Algiz -- The Rune of Protection

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Heartsong
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Algiz -- The Rune of Protection

Post by Heartsong »

Algiz is a rune that I’m thinking a lot about lately, since it’s a great rune to use when dealing with fear, something that I’m working on in my life through my Underworld journey. Here are some of my notes and thoughts about it. :)

Image

Rune Poem

The Elk's-sedge has its home most oft in the fen.
It waxes in water, wounds grimly.
The blood burns of every man
Who makes any grasp at it.


The Nature of the Rune

Algiz is the Elkrune, and frequently associated with divine blessing and protection. It is a rune that has far-reaching themes and uses, and can easily be used with other runes to create protective bindrunes or talismans.
“The energy of Algiz is what makes something feel sacred as opposed to mundane.”



The shape of the Algiz echoes this sentiment beautifully, mirroring a tree (Yggdrasil) with its upper branches outstretched towards the heavens, or a devotee of the divine, their arms reaching up to their gods. It resembles a Valkyrie with her outstretched wings and the invoking stance of the shaman. It resembles a flower opening its petals, and Tyr’s splayed hand, sacrificed in his struggled with Fenrir. And of course, as the Elkrune, it has also been compared to the antlers of the elk, sweeping up in a display of the quiet strength and grace of the forest guardian.

Algiz is the rune of the higher self, and the activation thereof. It is the relinquishment of the ties that hold us back (our vices and addictions) so that we may become more in tuned with our inner spirituality. It encourages us to communicate not only with our higher self, but also with the gods. Within its three points, Algiz represents Asgard, Jusalfheim (Elf Realm), and Vanaheim (Vanir Realm), while its stem represents Midgard, the point at which all three realms share energy. As such, Algiz is a channel for the protective teaching force of the divine. As such, it is the rune to use in conquering fear, and finding the courage to face it. Within it, one can thus find both wisdom and courage.

Inversed, Algiz can represent the roots of Yggdrasil, the reach deep into Hel, into death and the darkness of the unconscious. Hence, it can be a useful rune to invoke when attempting to communicate with the dead, and when working with your Shadow. In the reversed position, Algiz is perhaps even more effective as a tool for conquering fear, as it can be used to delve into the realm of fear itself, which lies within the unconscious.

As a protective force, Algiz not only protects the person, it can also protect any endeavors that they would want to embark on. If drawn, it can be a very positive sign that a risk you are contemplating taking could very well pay off in a big way. However, that does not mean that you should move recklessly. Rather, it motivates us to take deliberate steps to ensuring that what we want to occur falls into place. It is also encourages us to actively communicate with our environment. Like its spread arms suggests, we should stretch out our senses, both physical and psychic, and feel out our surroundings, and embrace them. Even the darkest night has lessons to teach us, and it is facing that darkness that allows us to grow, and to become whole.

The Rune in Spellwork

~the guardian rune of activated higher consciousness, protection, and confident warding away or destruction of harm and inimical forces.

~ An active ward and defender, thus can be used to strengthen a protective circle.

~Increases the field of one's magickal power.

~ Draw this sigil on anything you want to protect, including your mail.

~It can be combined with Eihwaz in a bindrune for defending boundaries, with Tiwaz for a punishment should they cross the line, or with Othila to protect your home space.


Sources:

Aswynn, Freya. Northern Mysteries & Magick

Paxson, Diana. Taking up the Runes

http://www.earthwitchery.com/runes.html

http://runesecrets.com/rune-meanings/algiz

http://www.northernshamanism.org/shaman ... runes.html
Dance like the Maiden
Laugh like the Mother
Think like the Crone
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