Sleipnir Symbol – History And Meaning

In Norse mythology, the god Odin owns a magical stallion. His name is Sleipnir and he has eight legs. While the other gods are in chariots, Odin is riding on Sleipnir’s back during battles. 

If you want to learn more about the Sleipner symbol, read on to find out the meaning, history, and significance of this Viking symbol.

Sleipnir Symbol – History And Meaning

This eight-legged stallion is also known as The Sliding One, deemed the best of horses by all the skalds. The title is deserved, as Sleipnir can travel the Nine Worlds and up and down Yggdrasil at unbelievable speed. He can cross the Bifrost Bridge to Asgard and leap over the gates of Hel as well. 

Loki gave birth to the eight-legged horse. Sleipnir was conceived when Loki transformed into a mare so he could keep the craftsman from completing the fortification of Asgard on the promised time. Loki seduced the stallion that the craftsman owned so he could get the gods out of a bad contract with the said craftsman, who turned out to be a giant in disguise.

Sleipnir History

The Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture says that “Sleipnir is born with an extra set of legs, thus representing an original pair of horses.” The encyclopedia also notes parallels between Sleipnir’s origin and myths about a Celtic goddess who spawned the Divine horse twins. 

Sleipnir appears in several poems in the Poetic Edda. In Grímnismál, Odin,  disguising as Grimnir, tells a boy about Sleipnir being the best of horses. The valkyrie Sigrdrífa tells the hero Sigurðr that runes should be cut “on Sleipnir’s teeth and on the sledge’s strap-bands” in the poem Sigrdrífumál.

In Baldrs draumar, Odin puts a saddle on Sleipnir and they proceed to Hel after the Æsir convene about the god Baldr’s bad dreams.

The Völuspá hin skamma section of Hyndluljóð tells about Loki producing the super-wolf, the eight-legged horse, and the world-coiling serpent.

In Skáldskaparmál, a kenning given for Loki is “relative of Sleipnir.” 

Sleipnir is also mentioned in the 13th-century legendary sagas, Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks and Völsunga. The 12th-century Gesta Danorum includes an episode involving Sleipnir. 

In the book Gylfaginning from the Prose Edda, Sleipnir is mentioned as the best of horses, having eight legs, and belonging to Odin. 

Sleipnir’s origins are also described in the same book. This is where we learn how Loki outwitted the craftsman who, in the early days of Valhalla, has offered the gods to build a fortification to keep out invaders in exchange for the goddess Freyja, the sun, and the moon. He must complete the work without anyone’s assistance. He only requests for his stallion. But to the surpri

se of the gods, the stallion and the builder make such speedy progress on the work. 

The Æsir convene and have Loki obstruct the builder from completing the citadel. Loki then shapeshifted into a mare in heat, beguiling the stallion. Work is halted for the night, so the citadel doesn’t get completed on the agreed schedule. 

The gods then discover that the craftsman is actually a giant. They call for Thor, who smashes the craftsman’s skull with the Mjöllnir, killing him. 

Loki, who, as a mare, had ‘dealings’ with the craftsman’s stallion, became pregnant and gave birth to a grey foal with eight legs. That foal became Odin’s stallion—Sleipnir, the best horse among gods and men.

The Sleipner Symbol

Sleipnir (from the Old Norse ‘slippy’ or ‘the slipper’) is an eight-legged horse, said to be Odin’s steed and Loki’s offspring. He is one of Odin’s shamanic helping spirits, dubbed as “the shamanic horse par excellence,” just as the highest Norse god is the shamanic god par excellence. 

The concept of eight-legged spirit horses is old. Depictions of these are said to appear in shamanistic traditions not only in Northwestern Europe but also throughout Russia, Mongolia, and Korea.

There are archeological finds thought to be older than the Vikings, attesting that the roots of this symbol go way deep.

Sleipnir is depicted on a couple of Gotlandic image stones called the Tjängvide and the Ardre VIII, both dating back to the 8th century. These stones both depict a rider straddling an eight-legged horse, which scholars believe to be Odin.

A representation of Sleipnir with Odin can be found on the exterior of the Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway. There is also a statue of Sleipnir in Wednesbury, England.

In the Icelandic folklore, the horseshoe-shaped canyon Ásbyrgi was formed by Sleipnir’s hoof. This canyon is located in Jökulsárgljúfur National Park in northern Iceland.

The Sleipner Symbol Meaning

In Norse mythology, eight-legged horses are used to transport souls to the afterlife. Sleipnir is linked with the afterlife and his eight legs are interpreted as “an indication of great speed or as being connected in some unclear way with cult activity.”

Sleipnir is symbolic of speed, surety, and perception. The Sleipnir symbol also represents eternal life, transcendence, and good luck in travel. The symbol is particularly meaningful to travelers and athletes—equestrians, especially—as well as those who have lost loved ones and those who long for spiritual enlightenment.