Norse Mythology Symbols and Meanings
Norse symbols are the signs linked to the gods, fate and protection in the Norse world. The best known are Mjölnir, Thor’s hammer, and the Valknut, both found on Viking Age objects; Yggdrasil, the world tree of the Eddas; and the Helm of Awe and the Vegvísir wayfinder, Icelandic magical staves first drawn centuries after the Viking Age. The oldest survive on picture stones, runestones and pendants, the staves in Icelandic manuscripts.
Hello, fellow Vikings! Many of you have bought some of the Viking items with Norse symbols from our store, but do you know their meaning?
Try it yourself: translate your name into Norse runes with our free Rune Translator.
In this article, we will shed some light on the most famous Norse (or Nordic) mythological symbols nowadays and tell you a bit more of their meanings. Every true fan of Viking culture enjoys wearing clothing and accessories with tattoos and symbols from Norse mythology. They look cool, but not all of you are aware of their meanings.
Today we are going to change that. After you finish reading this article, you will be able to choose your Viking gear not only by the looks of items you like, but also by their meaning.
Let's dive in!
<a href="https://vikingsbrand.co/blogs/norse-news/norse-mythology-symbols-and-meanings"><img src="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0977/2234/files/norse-symbols-and-meanings-infographic.png" alt="Norse Symbols and Meanings infographic by VikingsBrand" width="760"></a>
<p>Infographic by <a href="https://vikingsbrand.co/blogs/norse-news/norse-mythology-symbols-and-meanings">VikingsBrand</a></p>A note on sources: a few symbols in this guide, including the Vegvisir and the Helm of Awe (Aegishjalmur), are first recorded in Icelandic manuscripts from roughly the 1600s to the 1800s, well after the Viking Age. They grow out of Norse and Icelandic culture, but they are not attested from the Viking period itself. We point this out where it matters, because honest dating is part of understanding what these symbols are.
Are all of the Norse (Nordic) Mythology Symbols Really "Original"?
Norsemen believed in many Gods. Norsemen believed in destiny. They also thought that different symbols would help them overcome their problems. Nowadays, those symbols are known as the Norse mythology symbols, and they still hold immense power for us who believe in them.
However, were all of these symbols indeed used back in the Viking era? We can't say for sure, and here is why:
Some Norse mythological symbols were definitely used throughout history, but there is no written evidence that Norsemen used them. Their original meanings are nothing more than the educated guesses of historians and archaeologists.
Here is an example:
Helm of Awe (Old Norse Ægishjálmr), Viking Compass (Icelandic: Vegvísir), and Troll Cross are among the most famous symbols in the modern culture associated with Norse mythology. However, there is no proof that Norsemen drew them.
The Troll Cross is a modern Swedish design, while the other two come from Icelandic magic manuscripts of the 17th to 19th centuries. Iceland was settled from the Norse world and its magic books grew out of that culture, but there is no proof that those symbols were drawn in the Viking Age.
A Brief Introduction to Norse (Nordic) Mythology Symbols
Vikings considered Norse symbols as a connection with destiny and spirituality, the two things that were sacred to any Viking. Having fate on their side could mean the difference between life and death, and there is no need to waste words to underscore the significance of the Norse mythology Gods during the Viking age.
These are the two reasons why Norse symbols have such an important place within Viking culture, and why some of them, above all Thor's hammer, turn up on Viking jewelry.
As Norsemen genuinely believed that the symbols held power, it comes as no surprise that they wanted to have them around in the face of danger or uncertainty. They lived in the heat, cold, wind, and rain. They sailed across open seas, fought countless battles, and they needed to believe that destiny and the Gods were on their side.
This is why Vikings put images of their gods and myths on their jewelry, painted them on their shields, wove them into textiles and carved them into the wood of their ships.
All because of the feeling that both fate and their Gods were on their side.
Norse Symbols, Nordic Markings and Viking Signs: What to Call Them
You will see these marks called Norse symbols, Nordic symbols, Viking signs or simply Nordic markings. In everyday use they all point at the same thing, but the words are not quite interchangeable, and the difference is worth knowing before you wear one.
Norse is the accurate term for the culture and language of the Scandinavian peoples of the early medieval period. A Norse symbol is a symbol out of that world, whether it was carved in Denmark, Norway, Sweden or Iceland.
Nordic is the modern geographic label for the same region plus Finland. Nordic symbols and Nordic markings are the terms most people reach for when they mean Norse ones, and in practice that is what they get.
Viking describes an activity rather than a people. The Vikings were the raiders, traders and settlers who sailed out of the Norse world between roughly 793 and 1066. A Viking symbol is a Norse symbol used inside that particular window.
