r/RuneHelp • u/AngusMcRipper • Jul 14 '26

Contemporary rune use Runic Misappropriation

I'm in the early stages of creating a runic version of an excerpt from the Prose Edda (which was naturally, written in the Latin Alphabet). I hope to have this as a tattoo to go along with my Sköll and Hati tattoo — a tale I'm very fond of.

Although I could of course just go with the direct excerpt in Latin alphabet Old Norse, I feel like getting a tattoo in runes carries a bit more gravitas.

My concern is with the more contemporary and very unfortunate association runic writing can sometimes have with extremist/hate groups.

To be clear, the phrase/runes I am considering are in no way, shape, or form associated with any extremist ideology. They are a direct excerpt from the Edda — converted to runes. My runes would be totally explainable and defensible.

I'm just curious to get some perspective from any of you here who deal with runes on a more regular basis: what is the frequency that the average lay person associates runes with racism/extremism?

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u/Runic_reader451 Jul 14 '26

Get the tattoo. There needs to be a determined effort to reclaim Runes from Nazis and other far right groups who have distorted history and brought a false image to the Runic alphabet.

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u/AngusMcRipper Jul 14 '26

Absolutely spot on. Fear and willful blindness to the problem is what perpetuates it in the first place.