Uthark theory

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In the occult study of the esoteric meaning of runes the Uthark theory was first suggested in the 1930s by philologist Sigurd Agrell (1881 -1937) [1], a Swedish professor at Lund University.

He theorised that the rune row was indeed a cipher, and that it is possible to fully understand its real meaning if one places the first rune, "F", last, resulting in an ”Uthark” instead of the historical Futhark order. He articulated the bulk of his theory in his book of 1932, Die spätantike Alphabet-Mystik und die Runenreihe.

The suggestion has not been accepted in mainstream runic studies, due to lack of historical sources, but has found a proponent in occult circles and popular culture.

Thomas Karlsson, Swedish scholar, founder of the magical Order Dragon Rouge and Therion lyricist, has published the first monography dedicated to the subject after Agrell's work of 1932: Uthark: Nightside of the Runes (ISBN 9197410217), released in 2002 by Ouroboros Produktion.

The Uthark theory was also promoted by modern author Kenneth Meadows in his 1995 book "Rune Power".