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ALGIZ (also called Elhaz) is a powerful rune, because it represents the divine might of the universe. The white elk was a symbol to the Norse of divine blessing and protection to those it graced with sight of itself.
Algiz is the rune of higher vibrations, the divine plan and higher spiritual awareness. The energy of Algiz is what makes something feel sacred as opposed to mundane. It represents the worlds of Asgard (gods of the Aesir), Ljusalfheim (The Light Elves) and Vanaheim (gods of the Vanir), all connecting and sharing energies with our world, Midgard.
Image by H. Koppdelaney
The Symbolism of Algiz
The symbol itself could represent the upper branches of Yggdrasil, a flower opening to receive the sun (SOWILO is the next rune in the futhark after all,) the antlers of the elk, the Valkyrie and her wings, or the invoker stance common to many of the world’s priests and shamans. In a very contemporary context, the symbol could be powerfully equated to a satellite dish reaching toward the heavens and communicating with the gods and other entities throughout this and other worlds. I find this metaphor particularly useful, due to my embrace of technology, but if it doesn’t work for you, use the older interpretations.
Aligning with the Divine Plan
As a part of the second Aett, whose inimical nature is primary to the interpretations of the symbols, Algiz represents the divine plan as set apart from individual affairs, even in spite of human concerns entirely. Understanding the divine plan is ultimately beyond us while we live as human beings, save that it is for the greater good.
Algiz requires faith to work with. Like DAGAZ, it can be seen as the continual unfoldment of universal intelligence, particularly consciousness in all its forms. This puts the denizens of Midgard in a central role.
Activating the Higher Self
When Odin sacrifices himself to Himself to receive the runes, it can be interpreted that Odin was setting an example for us: to sacrifice the things that make us small or petty, to give up our fetters, addictions and vice to seek something much greater within ourselves. Algiz lifts us away from the limiting egocentricity which comes part and parcel with ISA’s rune vibrations.
Alignment with the divine plan activates our Higher Self, pushes us from within toward the self-actualization of MANNAZ. In doing so, Odin invites us to seek godhood, just as he once did, and give ourselves over the the pursuit of wisdom, higher awareness and service to the heavens.
In exchange for such a sacrifice (which you may eventually see as no ‘real’ sacrifice at all as you explore TIWAZ and GEBO), a number of specific magical and psychological benefits are bestowed upon us.
Protection
The first of these is protection, as is to be expected because of the rune’s esoteric meaning. Alignment with the divine makes a person sacred — set apart from the mundane and therefor blessed by divine protection. The courageous garner favor with the gods. This can be in the form of increased luck, stronger Hamingja, and this protection is renewed by passing certain ‘tests’ of one’s courage and honor, often administered by Odin in one of his various forms.
Communication with Divine Entities
The second is the ability to communicate with gods and entities of the Higher Realms, particularly Heimdall and the Valkyries, who are the guardians of Valhalla and watch over their favored warriors. The symbol, reversed, might be used to access the realm of the dead, giants, and the unconscious. Tread carefully!
The Protective Teaching Force
Thirdly, Algiz is a channel for the protective teaching force, that power which great teachers and mentors transfer to students or seekers, a relationship also touching on KENAZ. Its intensity ranges from divine guidance to sitting in a classroom during a lecture from a favorite teacher, but it is the same energy, and can manifest in countless ways.
Teachers and mentors come in many forms and often test our humility and our readiness, requiring our attention, our service and our unique ability to think for ourselves and integrate knowledge into the mix of our own associations and life experience.
Beware the so-called ‘guru’ who acts in order to convert you to his views, opinions and thoughts. How to think, and why to think for yourself, should always be more important than what to think. Avoid accepting as mentors those who do not truly wish to assist in awakening you to your own, unique powers — they’d rather an ornament to their own ego.
Facing Fear with Courage
Finally, Algiz is the rune of Fear, and the proper use of fear.
Where PERTHRO represents the unknown, ALGIZ represents the courage we must exercise in order to face our fear of the unknown. Algiz gives us the counter-phobic urge to move toward our fears and conquer them rather than be ruled by them.
