Love has always been a universal human experience that knows no boundaries of time or culture. While expressions of love may differ across eras and regions, the core emotions it evokes seem to transcend such external variables. The ancient Vikings were no exception in their belief that love played an integral role in life. Through their rich mythology and oral tradition, we catch fascinating glimpses into how they perceived and represented this powerful force. Of particular interest are their use of runes – the letters in their Futhark alphabet system imbued with symbolic meanings. Among these, certain love runes offer profound insights into the Vikings’ understanding of intimacy, partnership and the concepts inherent to a deeply meaningful bond between two souls.
Runes in Norse society held significance beyond their practical function as writing. Each glyph carried a spiritual essence or concept it could invoke through rituals, talismans or incantations. Bind runes were especially potent, comprised of two or more individual runes overlapped to symbolize a combined force. These multi-rune symbols provided a mystical shorthand for conjuring complex ideas, goals or desired outcomes. Unsurprisingly, love serves as a prevalent subject of bind runes, signaling its significance to the Vikings. Analyzing common love runes illuminates their perception of this emotional force and what truly constituted love in their cultural worldview.
Perhaps the most straightforward love rune is Gebo, represented by an X-shape. Gebo embodied the essence of exchange, gift-giving and reciprocity so fundamental to Norse thought. Unlike our modern notions of romantic love, the Vikings viewed this bond not as a passive feeling but an active participation between two individuals – a dynamic process requiring equal partnership. Gebo symbolized this balance of giving and receiving that nourishes any relationship over time through ongoing acts of goodwill, understanding and mutual affection. It conveyed love as a blessing to be both given and received in return through commitment to one another.
This principle of reciprocity was deeply ingrained in Norse spirituality. Their entire belief system emphasized the interconnectivity between all things, from humans to nature to the divine, where nothing exists or thrives in isolation. In love relationships too, thriving required a mutual exchange between devoted souls pledging themselves as protection and provision for their partner through both ease and strife. Gebo captured this essence so central to their worldview – that real intimacy grows from a blending of two lives enriching each other continuously, not taking the other for granted. It painted love as a collaborative art, a blessing to cultivate together rather than possess alone.
Another common love rune combines Gebo with Wunjo, the symbol of joy, delight and unity. Together they represented the pleasure and harmony experienced within a loving bond. But Wunjo also carried undertones of internal transformation, growth and enhanced understanding of oneself through close companionship. This amplified dimension speaks of how the Vikings saw relationships as opportunities for personal evolution – through supporting a cherished other, one gains self-knowledge and well-being that expands their being. The combined Gebo-Wunjo rune conveyed love’s power to cultivate both external joy and internal richness when two souls journey together.
Nor did the Vikings view love as purely soft and pleasant. Their world was prone to hardships they could not control, from harsh weather to conflict. Thus another frequent love rune merged the symbols for obstacles (Thurisaz) and love (Gebo-Wunjo) to remove barriers threatening the relationship. It sought solidarity in overcoming life’s difficulties through enduring loyalty and commitment between partners. True love, in their perception, withstood the blows of fate by facing challenges as a united front rather than divided opponents. This rune captured the Vikings’ practical understanding – that only by supporting one’s loved one through troubles can a bond survive the uncertainties of mortal life.
For permanence within love, some created an eternal love bind rune. They combined Gebo, the foundation of reciprocity, with Ehwaz – the rune of loyalty between rider and steed, reminding that only constancy and trust maintain a bond through lifetimes. Its message reminds that love takes dedication in both calm and turmoil to endure. It speaks not of passion’s fleeting nature but of devotion’s staying power to weather any storm so long as two hearts remain faithfully interconnected. The eternal love rune conveyed a hope for relationships graced with the type of continuity built from bottom upwards on mutual faith in the other.
Beyond romantic ties, the Vikings recognized love in its broadest sense – as the invisible threads weaving all beings into interconnected reliance upon each other for survival. Runes like Eihwaz portrayed self-empowerment through appreciating one’s intrinsic qualities and hard-won wisdom, a form of self-love essential for healthily assisting others in turn. Fehu represented the prosperity circulating freely within communities whose people cared for one’s wellbeing as their own. In this way, runes around love carried spiritual connotations applicable to every relationship enriching personal growth and society at large.
Looking back, it’s striking how the ancient Norse perceived love’s complexity with a depth challenging modern preconceptions. Where we separate infatuation from commitment or duty from passion, they recognized these as interwoven – that true care spans emotional highs and lows through consistency in spirit if not letter. While romantic fantasies differ across eras, the Vikings’ soulful wisdom reminds that love’s staying power stems from dedication to elevating our partner equally with self through reciprocity, understanding and facing hardship as allies, not opponents. Theirsymbolic language respected love’s link to internal and social wellness, its grounding role for healthily navigating life’s unpredictability – gifted and received in equal measure.
Runes like these refute any notion love was a fleeting sideshow to their pragmatic culture. Rather, just as integral to Viking mindset as courage in battle was the inner fortitude to remain devoted and present for those enriching our lives each day through mutual care, admiration and teamwork surmounting what limits us alone. Their spiritual symbols portray love not as a mere option or accessory, but life’s rhythm binding all things in beauty through our willingness to uplift each other at every turn. These wise insights distilled within runic forms leave an inheritance worth reflectively absorbing even now, guiding our efforts to nurture the relationships gracing our world with meaning.
