Protection & Elk
Algiz is protection, the raised elk-antler, the rune of safekeeping and watchful instinct. It lays a sheltering hand over you and advises listening to your gut feeling. Today you may feel secure – and at the same time be alert to where a boundary is needed.
‘Algiz/Elhaz’ is usually interpreted as ‘elk’, sometimes as protection or as the sharp-edged sedge. The upward-splayed form recalls a warding hand or an antler.
The Old English poem speaks of the ‘eolh’ sedge that grows in the marsh and cruelly wounds anyone who grasps at it – a natural protection through defensiveness.
Algiz is regarded as the classic protective rune, a sign of warding and preservation. Its form also appears inverted as a ‘death rune’ in later interpretations.
The upright Algiz form is today one of the best-known runic signs of all – as an emblem of protection and life.