Courage is not the absence of fear, but the will to right action in spite of it. It is important to move toward fear rather than avoid it, because it is in the dark areas obscured by your fears that you can truly grow and learn to live fully.
Wisdom and courage are the two things you can take to the very doors of death, and up into Valhalla, accumulating Hamingja which will carry on into your next life. Therefor, they are both divine pursuits and invaluable qualities.
Important Psychiatric Warning on the Dangers of Algiz
The divine power of Algiz is intoxicating and dangerous to the untrained.
Communication with other worlds can be intense and hazardous to the unprepared, resulting in psychiatric conditions like mania or schizophrenia — in other times such patience may have been shamen, sorcerers or oracles, but our culture has largely lost the knowledge and methods by which a person is prepared for these roles.
If you are experiencing an overload of Algiz, you may be hearing voices, feeling paranoid and ‘receiving’ new ideas and awareness that is not normal for you. You may feel invulnerable or filled with energy. Some of these experiences are quite authentic. However, it is extremely important that you are able to cope with the necessities of your life and care for yourself in the mundane world!
If you cannot eat or sleep, and are experiencing symptoms of psychosis, or uncontrollable emotional outbursts, seek help from a psychiatric expert. They are here to help you. I speak from experience, and I promise that coping with your powers and attaining self-mastery are much more essential to the right path.
It is much more powerful and courageous to find a stable center within yourself, be in control of your emotions and mind, and be able to eat, sleep and speak clearly in a way others can understand, even relate to. If you need the help of medication while you learn to cope, it may sting your pride at first, but in the long run, it will help!
If you cannot cope with the day to day mundane aspects of your life, you cannot cope with the divine — their seeming duality is an illusion! At the level of the Higher Self, they are one and the same. You will find this paradox at the root of the DAGAZ rune meaning.
Good luck, and be wary.
Related Material:
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You can leave your comments on what you just read using the box below. I always try to reply within 24 hours. Your insights become a permanent part of this article!
April 26th, 2009 at 3:24 am
First of all, I apologise for my name; I’ve used it as an Internet persona for some time and I’m just used to it. I might not recognise myself as the poster otherwise, heh.
Second, I wish to ask about that last bit. You said that
‘If you are experiencing an overload of Algiz, you may be hearing voices, feeling paranoid and ‘receiving’ new ideas and awareness that is not normal for you.’
I have never used Algiz (unless you count the time I was a child and, having read a book, drew the rune repeatedly on a piece of paper) and yet consistantly ‘receive’ new ideas and have- I’m not trying to boast- higher than normal perception of reality. This doesn’t usually come out until I converse with someone about something with ‘magical’ origin, and then something just ‘clicks’ into place and I know- or at least think I know- what’s going on., or how it works. Is this normal? Or well, perhaps I should be asking, what’s happening? Is this something should be worried about?
While I’m at it, I may as well ask: How would you say runes affect things? As in, how would a symbol, a representation of an image, have an effect on reality? I have my own opinions, but I’d like to hear yours as well. (I apologise if you’ve already covered this somewhere else; I may have missed it.)
And yes, I am a beginner to magic. Somewhat.
Thanks in advance.
April 26th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Welcome to Rune Secrets! No need to apologize about the name you use, of course. Do you spell it Thursaz usually, or is it Thurisaz for you, with an ‘i’?
I’ll try to answer what I can, and you can judge whether it makes sense or not…
The energies, vibrations and forces that the runes represent are real whether or not we give them symbols. The runes are just one system to label and explore universal forces. Some of us have greater experiences with certain of those forces.
For instance, a person growing up in abject poverty will experience great need (NAUTHIZ) and if they are to overcome that aspect of their lot in life, they will have to master Nauthiz, that is, master their need. Then, a factor in their lives they were at the mercy of may indeed become a strength or power.
It’s the same with Algiz, in your case. When you are in the proper situation, certain energies within you become active. They are part of your Wyrd, your ability to shape fate, but also the factors that shape you. To have such blatant magical potential is not ‘normal’ per se, but it is not as uncommon as one might think. A lot of us are simply conditioned to ignore it or not believe that it’s possible.
I wouldn’t be worried about it unless it is causing you trouble in your life. My warning was geared toward very serious psychological cases that require professional help.
