Valknut tree of life meaning full#

This kind of Norse imagery had a long history of being co-opted by terrible people. “But we can also see a desire to ground their white supremacist ideology in a purportedly timeless myth, a desire to reach back to an anachronistic, ahistorical ‘perfect’ whiteness, thus grounding their violence in an idealized past, in white nationalism as in any other form of nationalism.” “Neopagan symbols offer the hypermasculine aesthetic sheen of the Viking,” she explains via text message. Talia Lavin, who explores the concept in her recent book, Culture Warlords, says that neo-Nazis’ Viking fetish harkens back to their obsession with both traditional European conceptions of masculinity and whiteness itself. Understandably, many actual pagans are horrified at the way white supremacists have co-opted their religious and cultural icons and twisted them into symbols of hate. When tattooed on a conservative activist who adheres to a blood libel-style conspiracy like QAnon, it wouldn’t even have to mean he was a white supremacist, but rather that conspiratorial world views have a historical context about which their believers should be slightly self-aware. There is some debate about its original meaning, and its three interconnected triangles have appeared on a variety of archaeological objects from the Viking era the name itself is a neologism, a modern combination of the Old Norse valr - the slain - and knut, “knot.” While it’s used in some European corporate logos, Heathens now use it to signify that one is ready to be taken into the ranks of Odin’s chosen warriors - essentially, to die a warrior’s death for the cause. The presence of Yggdrasil or even mjolnir on their own isn’t necessarily cause for alarm, given their popularity among modern pagans and fans of Norse mythology, but there is far less ambiguity around the valknut. In addition, the mjolnir has become a symbol of identity among modern heathens, and is particularly popular among those aligned with the explicitly white supremacist neo-Völkisch” or “folkish” movement. He has a mjolnir, or Thor’s Hammer, on his stomach, an image of Yggdrasil, or Tree of Life, etched around his nipple, and most significantly, placed right above his heart, a valknut, or “ knot of the slain, ” an old Norse runic symbol turned recognized hate symbol that is popular among white supremacists.

Valknut tree of life meaning full#

Given his penchant for showing up to protests shirtless, face-painted, and sporting a horned helmet like some kind of racist Party City Viking who took a wrong turn and ended up at Burning Man, Angeli’s many tattoos are often on full display, including his large trio of Odinist symbols. ‘QAnon Shaman,’ Man Carrying Pelosi’s Lectern Both Arrested Following Capitol Riotīut there may be an even more blatant sign that Angeli is no friend to antifascists: his much-photographed bare torso is covered in symbols that have long been used by the white supremacist movement. 'Silence of the Lambs': 'It Broke All the Rules'Įvery Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ranked From Worst to Best My name is Jake & I marched with the police & fought against BLM & ANTIFA in PHX.” Angeli himself was mortified at being mistaken for antifa, tweeting plaintively, “I’m a Qanon & digital soldier. Among their major pieces of “evidence” were photos of Arizona QAnon supporter Jake Angeli, who is well-known for his outsized, costumed presence at pro-Trump rallies and far-right anti-lockdown protests. Republican mouthpiece Sarah Palin, Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood (who has since been banned from Twitter for inciting violence), far-right Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, and innumerable pro-Trump social media accounts all began spreading an unfounded and utterly bizarre false-flag theory that antifascists, or “antifa,” had somehow infiltrated the crowd and were actually behind all the violence and destruction. Mere hours after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., forcing Congress to evacuate and giving every impression of staging an attempted coup, the right-wing propaganda machine whirred to life.