Found your birth rune and want to know what it means? This page goes through all 24, with the date range for each and what the old sources say about the rune itself.
One honest note before we start. The rune names and meanings come from real sources, mainly the Old English, Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic rune poems. Giving each rune a half-month of the year is a modern idea, so the notes on what a rune means for people born under it are how readers interpret the runes today. A Viking wouldn't have told you this about your birthday. We cover that in What Is a Birth Rune?
Versions of the system differ by a day or two at the edges. If your birthday is close to a boundary, check it with the birth rune calculator. The cycle starts with Fehu at midsummer and ends with Dagaz just before midsummer comes round again.
Fehu (ᚠ), June 29 to July 13
Fehu means cattle, which in the old world was wealth you could move. The Norwegian and Icelandic rune poems both say wealth causes strife among kinsmen. As a birth rune it's usually read as drive and a love of getting things growing, with a reminder that wealth is easier to live with when it's shared.
Uruz (ᚢ), July 14 to July 28
Uruz is the aurochs, the huge wild ox. The Old English poem calls it fierce, with great horns, a beast that fights back. People read this birth rune as stamina and a strong will, the person others lean on without noticing. The downside is strength with no direction.
Thurisaz (ᚦ), July 29 to August 12
In the Old English poem the name means thorn. In the Norse poems it means giant (thurs), and giants in the myths are usually the gods' enemies. Many people link it to Thor and his hammer today, but that link is a later reading. As a birth rune it suggests intensity: calm until pushed, and hard to ignore after that.
Ansuz (ᚨ), August 13 to August 27
Ansuz is tied to the Æsir, the gods, and to Odin in most modern readings. The Old English poem links the word to the mouth and to speech. In Snorri's Skáldskaparmál Odin wins the mead of poetry, which fits the rune's reputation. As a birth rune it points to words, poetry and a habit of reading signs into everything.
Raido (ᚱ), August 28 to September 11
Raido means ride. The Old English poem says riding is easy for the man sitting in the hall and hard for the one out on the road on a big horse. As a birth rune it's about direction and movement. These are people who do best with somewhere to go, and who find standing still a struggle.
Kenaz (ᚲ), September 12 to September 26
Kenaz is usually translated as torch, from the Old English cen. The Norwegian and Icelandic poems call the same rune kaun, which means sore or ulcer, so the old meaning isn't settled. Most birth rune readings follow the torch: craft, skill, and knowing how a thing really works.
Gebo (ᚷ), September 27 to October 11
Gebo means gift, and it appears in the Old English poem. Hávamál says that friends who give and give back stay friends longest, so a gift in the Norse world came with a return. As a birth rune it's about mutual give and take. The thing to watch is giving too much, or keeping count.
Wunjo (ᚹ), October 12 to October 27
Wunjo means joy. The Old English poem ties joy to having few troubles and a good home. As a birth rune it's read as joy that comes from belonging, so people with this rune tend to do best among their own people and badly when isolated.
Hagalaz (ᚺ), October 28 to November 12
Hagalaz is hail. The Old English poem calls it the whitest of grains, falling from the sky and turning to water. Hail can ruin a crop, but it melts and feeds the ground. People read this birth rune as someone who has been through upheaval and rebuilt, and who knows what they're made of.
Naudhiz (ᚾ), November 13 to November 27
Naudhiz means need. The Old English poem says need is hard on the heart, yet it can become help and healing if you pay attention to it. As a birth rune it suggests a person who works well under pressure and often finds a way when there's no easy option.
Isa (ᛁ), November 28 to December 12
Isa is ice. The Old English poem describes it as very cold and slippery, clear as glass. It's the simplest rune to draw (one straight stroke) and one of the hardest to live with. As a birth rune it suggests stillness and an observer's temperament. People ask whether that stillness is calm or a freeze.
Jera (ᛃ), December 13 to December 27
Jera means year or harvest. The Old English poem calls it the hope of men when the earth gives its fruit. You plant, you tend, you wait. As a birth rune it points to patience and the long game, people who keep going after faster starters have run out of steam.