Signs and markings cover both symbols and runes, and that is the distinction worth holding on to. Runes are an alphabet with phonetic values. Symbols like the Valknut or the Helm of Awe are standalone images with no sound attached. Both were cut into the same stones, which is why they get lumped together.
Today, we are going to cover the following symbols:
- Norse Runes,
- Mjolnir,
- Valknut,
- Helm of Awe,
- Vegvisir,
- Triskele,
- Viking Axe,
- Yggdrasil,
- Gungnir,
- Web of Wyrd,
- Swastika,
- Svefnthorn,
- The Troll Cross,
- Longships,
- Sleipnir,
- Raven,
- Boars and Cats,
- Bears,
- Wolves,
- Dragons.
And now, without further ado, let's begin our story.
Nordic (Norse) Alphabet - Viking Runes
Norse Runes
The word rune goes back to an old Germanic word for "a mystery or secret": Old English rūn, Gothic rūna, Old Norse rún, plural rúnar. Runes were used for everyday writing as well as for special messages, and some Vikings clearly thought that runes held special powers.
Runes are very similar to letters, with one exception. Apart from standing for a sound, each rune had a name that was a word in its own right, such as fé, "wealth", for F. Norse runic alphabets are named after their first six runes F, U, TH, A, R, K: futharks. The oldest runic inscriptions date from the 2nd century AD, and the oldest complete row of the futhark, on the Kylver stone from Gotland, from around 400.
If you want to see how your own name would look cut into these letters, our free Rune Translator converts any text into Elder Futhark, Younger Futhark or Anglo-Saxon Futhorc.
The Vikings did not use parchment to write down their stories. They passed them down orally from one generation to another, and the sagas were written down later in Christian Iceland, mostly in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Runes were carved into wood, bone, metal and stone. Most Viking Age runic texts that survive are short memorial inscriptions on runestones, naming who raised the stone and for whom, rather than long stories.
Runes did have a magical side. In the Eddic poem Sigrdrífumál the valkyrie teaches Sigurd victory runes to cut on the hilt of his sword, and the same poem speaks of runes cut on a shield. Runes also turn up on weapons, shields and amulets.
Norse poetry treats runes as more than a human invention. Hávamál (stanza 80) calls them reginkunnar, "of divine origin", made by the great powers and coloured by the mighty sage. Runes held such a power that even Odin, the All-father, was willing to suffer a great deal to win them: in Hávamál (stanzas 138 and 139) he hangs nine nights on a windy tree, wounded with a spear, before he takes up the runes.
Now, let's get back to our story.
These early runes are known as the Elder Futhark and were used by many Norse and Germanic tribes until the very beginning of the Viking age. This is when the Younger Futhark slowly began to take its place. Younger Futhark had fewer runes (16 in total), and it is the alphabet the Vikings themselves carved.
Now, twelve centuries later, we can still interpret Elder Futhark. Even so, most modern Viking jewelry uses the Elder Futhark, because it has more letters than the Younger Futhark. Explore each rune in our Elder Futhark rune meanings guide.
Mjölnir - Norse Symbol of Thunder & Lightning
Mjölnir - Symbol of Thunder & Lightning
Let's start our list with probably the most important (and popular) of all Norse symbols - Thor's Hammer, or Mjölnir (Old Norse Mjǫllnir).
The origins of the word Mjolnir are a bit unclear as various sources are suggesting different things. Let's take a look:
One line of scholarship connects it to Old Norse mala, "to grind", which would make Mjölnir "the crusher". Another links it to words for lightning in other languages, such as Russian molniya and Welsh mellt. A third connects it to Old Norse mjöll, "fresh snow", and reads it as "the shining white one". None of these is settled.
What did people in the Viking Age believe? Adam of Bremen, describing the temple at Uppsala in the 1070s, says Thor ruled the air, thunder and lightning, the winds and rains, fair weather and crops. The popular picture of thunder as Thor's hammer striking a giant fits that role, but no Norse text puts it in those words.
However, let's not forget that Mjölnir was much more than merely a weapon of God. Thor used his hammer for various purposes, such as blessing people and things. In the Eddic poem Þrymskviða the giant Þrymr calls for the hammer to be laid in the bride's lap to hallow the wedding, and in Snorri's Gylfaginning Thor raises it to bring his slaughtered goats back to life and hallows Baldr's funeral pyre with it.
Snorri Sturluson described how Mjolnir was created in the second part of the Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál. In short, Loki bet his head with the dwarf Brokkr that Brokkr's brother Sindri could not make three treasures as good as those the sons of Ívaldi had made. Sindri forged them, Mjölnir among them, and Loki lost the bet, saving his head only by arguing that the dwarf had no claim on his neck. The hammer's one flaw, Snorri says, is its short handle. See our article on who is older, Loki or Thor.
