Make Your Own Viking Rune Stones

What is the Viking Rune?

First of all there is no such thing as a Viking Rune, they are actually Norse Runes. You see Vikings are just a subgroup of Norsemen who turned pirate raider. Now that we got that out of the way, it is more fun to say Viking Runes, so we will go with it!

Viking Runes are a very interesting part of Norse mythology mostly because of the mystery involved with them. They are letters of the Viking (Norse) alphabet known as the Futhark alphabet. The Futhark language is also split into two sections, the Elder Futhark and Younger Futhark. The two languages are very similar but the Younger Futhark has more letters and simpler symbols. There are also Anglo-Saxon runes that vary slightly as well. For this project, we will stick with the Norse runes.

While some of the runic symbols look a lot like letters in the English alphabet, they do not always correspond to the same letters. For example, take a look at the runic letter “G” it looks like an English “X” while they share the same shape, the meaning is different. Other letters like the runic “R” looks just like our capital letter “R”. Can you spot any other runic symbols that look like the letters in the English alphabet?

Since Anglo-Saxon runes share a lot of symbols with the Norse runes, and the English we speak and write in today has it origins in the Germanic Anglo-Saxon Old English, it is no surprise some of those symbols look like letters from our own alphabet.

Runes are not just interesting because of their relation with the Viking (Norse) Alphabet, but they also are symbols for objects and ideas. Let’s go back to the “X” in runic, which equals the letter “G” in English. This rune symbolizes gifts. Another example, is the rune “I” which equals “i” in English and symbolizes ice. Check out this photo to the right of Scandinavia in winter taken from space. Looking at this, it is not hard to imagine that Vikings (Norse) in the cold, icy part of Northern Europe would have a symbol for ice!

The Myth of Odin and the Magic Runes

In Norse mythology, the top god, Odin discovered the runes. Not only is he the All-Father, but he is also the god of knowledge and magic. In the old stories, Odin was ALWAYS looking for more knowledge and wisdom. In fact, he is shown with only one eye, because he gave it away in order to drink from the well of knowledge. (But that is a story for another craft).

To discover the runes, he hung himself from the World Tree and watched the ancient Norns (sort of like the Greek “fates”) weave the fate of the world. As he watched, he learned a few things, but it wasn’t enough. On the 9th day, Odin — who had not eaten or dunk anything– was on the edge of death. Suddenly, he discovered the power of the runes.

With the power of the runes, Odin was brought back to life and now had the ability to cast powerful magic spells. This is why runes were used in Norse culture to cast spells and heal people. But they could also create curses. Archeologists have also found Norse swords with runes on them. This was done to help warriors in battle. Of course, they didn’t actually work!

Today, some people still “cast” rune stones as a means to get advice or to tell the future.

Viking (Norse) runestones were stones that were erected to honor the dead and recall their achievements in life. These stones appear almost everywhere the Vikings traveled and were put up from about the 400’s to the 1100’s. To date, the most runestones have been found in Sweden. While the early monuments are very pagan, as the Norse converted to Christianity, many of the monuments start to mention the Christian God.

As you can see, in this photo, the stones were originally brightly colored. However, today many stones have lost their color and are dull.