In answer to your second set of questions, I think I’d say that it’s not the runes themselves that effect things, but our mind: in the form of intentions and beliefs… which in turn shape our behavior and actions to create something material. Our minds are very powerful, and far more of what is going on is unconscious than conscious.
The symbols act to focus our minds, develop our awareness, explore intellectually and refine the questions we ask ourselves during introspection. So it’s not the symbol directly — but symbols are an inextricable part of such a process.
Thanks for commenting, and don’t hesitate to do so again, even if the answer is somewhere else on the site. I need as much excuse to write as I can get ;)
April 26th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Thursaz:
I have been wanting to post comments on Algiz but not had time – briefly to you – I think the key is in what is ‘normal’ to you. Tyriel was speaking of the risk of the receivng of ideas and insights getting out of control. I think of it as forgetting to pull the antenna back in to prevent overload! Upright Algiz is like a receiver reaching into the multiverse. Tyriel provided only a comment on a negative aspect of Algiz reversed. However, I find it more often is an indication of a need to ensure strong healthy roots – grounding – before we invite too many magical experiences. So, Algiz also represents both the roots and branches of the Yggsdrasil. When I get a chance I’ll write a bit more and expand on some of my thoughts about Algiz.
I love to see people commenting. It’s so important to share thoughts for reflection. Like for example – What is ‘reality’ anyway? What magic does is bend strands of Wyrd – gotta respond to Tyirel on Pertho too ;-) …
April 27th, 2009 at 1:46 am
I spell it as Thursaz- It’s the first rune I read about, and that was how it was spelt in the book (which was fiction, but’s what got me interested in runes, so yeah.)
Thank you for answering my questions. So, runes are essentially the ‘language’ of the universe? (So to speak.) Or, otherwise, a tool to focus your thoughts into something that the universe can conceive (That’s the best way I can think of putting it, I’m never good at putting thoughts to words.)
Mahryan-
Thanks for answering. Grounding is important- Even as a beginner I realise that it’s all too easy to get carried away, even in normal things.
Reality, I think, is whatever you perceive it to be. There’s no fixed, solid ‘reality’- everyone sees and treats it in a different way, so even if there were, no one would be able to put an accurate name to it. How you treat reality will really affect your life…
Anyway, thanks guys- It’s good to know I’m not insane. =P (Or at least not totally insane. Heh.)
May 5th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Tyriel,
Thank you for visiting my site, and your kind comments. I’m enjoying your site as well, and your insights. I agree with you about the concept of “reality”, too…unfixed, unsolid…the Whole is everychanging. Peace to you!
Here’s a link to my Rune Chart that you commented on:
http://www.cafepress.com/eclecticdawn/6323962
June 5th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Algiz has always been a way for me to acess or speed up my vibration which seems to be the key to align one self to a particular version of reality. Let me explain, as beings of energy we at all times vibrate at certain frequencies. There are frequencies That you maintain that allows you to interact with others of the same frequency. Therefore you attract beings just likeyou so you have to be keenly aware of your thoughts and emotions because if your activity is selfish you will atract beings and energy that want to exploit and use you for their own selfish aims. In contrast if your activity both inner and outer are of an inclusive nature and aimed at the evolution of awareness for all creatures you will attract people, beings and situations into your life that will help teach you the vital lessons needed to evolve on this path.
Quieting the mind is vital to understanding energy vibration. At the end of a physical day when the body and mind are at rest you can fell and even hear Your vibrations (usually I hear them on the left ear or side of my body) which sound like a soft hissing or slight static like sound that changes in pitch ever so often. It is a very rythmic and also seems to be rather rather random and sporatic. Sometimes the change in pich is very suddle, and other times it feels like someone rang a large bell over your head. By meditation on the algiz energy you can become more conscious of vibes the you emit and recieve which is vital in the process of self mastery/awareness. When you become able to feel and hear your vibes at will it is then possible to increase this energic vibration by visualizing this rune extending out from the top of your head and spinning like a giant funnel extending into the cosmos, the faster it spins the more energy you can feel pulsing through you. And the more energy you are capable of handeling the more effective you will be at shaping the version of reality that you wish to acquire. The possibilites are endless!!!
