Study › Runes & Norse › Sowilo
Sowilo (ᛊ) is the sixteenth rune of the Elder Futhark. Also called Sowelo, it is the Sun, and its meaning is success: energy, victory and expansion, the solar fire that cleanses and reveals. It cannot be reversed.
Keywords: sun, success, victory, spotlight, expansion
What does the Sowilo rune mean?
Sowilo is the sixteenth rune of the Elder Futhark. It comes after Algiz, and Teiwaz comes after it.
Also called Sol, it is the Sun and all that belongs to it — energy, victory, prosperity, success and expansion. Its power is the active, solar force: the fire that cleanses and gives energy. Sowilo is often used in magical cleansing, as the fire that burns away negative energy, but it serves wherever success, victory and vitality are wanted.
Sowilo is the archetype of the Sun, and a non-reversible rune. It is solar energy — success, victory, and the idea of the self.
It is the fire rune of the cleansing formula, with Dagaz and Wunjo.
Sowilo in a reading
Sowilo in love
Warmth and light between you. A successful relationship. Love triumphs. A relationship in the open. Love grows wider.
Sowilo and money
A bright financial outlook. Business thrives. A winning deal. Public recognition. Business expands.
Sowilo and health
Energy from the sun. Treatment works. Illness is overcome. Health improvements others notice. Growing vitality.
Sowilo on the spiritual path
Inner light. Spiritual achievement. Victory over darkness. Your light seen by others. Consciousness expands.
Can Sowilo be reversed?
No. Sowilo looks the same either way up, so it has no reversed meaning: it reads the same however it falls.
Sowilo in the rune poems
The rune poems are the oldest sources for the runes' meanings. Here is what each one says of Sowilo, first as written, then in English.
Norwegian Rune Poem
Sól er landa ljóme;
lúti ek helgum dóme.Sun is the light of the world;
I bow to the divine decree.
Icelandic Rune Poem
Sól er skýja skjöldr
ok skínandi röðull
ok ísa aldrtregi.
rota siklingr.Shield of the clouds
and shining ray
and destroyer of ice.
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
Sigel 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.
Questions
How do you pronounce Sowilo?
Say it "soh-WEE-loh".
What does the Sowilo rune look like?
Sowilo (ᛊ) is a zigzag like a lightning bolt, or the letter S.
Can Sowilo be reversed?
No. Sowilo looks the same either way up, so it has no reversed meaning.