Old Norse mythology is filled with fascinating symbolism, and the runic alphabets of Germanic Europe have told numerous tales of heroic deeds and tragic deaths over the years. Having worked with graphic design for most of my life, I’m a huge fan of typography and symbolism, and also a huge history nerd. So I’ve spent a lot of time reading about and trying to understand the Viking symbols left behind on runestones, jewelry, weapons, armor, and other items from the Viking Age.
But the world of Nordic symbols is not without its controversies and misconceptions; from extremist groups trying to hijack the symbols to serve their agendas, to magical sigils with questionable historical accuracy spreading like wildfire among millennials (I’m looking at you Vegvisir).
So I decided to clear some things up and to go through the facts and myths surrounding Norse and Nordic symbols, how they look and what we know about their meaning. Hopefully you’ll find this as fascinating as I did!
Scandinavian Runes and Their Meanings (Younger Futhark)
When tales were told of Viking adventures, it was generally written down in Old Norse on runestones using the Younger Futhark runic alphabet (used in Scandinavia during the Viking Age). The Scandinavian runes are a simplified version of the Germanic Elder Futhark runes, with 16 (instead of 19) characters specifically tailored for the Old Norse language.
I’ve listed all the Old Norse runes as well as their Latin letter equivalent below:
Get in to the Viking spirit at home
Learn the meaning of the Viking runes with this full set of 16 + 1 Old Norse rune prints.

Each rune is a letter in the Old Norse alphabet, and as such they all represent a sound. They also carry names that can sometimes be construed as a meaning associated with the rune. However, each individual rune may not have necessarily carried much meaning on top of the sound it makes and the words it creates.
Rune | Latin Letter & Norse Name | Original Meaning |
---|---|---|
F – fé | Beast, cattle, wealth | |
U – úr | Clock, aurochs, primordial power | |
TH – Thurs | Thurs/Thor (Norse god of thunder, one of the more prominent Æsir, origin of “Thursday”), giant, troll | |
A – As | A Norse god, an Æsir | |
R – reið | Ride, journey, wagon | |
K – kaun | Wound, ulcer, fire | |
H – hagall | Hail (as in “it’s hailing outside”) | |
N – nauðr | Need, force, danger | |
I – ísa | Ice | |
Æ – ár | Plenty | |
S – sol | Sun | |
T – Tyr | Tyr (Norse god of war and justice, origin of “Tuesday”) | |
B – Björk | Birch | |
M – maðr | Man, human | |
L – lögr | Sea | |
Y – yr | Yew (a tree with an especially long life) |
The Younger Futhark runes were divided into two different styles depending on where you were: Long-branch runes primarily used in Denmark, and short-twig runes primarily used in Sweden and Norway.
Long-branch runes | ᚠ | ᚢ | ᚦ | ᚬ | ᚱ | ᚴ | ᚼ | ᚾ | ᛁ | ᛅ | ᛋ | ᛏ | ᛒ | ᛘ | ᛚ | ᛦ |
Short-twig runes | ᚠ | ᚢ | ᚦ | ᚭ | ᚱ | ᚴ | ᚽ | ᚿ | ᛁ | ᛆ | ᛌ | ᛐ | ᛓ | ᛙ | ᛚ | ᛧ |
Latin letters | f | u | th | a | r | k | h | n | i | a | s | t | b | m | l | ʀ |

What Do Upside-Down Runes Mean?
Turning the runes upside-down is supposed to bring the opposite meaning to the symbol, so for example an upside-down ᚹ would mean “sadness” instead of “joy”.
Germanic Runes and Their Meanings (Elder Futhark)
The Elder Futhark Runic alphabet consists of 24 runes, and was in use across all Germanic cultures during the Scandinavian/Germanic Iron Age (500 BCE–800 AD).
The Elder Futhark runic symbols were usually written as a rune row divided into three ætts (meaning “eights”, with eight runes in each ætt). The first ætt is Frey’s, the second is Hagal’s, and the third is Tyr’s (the first letters of each ætt). Below this is visualized in three rows:
Frey | ᚠ – f | ᚢ – u | ᚦ – þ | ᚨ – a | ᚱ – r | ᚲ – k | ᚷ – g | ᚹ – w |
Hagal | ᚺ – h | ᚾ – n | ᛁ – i | ᛃ – j | ᛇ – ï | ᛈ – p | ᛉ – z | ᛊ – s |
Tyr | ᛏ – t | ᛒ – b | ᛖ – e | ᛗ – m | ᛚ – l | ᛜ – ŋ | ᛟ – d | ᛞ – o |

