Midsommar (2019) — a review from the “woo” side of things.
We all know it’s a horror film about cults… But what else does it hide?
Midsommar is approaching, and although people don’t celebrate it here in Ireland… It’s part of my heritage, so I sort of do. Here’s an article I used to have at my older blog (now defunct), which I think should live on. I rarely do film reviews, so enjoy this one. My review is looking into the general story and finding the hidden runes which foretell or relate some other way to the events in the film.
This contains spoilers… But I suppose a 2019 film is no longer novelty (or is it?) — Anyway, you’ve been warned.
By the way, don’t worry, the film is in full colour and has beautiful cinematography! The poster art here is simply aimed at remembering certain scenes (with their respective runes, so you can spot them), while protecting copyright. The article is fair use (educational), but I like to err on the side of caution.
Here is a list, and analysis, of the runes in this film (see runes in the titles).
1. Tiwaz when the Americans first see Hårga
ᛏ
Midsommar is a film about a group of American friends (among them the protagonists Dani and Christian, dating and living together) who decide to travel to Sweden and stay at a small “hippie” village called Hårga for the midsummer celebrations. Christian had planned it with his friends from college (they study Anthropology) and forgot to tell Dani about it. They have an argument, which results in Dani asking to travel with the group and pretends everything is fine between her and Christian.
When they arrive in Hårga, this is one of the very first views: a wide shot, almost panoramic. On top of a hill on the right hand side there is a stylised maypole. Now, this maypole will appear in many, many, many scenes in this film — even when it’s apparently “irrelevant” (but as we’ll see, it is anything but irrelevant). Depending on the way the pole is framed, it resembles different runes — or even other symbols. This first sight is one rare instance where the pole represents Tiwaz (the rune above). This is only possible because it’s seen in a distance and its lines kind of blend together.
Lucy, are you reaching? — this rune sighting could be argued as “accidental”, IF it wasn’t for the context of the scene: this is a wide shot on a deep depth of field, and the focus is on the pole, very distant. As we get closer and closer to it, the camera deliberately blurs it, making the depth of field more shallow and focusing a lot closer to the camera, as the main characters finally walk into the scene. So, JUST as we’re getting closer to the pole and this “Tiwaz” illusion would be ruined, it’s blurred. That goes to show this is not a coincidental rune. It was intentional.
Tiwaz symbolises the god Tyr. It can mean a lot of things, but one meaning that stands out in this specific context is “willingness to sacrifice yourself”. What is this group of friends doing? They’re entering a whole new world and willing to experience whatever will come. What is their motivation? Well, for some it’s curiosity. For others, ambition. For the protagonists, it’s denial. But despite the denial, they’ll be forced to sacrifice everything they have built so far.
2. Isa leads them to the final destination
I
The next rune I noticed was Isa, the ice rune. It is also the simplest, one straight stroke upwards.
Lucy, are you reaching? — you could argue I am! But in filmmaking I know for a fact we do not include unnecessary footage in the final cut, ESPECIALLY drone footage, unless it serves a purpose. Did we really need to see them walking up the road (and follow with a drone for a whole 5 seconds) in order to know they entered a forest? No. Unless there’s a hidden message in the shot.
Isa tends to indicate challenge, stagnation. The dreadful feeling of paralysis when in fact you’re in involuntary movement to meet your fate. It is always unclear where Isa starts or ends — hence the uncertainty. And to be fair, that’s exactly what we see in the shot: a never-ending road. They even exit the road to the right eventually — so we can’t see where it ends.
3. Inverted Algiz and Laguz
ᛉ ᛚ
Maja (the character above) is from Hårga and eventually will force Christian to meet his fate. This scene is the first ever sighting we have of her in the film, facing a black door (yes, in the actual scene it’s black) with an intricate rune carving. This is one of the obvious rune sightings in the film.
What we see here happens after the main characters have reached the actual village (they were hanging out in the fields for a while before — no runes to see there).
Algiz means protection, shield, or shelter. It can also be awakening, connection with the gods, or achievement of your full potential. But since it’s inverted, the opposite applies. The runes are clearly predicting this character’s downfall, bringing everything and everyone she touches with her.
