Fehu is the rune of pentacles. Pentacles is the suit of wealth, and Fehu is the rune of wealth. Having made that comparison, forget the court cards because they’re not Fehu. Think about the hard-working 7 and 8 of pentacles. Think of the money-lending 6 of pentacles. Think of the care that the 5 of pentacles needs. This is Fehu.
Fehu literally means cattle. In medieval cultures, your wealth was often measured in how many cattle you owned. This is very different from modern wealth, which is measured by numbers in a stock portfolio or a bank account. Those numbers don’t change much if you ignore them; in fact, many financial advisors tell you to ignore your stocks 364 days per year so that they can grow.
But you can’t ignore your cows. You need to feed them. You need to groom them. You need to milk them. You need to give them medicine and mend the fences which protect them and only slaughter them for food slowly. This is the medieval understanding of wealth.
If you look at inheritance in many parts of Migration Era Europe, this understanding of wealth makes even more sense: the wealth of the father was divided equally among the sons, so if your father had a farm big enough to support two families, you and your three brothers might each inherit enough to support half a family. If you didn’t go out and earn more wealth yourself, you would lose everything.
There are numerous stories about how the love of gold and wealth leads to trouble in Norse Mythology. Gulveig, a Vanir goddess, was burned to death three times by the Aesir for promoting love of gold among humans. This burning led to the Aesir-Vanir war. Another story tells us that the end of the goddess Freya’s marriage to Odr (possibly another name for Odin) was caused by Freya wanting a necklace so badly that she slept with several dwarves in exchange for it. This necklace, known as Brisingamen, is one of Freya’s most prized talismans. Both of these stories are cautionary tales of how the love of money can lead to heartache and loss.
Another thing to think about is the fact that the first rune, Fehu, and the first being in Norse Mythology, Audhumla, are both cows. Like Audhumla, Fehu is a rune of caretaking. Audhumla provided Ymir, the first humanoid being in the universe, with milk to sustain him until other food became available later in the creation myth. Without that milk, Ymir would never have borne children, many of whom are the gods of Norse Mythology and the humans on Midgard.
Divination
When Fehu shows up in a reading, it almost never means money directly. It refers to the people and animals on whom you are spending your money. For most querents, this is their children, pets, or students. Remind the querent that taking care of their charges is what will make them feel truly wealthy.
Use in Magick
Fehu can be used in financial magick. If you need money to come your way, include Fehu in the spell. Money will come your way like a stampede of cattle.
A caveat: I always warn people to be careful when doing magick for money. The most powerful money spell I ever did was the spell that got me the down payment on my house. It worked like a charm. And I was on crutches for six months and a cane for half a year after that, recovering from the motorcycle accident which resulted in a five-figure insurance settlement. I now own a house, but I had to get run over to do it.