The Meaning Attached to Elder Futhark Runes
The Germanic runes have the same meanings as the Scandinavian runes, but due to differences in the Proto-Germanic and Proto-Norse languages, the names and sounds are slightly different (and there are of course 3 more runes).
Rune | Latin Letter & Germanic Name | Original Meaning |
---|---|---|
F – Fehu | Beast, cattle, wealth | |
U – Uruz | Clock, aurochs, primordial power | |
Þ – þurisaz | Thurs/Thor (Norse god of thunder, one of the more prominent Æsir, origin of “Thursday”), giant, troll | |
A – Ansuz | A Norse god, an Æsir | |
R – Raido | Ride, journey, wagon | |
K – Kaunan | Wound, ulcer, fire | |
G – Gebö | Gift | |
W – Wunjo | Joy | |
H – Hagalaz | Hail (as in “it’s hailing outside”) | |
N – Naudiz | Need, force | |
I – Isaz | Ice | |
J – Jera | Year, good year, harvest | |
Æ – Ihwaz | Yew-tree, evergreen tree | |
P – Perþ | Cliff, earth, rock* | |
Z – Algiz | Elk, protection, defense | |
S – Sowila, Sol | Sun | |
T – Tiwaz | Tiwaz, Tyr (Norse god of war and justice, origin of “Tuesday”) | |
B – Berkana, Bjarka | Birch | |
E – Ehwaz | Horse | |
M – Mannaz | Man, human | |
L – Laguz | Water, lake | |
Ŋ – Ingwaz | Ingwaz/Ing/Frey (Norse god of fertility, Frey is the origin of “Friday”) | |
O – Oþilaz, Oþala | Dynasty, heritage, estate, possession | |
D – Dagaz | Day |
Viking Age Symbols: Separating Fact From Fiction
The Old Norse culture was rich in symbolism, and there were many inscriptions, ornaments, pendants, pins, and other accessories left behind for us to get an insight into the popular symbols of the Viking Age.
But there is also a lot of misconceptions floating around on the interwebs, so I wanted to separate fact from fiction by grouping the symbols we know are from the Viking Age separately from the ones we have not been able to link to Viking Age Scandinavia (yet?).
Authentic Viking symbols dating back to the Viking Age
Here are some of the more famous symbols that have actually been found on objects dating back to the Viking Age in or around Scandinavia (meaning they are as authentic as can be):

Mjölnir

Yggdrasil

Hrafnsmerki

Dragon’s head
Valknut
Triskele

Trikvetra

Sleipner

The Longship

Jörmungandr

Kraken / Hafgufa

Fenrir

Gyllenborste

Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr

Bear’s Head
Symbols commonly (but perhaps mistakenly) linked to Norse mythology
Vegvisir
Ægishjalmr
Herðslustafir
Svefnthorn
If you want to learn more about why these symbols may not date back to or be linked to the Viking Age, here’s Jackson Crawford’s (Old Norse specialist with a Ph.D. in Scandinavian Studies) very informative takes on the Ægishjalmur and Vegvísir respectively:
Dr. Crawford taught courses in Norse language, myth, and sagas at UCLA, UC Berkeley, and University of Colorado over the years 2011-2020, and is currently on a mission to teach fulltime via YouTube & Patreon subscriptions.
His videos are always informative, based on actual evidence, very thorough, and well worth a watch if you’re interested in the Old Norse world.
Rudolphs Koch’s Nordic & Germanic symbols in The Book of Signs
German typographer Rudolph Koch published a book with 493 classified and documented illustrations, collected, drawn, and explained by himself.
Koch doesn’t really provide any sources for the symbols he draws, but he does include most of the Younger Futhark runes, and attributes some other symbols to either Nordic, Pagan, or Germanic origins:

Triceps

Sunwheel / The Cross of Wotan

The Dragon’s Eye

Eight-angled figure

The Eye of Fire

The Eight-spoked Wheel
This is how Rudolph describes his sources:
On many of the signs illustrated in this book the Nordic influence can be clearly traced, but the basic forms, with their wealth of significance and symbolism, undoubtedly take us back to the dim, remote and unfathomed ages of Mankind in the far Eastern countries of this World.
Rudolph Koch, The Book of Signs p. 104
By the way, if you'd like to connect to your inner Viking and spruce up your walls at the same time, I've created a full set of stylish and minimal rune poster printables that include their names, meanings, and equivalent modern letters. You can write your own name in Younger Futhark, display the runes that mean something to you personally, or why not hang up all 16 runes in an epic Old Norse wall gallery!
Get in to the Viking spirit at home
Full set of 16 + 1 Old Norse runes (a.k.a. Younger Futhark) printables. Learn the Viking ways with these beautiful prints that you can hang on your walls or use digitally.

Sources:
https://www.raa.se/kulturarv/runor-och-runstenar/att-lasa-runor-och-runinskrifter/
https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/viking-age-people/runes
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Book_of_Signs.html?id=dsuuKUag8EkC&redir_esc=y
https://jacksonwcrawford.com/list-of-videos/
Show more +Vegvisir: A Complete Guide (Origins, Meaning & Accuracy)
Norse vs. Norwegian vs. Nordic: Differences Explained
Nordic vs. Germanic vs. Celtic: Differences & Links Explained (+ Maps)
Why It Is Called Scandinavia (Origins & Meaning)