einhverfr
More analysis of Fehu
Most of my posts are going to be written with a certain audience in mind. This is the person who is deeply interested in the Runes and whose interest goes well beyond the modern reinterpretations or use in divination (though one should learn to read before trying to write).
In general, there are several different sources that people look to for information on the runes: The Rune Poems (Old English/OERP, Old Norwegian/ONRR, and Old Icelandic/OIRP), the etymology/linguistic work (most of which is extremely technical/scholarly, and much is written in foreign languages, most notably German and French), and the modern Armanen tradition formed by Guido von List (based on his vision while blindfolded after cataract surgery in the early 20th century). List died near the end of WWI.
The idea that Fehu's primary significance is fire goes back to the Armanen tradition but no further. The Proto-Germanic *fehu simply means "livestock" (or possibly cattle in a specific sense) and is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *peku meaning "livestock" (or likely sheep in a specific sense). Livestock were probably used as a standard currency among the early Indo-Europeans and even the early Germanics, so it is no wonder that the word became associated with gold and money.
The following words (probably) trace their roots to *fehu: Fee (via French to Frankish roots), the New High German Vieh (meaning "cow").
Now, there is an association between fire and gold, as the story of Gullveig illustrates. The story is that the Aesir were visited by a witch from the Vanir named Gullveig ("Gold-Drunkenness"-- maybe a kenning for "greed"). Thrice they throw her into the fire, and thrice she returns unharmed. The third time, she is transformed into Heidh (the "Shining One"). The mistreatment of Gullveig by the Aesir is the main reason for the First War. There is reason to associate Gullveig/Heidh with Freya, who, after the First War travels with her brother to live among the Aesir.
Finally you have the image in the OIRP of Fehu being the :"Fire of the Flood Tide."
I tend to associate Fehu with primal energy, which can exist as the "Path of the Serpent" mentioned in the OIRP (sexual energy),. money, fire, and the like. But it also represents fertility and potential. The primary meaning of the rune, in my view is still best represented as the Cow in part because the cow embodied all these things to the early Germanic peoples.
Most of my posts are going to be written with a certain audience in mind. This is the person who is deeply interested in the Runes and whose interest goes well beyond the modern reinterpretations or use in divination (though one should learn to read before trying to write).
In general, there are several different sources that people look to for information on the runes: The Rune Poems (Old English/OERP, Old Norwegian/ONRR, and Old Icelandic/OIRP), the etymology/linguistic work (most of which is extremely technical/scholarly, and much is written in foreign languages, most notably German and French), and the modern Armanen tradition formed by Guido von List (based on his vision while blindfolded after cataract surgery in the early 20th century). List died near the end of WWI.
The idea that Fehu's primary significance is fire goes back to the Armanen tradition but no further. The Proto-Germanic *fehu simply means "livestock" (or possibly cattle in a specific sense) and is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *peku meaning "livestock" (or likely sheep in a specific sense). Livestock were probably used as a standard currency among the early Indo-Europeans and even the early Germanics, so it is no wonder that the word became associated with gold and money.
The following words (probably) trace their roots to *fehu: Fee (via French to Frankish roots), the New High German Vieh (meaning "cow").
Now, there is an association between fire and gold, as the story of Gullveig illustrates. The story is that the Aesir were visited by a witch from the Vanir named Gullveig ("Gold-Drunkenness"-- maybe a kenning for "greed"). Thrice they throw her into the fire, and thrice she returns unharmed. The third time, she is transformed into Heidh (the "Shining One"). The mistreatment of Gullveig by the Aesir is the main reason for the First War. There is reason to associate Gullveig/Heidh with Freya, who, after the First War travels with her brother to live among the Aesir.
Finally you have the image in the OIRP of Fehu being the :"Fire of the Flood Tide."
I tend to associate Fehu with primal energy, which can exist as the "Path of the Serpent" mentioned in the OIRP (sexual energy),. money, fire, and the like. But it also represents fertility and potential. The primary meaning of the rune, in my view is still best represented as the Cow in part because the cow embodied all these things to the early Germanic peoples.