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Norse Symbols and Their Meanings
Only a few popular Norse symbols go back to the Viking Age: Thor's hammer, the Valknut shape and the triple horn of Odin. The Vegvisir and the Helm of Awe drawing come from Icelandic books of magic written between the 1500s and 1860. This page gives each symbol's meaning, its oldest source and a clear verdict.
VegvisirEvery symbol at a glance
The oldest source decides the verdict. A symbol can be old in myth and still have a modern drawing.
| Symbol | What it is | Oldest source | Viking Age? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mjolnir (Thor's hammer) | A hammer-shaped amulet for the god Thor | About 1,000 pendants from Viking Age sites | Yes |
| Valknut | Three interlocked triangles | Gotland picture stones and the Oseberg ship burial | Yes, but the name is modern |
| Triple horn of Odin | Three drinking horns interlaced into a triangle | The Snoldelev Stone, Denmark, 9th century | Yes |
| Huginn and Muninn | Odin's two ravens, thought and memory | The Poetic Edda poem Grimnismal | Yes, as a myth |
| Yggdrasil | The world tree that holds the nine worlds | The Eddas, written down in the 13th century | The myth, yes; the round tree logo, no |
| Gungnir | Odin's spear | The Prose Edda; a poem says runes were cut on its point | The spear, yes; a Gungnir symbol, no |
| Helm of Awe (Aegishjalmur) | An eight-armed magical stave | Drawn in the Galdrabok, about 1550 to 1650 | No, the drawing is later |
| Vegvisir | An eight-armed wayfinding stave | The Huld manuscript, Iceland, 1860 | No |
| Svefnthorn | The sleep thorn | An object in the sagas; the drawings are later | No, the drawing is later |
| Web of Wyrd | A grid of nine lines said to hold every rune | No historical source is known | No |
| Troll cross | An iron ring crossed at the bottom | A Swedish smith's jewellery design, late 1990s | No |
| Berserker symbol | Modern designs sold as a berserker emblem | No historical source is known | No |
Symbols from the Viking Age
Mjolnir, Thor's hammer
Mjolnir is the best documented Norse symbol. About 1,000 hammer pendants survive, made of iron or silver, from Scandinavia to Russia. Some scholars read the hammer's rise in the Viking Age as an answer to the Christian cross pendants that spread at the same time. Read more about the god on our Thor page.
The Valknut
Three interlocked triangles appear on Gotland picture stones, often near scenes of death and of Odin, and on a bed post from the Oseberg ship burial. The name valknut, knot of the slain, is modern: nobody knows what the Vikings called it. Its meaning is a scholarly guess, most often linked to Odin and the dead.
The triple horn of Odin
Three drinking horns interlaced into a triangle are carved on the Snoldelev Stone, a 9th century runestone from Denmark. Today the design is read as a sign of Odin and the mead of poetry. The stone itself does not name Odin.
Huginn and Muninn, Odin's ravens
In the Poetic Edda poem Grimnismal, Odin's two ravens, thought and memory, fly over the world each day and bring him news. They are a myth rather than a fixed symbol. See our page on Huginn and on Odin.
Symbols from Icelandic magic
Iceland kept books of magic, called galdrabaekur, from the 1500s to the 1800s. Their staves, galdrastafir, are real historical magic, but they are Icelandic and centuries younger than the Viking Age. They are drawings, not runes.
The Helm of Awe (Aegishjalmur)
The name is old: in the Poetic Edda the dragon Fafnir owns a helm of awe that frightens every living thing. That helm is an object. The eight-armed drawing first appears in the Galdrabok, written about 1550 to 1650.
The Vegvisir
The Vegvisir, wayfinder, is first recorded in the Huld manuscript of 1860. Its text promises that whoever carries it will not lose the way in storms. It is often called the Viking compass, but no Viking Age source shows it. Read the full story in Vegvisir: meaning, and is it really Viking?.
Svefnthorn, the sleep thorn
In Volsunga saga Odin puts the valkyrie Brynhild to sleep with a sleep thorn. In the saga it is an object. The staves sold today as the svefnthorn come from later Icelandic magic.
Modern symbols with Norse names
The Web of Wyrd
The idea is old: the Norns weave fate, and Old English wyrd means fate. But no historical symbol called the Web of Wyrd is known. The nine-line grid said to hold every rune is a modern design.
The troll cross
The iron ring crossed at its base was made as jewellery by a Swedish smith in the late 1990s. Folk protection signs against trolls did exist in Sweden into the early 20th century, but this shape is not one of them.
