The Nazis, who later adopted the symbol, believed they were descendants of the Vikings.

The stone also has a symbol of a swastika on it, which was a common symbol in that period. The Valknut symbol is comparable to the three-horned symbol found on the Snoldelev Stone, a runestone from the 9th century originally found in Snoldelev, Denmark. The three triangles and nine points of the Valknut are said to symbolize fertility, rebirth and reincarnation, and its interlocking triangles perhaps show the connection between Earth, Hel (the goddess who rules over the underworld, Helheim) and the heavens. Due to the visual description not being very detailed, however, this is not the most popular view of the Valknut source. He had a heart made of stone which had three pointed corners. Hrungnir was a giant and the spirit of night, winter, darkness and the grave. The Valknut is also said to be related to Hrungnir‘s heart, mentioned in Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda. Odin transports himself between the worlds by riding his horse, Sleipnir, through the branches of the world tree. The ash tree is the center of the Norse spiritual world. The Nine Worlds are also held in the branches of the world tree, the Yggdrasil (pronounced IG-druh-sill). The Nine Worlds are the domains of the different types of beings and include the world of humanity, gods and goddesses, giants, ice, fire, elves and the dead. The practitioners were able to control the path of reality and its various threads by reaching a higher level of consciousness and traveling through the Nine Worlds to glimpse the future and achieve their goals. 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.

Valknut tattoos