Valknut and Runes

Click image(s) to see the larger version(s).

This stunning tattoo comes to us from the Flickrstream of rv3 || cls and is licensed by Creative Commons.

This tattoo was inked by artist Tim Kern out of Last Rites in New York City.


The use of the Valknut symbol goes back at least as far as Viking Age that spanned the eight and eleventh centuries. Unfortunately its historical meaning is unclear and even its original names is lost to us. The term "Valknut" is a modern name roughly translated as "the knot of the dead" or "the knot of the slain". The symbol has been rightfully claimed by modern Norse and Astru pagans with quite a few different meanings attached to it usually focusing on death but with others as well. There are even some who dispute which symbols are true Valknuts and which are not, depending on their historical age. The image on the left is from the Stora Hammar Stone which is a Viking Age standing stone in Sweden. It includes a scene of a ritual sacrifice with the Valknut appearing over the altar.