The berserker symbol
The sagas describe berserkers, warriors in a battle rage, but no source gives them an emblem. Every berserker symbol sold today is a modern design.
Symbols and runes are not the same
Runes are letters: the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark each write a sound, and each has its own name and meaning, such as Algiz. The symbols on this page are pictures or magical staves. The two meet in the bindrune, several runes joined into one sign: read our guide to runic sigils, or build one in the bindrune generator. The world tree has its own page: Yggdrasil.
What the record shows
The sources behind each verdict on this page.
The Vegvisir is first recorded in the Huld manuscript, compiled by Geir Vigfusson in Akureyri, Iceland, in 1860. No earlier record is known, so the popular name Viking compass has no Viking Age basis.
Source: Vegvisir, Wikipedia
In the Poetic Edda the Helm of Awe is an object in the dragon Fafnir's hoard. The drawn stave first appears in the Icelandic Galdrabok (about 1550 to 1650), and the Galdrakver (about 1670) says to press it in lead onto the forehead before meeting enemies.
The word valknut is modern, and the historical name of the symbol is unknown. The shape itself appears on Gotland picture stones such as Stora Hammars I and Tangelgarda, and on a bed post from the Oseberg ship burial in Norway.
Source: Valknut, Wikipedia
About 1,000 Thor's hammer pendants are known from Scandinavia, England, northern Germany, the Baltic and Russia. One from Kobelev in Denmark carries a runic inscription that reads: this is a hammer.
Source: Mjolnir, Wikipedia
The troll cross sold as jewellery was made by the smith Kari Erlands in western Dalarna, Sweden, in the late 1990s. Her claim that it copies an old protective sign from her grandparents' farm has not been verified.
Source: Troll cross, Wikipedia
The Snoldelev Stone, a 9th century runestone from Denmark now in the National Museum in Copenhagen, carries three interlaced horns, the design now called the triple horn of Odin.
Source: Snoldelev Stone, Wikipedia
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common Norse symbols?
The ones people search for most are the Vegvisir, the Valknut, the Helm of Awe and Mjolnir, Thor's hammer. Others are the triple horn of Odin, Yggdrasil, Odin's ravens Huginn and Muninn, Gungnir, the troll cross and the Web of Wyrd. The table on this page gives the oldest source for each one.
Which Norse symbols are really from the Viking Age?
Thor's hammer, the Valknut shape and the triple horn are. About 1,000 hammer pendants survive, the Valknut is carved on Gotland picture stones, and the triple horn is on the 9th century Snoldelev Stone. The Vegvisir and the drawn Helm of Awe come from Icelandic books of magic written centuries after the Viking Age.
Is the Vegvisir a Viking symbol?
No. The Vegvisir is first recorded in the Huld manuscript, compiled in Iceland in 1860, about 800 years after the Viking Age ended. No earlier source is known. The name Viking compass is a modern label, although the stave is a real part of later Icelandic folk magic.
What does the Valknut mean?
Nobody knows for certain, and even its name is modern. The shape appears next to scenes of death and Odin on Gotland picture stones, so scholars link it to Odin and to the dead. Hilda Ellis Davidson read it as Odin's power to bind and unbind the minds of warriors.
What is the Norse symbol for protection?
In the Viking Age the clearest protective sign was Thor's hammer, worn as a pendant. The Helm of Awe is the best known protective stave, but its drawing comes from Icelandic magic of the 1500s and later. Among the runes, Algiz is the one most often read as protection today.
Is there a berserker symbol?
No historical one is known. The sagas describe berserkers and wolf-skinned warriors, but no source links them to an emblem. The designs sold as a berserker symbol are modern, often built from bears, wolves and runes.
What is the symbol of Odin?
Odin has no single symbol. The Valknut, the triple horn, his ravens Huginn and Muninn, his spear Gungnir and his eight-legged horse Sleipnir are all linked to him, each in a different source. Our page on Odin covers the god himself.
Are Norse symbols runes?
No. Runes are letters of an alphabet, such as the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark, and each one writes a sound. Symbols like the Valknut or the Vegvisir are pictures or magical staves, not letters. A bindrune, which joins several runes into one sign, sits between the two.
Is it safe to wear Norse symbols?
Most are worn widely without any problem. Some, such as the Valknut and the Othala rune, have also been used by white supremacist groups, so a few people may read them that way. Knowing the real history of a symbol is the best answer if someone asks what it means.
Duolingo - But for learning runes
Full rune descriptions in your pocket whenever you need them. In one app.