5 - FEHU

Fehu (pronounced FAY-who) equates to the English letter F.

It is the first rune of the Futhark and first of Freyja's Aett. The name means cattle and derives from the Germanic root-word vieh. The modern English words fee, fine and fief (as in fiefdom) are derivatives. Fehu is called Fe in Old Norse, Feoh in Anglo-Saxon, and Faihu in Gothic.

Why is Fehu the first rune? Well it is not uncommon for cattle as symbols of wealth to come first. Phoenician, Hebrew and Greek alphabets all start with letters meaning cattle. There is also the Norse myth of Creation where Auðhumla the primal cow licks a block of salt to give life to the first man of the human race. So Fehu in the guise of Auðhumla could be seen as the origin of man, and so Fehu is a logical choice for the first rune.

To the farming peoples of ancient Europe, wealth was measured in cattle. Cattle were - and still are - so versatile. They supply us with food, leather for shoes and clothes, and until quite recently they worked at ploughing and carrying burdens. Cattle are also moveable assets both physically and financially. You could drive a herd to another place and sell for a profit, or you could trade them for almost any commodity. A herd of cattle was not only a measure of wealth to the ancients, but a status symbol, like a Mercedes or Rolls-Royce in the drive would be today.

In literal terms then, Fehu means cattle, wealth, reward, generosity, ownership, livestock, nourishment, a beginning, or an opening gambit. In modern interpretation Fehu symbolizes money, a fee, a payment the ability to achieve and sustain success, or greater wealth. In other words, realized ambition. In a broader sense it can be interpreted to mean good health, love fulfilled and good fortune, but you are reminded of the need to be generous, to be charitable and to show compassion.

Fehu is associated with both Frey and Freyja and in the context of personal relationships may be taken to represent sexual love and even fertility - although this is usually the role of Berkanan. In my opinion the Frey/Freyja connection is a little suspect because there are more appropriate runes for those concepts as we will discover as we continue with this series.

The Fehu/Freyja tie-up may very well have sprung from the naming of the first Aett after Freyja, who otherwise has little connection with this rune. It is true that the Ox is sacred to Freyja, and also that Fehu is the initial rune of Freyja's name, but I feel these are rather tenuous connections. The ancients were usually a bit more brash and obvious with their associations. My personal theory is that mediæval runologists misinterpreted the name of the first Aett as Freyja's Aett instead of Fehu's Aett, and this misidentification has persisted down the centuries to modern times.

Another misconception I have seen is that Fehu means fire. It is associated with the element fire, but that is primarily because of the color-orientation of light red. The rune of fire is Kauno and I am not aware of any traditional sources for Fehu adopting this role.

The rune poems are pretty definite about the meaning of Fehu. The Anglo-Saxon Rune poem runs:
Wealth is a consolation to all men
Yet much of it must each man give away
If glory he desire To gain before his god.

The Icelandic Poem says:
Wealth source of discord among kinsmen
and fire of the sea and path of the serpent.

I think the last line is referring to the color of gold reflected by the rising or setting sun on the sea.

And the Norse version is very similar:
Wealth is a source of discord among kinsmen;
the wolf lives in the forest.

D Thinker

The rune was painted first using water colours, I prefer watercolours. I believe that it has a sense of going beyond material wealth. Perhaps the crystal ball in the above image, has a sense of seeing paths ahead in terms of spiritual growth. Though the purpose of the life lesson rune is about expansion, but also dilution, so wealth could represent a deeper path, hence a yellow brick road.