Eihwaz (ᛇ), December 28 to January 12
Eihwaz is the yew. The Old English poem calls it a rough tree, firm in the earth and a keeper of fire. Yews live a very long time and are poisonous. What the rune meant to the people who carved it is debated. As a birth rune people read it as being at ease around endings and the things others avoid looking at.
Perthro (ᛈ), January 13 to January 27
No one knows for sure what perthro meant, and it isn't in the Norse poems. The Old English poem seems to describe a game piece, with laughter among warriors in the hall. Others suggest a dice cup. As a birth rune the mystery is part of the appeal: an interest in chance, fate and what's hidden.
Algiz (ᛉ), January 28 to February 11
The name Algiz is a scholarly reconstruction. The best source is the Old English eolhx-secg, a sedge that grows in the fen and cuts anyone who grabs it. It's protection with teeth. As a birth rune it suggests someone who looks after the people they love, and whom others think twice about crossing. See our Algiz guide for more.
Sowilo (ᛊ), February 12 to February 26
Sowilo is the sun. In Grímnismál and Gylfaginning the sun goddess Sól is chased across the sky by the wolf Sköll, who catches her at Ragnarök. The Old English poem calls the sun the hope of sailors. As a birth rune in the last weeks of winter it's read as the person who lifts the mood of a room.
Tiwaz (ᛏ), February 27 to March 13
Tiwaz is Týr's rune. In Gylfaginning Týr puts his hand in the wolf Fenrir's mouth as a pledge while the gods bind the wolf, and loses the hand when Fenrir finds he can't break free. As a birth rune it points to a strong sense of fairness and a willingness to pay for a principle. Our Tiwaz guide goes deeper.
Berkano (ᛒ), March 14 to March 29
Berkano is the birch. The Old English poem says it bears no fruit yet still grows shoots. Birch is one of the first trees to return to cleared or burned ground. As a birth rune in early spring it's read as a talent for starting things and looking after them while they're still fragile.
Ehwaz (ᛖ), March 30 to April 13
Ehwaz is the horse. The Old English poem praises the horse as the pride of warriors and a comfort to the restless. Modern readers take the horse and rider as a picture of partnership. As a birth rune it suggests someone who works best with a good partner and brings out the best in others.
Mannaz (ᛗ), April 14 to April 28
Mannaz means man, as in human being. The Old English poem says a person is dear to their kin, and the Icelandic poem has a darker line about people being dust. As a birth rune it's read as social awareness: knowing your place among other people and what you owe them. These people can be hard on themselves when they fall short.
Laguz (ᛚ), April 29 to May 13
Laguz is water, and the sources disagree about the details. The Old English poem has lagu, the sea. Some scholars think the Elder Futhark name was laukaz, the leek. Either way the rune is read as water that finds its way round obstacles. As a birth rune it points to strong intuition and emotional depth.
Ingwaz (ᛜ), May 14 to May 28
Ingwaz is named for Ing. The Old English poem says he was first seen among the East Danes before he went east over the waves. He's often linked with Freyr, who has the name Yngvi-Freyr in Ynglinga saga. As a birth rune it's read as slow, quiet building, with results that show up later.
Othala (ᛟ), May 29 to June 13
Othala means heritage, the family land and what's handed down. The Old English poem calls the homeland dear to every man who can enjoy what is right in his house. As a birth rune it suggests a strong tie to where you come from, whether you honour it, argue with it or are working out what to keep.
Dagaz (ᛞ), June 14 to June 28
Dagaz is day. The Old English poem calls day a messenger, a light and a hope to rich and poor. It closes the cycle just before midsummer. As a birth rune it's read as a person at a threshold, with a stubborn kind of optimism.
Take it further
Use the birth rune calculator to confirm your rune, or wear it with the Elder Futhark Birth Rune Necklace. You can also combine your rune with another in our bind rune maker. For the other 23 runes in more depth, start at the rune hub. We ship worldwide, with free shipping on every US order.