Apart from being associated with thunder and lightning, Norsemen believed that Mjolnir was also a symbol of safety and protection. Here is why:
As we have already mentioned, Thor used his hammer to bless people and to slay giants, thus protecting them. So it is easy to see why Vikings wore Mjölnir as a sign of protection and safety. Moreover, this symbol is considered one of the most powerful warrior symbols of the Viking age.
Valknut - Norse Symbol of the Fallen Heroes
Valknut - Symbol of the Fallen Heroes
Sometimes called Odin's knot, the Valknut is one of the most renowned symbols of Norse mythology, and one of the few in popular use today that really was carved in the Viking Age. The name is modern: scholars took "valknut" from later Norwegian usage in the 20th century, built from valr (the slain) and knútr (knot). What the Vikings called it is unknown.
The symbol is carved on the Gotland picture stones Stora Hammars I and Tängelgårda, and appears on wooden objects from the Oseberg ship burial of 834. On Stora Hammars I it stands beside a sacrificial scene with a spear-bearing figure usually read as Odin. Because nearly every early example sits in a funerary or sacrificial setting, scholars such as Hilda Ellis Davidson link it to Odin, who welcomed the heroes slain in battle to Valhalla, and to the dead.
No Edda, saga or runic inscription mentions or explains the Valknut, so its meaning is a well-founded inference rather than a recorded fact. The symbol consists of three triangles with nine corners, and today many people read the nine corners as the nine worlds of the Norse universe. That reading is modern; no source connects the two.
Helm of Awe (Ægishjálmr) Norse Symbol of Protection & Victory
Helm of Awe (Ægishjálmr) Symbol of Protection & Victory
Helm of Awe (Old Norse Ægishjálmr, literally "helm of terror") is today a Norse symbol of victory and protection. The name is medieval. In the Eddic poem Fáfnismál (stanza 16) the dragon Fáfnir boasts that he bore the ægishjálmr over the sons of men while he lay on his treasure, and the Völsunga saga says that Sigurd took it from the hoard after killing Fáfnir. In those texts it is a power of dread, not a drawing. The eight-armed stave appears later, in Icelandic magic books of the 17th century and after. Read the full story of the Helm of Awe.
When it comes to the modern-day description of Ægishjálmr, it varies, and here is why:
Some modern writers describe Ægishjálmr as a magical object, others as an invisible sphere of protection that casts fear on nearby enemies. The Icelandic magic books treat it as a sign to draw: their instructions tell the user to mark it on the forehead, between the brows, to strike fear into opponents.
The eight arms radiating from the center end in forked strokes that are often read as Algiz runes, crossed by strokes read as Isa runes. That reading is modern, and the magic books themselves give many variants under the same name, with four, eight or more arms.
So, for people who wear it today, the Helm of Awe stands for beating any obstacle that fate puts in your path by hardening your soul and mind.
Vegvisir - Icelandic Symbol Known as the Viking Compass
Vegvisir - the Icelandic "Viking Compass"
The name of this symbol, Vegvisir, originates from the words "vegur" (meaning way) and "visir" (meaning pointer), and it means "wayfinder." Vegvisir is very similar to Ægishjálmr, which is why many people believe they are one and the same. Like the Helm of Awe, Vegvisir consists of eight "beams" meeting in the center. The only difference is that all of Vegvisir's beams are different, while the familiar form of Ægishjálmr has eight identical beams. Learn more in our Vegvísir meaning guide.
Its history is short and well documented, and here it is.
The only primary source for the Vegvísir is the Huld manuscript, a collection of Icelandic staves and charms compiled by Geir Vigfússon in Akureyri in 1860. Its single sentence on the sign promises that whoever carries it will not lose their way in storms or bad weather, even when the way is unknown.
So it is not a Viking Age symbol. No Viking Age find, runestone or medieval text shows it, and the "Viking compass" nickname is modern.
What it does have is a real place in Iceland's charm tradition, and today people wear it as a guide through rough weather of every kind.
Viking Protection Symbols
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Ask for a Viking symbol for protection and you will hear the same four names: Mjölnir, the Helm of Awe, the Vegvisir and the svefnthorn. They are not equally old. Some hung around real Viking necks, while others grew out of Icelandic magic books written long after the longships were gone. Here is how they stack up.
Mjölnir amulets are the best attested of the lot. Hundreds of small hammer pendants have been found in Viking Age graves and hoards across Scandinavia, and a 10th-century example from Købelev in Denmark even carries a runic inscription reading "this is a hammer". Thor guarded gods and men, and wearing his hammer asked for that same guardianship. If a Viking wore a protection symbol, this was it.
