Knots.

Knots

... a knot for one's destiny to cling to.
[Zarathustra's Prologue]

The Valknut as the highest symbol of the knot.

The valknut (Old Norse: valr, slain warriors + knut, knot).

The Valknut can also be seen as a bind-rune: a binding of three (stylised) Uruz runes [resembling triangles], emphasising the meaning of urd/wyrd.

The three triangles could represent the three Nornir [or the Wyrd Sisters, fate]; Urd, Verdandi and Skuld.

Seafarers evolve a whole culture of different types of knots.


This could be allied to the concepts of binding and unbinding found in Norse culture [Fenris wolf etc.] as well as to Odinist ritual hanging. Could the valknut also refer to the type of rope-knot used in hanging victims by the neck, sometimes referred to as the deathknot or hangman's knot?


[It could also relate to the later Vehmgericht whose knife was engraved with the initials of the words stone, rope, grass, green. Guido von List claims that these were originally engraved in runes.]


Tollund Man - note rope around neck. Victims of ritual hangings [hanging being sacred to Odin] in the Viking period have nooses which are tied with a special triple knot which can be related to the valknut.


Symbolism of Knots: "Ambivalent since all powers of binding also imply those of loosing, of restraining but also uniting; the harder it is pulled, the firmer it becomes & the greater the union.
Knots also represent continuity, connection, a covenant; a link;
Fate; that which binds man to his destiny; determinism; the inescapable.
Knots can also be the instrument of the magician in which case the tying of knots is the power & weaving of spells".
[Encyclopedia of Symbolism, Cooper]

That latter certainly applies to Odin and would seem to make the Valknut firmly His.

"Knots can be apotropaic [i.e., having power to avert evil influence or bad luck]. Loosening knots is freedom; salvation; the solving of problems. Cutting a knot denotes the taking of the short, steep path to salvation & realisation ... In Witchcraft the knot symbolises Obstruction; 'hitches'; ill-wishing".

Again, this negative aspect certainly is part of the Odinist outlook;

"To wear a Valknutr is to make the conscious decision to join Odin in the mighty battle of consciousness over the Thurs forces ... the wearing of the Knot is something not to be lightly done ..."
[Valgard in Runa #5]

The Valknut as the supreme symbol of fate;

"No Conqueror believes in Chance".
[Nietzsche, GS 258]

Everything is charged with meaning - even the smallest event is crucial to the Now.

Divination ['to make divine'] entails the search for meaning behind so-called "chance events".

In my world there are no 'chance events'.

The toss of the Runes and their upshot is as much part of this world of meaning and its web of wyrd as anything else.

This is how we are able to Read the Runes.

__________________


Knotting is also used in computation and communication;

The Knot as Number

The Nine Worlds

"Nine worlds I know, the nine abodes
Of the glorious world-tree the ground beneath".
[Voluspa, from stanza 2]


Edred Thorsson is fairly clear on what he thinks these 'nine abodes' are [and many writers on the subject agree with him];

"The Eddas teach us that ... the multiverse consisted of nine worlds, contained in & supported by the world-tree Yggdrasil.
These worlds, contain countless abodes & dwellings.
In the centre is Midgardhr, with the other worlds arranged around, above & below it.
In the north is Nifelheimr; in the east, Jotunheimr; in the south, Muspellheimr; in the west Vanaheimr.
In the middle, above Midgardhr, is Ljossalfheimr & above that Asgardhr, the enclosure of the Aesir, which houses many dwellings.
Below Midgardhr is Svartalfheimr & below that, Hel, the silent, still & sleepy realm of the dead".
[Futhark, Edred, page 72]


So to list the 9 worlds;

1) Ljossalfheimr: The World of the Light Elves

2) Muspellsheimr: The World of Fire

3) Asgardhr: The Enclosure of the Aesir Gods

4) Vanaheimr: The World of the Vanir Gods

5) Midgardhr: The Middle Enclosure [of man]

6) Jotunheimr: The World of the Giants

7) Svartalfheimr: The World of the Black Elves

8) Helheimr: The World of Death

9) Niflheimr: The World of Mist


It is said that the beings are able to traverse the 9 worlds, so the interlocked triangles of the Valknut would seem to suggest the 9 worlds.

In the Valknut there are 7 triangles in total... surrounding the center triangle ... there is a three-armed swastika/sauwistika...

The Power of Seven

"Magic: There are seven knots in a cord for spellbinding, & incantations are sevenfold".
[Encyclopedia of Symbolism, Cooper]

This is very important; seven knots, and we have seven triangles in the Val-knot!
And 'spellbinding' - the references to spells of binding etc., abound in the Odinist mythology.
Guido von List describes how rune-spells used to bind [i.e., paralyse] developed from the hunter's art of hypnotising an animal he sought to ensnare.
Likewise, incanatations are used in rune-magic as supposedly practiced by Odin.

The general symbolism of Seven:" 7 is the number of the Universe, the macrocosm. Completeness; a totality ..."
[ib.,]

This would make sense if the Valknut represents the whole nine worlds, while the seven triangles could relate to the seven planets as aforesaid.

According to the general symbolism there are also: "7 cosmic stages, 7 heavens, 7 hells, 7 metals of the planets, 7 circles of the universe, 7 rays of the sun, 7 ages of man, 7 lunar divisions of the rainbow" [this could relate to Bifrost], "7 pillars of wisdom" etc., etc.,

"The seventh ray of the sun is the path by which man passes from this world to the next. 7 was sacred to Apollo, and the cave of Mithras had 7 doors and altars & a ladder of 7 rungs depicting the 7 grades of initiation into the Mysteries".
[ib.,]

I have seen it said that many Germanic soldiers in the Roman army worshipped Mithras, so it is possible that there is a distant connection here.




The three extant examples of strict valknots are;

an Anglo-Saxon chieftain's ring [found in the River Nene, England, and so possibly thrown there as an offering];
the Stora Hammars stone from Labro in Gotland [features a scene of human sacrifice], and;
the Oseberg ship, Stagen, Norway [burial of Queen Asa - valknut carved on death-bed].

As aforesaid, these three are from the period 0700-800 AD.

They all relate to death.