“Berkanan” – Viking rune for the letter B

The sound of this rune is the same as the English “B”. In Old Norse poetry it has been referred to as the “branch-rune” and it means birch tree. Its wider meaning is new things growing out of old – just like new shoots grow from the old roots of a birch which has been cut down. It can symbolise regeneration of all kinds, such as a recovery from illness and a return to good health.