The Helm of Awe (Ægishjálmr) has a genuine foothold in the medieval sources. In Fáfnismál, in the Poetic Edda, the dragon Fáfnir boasts that he bore the ægishjálmr against all men, and the prose around Reginsmál and Fáfnismál has Sigurd carry it off with the dragon's hoard. What those texts describe is a thing of terror, though, not a drawing. The eight-armed stave we recognize today comes from Icelandic magic manuscripts written centuries after the Viking Age.
The Vegvisir needs the honest label most of all. Its earliest known appearance is the Huld manuscript, an Icelandic grimoire compiled in 1860. It is a fine piece of Icelandic folk magic, and people wear it today as a guide through rough stretches, but it is not a Viking Age protection symbol.
The svefnthorn, the sleep thorn, sits in between. Sagas such as the Völsunga saga and Hrólfs saga kraka describe it dropping its victims into a sleep they cannot wake from on their own, so the idea is medieval even if the shapes later drawn for it are not.
Horns of Odin Symbol - Triskele
Horns of Odin Symbol - Triskele
The Triskele symbol (also known as the Horns of Odin) consists of three interlinking drinking horns. Its meaning is unclear, and the name "Horns of Odin" is modern. The most popular reading today ties it to the story of how Odin won the Mead of Poetry. In Snorri's Skáldskaparmál, though, the mead is kept in a kettle called Óðrerir and two vats called Boðn and Són, not in three horns, so the link is a modern interpretation.
The best-known early example is on the Snoldelev Stone (DR 248), a 9th-century runestone from Zealand in Denmark, now in the National Museum in Copenhagen, where three interlaced horns are carved beside a swastika.
In modern culture, this symbol is often worn by artists and writers seeking inspiration, due to its connection to Odin's artistic virtues and the Mead of Poetry.
Viking Axe - Norse Symbol of Bravery and Strength
Viking Axe - Symbol of Bravery and Strength
Along with the spear, the axe was the weapon an ordinary Viking could afford, and it is the most famous. They were built in different sizes, from single hand to double hand battle axes. Many axes had a "bearded" blade whose lower edge hangs down like a hook, which could catch the rim of an enemy's shield.
If you are wondering why Vikings preferred axes over swords, here is the answer:
Crafting an axe took a lot less time and iron (not to mention less skill) than crafting a sword. Moreover, each farm had to use an axe for cutting wood each day. For these reasons, Vikings practically grew up using axes, which made them one of the most feared axe-wielding warriors. Even long after the end of the Viking era, Viking descendants stayed famous for their axe skill.
Today the axe symbol stands for strength and bravery. Its deeper meaning can be interpreted as the ability of one's heart or mind to cut through any obstacles on their life path.
Yggdrasil - Symbol of the Life Cycle
Yggdrasil - Symbol of the Life Cycle
Yggdrasil is the world tree of Norse mythology, a vast ash whose branches, Snorri says, spread over the whole world and stand above heaven. In Völuspá (stanza 19) it stands ever green over the well of Urðr, and Snorri gives it three roots, each over a well or spring. The poem mentions nine worlds, but no medieval text says which nine they are or hangs them on the tree. The name most likely means "Odin's steed"; "Tree of Life" is a modern label.
Today Yggdrasil is worn as a symbol of the connection of all things. But, more on its deeper meaning a bit later.
Yggdrasil plays a crucial role in Norse mythology, and here are a few reasons why:
For starters, the gods hold their court at the tree every day. (They keep their youth with the apples of the goddess Iðunn, not with fruit from the tree.) At Ragnarok, Völuspá says, the ash Yggdrasil shakes and the old tree groans, though the poem does not say it falls. In Vafþrúðnismál a man and a woman, Líf and Lífþrasir, hide in Hoddmímir's wood and survive, after which they populate the world again; many scholars think that wood is Yggdrasil, but no source says so. The same goes for the tree on which Odin hung himself on his quest for wisdom: Hávamál never names it, though most readers take it to be Yggdrasil.
Many other cultures also have a world tree that links heaven, earth and the underworld.
No Viking Age image is securely identified as Yggdrasil, so we cannot say what it meant to the Vikings as a picture. Today it stands for the life cycle, the cosmos, the link between destiny and time, and above all, harmony.
All things considered, the world tree is one of the most influential images of the Nordic faith.
Gungnir - Norse Symbol Associated with Odin
Gungnir - the Symbol Associated with Odin
Odin's spear, Gungnir, is a symbol closely related to the All-father. It was made by the dwarves called the sons of Ívaldi, who also created Skidbladnir, Freyr's ship, and Sif's (Thor's wife) golden thread of hair. Read more in our Gungnir meaning guide.
Snorri says only that the spear never stops in its thrust, and Sigrdrífumál lists Gungnir's point among the places where runes are cut. The idea that it never misses its target is a modern retelling.