Laguz (the second rune above) is the water rune. It represents everything that flows and gives life. Bearing in mind what this character eventually does, closer to the end of the film, we can clearly agree with a mention of Laguz here: yes, that represents her. Laguz is upright, but also inverted. This means the character will reap the benefits of Laguz, but not without confusion or despair.
4. Nauthiz during a “happy” dance
ᚾ
Remember I said the pole appears many times, as a different rune or symbol? Aye. It’s also in the poster. 10 points for your Hogwarts house if you spotted it before I told you ;) Kidding.
Lucy, are you reaching? — I could be if this pole had always been framed the same way, or didn’t appear so much. Yes I’m aware there’s more to it than each of these runes. It’s all about framing, though. Since this film set was so wide and open, they could have put the camera literally anywhere and still achieve a similar wide shot including both the pole and the dancers. Yet, they chose this specific angle, which resembles Nauthiz. On purpose.
Nauthiz is… one disturbing rune. I never feel good when I pull it for a reading. It tends to mean a massive obstacle that causes all plans and dreams to be put on hold. Yes, it can indicate stagnation, but it’s different from Isa. Nauthiz is more annoying and relates to internal battles, whereas Isa would be external factors out of our control. Nauthiz tells you you’re in trouble but it’s your fault. You can’t blame the world when you draw this rune — you must look inwards instead, and confront whatever it is you’re denying. Sounds familiar? No wonder they put it in the poster too!
5. Inverted Raido and Dagaz in a prophetic artwork
ᚱ ᛞ
There’s a very interesting context: Dani receives this artwork of herself immediately after Christian sees Maja among the dancers and decides to join them. That is when Pelle (their friend from Hårga who invited everyone over at the start of the film) gives her this “birthday gift”. She replies with gratitude and mentions that Christian had forgotten it’s her birthday.
Here we see 2 obvious runes, but they’re inverted: Raido and Dagaz.
Raido sounds just like its meaning — a ride. It usually indicates travel and a change of scenery (which literally happened in the film), but also in a more metaphorical sense. However, here it is inverted, hinting at the opposite. Indeed, in the context, Dani is not seeing anything new or refreshing in Christian’s behavior. She just sees more of the same. Stasis, the opposite of “riding”. She is not in a constructive journey, she’s in a crisis. Their relationship is falling apart.
Dagaz is one of the runes you actually can’t invert — but it can be in opposition to other runes in certain contexts. Pelle’s choice to flip it anyway clearly shows that her situation is indeed very unique. Dagaz tends to mean a breakthrough or awakening. Yet, in the context of this scene, it’s very clear that she feels hopeless and thinking of “putting an end” to her situation.
6. Algiz home
ᛉ
This is when they all first arrive at their accomodation in Hårga. Algiz is everywhere. You could argue that the house interior is “made of Algiz”.
Lucy, are you reaching? — well, context matters. I didn’t pay it too much attention when I first watched the movie either. I was like “cool method of construction”. Gradually, though, the film shows the interior of other buildings in Hårga. Some are like pyramids, others look very square. There are many interesting shapes, but nowhere else can you see the same structural pillars shaped like Algiz. So, that leads me to believe me that no, this isn’t “just a construction method specific to their culture”. This is rune placement once again.
As we saw, one meaning of Algiz is protection, and the other one is self-discovery. Both happen inside this building in the film. None of the disturbing scenes happens anywhere near the interior of the visitors’ house. They’re protected in there, by Algiz. On the other hand, most of the character development in the story DOES take place in there. Algiz again.
7. Othala, Raido, Gebo
ᛟ ᚱ X
The runes are obvious, but very small.
Lucy, are you reaching? — No. The shot starts panning over to Dani (in front) marvelled at the artwork all around. Camera is locked in place, so the viewer can finally focus on the right hand side. Then slowly, the focus shifts to Christian, behind her, as well as the background. The runes are just beside him.
Othala is one of the infamous runes appropriated by nazis, so you must have heard of it even if you aren’t into runes. It symbolises family, community, human connection. I especially LOVE the fact it appears so much on this foreigners’ accommodation in the film, signalling that a “family” can simply be a group of friends without a blood connection. A middle finger to racial supremacists, for sure. Here, however, in this specific scene, the rune is clearly referring to Christian. So what could this mean? Well, definitely a family connection. But is it Dani, or someone else in the family he’s thinking about? That’s unclear. Thakfully, another 2 runes follow it to help us clarify that.
