A single rune can carry two histories. One is carved on a 5th-century bracteate from Denmark, a gold pendant that catches sunlight. The other was painted on a black uniform in 1943, a badge of terror. Sowilo (ᛋ) is the Elder Futhark rune of the sun, victory, and wholeness. Sig is a 20th-century Armanen variant that was co-opted by Nazi occultism to represent the Schutzstaffel (SS). The shape looks the same. The meaning is not.
What Sowilo and Sig actually are
The Elder Futhark rune Sowilo (also spelled Sowelu or Sigel) is the sixteenth rune in the oldest Germanic alphabet. Its reconstructed Proto-Germanic name means “sun.” In the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, the stanza for Sigel reads: “The sun is the hope of sailors, when they journey far over the fish’s bath, until the sea-stallion brings them to land.” That is a rune of guidance, of light that leads home.
Sig is not an ancient rune. It is one of the eighteen runes of the Armanen Futharkh, invented by the Austrian occultist Guido von List in 1902. List claimed to have rediscovered a secret runic tradition hidden in the Germanic past. He took the shape of Sowilo and assigned it the sound S and the name Sig, meaning “victory.” The Armanen system was later adopted by the Thule Society and, through Heinrich Himmler, became the emblem of the SS. The double Sig rune (ᛋᛋ) formed the lightning-bolt insignia still banned in Germany today.
Where each rune comes from
Sowilo appears in the earliest runic inscriptions. The Kylver Stone from Gotland, Sweden (c. 400 CE) includes the full Elder Futhark sequence, with Sowilo as the sixteenth character. The Vadstena bracteate (c. 500 CE) also carries the sequence. In the Old Norwegian rune poem, the stanza for Sól says: “The sun is the light of the world; I bow to the divine judgment.” The rune was used in magic for victory, healing, and protection. Archaeologists have found Sowilo carved on amulets meant to bring luck and on weapons to ensure success in battle.
Sig enters history in 1908, when Guido von List published Das Geheimnis der Runen (The Secret of the Runes). List claimed that his Armanen Futharkh was the original runic alphabet, from which all others degenerated. Modern linguists and runologists reject this. The Armanen runes are a modern invention, not a rediscovery. But List’s ideas found fertile ground in the völkisch movement, which blended Germanic mythology with racial nationalism. By the 1920s, the Sig rune appeared on the armbands of the Sturmabteilung (SA). In 1933, Himmler made the double Sig the official insignia of the SS.
What each rune means
Sowilo’s meaning is rooted in the sun as a physical and spiritual force. In runic divination, Sowilo represents success, vitality, clarity, and the will to achieve. It is the energy that breaks through obstacles, the light that reveals truth. The rune is associated with the god Baldr in Norse mythology, the shining one whose death brought darkness. Sowilo is also tied to the concept of wunjo (joy) and sig (victory) in the sense of a hard-won triumph that comes through integrity, not domination.
Sig, in the Armanen system, means “victory” in a more aggressive, hierarchical sense. Von List wrote that Sig represented the “sun-wheel of victory” and the “self-assertion of the Aryan race.” The rune was used in Nazi ritual to invoke the power of the ancestral bloodline. In the SS, it symbolized the organization’s claim to be the elite guardians of the Third Reich. The meaning is not the same as Sowilo’s. Where Sowilo speaks of wholeness and guidance, Sig speaks of conquest and exclusion.
How the runes are used in practice
In modern rune work, Sowilo is a staple of the Elder Futhark. Practitioners carve it on candles for spells of success, draw it in the air to invoke solar energy, and include it in bindrunes for protection. The rune is used in meditation to align the self with one’s highest purpose. It appears in the Sigrdrífumál, where the valkyrie Sigrdrífa advises: “Victory runes you must know if you will have victory, and carve them on the sword’s hilt, some on the guard and some on the inlay, and name Tyr twice.” The “victory runes” here likely include Sowilo, though the poem does not specify.
Sig has no place in traditional runic practice. Because it is a modern invention, it does not appear in any historical inscription or rune poem. Some contemporary heathens and rune readers reject Sig entirely due to its Nazi associations. Others attempt to reclaim the shape by using the Elder Futhark Sowilo instead, noting that the ancient rune predates the Armanen version by over a thousand years. We take the position that the two are not interchangeable. The meaning of a symbol depends on its lineage. Sowilo belongs to the Germanic past. Sig belongs to the 20th century.
How to tell them apart visually
The difference is subtle but important. In the Elder Futhark, Sowilo is usually drawn as a vertical line with two zigzag strokes branching to the right, forming a shape like an S. In the Armanen Futharkh, Sig is drawn as two vertical zigzag lines side by side, like a lightning bolt. The single Sig rune is a vertical zigzag line with no branching. The double Sig is the SS emblem.
When reading runic inscriptions, look at the context. If the rune appears alongside other Elder Futhark characters (Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz), it is Sowilo. If it appears in a modern context, especially paired with another identical zigzag, it is likely Sig. The meaning changes with the alphabet.
Common misconceptions
“Sowilo is the same as the SS symbol.” No. The SS symbol is the double Sig rune from the Armanen system. Sowilo is an Elder Futhark rune with a different history and meaning. The shape is similar, but the context is everything.
“The Sowilo rune is evil because the Nazis used it.” The Nazis did not use Sowilo. They used Sig. Sowilo has been used for centuries before the Nazi party existed. Blaming the rune for its misuse is like blaming the sun for a burn.
“You cannot use Sowilo in modern rune work because of its associations.” Many practitioners use Sowilo without issue, precisely because they distinguish it from Sig. The key is to know the difference and to be clear about which tradition you are working with.
“The Armanen runes are older than the Elder Futhark.” This is false. The Armanen Futharkh was invented in 1902. The Elder Futhark was in use from the 2nd century CE. No credible evidence supports List’s claims.
FAQ
Is the Sowilo rune the same as the Nazi SS symbol?
No. The SS symbol uses the double Sig rune from the Armanen Futharkh, not the Elder Futhark Sowilo. The two share a shape but belong to different alphabets and carry different meanings.
Can I use Sowilo in modern rune work?
Yes. Sowilo is a traditional Elder Futhark rune with a long history in Germanic magic and divination. Many practitioners use it today, as long as they distinguish it from the Armanen Sig.
What is the difference between Sowilo and Sig in divination?
Sowilo represents success through clarity and integrity. Sig, in the Armanen system, represents victory through force and racial assertion. In modern rune reading, Sig is rarely used due to its associations.
Why did the Nazis choose the Sig rune?
Heinrich Himmler adopted the double Sig as the SS insignia because it symbolized victory and the elite status of the organization. The rune was part of the Armanen system promoted by Guido von List and the Thule Society.
The weight of a symbol
A rune is not just a letter. It is a carrier of meaning, shaped by the hands that carved it and the minds that read it. Sowilo has been a sign of the sun for fifteen centuries. Sig has been a sign of terror for less than one. The two are not the same, and treating them as interchangeable does a disservice to both the ancient tradition and the modern need for clarity. When you see that zigzag shape, ask which alphabet it belongs to. The answer changes everything.
For a deeper look at the Elder Futhark, see our guide to rune meanings. To understand how Sowilo fits into the broader system, read our glossary entry on solar symbols. And if you want to explore the Armanen runes and their controversial history, our comparative guide to rune systems covers the full story.