For example, in the Fáfnismál, the dwarf turned dragon Fafnir boasts of using the Ægishjálmur, making it invincible.įor I found no power a match for my own” 4. While no examples of the Aegishjalmur symbol survive from the Viking world, it is mentioned in a number of Viking texts. If we look at the etymology, “aegis” means “shield” and “hjalmr” corresponds to the word “helmet” in Old Norse.

The central point can represent the thing to be protected, the tridents being the offensive means of this protection. It is composed of 8 branches resembling radiant tridents around a central point. According to the grimoire, warriors can draw the symbol on their forehead to invoke the favor of the gods and ensure their bravery and success in battle. The most famous symbol in these grimoires is Aegishjalmr, more commonly known as the Helm of Awe. It was a symbol of protection. But we know how runes were used in later Scandinavian culture thanks to a group of magical Grimoires dating from 18th century Iceland. We do not know much about how the Vikings themselves used the runes, though there are many references to the use of rune magic. Helm of Awe products in the V.K.N.G store Odin hung himself from Yggdrasil for nine days and nine nights while pierced by his own spear to learn the secrets of the runes. The Norns, the Norse fates, write the destiny of men into the bark of the world tree Yggdrasil using the runes. In the hands of a runemaster, they could be used to shape the world through magic. The Vikings used a runic alphabet, but for them, the runes could do more than just describe the world. However, this seems to have been temporary, as it was not long before Loki was back to his old tricks. They turned to the gods for justice, and they said that they could sow Loki’s mouth shut, which they did. He evaded them saying that he promised his head and not his neck and that they could not take one without the other.

“Then he gave the hammer to Thor, and said that Thor might smite as hard as he desired, whatsoever might be before him, and the hammer would not fail and if he threw it at anything, it would never miss, and never fly so far as not to return to his hand and if be desired, he might keep it in his sark, it was so small but indeed it was a flaw in the hammer that the fore-haft (handle) was somewhat short.”īrokkr and Sindri, having won the best, demanded Loki’s head. While they were very impressed by all the treasures and received them gratefully, they unanimously agreed that Mjolnir was the finest thing that they had seen and that it was the best of all the treasures. While Loki tried to escape to Asgard with all six treasures and leave the dwarves behind, they tracked him there to be present for the judgment of the gods. It is difficult to talk about a Viking symbol without mentioning Thor’s hammer, known to the Vikings as Mjolnir.

The Yggdrasil symbol / The tree of life.

The symbol of Aegishjalmur / Aegishjalmr or the Helm of Awe.

But this is part of what makes them so interesting.īelow we’ll share our take on some of the most important symbols associated with the Vikings, many of which appear on ancient jewelry pieces, and modern jewelry pieces that you will find in the VKNG store. So not everything we know about Viking symbols is concrete and there is plenty of room for debate. The historical evidence for how the Vikings used many of their symbols is based on putting together disparate puzzle pieces and making assumptions based on what we know of Norse mythology and Viking culture. The Viking world was full of symbols, many of which have become very popular symbols for Viking tattoos (I may have one or two).

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