Raido, as we already saw, is a journey. It comes after Othala here. Does that mean Christian’s family can be found on a journey? It is a possible reading. But, who is that? It can be Dani of course, as she is travelling with him. Let’s look at the next rune.
Gebo comes next. Its literal meaning is “gift”. This can be an exchange of products, services, or loyalty. It can also mean a sacrifice as a gift to someone. So here we know the rune refers to Dani in fact, because moments after this shot, Christian gives her a slice of birthday cake and apologises for having forgotten it.
Too much coincidence, aye? This is rune placement at its best. Sure, the final message of this complicated set of runes was somewhat disappointing and not very deep — Christian gives Dani, who is his family, a gift — but maybe there’s more to this simple act than we can see on the surface. Let’s see what happens next.
8. Laguz Eihwaz Ansuz meets inverted Algiz through Tiwaz
ᛚ ᛇ ᚨ meets ᛉ through ᛏ
Here we have a composite rune, an implicit rune, and an inverted rune. I suppose the hardest one to figure out is the composite (which is probably why this shot is very slow and takes quite a few seconds — which gives time for the rune-savvy viewer to notice it).
3 runes (Eihwaz, Laguz and Ansuz) are interconnected on the old man’s robe. It’s hard to unsee it once you spot them. Laguz is the only inverted one. And we already know what that means: water that stops flowing. Life at its end (since upright Laguz would be the beginning of life). Eihwaz means emotional strength, endurance, dependability. Finally, Ansuz means inspiration, insight, communication.
So what can we take from this composite rune? The old man is going to die, not before a final test of endurance, and this will cause a message to be perceived by someone — it’s unclear by whom. Himself? The American visitors? Hårga? The viewer? This remains to be seen.
Well. On to the next character: the old woman. Her robe is considerably simpler, having only one rune: inverted Algiz. We already saw what it means: someone’s downfall through solitude, lack of protection, danger.
Tiwaz is implied: this rune is formed by the blank space between the characters (where you can see a straight line on the ground), as well as the hut behind them. It’s unclear from my art, but if you watch the movie, you’ll see this rune comes “after” the runes in the robes in this “sentence” because it only becomes apparent as they walk closer to camera. Again, this is reinforcing the message we got in the very beginning: a painful, but necessary, sacrifice. (Necessary to advance the fictional story, of course. I do not endorse human sacrifice, in case anyone is wondering).
9. Inverted Othala
ᛟ
This is the largest, most explicit and “in your face” rune in the entire movie. It’s impossible to argue that inverted Othala isn’t there. That’s good production design doing what it does best. This rune-shape dinner table is so big that a drone had to fly over it. If you watch the movie, you’ll see it.
If upright Othala means true familiar connection, then what is it inverted? Sure enough it must be a twisted sense of community which won’t lead to anything constructive. If I had to pick one rune to describe the concept of “dangerous cult”, it would be inverted Othala. And indeed, this is what our fictional Hårga is all about: a group of people bound together by codependency and excessive enmeshment. A community so smothering that nobody can get out of it alive. Why does it feel happy, quaint and even desirable at times? Well, that’s because of the pleasant soundtrack, the sunshine and all the smiles. This is a film that discusses cults in a general sense (not surprisingly, it’s a horror film). And as we all know, cults are naturally confusing: on the surface they look very appealing. Beneath the surface, they’re evil.
10. Fehu
ᚠ
Here we are first introduced to embroidered runes in the film. Do they appear before this scene? Absolutely. But the viewer is forced not to focus on them through framing, focus, etc. So this is the first one that stays in frame and in focus for a long period of time. And as you can see after this scene, the American characters start to either die or wear similar robes with runes. It’s all part of the brilliant storytelling in Midsommar: they’re in a cult, can’t escape, must assimilate and get ascribed runes that will announce their fate.
This is Pelle dissuading Dani from leaving the place through emotional manipulation. Sure, he is one of the characters we empathise with because this film deliberately tries to mess with people’s heads. It’s constantly telling you “this is what cults do. I’ll show you in practice”. Nothing is straightforward.
