Vegur ('way') + vísir ('pointer') derives its meaning from the same word as the English wise. Vísir is derived from the Old Norse vísa meaning 'to show, point out, indicate', or the Proto-Germanic wīsōną or wisaz, meaning 'to visit'. The manuscript was assembled by using earlier published books containing magical staves, however, there are no depictions of the Vegvisir symbol prior to this manuscript. Vegur is derived from the Old Norse vegr, Proto-Germanic * wegaz, or the Proto-Indo-European * weǵʰ-. The Huld manuscript was written by Geir Vigfússon in 1860, in the small town of Akureyri, Iceland. Vegur means 'way, road, path', and vísir means 'path, guide'.

Vegvísir is derived from two Icelandic words, vegur and vísir. There is however no evidence of this, and the Huld Manuscript, where it is mentioned, was collected eight centuries after the end of the Viking Age. The vegvísir is often confused to be a Viking symbol. Tomáš Vlasatý claims that it is not only in the Huld manuscript but also in two other Icelandic grimoires, Galdrakver (designated Lbs 2917 a 4to and Lbs 4627 8vo) and has Jewish roots. It is also only claimed to be in the Huld manuscript by Daniel McCoy. Flowers lists the Vegvisir in his translation of the Galdrabók, but in a later publication cites it in “Isländische Zauberzeichen und Zauberbücher” by Ólafur Davíðsson rather than the Galdrabók. although this latter location is denied and contested by Jackson Crawford. It has been claimed that it also features in the Galdrabók, a magical grimoire. The symbol is attested in the Huld Manuscript, collected in Iceland by Geir Vigfusson in Akureyri in 1860, and does not have any earlier attestations.Ī leaf of the manuscript provides an image of the vegvísir, gives its name, and, in prose, declares that 'if this sign is carried, one will never lose one's way in storms or bad weather, even when the way is not known'. The vegvísir according to the Huld manuscriptĪ vegvísir ( Icelandic for 'sign post, wayfinder') is an Icelandic magical stave intended to help the bearer find their way through rough weather.