The Algiz rune

Sound «З», image: elk, protection.

Meaning of the Algiz rune

Elk antlers, a raised palm: protection, shelter, a line to something higher. Algiz is what guards you and warns you when danger comes near. You are under cover here, and your own instinct is part of that cover, so keep it awake. The shelter works alongside your good sense, so use both.

Algiz reversed

The guard has weakened: you are exposed, open to a blow, taking poor advice from someone you trusted. The shelter did not cover you this time. Algiz reversed is a nudge to look again at who stands close to you and to stop waving off the small warnings your gut keeps sending.

Algiz in a spread

If it comes up upright, read it by the meaning above. If it falls upside down, read the reversed meaning: the rune's force goes backwards or turns harmful. A single rune gives you the leaning, and for an answer with a thread through it you draw three: what is behind, what is now, what comes ahead.

Algiz as a talisman

Algiz is the great protective rune of the row, the raised palm and the elk's antlers on watch. It is taken for shelter and unseen cover, for the link to something higher that guards and warns in time. It draws protection from above and a keen sense for danger, turning the blow aside. Drawn on doors, hung on children, carried on the road.

FAQ

Is the Algiz rune a good sign or a bad one?

Runes do not split into good ones and bad ones. Algiz speaks of elk, protection, and in a spread it hints at where the force is leaning. It is no final sentence, and a lot depends on which runes fall beside it.

What does the Algiz rune mean reversed?

When Algiz falls upside down its force turns around and either goes backwards or does harm. The reversed meaning is spelled out above.

Which aett does Algiz belong to?

The aett of Heimdall, one of the three groups of the Elder Futhark, eight runes each. The aett tells you which octave the rune sits in and which runes it neighbours.

The rune said its piece in short. The arcana tell it more slowly.

✦ The Major Arcana