The staff used in the ceremonies approximates a phallic epithet, as noted in numerous Nordic writings. According to certain sources, the rituals may have incorporated the use of sexual energy and stimulation: sex magic. The female followers would collectively pray, chant and go into a trance during the rituals. Men who followed the practice were persecuted as such things went against the Germanic social norms of the time. The heathen Norse shamanism and magic, also called Seidr (pronounced SAY-der), was generally only practiced by women. The Valknut is said to be a symbol of that binding and unbinding magic.

He had the ability to use magic to bind and unbind things, and thereby control people’s minds.

He was a powerful magician associated with wisdom, war, poetry, shamanism, magic, and the dead. Odin’s name translates as “Master of Ecstasy”. The Valknut symbol was believed to be linked to Odin, a revered and powerful god in Nordic mythology. OriginĪ number of possible explanations of the origins of the Valknut have been suggested by historians. The three triangles of the Valknut were seen most often on gravestones and runestones, usually alongside the figure of Odin, or the animals which represented him, the horse or wolf. An example of the Valknut symbol was found in the 7th century in Gotland, Sweden on the Tängelgårda stone. The Valknut symbol itself, however, dates back to ancient times and relates to the cult of the dead. The name ‘Valknut’ is a modern word, meaning ‘slain warrior knot’, and was created recently in the Norwegian language.

The Valknut (pronounced: val-knoot) is a symbol in Nordic mythology depicting three interlocked triangles.

Odins valknut