustaining the life-forms on this plane. |