The spear also turns up in Viking Age religion. Here is how:
On Odin's pursuit of wisdom, Hávamál says, he hung nine nights on a windy tree, wounded with a spear and given to himself, before he took up the runes. The poem does not name the spear, so calling it Gungnir is a later inference. Spear and noose go together in Odin's sacrifices too: in Gautreks saga Starkaðr hangs King Víkarr and stabs him with a reed that turns into a spear, saying "Now I give you to Odin."
Another interesting thing related to the Gungnir symbol is the spear thrown over the heads of the enemy. In Eyrbyggja saga Steinþórr throws a spear over his foes "in the old way", for luck, and in Styrbjarnar þáttr King Eiríkr of Sweden is told to shoot a reed over Styrbjörn's army and say "Óðinn á yðr alla!" (“Odin owns all of you”). The idea was to win Odin's favor and the battle.
But how is this related to Odin, you might wonder?
Well, in Völuspá (stanza 24) the first war in the world, the Aesir-Vanir war, begins when Odin flings his weapon into the enemy host. The poem does not say what he threw, though it is usually taken to be a spear, and it gives Odin no words; still, the warriors' custom repeats his cast.
To wrap it up, in Norse mythology, Gungnir is a symbol connected to Odin. Today it represents inspiration, skill, courage, precision, strength, focus, and wisdom.
Web of Wyrd - Modern Symbol of Past, Present, and Future
Web of Wyrd - Symbol of Past, Present, and Future
The Norse poems return again and again to the idea that no one can escape their fate, not even the gods, who know they will fall at Ragnarök. "No man lives past the evening once the Norns have spoken," says the Eddic poem Hamðismál. Old Norse had several words for fate, among them urðr, örlög and sköp, and many people see in this belief the root of Viking courage.
In Norse mythology, beings that shape destiny are called Norns. In Völuspá (stanza 20) three of them come from the water under the World Tree, by the well of Urðr; they carve on wood, lay down laws and choose the lives of the children of men. Thread appears too: in Helgakviða Hundingsbana I the Norns come at night when the hero Helgi is born and twist the threads of his fate.
The Web of Wyrd symbol borrows that image of woven fate, but the symbol itself is modern. It appears on no Viking Age object and in no medieval text. Wyrd is the Old English word for fate (the Old Norse counterpart is urðr), and the phrase was popularised by Brian Bates's 1983 book The Way of Wyrd, set among Anglo-Saxons rather than Vikings. The symbol consists of nine intersecting lines, and within them the shape of every Elder Futhark rune can be traced.
The names of the three Norns, Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld, are often explained as past, present and future, and the Well of Urd is often called the well of fate. Those readings lean on what the names mean; the sources never say it. Today people who wear the Web of Wyrd use it as a reminder that past, present and future are woven together.
Swastika – A Symbol of Luck and Sanctity
Swastika – A Symbol of Luck and Sanctity
What is the first thing that crosses your mind when you think of swastika? Of course, WWII and Nazi Germany. However, the symbol is thousands of years old and appears in the art of many ancient cultures; in Sanskrit, svastika means roughly "conducive to well-being", which is where its link with luck and holiness comes from. In Scandinavia it appears on objects from the Iron Age and the Viking Age, such as gold bracteates and the 9th-century Snoldelev runestone. Some modern writers connect it with Thor and his hammer, but no Norse text explains what it meant.
Svefnthorn
Svefnthorn Symbol
The svefnthorn, the sleep thorn, is mentioned in several sagas, such as the Saga of the Volsungs, the Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, and the Gongu-Hrolfs Saga.
In every one of these tales it does the same thing: it puts someone into an enchanted sleep, usually as a punishment or to make them helpless. In Völsunga saga, for example, Odin pricks the valkyrie Brunhild with a sleep thorn for giving victory to the wrong king. The sagas never say what a sleep thorn looked like. The staves drawn under its name today come from Icelandic magic books of the early modern period and the 19th century, and those books do not agree on a single design.
The Troll Cross - Swedish Symbol of Protection
The Troll Cross - Symbol of Protection
This symbol comes from Sweden, and its shape resembles the Othala rune. It is worn as an amulet to protect the wearer from trolls and dark magic.
It is not a Viking symbol, though. The troll cross as worn today was first made as a piece of jewelry in Sweden in the late 20th century, reportedly modelled on an old charm from a farm in Dalarna. No Viking Age or medieval troll cross has been found. It is a modern symbol of protection with roots in Swedish folk belief about trolls.
Longship - Norse Symbol of the Viking's Mentality
Longship - Symbol of the Viking's Mentality
We will all agree that Vikings were great and fearless warriors. However, they had one more thing that gave them a massive advantage over their foes: their longships.
