Runes, extremism and context
Several runes and Norse symbols have been appropriated by far-right movements. Pretending otherwise helps nobody, and neither does surrendering a two-thousand-year-old alphabet to them.
This page exists because the question comes up constantly and is usually answered badly: either by ignoring it entirely, or by implying that runes are inherently suspect. Neither is accurate or useful.
How it happened
The appropriation is specific and datable. In late 19th and early 20th-century Germany and Austria, völkisch and occult writers, Guido von List most influentially, built esoteric systems around runes as symbols of Germanic racial heritage. List invented an eighteen-rune "Armanen" futhark that is not a historical alphabet at all.
That body of ideas was taken up by Nazi organisations from the 1920s, which adopted specific runes as insignia. The SS emblem is the clearest case of how indirect the borrowing was: Walter Heck designed it in 1933 from List's "Sig" rune (the Armanen version of sowilo, which List had renamed for Sieg, "victory") rather than from anything Scandinavian. Various formations used tiwaz, algiz upright and inverted, and othala. The associations were established within about two decades and have persisted.
The Anti-Defamation League's hate-symbols database documents the continued use of othala, tiwaz, sowilo and algiz, and of the valknut, by white-supremacist groups. It also notes that these symbols have legitimate historical and religious uses.
What this does and does not mean
- It does not make runes fascist. These are letters with roughly eighteen centuries of history behind them before anyone attached a political meaning to them.
- It does not make heathenry suspect. Contemporary heathen and Ásatrú communities are diverse, and many have been explicit and organised in rejecting racist appropriation of Norse material.
- It does mean context is doing real work. A rune on a museum label reads differently from the same rune on a flag at a political rally.
- It does mean strangers cannot read your intent. A tattoo carries no footnote.
The specific symbols
| Symbol | Historical status | Modern political use |
|---|---|---|
| Othala ᛟ | Elder Futhark rune meaning inherited land | The most heavily used, particularly the variant with outward-turned feet. "Blood and soil" connotations. |
| Sowilo ᛊ | Elder Futhark rune meaning sun | The doubled angular form was the SS insignia and remains in use. |
| Tiwaz ᛏ | Elder Futhark rune named for the god Týr | Used by several Nazi organisations; common in modern far-right iconography. |
| Algiz ᛉ | Elder Futhark rune, name disputed | Used upright and inverted as insignia. Also the single most popular rune in mainstream modern use. |
| Valknut | Genuinely Viking-Age, on picture stones and grave goods | Adopted by some white-nationalist groups alongside far more common ordinary use. |
| Armanen "futhark" | Not historical: invented by Guido von List around 1902 | Still circulates in esoteric and far-right material. |
How to think about using them
There is no single right answer, and this site is not going to pretend to issue one. What it can offer is the information needed to decide.
- Know which symbols carry associations. The dictionary entries on this site flag every one, in a box you cannot miss.
- Consider the context you are placing it in. A full futhark row in an obviously historical or educational setting reads very differently from a single isolated othala.
- Consider geography. These associations are considerably stronger in Germany, Austria and the United States than in, say, Iceland or Sweden.
- Consider whether the symbol is doing the work you want. If you want "heritage", othala's modern baggage may drown the message.
- Do not let it stop you learning about runes. Ceding an eighteen-hundred-year-old writing system to the people who stole it in the 1920s is a poor outcome.
On the scholarly side
Questions this guide answers
- Are runes a hate symbol?
- No. Runes are letters with roughly eighteen centuries of history. A small number of individual runes have been appropriated as insignia by extremist groups, and the ADL documents those cases while noting the symbols also have legitimate historical and religious uses.
- Is the othala rune a Nazi symbol?
- It is an Elder Futhark letter meaning inherited land, and it is also the runic symbol most heavily used by modern far-right movements. Both are true. Context determines how a given use will be read.
- Can I wear a valknut?
- Many people do, in ordinary heathen practice and Norse-themed design. The symbol really is Viking-Age. It has also been adopted by some white-nationalist groups, so be aware of the secondary association.
- What is the Armanen futhark?
- An eighteen-rune system invented by the Austrian occultist Guido von List around 1902. It is not a historical runic alphabet, though it is often presented as one. See our page on the [Armanen runes](/modern/armanen-runes/).
Sources
Full references on the sources page. Our methodology explains the evidence labels used throughout.