Thistle mistletoe formula

The thistle mistletoe formula is a pagan Norse Runic formula, involving several rhyming words ending in -istill (typically at least þistill and mistill; thistle and mistletoe). The formula is attested in around 15 variants from the Viking Age.

Ledberg stone (Ög 181)
The Swedish Ledberg stone from Östergötland contains the formula. Following a standard memorial inscription, we read

When resolved becomes, in normalized Old Icelandic spelling:

þistill, mistill, kistill

thistle, mistletoe, casket

Gørlev stone (DR 239)
Likewise, the Danish Gørlev stone contains the exact same formula, along with a younger futhark rune-row.

Saga of Bósi
The formula reaches its climax in a riddle in the legendary Icelandic Saga of Bósi and Herraud, where it reads (from manuscript AM. 586 4:0, transliterated into the Latin alphabet):


 * r.o.þ.k.m.u. iiiiii. ssssss. tttttt. iiiiii. llllll

Resolved and normalized, we get:

ristill, eistill, þistill, kistill, mistill, vistill

plowshare, testicle, thistle, box/casket, mistletoe, ?

The meaning of the final word, uistil (vistill), is unclear.