Sol (goddess)

In Norse mythology, Sol was the goddess of the sun, a daughter of Mundilfari and Glaur and the wife of Glen. Every day, she rode through the sky on her chariot, pulled by two horses named Alsvid and Arvak. She was chased during the day by Skoll, a wolf that wanted to devour her. Solar eclipses signified that Skoll had almost caught up to her. It is fated that Skoll will eventually catch Sol and eat her, though she would then be replaced by her daughter.

The earth was protected from the full heat of the sun by Svalin, who stood between the earth and Sol. In Norse belief, the sun did not give light; this was caused by the manes of Alsvid and Arvak.

Sol was also called Sunna and Sunne, and also Frau Sunne, which is a derivation of the words sun and Sunday. The sun itself was called Alfrodull, meaning "glory of elves".

The Sol rune

The s-rune, ᛋ, is called Sól after the goddess in the Younger Futhark, and Sigel in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem. Sigel also means "Sun" in Old English. The Older Futhark variant ᛊ, has the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name *Sôwilô.

The Anglo-Saxon rune poem:

ᛋ semannum symble biþ on hihte, \ ðonne hi hine feriaþ ofer fisces beþ, / oþ hi brimhengest bringeþ to lande.

"The Sun is ever a joy in the hopes of seafarers / when they journey away over the fishes' bath, / until the courser of the deep bears them to land."

The Icelandic rune poem:

ᛋ er skýja skjöldr / ok skínandi röðull / ok ísa aldrtregi. / rota siklingr.

"Sun is shield of the clouds / and shining ray /and destroyer of ice."

The Norwegian rune poem:

ᛋ er landa ljóme / lúti ek helgum dóme.

"Sun is the light of the world / I bow to the divine decree."

Guido von List in his "Armanen runes" called the rune "Sig", apparently based on Sigel, thus changing the concept associated with it from "Sun" to "victory" (German Sieg), arriving at a sequence "Sig", "Tyr" in his row, yielding Sigtyr, a name of Odin. Under this name of "Sig rune", the s-rune played a certain role in Fascist symbolism, most notably in the badge of the Schutzstaffel.

See also

• Runic alphabet
• Rune poem
• Sigelwara Land
• SS unit insignia