Pelle is wearing Fehu because he is a Fehu person. Fehu is protected by Freyja and its literal meaning is “domesticated cattle”. Sure, Fehu is overall a positive rune, indicating good luck, material possessions, social success and foresight. In the context of the film, these are indeed all the things he promises Dani and the other Americans. He lures them in with smooth talk. In fact, he is just like domesticated cattle. He has been brainwashed by the cult from an early age, and truly feels like he is doing the right thing, when in fact he is just a puppet to this twisted community.
11. Ingwaz
ᛝ
Ingwaz starts to appear now, and becomes increasingly present in the film. Here it can be seen embroidered on Maja’s robe. In fact Ingwaz has 2 different forms. One is the letter I presented above. The other (from the elder futhark) looks just like a small centered lozenge, which is the version used in the film. We know that for a fact, because the characters mention the use of “elder futhark” in Hårga very early on in the film — which narrows down which runic alphabet we’re dealing with.
Ingwaz means “male fertility”, internal growth, cozy household, human warmth. In this specific context, since this is Maja baking a meat pie for Christian with some of her pubic hair in it (yup!), I guess we should go for the first obvious meaning.
12. Isa
I
This is an entire scene which on the surface doesn’t seem to mean much: Dani asks Josh (this character) for some sleeping pills, and that is all. It looks like fluff, which should have been cut out. Why was it left in the film?
Well, if you watch the film, you know that before this scene, 2 interesting things happen: Josh meets one of the elders and finds out that Hårga’s official oracle, Ruben (the disabled blond guy) was a deliberate product of inbreeding. This sounds like a horrifying fact which could get everyone in Hårga in serious trouble in case Swedish or American authorities found out about it. So we know for a fact that Josh won’t last very long after this scene.
Another “interesting” event is when they’re all sitting at the twisted Othala table and Christian finds a pubic hair in his pie. Pelle pretends his friends aren’t extremely disgusted.
So here Josh is reflecting on what just happened, and the framing includes a rune in the story: Isa. We already saw the meaning of Isa: he feels petrified, turning inwards in search of answers on what to do now. At the same time, he is being involuntarily led to a dreadful fate. Moments after, he sneaks into the library and steals something. Someone kills him. Yes, Josh decided to break the rules and go there out of his own free will — but we’re dealing with Isa here, not Nauthiz. His death was ultimately caused by an external factor out of his control. If nobody had seen him, he’d still be alive regardless.
Side note, unrelated to the analysis above: have you seen the actor who plays Ruben? He is adorable. A lot of makeup went into that final look, I’m sure.
13. Inverted Raido and Dagaz, Kaunaz
ᚱ ᛞ ᚲ
This confirms that the runes included by Pelle in his “gift” to Dani earlier on weren’t a mere accident or inspiration — it was deliberate. We see them here once again, embroidered on her tunic. And they continued inverted in the exact same way, as if copied and pasted from one scene to the other. But whereas at the start of the movie Dani had been given a forewarning (“this will be you in the future if you don’t take any steps to change your fate”), now she is literally wearing the message, placing it in the present (“this is you now, there is no way out”).
Dani is now in the “May queen” competition, dancing until exhaustion under the effect of drugs. We know for a fact she will be the winner because inverted Raido tell us she will remain standing straight (the opposite of Raido, movement, travel, or tripping on the ground via psychedelics — which is what happens to all other women). But Dagaz, the rune of discovery and breakthrough, is also there — equally inverted. Dani already knows how to feel about this whole situation. This experience won’t make her learn anything new or ground-breaking, but instead reconnect with a part of her which isn’t surprising — she was denying it.
Kaunaz is a rune that also appears here, on someone else’s robe. This woman has no name or lines, she just dances with everyone else. Kaunaz means “beacon, torch”. It is the rune of hope, of light at the end of the tunnel. But it isn’t together with Raido and Dagaz. Instead, it’s lying in opposition to them — it’s even on a different robe entirely, within a competition, which means everyone is in opposition to each other despite being together. There can only be one winner! So, Kaunaz in opposition to other runes actually means “false hope”. This further reinforces the prediction I made here, that Dani will win.
14. Ingwaz, again
ᛝ
The first time this rune appears is on Maja’s robe. Now it’s visibly on the wall, oppressively big, in a context where Christian is about to find out that he is in an arranged “mating” with her. Yes, that’s precisely the word used. The film really delivers in terms of shock factor.
