Futhark

Futhark (Old Norse Fuþark, after the first six runes: ᚠᚢᚦᚨᚱᚲ) is the runic alphabet, a system of signs used both for writing and for magical and diagnostic purposes.

Three Historical Versions

1. Elder Futhark

24 runes, 2nd–8th c. CE — the most ancient and the most used in divination.

Three aetts (groups of 8 runes):

• Freyr's aett (ᚠᚢᚦᚨᚱᚲᚷᚹ)
• Hagalaz's aett (ᚺᚾᛁᛃᛇᛈᛉᛊ)
• Tyr's aett (ᛏᛒᛖᛗᛚᛜᛞᛟ)

2. Younger Futhark

16 runes, 8th–12th c. — Scandinavian, used for runic inscriptions of the Viking Age.

3. Anglo-Saxon (Futhorc)

33 runes — an expanded version with additional signs for Old English sounds.

The Esoteric Alternative

Guido von List's Armanen Runes. The Armanen Runes (18 runes, early 20th c.), based on the poetic stanzas of the "Hávamál". Rejected by academic runology as a pseudo-historical construction.

Futhark in Errarium

The instrumental system of method #21. In Errarium, the Futhark is the instrumental system of method #21 (Runology): each rune is simultaneously a sound, a form, a number and an archetypal force.