Berkano rune meaning: history, poems and modern reading

How to read the labels Historical what the old sources say. Later tradition what later writers added. Modern modern practice and my own notes.

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Berkano is rune 18 of the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark, and the second rune of the third aett. It stands for the sound b, and its reconstructed name means “birch”. Modern readers link it with growth and new beginnings. On this page I start with what the evidence says, then the three medieval rune poems, and only then the modern meanings, so you can always see which layer you are reading.

At a glance

• Shape: like a Roman B made of straight lines: a vertical stave with two triangles on its right side, one above the other
• Sound: b
• Reconstructed name: *berkanan, “birch twig” or “birch” (secure)
• Later names: Old English beorc; Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic bjarkan
• Position: third aett, rune 18

Reconstructed names carry an asterisk because no early source writes them out in full. Scholars work them out from the later Old English and Old Norse names and from related words in other Germanic languages. Where the reconstruction is uncertain, I say so below.

The shape

Berkano looks like a B made of straight lines: an upright stave with two pointed bumps on the right. Draw the stave, then the two triangles, one above the other. It is closely related to the Roman B, and it kept its shape across the Elder and Younger Futhark.

A good way to learn Berkano is to draw it ten times in a row on scrap paper, saying its sound aloud each time. Then draw it once more beside its neighbors in the futhark, so your hand learns the differences as well as the shape.

In the record

Historical The name means “birch,” more exactly perhaps “birch twig.” It is related to English “birch” and German Birke. The rune’s shape is close to the Roman B, with the same sound, and it kept both throughout its history. In the Younger Futhark it also stood for p. It appears in idiberug, probably a woman’s name, on the Hole stone from Svingerud, Norway, the oldest datable runestone.

The birch is one of the first trees to grow on open land after the ice retreated in northern Europe, and it is among the first to come into leaf in spring. Its white bark, its flexible twigs, and its sap were all useful to people in the North. In Finland, as in much of the North, bundles of birch twigs are still used in the sauna.

The rune poems

Historical Old English (author’s rendering): The birch (perhaps the poplar) bears no fruit, yet it puts out shoots without seed; it is beautiful in its branches, high in its crown, finely adorned, heavy with leaves, reaching to the sky.

Old Norwegian (author’s rendering): Of all boughs, the birch is greenest in leaf; Loki’s deceit brought him luck (the line is obscure).

Old Icelandic (author’s rendering): Birch: a bough in leaf, and a small tree, and young growth. The Latin gloss is abies, “fir.”

The English stanza is puzzling, because birches do produce seeds. Some scholars think the poet meant the poplar, which old glossaries sometimes call by the same name, and which spreads by suckers from its roots. Whatever tree is meant, the stanza celebrates its beauty and its power to grow new shoots. The Norwegian poem praises the birch’s green leaves, then turns, perhaps only for the rhyme, to Loki the trickster. The Icelandic poem calls it a small tree and young growth.

All three poems have a stanza for Berkano, which is a help: when an English poet and two Scandinavian poets describe the same rune name, we can compare what they agree on and where they differ.

A word about these sources. The Old English poem survives only because George Hickes printed it in 1705, before the manuscript burned in 1731. The Norwegian poem was printed by Ole Worm in 1636, before its manuscript was lost in the Copenhagen fire of 1728. The Icelandic poem is usually dated to the fifteenth century. All three are medieval and Christian, so they tell us what the rune names meant to later readers, not what the first carvers believed. The renderings above are my own brief, literal ones.

Modern meanings

Modern Keywords: growth, new beginnings, birth, nurturing, renewal, family, care, the feminine.

Modern readers read Berkano as growth and new beginnings: the birch putting out its first green leaves in spring, the young tree, new shoots from old roots. Many associate it with birth, motherhood, nurturing, the home, and the care of others, and many modern authors connect it with goddesses and with feminine mysteries. These associations are modern, though they grow naturally from the image of a young, renewing tree. A thoughtful reading might ask what new growth is beginning in your life and what it needs to flourish.

Reversed: Often read as stalled growth, family worries, neglected self-care, or difficulty starting something new.

Berkano is often drawn in questions about pregnancy, birth, and family. Treat those readings with special care. A rune cannot tell anyone whether they are or will become pregnant, and it is no substitute for medical care. Many readers find it kinder to read Berkano as any new growth that needs patience and tending, whatever form it takes.

Berkano in a reading

Modern Here is how Berkano might speak to three common kinds of question. These are examples of modern reading, not rules, and your own response to the rune comes first.

• A question about growth. Berkano points to new life and gentle growth, like a birch in spring. Ask what needs care and time to grow.
• A question about family or home. Berkano can point to nurture, the care you give and receive. Who is looking after you?
• A question about a new start. Berkano can suggest a fresh beginning that grows quietly before anyone sees it. Protect it while it is young.

If you draw Berkano with other runes, read them together. Ask what Berkano adds to the picture, then look at its neighbors in the spread. A rune reading is a prompt for reflection. It does not predict events, and it never replaces medical, legal or financial advice.

Berkano in a three-rune spread

In a simple three-rune spread of situation, challenge and next step, Berkano changes its voice with its place. As the situation, it describes where things stand, with growth in the foreground. As the challenge, it asks whether something about new beginnings is missing, overdone or out of balance. As the next step, it suggests one small, practical action in the spirit of new beginnings. Read the other two runes first, then come back to Berkano and ask how it changes their story.

Berkano as a tattoo or symbol

On its own, Berkano is a letter for the sound b and the name of a thing, “birch”. Anyone who reads runes will see it that way first. If you want it as a tattoo, a piece of jewelry or a mark in your journal, take your time: check the form against a reliable chart, because a small change of angle can turn one rune into another. Berkano is easy to confuse with Wunjo, so compare the two before you decide. Avoid combining runes into a design you have not checked, since a few rune sequences and stylized forms are used as codes by hate groups.

Reflection questions

• What is newly growing in my life, and what does it need from me?
• Who nurtures me, and whom do I nurture?
• What have I learned from those who cared for me, and what would I do differently?

A week with Berkano

If you can, spend time near a tree, any tree, and look closely at its new growth: buds, shoots, young leaves. Then write about one small new beginning in your own life and one way you could tend it this week, as patiently as a gardener.

To get the most from the week, keep the entries short and honest. On the first day, write what Berkano means to you before you read anything else. On the last day, read that first note again and add one line about what changed. You do not need special tools: a notebook, a pen and the rune drawn at the top of each page are enough.

Related runes

• Tiwaz comes just before Berkano in the futhark. Modern keywords: justice, honor, courage.
• Ehwaz comes just after Berkano. Modern keywords: partnership, trust.

To see all twenty-four runes side by side, with their sounds and the three aettir, go to the Elder Futhark. For where the runes came from, read the history of the runes, and when you are ready to draw runes for reflection, start with how to cast runes. Everything else is on the runes hub.