Scandinavian Tattoo Ideas

Posted on July 9, 2009
Filed Under Before You Decide, Tattoo Designs, Tattoo Meanings

Scandinavian tattoos are very popular nowadays, and sometimes one can find it difficult to get a suitable and unique Scandinavian tattoo design. In this post I offer you some ideas about such designs that you may use in creating your own tattoo.

First of all – there are some charms, such as “Aegishjalmur” - “helm of awe” and “Vegvisir” (runic compass), which is a variant of the Aegishjalmur.

Aegishjalmur is believed to bring protection and resistance in battles, while Vegvisir shows its owner the way and guides him or her. Below you may see a tattooed variant of this charm.

Another charm is Valnott – it is the symbol of those who dedicated their lives to the main Scandinavian god – Odin. It has a complex meaning of triple nature of Odin and three worlds – Asguard, Midgard and Utgard. Nevertheless, when one consciously wears the valknot, one is saying “it is a good day to die.” In other words, the wearer is ready to come to Odin whenever He calls. So, as you can see, valnott is not very popular tattoo design and should be chosen with care.

Another variant of Scandinavian tattoo is runes – the ancient alphabetic script used by the peoples of Northern Europe from the first century until well into the Middle Ages. Right here you can find their meanings and make up your own runic signs. Runes can also go well with the charms described above or with any others as well.

You can also design a tattoo of Odin or any other Scandinavian god that you like. Odin is the creator of the world, god of war, storms, trade and seafaring. His wife Frigg is the goddess of love, marriage and home fire. Loki is a canny god whose actions are hard to predict. Einherii are the fallen soldiers that after their death come to Valhalla – a heavenly hall for chosen ones, where the sit near Odin and celebrate their eternity. By the way, it seems to be a good design for a fallen soldier tattoo. Valkiries – women fighters that bring the fallen soldiers to Valhalla are a good choice for a tattoo, too.

Another interesting tattoo design, to my mind, can be wolf Fenrir – a monstrous creature that will devour Odin when the world will end. Among popular Scandinavian animals are also Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse of Odin and ravens that represent wisdom, intelligence, the ability to see all, swift travel, and magic. On the picture below you can see Odin riding his horse.

Delve into the Scandinavian mythology and you’ll find many ideas for a wonderful tattoo design.

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Tattoo art designs » Blog Archive » Scandinavian Tattoo Ideas on July 9th, 2009 5:59 am

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