The design of their ships was remarkable. A longship drew very little water (the small longship Skuldelev 5 had a draught of just 0.6 metres), which gave the Vikings great mobility. They were able to use the same ships to sail across the ocean and use rivers to navigate inland, practically knocking on enemy doorsteps.
Apart from the advantages mentioned above, the longships were made for speed. They could use both the power of the wind to sail, or row with oars if the wind was not in their favor.
With their longships, the Vikings had an element of surprise on most occasions. As there are records of Vikings sailing to England, Iceland, the Mediterranean, and even to Greenland and North America, you can imagine how badly prepared their enemies were for the fights ahead. It took a really long time even for Europe's most powerful kingdoms to adapt and defend against Viking attacks.
Viking longships are also known as "dragon ships." In the sagas a dreki, "dragon", is a poetic name for a great warship, and some ships did carry carved animal heads: the prow of the Oseberg ship ends in a spiral-twisted dragon's head. Not every ship had one, though.
Skíðblaðnir and Naglfar are the two most famous ships of the Norse myths. Skíðblaðnir, Snorri says, is the best of ships and belongs to the god Freyr. It is big enough to carry all the Æsir with their weapons, it gets a fair wind as soon as the sail is raised, and the dwarves who built it, the sons of Ívaldi, made it so that it could be folded up like a cloth and carried in a pouch. Magical ship indeed!
The other ship, Naglfar, is the greatest of all ships, and Snorri says it is made out of dead men's fingernails! That is why, he adds, no one should die with uncut nails. When Ragnarok comes, Naglfar breaks loose, and Snorri says the giant Hrymr steers it to the last battle; in Völuspá, Loki steers a ship from the east carrying the people of Muspell.
Back to the "real" Viking ships.
Let's make one thing clear. The longships were not ships as we might imagine them today. They were open, with no cabins, and the crew was wholly exposed to the wind, cold, and heat. The Vikings were able to touch the waters with their own hands just by reaching down!
And these are the types of ships Vikings used to sail across the ocean! Can you imagine that?
This sort of commitment, courage, and desire to venture into the unknown can only be understood by real Vikings. We, who are in love with their heritage, can only try to imagine this, and dream of being there on one of those magnificent longships.
So, what do those longships symbolize?
Nothing less than the Vikings alone and everything about them. Their mentality in general.
Sleipnir - Nordic Symbol of Traveller's Luck
Sleipnir - Symbol of Traveller's Luck
Sleipnir is an eight-legged horse, the most famous horse in Norse mythology, that belonged to Odin. Grímnismál calls him the best of horses, and in the myths he carries his riders where no ordinary horse goes, down the road to Hel.
He was conceived when Loki turned into a mare to sabotage the construction of the walls surrounding Asgard, by seducing Svaðilfari, a stallion of the giant who built the wall. Loki later gave birth to the foal, which makes Sleipnir the half-brother of Fenrir the Wolf, and Jörmungandr, the World Serpent.
The eight-legged horse is older than the written myth: it is carved on the Gotland picture stones Tjängvide and Ardre VIII from the 8th and 9th centuries. Why it has eight legs, no source explains. Speed is the simple reading; Hilda Ellis Davidson suggested the four bearers of a funeral bier, which fits a horse used for journeys to the dead.
Today Sleipnir is worn as a sign of speed, traveler's luck, and transcendence, a favorite symbol of travelers and those in search of spiritual enlightenment.
Raven - One of the Most Common Norse Symbols
Raven - One of the Most Common Norse Symbols
As of the animals most often linked with the Vikings, the raven deserves its spot on our list. If you are wondering why ravens were so popular with the Vikings, here is the answer:
Odin had two ravens called Huginn and Muninn, "thought" and "memory". Grímnismál says they fly each day over the wide earth, and Snorri says Odin sends them out at dawn over the whole world and they come back at breakfast to whisper into his ears all they have seen and heard. How important the ravens are in the Norse culture can be seen from the way Odin is usually portrayed. Quite often, you will come across a work of art portraying Odin with his two ravens sitting on his shoulders.
Another reason for the popularity of the raven symbol is a legendary Viking whose fame has grown again thanks to the Vikings TV show: Ragnar Lothbrok. The sagas make him a 9th-century Scandinavian king, but whether he really lived is debated.
Countless legends tell about Ragnar's adventures across Europe. The raven banner itself is real history. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that in 878, when a brother of Ivar and Halfdan, leaders of the Great Heathen Army, was killed in Devon, the English captured "the banner they called Raven". A later English chronicle, the Annals of St Neots, adds that the daughters of Lodbrok had woven it.
Raven banners turn up again in the Orkneys. Orkneyinga saga says Earl Sigurd's mother made him a banner in the shape of a raven that would bring victory to the man it was carried before but death to the one who carried it, and Sigurd fell carrying it himself at the battle of Clontarf in Ireland in 1014.
