Othala (ᛟ): meaning of the rune of inheritance, home and estate

Who is Othala?

Othala is written ᛟ: a lozenge set on two slanting legs, like a small figure or a stylised house. It is the twenty-fourth and last rune of the Elder Futhark, in the order of the Kylver Stone. It stands for the sound o.

Its reconstructed name *ōþala refers to property inherited from one's family: land, a house, a patrimony. As the rune that closes the series, it leads many authors to see in it a return home.

The name of the rune and its meaning

The name *ōþala is reconstructed from Old English ēðel or ōðel (homeland, estate, hereditary property), Old Norse óðal, and related words in Old Saxon and Old High German. It is the source of the Norwegian term odel, which still today designates a special family right over an agricultural property.

The idea is that of a possession that is passed on and creates obligations: one must look after it in order to hand it down to those who follow. The meaning is therefore economic, emotional and legal at once.

What the rune poems say

The Anglo-Saxon poem does not speak of genealogy, but of a concrete happiness: enjoying what one owns at home.

Inscriptions and early uses

Othala appears in early inscriptions, notably on the Kylver Stone (around 400), which closes the series with it, and on the Rök Runestone (around 800), where its use seems deliberate. It disappears from Scandinavian inscriptions around the 8th century, but survives in England until the 11th century, where manuscripts use it as an abbreviation of the word ēðel, for example in Beowulf.

In the Anglo-Saxon script the rune changes value: it writes a different sound, and another sign takes the sound o. It is a good example of how an alphabet evolves over time.

Othala in a modern reading: upright

A reminder: rune casting is a modern practice. Here is how contemporary books read it.

Upright, Othala is associated with home, roots, and what one receives from one's family or history: material goods, know-how, values, memories. Authors read in it the question of what we keep and what we pass on, but also that of the security of a place called home.

In a casting, it may invite you to ask what supports you in your roots and what you would like to pass on. It does not announce an inheritance or a move: it concerns memory and place.

Othala reversed

Reversed, Othala is read as a difficulty linked to inheritance: a family conflict, an excessive attachment to the old, fear of losing a place, or, on the contrary, a wish to let go of it. Some authors see in it the freedom to choose what one keeps.

These are modern conventions. One way to use them is to ask yourself what you keep by choice and what you keep out of habit.

A reflection exercise with Othala

Look over an object or a place that came to you from someone: a piece of furniture, a book, a recipe. Note its story as you know it and what it passes on to you.

Then ask yourself which object, which story or which know-how you would like to pass on in turn, and to whom. You may begin by writing a few lines about it.

Othala's place in the futhark

Othala is rune no. 24 of 24. It occupies place 8 in the third family (aett), sometimes called the Tyr family. It closes the series; it follows Dagaz.

Othala closes the Elder Futhark, which explains why some authors like to read it as a return: to home, to family, to roots. In the order of the Vadstena bracteates, it is Dagaz that closes the series, a reminder that the order is not fixed.

To see how all the runes relate to one another, consult the rune guide and the page the Elder Futhark: history and reading of the 24 runes.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to Guide to the runes.