Practical bindrunes
These are used as talismans with a particular objective such as improved health, business or financial success, harmony with a partner, love from a special person, help with weight loss, personal protection, safety and security of your home and personal possessions, etc.

The example on the left is a bind for personal wealth and security.  To learn more about practical bindrunes and see some examples, click here, or use the main navigation menu.

Personal Bindrunes
These are amulets where the bindrune is compiled from your personal initials to form a kind of runic monogram. They are used to reinforce one's personality and emphasize the positive qualities of the psyche.

This bindrune includes Kauno, Jera and Tiwaz, representing the initials CJT.

To find out how these are constructed, click here or use the "Personal Bindrunes" link button above.
 

The Futhark (or Futhorc)
 Futhark is the name for the rune row, or full rune set. It does the same job as our alphabet. Due to changes in pronunciation over the centuries, the Anglo-Saxons came to call it the Futhorc, but it's basically the same word.

How did this name come about? Same way as the name alphabet came about, I guess. The word alphabet is made up of the first two letters in the Greek alphabet, Alpha and Beta. Those were the Greek names for A and B. I guess everybody knows that.

So naming the rune set follows the same principle. We take the first six runes Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raido and Kauno - put the sounds they represent together, and they make the word Futhark. (The Th sound is represented by just one rune, Thurisaz).

Rune-inscribed Brooch This recently-discovered 8th Century brooch is a good example of the six rune Futhark inscription used as a magic formula. It was recently sold at auction by Christies, and I got a mention in the catalog as the researcher.

Why are these the first six runes? I don't know. Nobody knows. You might just as well ask why did the Greeks decide to have Alpha and Beta as their first two letters? Why didn't they choose Omega and Delta? I don't suppose anyone knows the answer to that, either.

The fact remains that the ancients most frequently wrote the rune set in the order I have put them in, with Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raido and Kauno as the first six.

There are many examples of this on rune relics and monuments. Writing the full Futhark on large objects was used as a magic formula for invoking rune power. On smaller items like  jewelry and tools there wasn't room for the full Futhark, so the first six letters were inscribed instead.

I am often asked to translate runes into modern letters, which isn't as easy as you might think. The Anglo-Saxons (and I'm talking here about the people who lived in Eastern Britain from 400-1000AD) didn't use the same sounds we do today. They had some we don't use, and we have some that they didn't have. In any case, here is a table giving my own rendering of the letter equivalents:
 

Rune	Name	Letter Equivalent	Sound
	Fehu	F	F as in fat
	Uruz	U	U as in under
	Thurisaz	Th	Th diphthong as in thin, or in weather
	Ansuz	A	A as in add
	Raido	R	R as in red
	Kauno	C (hard), K	C as in cat; K as in king
	Gebo	G	G as is good; Gh as in loch
	Wunjo	W, V	W as in wax; v as in van
	Hagalaz	H	H as in hat
	Naudiz	N	N as in now
	Isa	I (short)	I as in sit
	Jera	J, Y	J as in jam; Y as in yap
	Ihwaz	I (long)	I as in site, Y as in style
	Perth	P	P as in pot
	Algiz	Z	Z as in zone. S as in cousin (may also have been    the rolling RRR heard in Scottish dialect)
	Sowilo	C (soft), S	C as in nice; S as sit
	Tiwaz	T	T as in top
	Berkanan	B	B as in bag
	Ehwaz	E	E as in end
	Mannaz	M	M as in man
	Laguz	L	L as in let
	Ingwaz	Ng	Ng dipthong as in finger
	Othila	O	O as in old, or in cot
	Dagaz	D	D as in dog