Runecasting with the Giantess

Fehu is the first letter of the Elder Futhark. Futhark is unusual in that it begins with F instead of an A-sound, like most alphabets. The letter is likely based on the Etrusscan glyph for V. It corresponds to an F sound but can shift to a V.

Fehu means "livestock," but by extension it means "wealth." There was a time when the land, property, and animals you owned were the obvious manifestation of your wealth. Cattle was certainly a prominent marker for this. In a runecast, it is associated with prosperity, abundance, and the natural cycles of life. This is a rune that's tied to the earth

This means that it's not just livestock and coins. It represents wealth but also the energy that creates and circulates that wealth. You're not supposed to keep it—you're supposed to move it. You cultivate the earth, and the earth produces vegetables, grains, hay. Feed your cattle, and they produce meat, hide, milk. Even the heathen Scandinavians knew that when you hoard wealth for too long, sealing it away in the dark, it becomes a dragon. Fehu rots in stillness, so think instead of a gold coin being handed from person to person, polished by grasps and pockets. It glows when it's moved around, it's polished brightly. This is also its burden, that it has to be moved around instead of stocked up. It takes energy to keep that cycle going.

It's also kin-bound. Livestock meant a lot more than just the food they provide. They were measures of wealth themselves and used for dowries and gifts, as well as valuable sacrifices to gods in exchange for something else necessary. It costs a lot to raise a cow to the state where it can be slaughtered, so gifting one to a new family or a lord was the culmination of a lot of work. It wasn't just the object, it was the dedication and pains you took to bring the beast to the state of being worthy for transaction, whether a tithe or a feast. And think about that: when a jarl held a feast in his hall for his kinsmen, he was saying something important: "This is how much I value you. I've slit the throat of two to four years of feeding and upkeep, and I offer it to you for your service."

Wealth takes many forms. Fehu also shows up to remind you of your self-worth, how resolutely you own your space and your actions. It calls you to reflect on your dignity, how you present yourself, and the weight of your own name. It reminds you to fight for what belongs to you, indeed, what you have right to own in the first place. Fehu is about tending your own domain, guarding and respecting it—not letting any jackoff come messing about with your demesne, your personal space.

Keywords: Wealth, Energy, Circulation, Ownership, Kinship, Generosity