Vegvísir
An Icelandic magical stave meant to keep its bearer from losing the way in storms. It is first recorded in the Huld manuscript, compiled in Akureyri in 1860; it is not a Viking Age symbol.
Meaning
The vegvísir, “way-shower”, is one of the galdrastafir, the magical staves of Icelandic manuscripts. Its oldest known source is the Huld manuscript (ÍB 383 4to), made by Geir Vigfússon in Akureyri in 1860. Justin Foster’s translation of its note reads: “Carry this sign with you and you won’t get lost in storms or bad weather, even though in unfamiliar surrounds.” Tomáš Vlasatý, who traced its sources, found it in two more Icelandic grimoires of the 19th century from the same district, one written in 1868–69.
Origin and history
Vlasatý concludes that the vegvísir “is not a symbol used or originating in the Viking Age, and due to the 800 years gap should not be connected to it”. He thinks it came to Iceland with other symbols most likely from England, where star-shaped signs of Christian mysticism can be traced to the 15th century, and in one of the three manuscripts the stave works only for someone who believes in God “in the name of Jesus”. It was first printed, with a German translation, by Ólafur Davíðsson in 1903. The Icelandic versions are square in shape; circular versions, often ringed with runes, appeared in the 20th century.
How it became a “Viking compass”
Vlasatý traces today’s popularity to Stephen Flowers’s book on Icelandic magic of 1989, to the early internet and to shops selling it as an authentic Viking symbol, and to the Icelandic singer Björk, who had it tattooed in 1982 and later described it as an ancient Viking symbol. The Huld manuscript’s own claim is smaller: a sign to carry so as not to get lost in bad weather.
Telling it from the ægishjálmur
The ægishjálmur is the stave most often mistaken for it, since both have eight arms around a centre. In the vegvísir of the Huld manuscript each arm ends in a different mark; the ægishjálmur’s arms are alike.
See also
Ægishjálmur (Helm of Awe), Mjölnir (Thor’s hammer), Gungnir, Sleipnir, Huginn and Muninn, Yggdrasil.
Sources
- Origins of the “vegvísir” symbol, Tomáš Vlasatý, 5 April 2019, Projekt Forlǫg
- The Huld Manuscript – ÍB 383 4to: a modern transcription, decryption and translation, Justin Foster, June 2015, Internet Archive
Last reviewed September 26, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research