The Uthark theory about the runes holds that the ''rune row'' is a cipher, and that one can understand its meaning by placing the first rune, "F", last, resulting in an ”Uthark” instead of the traditional "Futhark" order. It originated in the 1930s with the work of philologist Sigurd Agrell (1881–1937), a professor at
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion runic studies. But it has found proponents in occult,
esoteric
Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas ...
circles and in popular culture.
Agrell articulated the bulk of his theory in his 1932 book ''Die spätantike Alphabet-Mystik und die Runenreihe'' he Alphabet-mysticism of late antiquity and the sequence of the runes Occultist Kenneth Meadows promoted it in his 1995 book ''Rune Power''.
Thomas Karlsson
Thomas Karlsson (born 1972) is a Swedish occultist and esoteric writer, with a PhD in the History of Religions from Stockholm University. (Thomas Karlsson's PhD thesis, in Swedish) In 1989 he founded Dragon Rouge, a Left-Hand Path initiatory o ...
, founder of the magical order
Dragon Rouge
Thomas Karlsson (born 1972) is a Swedish occultist and esoteric writer, with a PhD in the History of Religions from Stockholm University. (Thomas Karlsson's PhD thesis, in Swedish) In 1989 he founded Dragon Rouge, a Left-hand path and right-ha ...
, then published the first monograph dedicated to the subject after Agrell's work of 1932: ''Uthark: Nightside of the Runes'' in 2002.