Birth Rune Calculator

The Elder Futhark has 24 runes, and the year is shared out between them evenly: each rules about half a month. The count begins at the end of June, just after the summer solstice. The first rune of the year is Fehu, the rune of wealth and beginnings, which rules from June 30 to July 14. The runes then follow in the same order as the Futhark itself, and the year closes with Dagaz, the rune of dawn, from June 15 to June 29.

This calendar was described by the British rune scholar Nigel Pennick and is used by modern rune workers such as S. Kelley Harrell in "Runic Book of Days". It is a modern system, not an ancient Norse one: the Vikings didn't assign runes by birthday. But each rune's meaning fits its stretch of the year well, from the summer abundance of Fehu to the winter ice of Isa and the spring growth of Berkano.

Some sources write the dates as "Fehu: June 29 – July 14, Uruz: July 14 – 29", which puts one day in two periods. We follow Harrell: the last day belongs to the rune's period. So July 14 is still Fehu, and Uruz begins on July 15. That way every day of the year has exactly one rune. If you were born where two runes meet, read both: neighbouring runes often complement each other.

Your birth rune shows the energy that guides you through life. Look at its bright side: your talents and what comes naturally. And at its shadow: what that strength turns into when you forget it or push it too hard. The portrait is incomplete without both.

It also helps to look at your rune's neighbours in the year. The rune before yours shows what you grew out of, and the rune after shows where your path is leading.