When it comes to the meaning that this symbol had for the Vikings, it was used to represent Odin, wisdom, intellect, insight, and battle glory. Nowadays, on the other hand, it is used to symbolize the two centuries of domination and exploration Norsemen achieved.
Boars & Cats - Nordic Symbols of Freyr and Freyja
Freyr and his boar - Gullinbursti
Many Norse gods have animals of their own. Odin has ravens and wolves, Thor has goats, and Heimdall is tied to the ram through his byname Hallinskíði, which the old name lists also give as a word for ram. These are sometimes called the gods' fylgjur, but in the sagas a fylgja is something else: a person's attendant spirit, which can appear in animal form.
When it comes to boars, two Norse gods have them: Freyja and her brother Freyr. In the Eddic poem Hyndluljóð Freyja rides a boar called Hildisvini (meaning "Battle Swine"), which the giantess Hyndla says is really Freyja's favourite Óttarr in disguise, while Freyr's boar is called Gullinbursti (meaning "Golden Bristled") and pulls his chariot to Baldr's funeral.
Freyr, Snorri says, rules rain and sunshine and is the god to call on for good harvests and peace, so the boar came to stand for happiness, peace, and plenty.
Apart from her boar, the goddess Freyja also drives a chariot pulled by two cats, Snorri says. He gives them no names and no colour.
Today the cat symbol stands for Freyja and the things she was known for: magic, abundance, beauty, love and desire.
Check out some of our items featuring Freya and Freyr with their animals.
Bears - Symbol of Berserkers
Bears - Symbol of Berserkers
Bears were the strongest and most dangerous animals of the northern forests, and even the bravest of Vikings would back away from one.
Bears also made splendid gifts. A live polar bear was a present fit for a king: in Auðunar þáttr vestfirzka an Icelander spends everything he owns on a bear in Greenland and carries it all the way to King Sveinn of Denmark.
Another connection with bears comes from berserkers. They were Viking warriors who would fight in a state of ecstatic fury and frenzy. In Snorri's saga of King Harald Fairhair, the victor of Hafrsfjord, Berserkers man the fore part of the king's dragon ship, just behind the prow.
The word berserker probably comes from Old Norse words meaning "bear shirt", though some scholars read it as "bare shirt". Snorri's Ynglinga saga says Odin's men went into battle without mail, mad as dogs or wolves, biting their shields, and as strong as bears or bulls. In any case, the berserkers were warriors that made the difference on the field of battle.
So, the bear symbol represented incredible strength, fury, valor, and the warrior spirit. Now it is quite easy to understand why Norsemen were fascinated by bears, isn't it?!
Wolf Symbol
Wolf symbol
Wolf symbol carries contradictory meanings in Norse mythology. It can symbolize both the best or the worst in people. For example, the symbol can be a sign of teamwork and bravery or a sign of nature's wrath, the power that even the Gods of Asgard were no match for.
What is the reason behind these contradictory meanings? Let's see...
There are a few important wolves in Norse folklore. The most famous one is undoubtedly Fenrir, the wolf that was so powerful that even the gods were afraid of him, so they decided to bind him (it took three attempts and cost the god Týr his hand). However, it was foretold that Fenrir would break free of his bonds at Ragnarok. Then, Snorri says, he runs with his jaws gaping from earth to sky and swallows the All-father himself, while other wolves of his kin swallow the sun and the moon.
Now you probably understand "the worst in people" part of this symbol's meaning. Let's take a look at the other side of its meaning ("the best in people part"):
Two more wolves have significant roles in Nordic mythology. They are not as evil as Fenrir, and they belong to Odin, the All-father, who feeds them the food from his own table. Their names are Geri and Freki.
Apart from direct connection to animals, the wolf symbol is also tied to the Viking warriors known as úlfheðnar (meaning "wolf hides" or "wolf coats"). It is unclear whether úlfheðnar was another name for berserkers or a different kind of warrior. In Haraldskvæði the berserkers bellow and the úlfheðnar howl side by side at Hafrsfjord, yet later in the same poem the raven says the berserkers are called úlfheðnar. We will never know for sure.
However, one thing is sure. The wolves were of the utmost importance to Odin, and the wolf-coated úlfheðnar show that warriors wanted some of that power for themselves in battle. Today the wolf symbol stands for strength and valor.
Dragons - Norse Symbol of Greatness in Many Forms
Dragons - Symbol of Greatness in Many Forms
Norse mythology has many myths involving dragons and giant serpents. Even the Viking longships are known as "dragon ships," indicating the importance of Dragons in Norse culture.