Interesting to note: in both instances, Ingwaz is implied, not explicit. Why is that? I have a theory: we never know for sure whether or not the…uhm… “endeavour” was successful and Maja did actually have a child. Maybe she didn’t? Many things can go wrong. So it’s uncertain. It was an attempt, but the result is left for the viewer’s imagination (or interpretation). Implied Ingwaz works like a charm.
15. Tiwaz
ᛏ
This is a very, very interesting rune placement. This whole scene is superb from a camerawork standpoint.
So yes, I was right, Dani DOES win. And when it happens, she becomes another rune: Tiwaz. Note how the previous runes were strategically embroidered on her collar, so the flower ornament can cover them now because they’re no longer relevant. In trying to keep her balance, Dani makes a shape with her body that resembles Tiwaz. But in case the viewer is sceptic, another thing behind her reinforces that message: the pole also helps with that overall shape.
This means that Dani has finally triumphed, but she’s also in the middle of a self-sacrifice. This sacrifice is not literal — she eventually survives — but she is sacrificing everything she ever was until this point. She’s starting anew and about to end it with Christian once and for all.
Side note: the pole is also entirely visible for a few seconds during this same scene, because it’s a scene in motion. And when it does become entirely visible, it resembles a Christian cross. So Dani is leaving Christian behind. The Christian cross. A lovely pun.
16. Tiwaz and inverted Algiz
ᛏ ᛉ
Christian is wearing Tiwaz and inverted Algiz when he enters the room where he’s supposed to have a rite of fertility with Maja. Can he refuse to do it and run away? Yes, he’s perfectly able. There’s no Isa here. (No, the wooden beam behind him has horizontal lines, it isn’t really Isa).
He decides to go ahead with it out of his own free will. He’s basically the shittiest boyfriend ever. Eventually Dani strays away from the procession because her intuition tells her to see what this “noise” was all about, and sees Christian betraying her.
Tiwaz, as we saw, symbolises a self-sacrifice (it seems right for this context, too). It’s also a nice subtle link between Dani’s and Christian’s storylines. Although theoretically together, they had been living their own separate lives up until this point. Now is the decisive moment when they both realise it wasn’t meant to be.
Do I need to interpret inverted Algiz here?
Moving on…
17. Peorth
ᛈ
New rune, eventually! Yay! Exciting!
This was another explicit, undeniable, rune placement. And it’s very obvious for a reason: this rune is important. Peorth literally means “vessel” and refers to an undisclosed resolution which is entirely on your own hands. Well, in the context of the film, on Dani’s hands.
Indeed, this is the scene where everyone is reunited again. Dani knows about Christian’s betrayal. Hårga knows about Christian’s agenda (sneaking “sacred” information out of Hårga, much like Josh. He did it in a previous scene, very discreetly, but was still caught and immobilised).
As May Queen, Dani has the right to decide who will be offered as a sacrifice to the sun god in gratitude for the good fortune during midsummer. Her decision is so obvious that it happens off camera.
Ultimately, this is a film about a breakup — even the director has admitted to it. Although it’s very absurd and brutal, the whole film can be interpreted as a metaphor. It is meant to entice the audience to empathise with Dani and feel what she feels (including those darker feelings we aren’t always happy to admit). Everyone who went through a difficult breakup has probably fantasised at least once, at least for a brief moment, about brutality against their ex. Well then…
18. Ingwaz and Gebo
ᛝ X
This is one of the most sinister contexts in which I have ever seen these runes combined, and I commend the runemaster (or very avid scholar) behind the production design in this film for such outstanding creativity. I couldn’t have thought of it myself. It is so brilliant and does so much for the story! I’m fangirling again.
Ingwaz, as we saw, represents male fertility (especially in the context of this film). Gebo is a gift. You’d think these runes combined are positive and represent “a baby”. But no. There’s an entirely new context here. People are being burned alive, including the chosen sacrifice (Christian). This isn’t a time for gifts or fertility at all.
Instead, what the composite rune means is the following: Christian has made a choice, a very selfish choice (Ingwaz specifies what this choice was, earlier in the film and also here). And Dani is now “rewarding” him for it. In the most sarcastic possible way.
This is why the film has a happy ending. She finally feels relief when he “dies to her” and she is now able to move on from this shitty relationship, to hopefully find someone who will value and cherish her love.
