Algiz · Algiz
Heimdall's Aett · No. 15 · Sound Z / R
Form after Elmer H. Antonsen, Runes and Germanic Linguistics (2002). The asterisk marks a linguistic reconstruction — no recording of Proto-Germanic exists. The IPA follows Ringe's (2006) sound system; the audio is a synthesised approximation. Trust the IPA over the audio.
DisputedThis rune cannot have been named acrophonically, since *z never occurs word-initially. *algiz 'elk' is Wilhelm Grimm's 1821 reading of the Anglo-Saxon poem; Warren and Elliott argue the original sense may have been 'protection' rather than 'elk'.
Elk — or possibly 'protection'; the name is disputed
A stave with three upward branches — elk antlers, or hands raised in prayer. At once a defensive posture and an opening to what is above.
You are shielded, and your instincts are reading things correctly — trust the feeling telling you to be careful or to proceed. A good time to set firm boundaries with people or situations that drain you, and to do spiritual or contemplative work.
Overexposure, boundaries breached, or ignoring your own instincts. It can mean misplaced trust, or a vulnerable period where withdrawing to regroup is wiser.
Your instinct knows before your reasoning does. Listen to it.
The Anglo-Saxon poem reads this name as eolhx-secg, the sedge that grows in marshland and cuts the hand of anyone who grasps it. The 'elk' reading is a modern reconstruction from a hypothesised root. In the later futhark this rune-shape became ᛦ ýr, meaning yew.
Eolhx-secgSedge grows mostly in the marsh, thriving in water; it wounds grievously and burns the blood of anyone who lays a hand on it.
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem — composed c. 7th–10th c. · original burned 1731, survives via Hickes' 1705 copy. Summary of the stanza, not a verbatim translation