However, let's stop for a second and explain what the word "dragon" meant to the Vikings. For Vikings, dragons were far from the dragons we imagine today (the giant, terrifying beasts with broad wings that breathe fire and sow destruction). Most of the dragons were more like serpents. Few had wings (Níðhöggr flies in Völuspá), and Fáfnir blows venom rather than fire.
On the other hand, there are some dragons in Norse mythology that were more than just terrifying monsters. They were cosmic forces themselves. One such creature was Níðhöggr (roughly "the one who strikes with malice"). He gnaws at a root of the World Tree, and in Völuspá he sucks the corpses of the dead.
Another great "dragon" of the Norse universe is Jörmungandr, the World Serpent. Its body is so large, Snorri says, that it lies in the ocean around all lands and bites its own tail. This tail-biting pose is the famous ouroboros; see our full guide to the ouroboros and its meaning.
Luckily for heroes like Sigurd and Ragnar Lothbrok (and Beowulf, in the Old English poem), not all dragons were as big as Jörmungandr, and many stories tell of heroes facing smaller ones.
In the end, we have to mention one of the most intriguing dragons of Norse mythology, Fáfnir. Fáfnir was the son of Hreiðmarr. He killed his father for a cursed treasure of gold and turned into a dragon to lie on it, until Sigurd killed him. As he dies in Fáfnismál he trades wisdom with his killer, which makes him one of the most intelligent and powerful dragons in the Norse universe.
So, what is the meaning of the dragon symbol?
This symbol represents greatness in many forms. Great strength, great danger, a great destruction, and great riches are some of the things the dragon symbol represents.
Norse Symbols FAQ
What is the most powerful Norse symbol?
Mjölnir, Thor's hammer, is widely regarded as the most powerful and popular Norse symbol. It represented protection, strength and blessing, and hundreds of hammer amulets survive from the Viking Age, most of them from the 10th century.
What is the Viking symbol for protection?
The best attested Viking protection symbol is Mjölnir, Thor's hammer, worn as a protective amulet in the Viking Age. The Helm of Awe (Ægishjálmr) is named in the Poetic Edda's Fáfnismál as a power of terror, but its eight-armed stave comes from Icelandic magic books of the 17th century and later. The Vegvisir is often sold as one, but it first appears in an Icelandic manuscript from 1860, long after the Vikings.
What does the Valknut symbol mean?
The Valknut, three interlocking triangles, is carved on Viking Age picture stones from Gotland, often beside scenes of death and sacrifice. No text explains it, but scholars link it to Odin and to warriors slain in battle; its name, "knot of the slain", is modern.
What is the difference between the Helm of Awe and the Vegvisir?
Both are Icelandic magical staves: the Helm of Awe, whose name goes back to the Poetic Edda, is a symbol of protection and power in confrontation, while the Vegvisir, first recorded in 1860, is a guiding symbol meant to help you find your way through rough weather and unknown ground.
What are the Viking symbols for strength?
Mjölnir, the bear (the mark of the berserkers), the Viking axe and the wolf are all commonly worn as symbols of strength and courage in Norse culture.
Written by VikingsBrand. For deeper dives, see our guides to Fenrir, the great wolf and Gungnir, Odin's spear.
Let's Wrap it Up
Today we have tried to explain the meanings of the most popular Norse mythology symbols. However, keep in mind that there were countless others back in the day. It is no surprise, considering that those symbols were as important to Vikings as religious iconography is to us nowadays.
Norsemen genuinely believed that symbols had magical powers that could help them overcome any obstacle on their life path. The importance of these symbols in the Vikings era can best be illustrated by countless discoveries of various Norse symbols in the pre-Christian Scandinavia.
Truth be told, I really envy the Vikings. It must have felt great to believe that wearing a special amulet could help you win battles, find the right path when you were lost at sea, increase your strength, protect your loved one, and help you solve any other problem you encountered. Even if it was just in your mind. And in these awkward times today, I would like nothing more than a magical amulet with Norse symbols to help me on my life path.
So, why don't you choose a Viking item with a Norse symbol that you loved the most from our vast offerings? After all, who knows? Maybe the Vikings knew something about magic that we don't know today. Skål!
See each symbol in depth: the Helm of Awe, the Vegvísir, Mjölnir and Gungnir, or shop Norse symbol jewelry.
4 comments
Awesome site thanks.
I’m trying to find the actual
Viking symbol for love… I’ve seen several that claim to be such, but nothing definitive. Can you help?
I am trying to find the meaning of a specific symbol and I found it on site but can’t find a meaning anywhere. It is similar to the wolf symbol but the one I’m looking forward has a pentacle in the middle. Can you help me with this?
This was so helpful and very informational, I’m drawing something in stipple art for my older brother for his 16th birthday and this gave me everything I need thank you!