June 6th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Meditating or visualizing the symbols can be a powerful method for exploring. I’ve had interesting experiences myself! Thanks for sharing, Blu’ … I hope you enjoy the site and visit frequently :)
July 14th, 2009 at 4:10 am
Can somebody help me with this worry? Over a year ago I damaged my while working at home, I carried the injury for six months until I had to get treatment(operation) anyway three months after the treatment it was not getting any better, then I was cutting a piece of wood in my workshop (Table saw) and in a split second cut off the tops of two of my fingers,as you can imagine I suffered some trauma! I have always been drawn to Phsyic side, when I was young I got hooked on the Ouija board using it on my own until I got a fright and dropped it, then in my later teens we held a seyonce in a graveyard in which on of my friends seemed to have been posessed momentarily in which he became obsessed with the bible, I stopped this practice also as it scared me. I have experienced other things since then, not by my own doing, it just seems to always close to me. So after my last year of finiancial and Painful isolation I found a book (The Great Book of Spells) which I found helpful I found a flow of energy inside me like I could cure things with a touch. I wanted to find out more about this energy so when surfing the net iI read a letter a chap wrote about feeling this energy and when he was in the shower he seen a portal open through his eyelids and felt such a wonderful feeling surge everything was black except when he looked down at his feet he could see his aura. Later he went to his room and laydown on his bed closed his eyelids and saw an angel with wings of aura, he asked his name and he said Ariol, any way I tried this in bed the other night and a large angel with an angry face through 2 stones at me one hit me on the chest and it hurt, then I noticed it had a symbol on it Algiz I had never seen it before so I researched and found this site I dont know which way up it was but it was this rune. I now find my energy is gone and I cant sleep it’s always on my mind. Can anyone help! to me this is serious!
October 12th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Eric, why not take the symbol the angel threw at you and meditate on it? Do you know how to meditate? I bet you could look up a good method of meditation online if you need to. Otherwise, when I have a worry or question I find it useful to “go inside myself” and listen or look for an answer via meditation.
October 13th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Thanks for your recent comments Hel. I’m really glad to have you around. What do you think of this makeshift comment-orienteded community? We’ve had more comments in the last month (and more emails) than ever before. Site statistics are booming. I really mean to write more… but even now, I’m working on the first Act of a script due for tomorrow, so it’s been difficult to keep up.
With helpful visitors though, it keeps the site living and fresh, so thank you Hel, and thank you everyone who has recently shown up with questions and prompted some of us to write answers :)
I promise to do another Rune Meaning Analysis soon. ;)
October 13th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Hello Tyriel. I love this “makeshift comment-oriented community.” I mentioned it to a local friend today.
I enjoy an internet community with a reasonable membership. Some groups gain too many members and it becomes impossible for me to keep up with all the communication.
However, even if this community skyrocked in commenting members it would detract little from the very powerful articles above, in which I find of great value.
Speaking of which, I have recently been tasked with carving runes (sets and the individual runes) for the local crystal shop. Along with the runes I am to write a short description for each of their meanings. I wonder if I could have permission to put at the bottom of the short rune descriptions something like “visit runesecrets.com for more detailed runic meaning”. If you are the site creator do you give me permission?
October 13th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
@Hel:
If you check at the very bottom of the page you’ll see that I use a Creative Commons (CC) License. You may not use my work to make money from it, so I’m glad you asked. But, you’re not making money from my work, you’re actually offering to promote it.
Anything on this site is in the Creative Commons domain, so long as you attribute it. I think simply dropping the URL as you suggested will be fine, and I’ll be happy to have the new traffic.
If you feel up to writing for the site, ie. a full article, especially centered around helping beginners, I know that this site is lacking in that a little. The audience I tend to write for is already fairly familiar with the runes, though I like to believe even my in-depth analysis like the article above are still accessible enough for beginners.
How many sets do you carve? If you’d like to eventually sell them online, perhaps we can work something out.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Tyriel.
Interesting ideas. I have had knowledge of runes for about 8 years, but only in the last month have I committed myself to knowing them as fully as I possibly can. Still I feel I could write a helpful article for those curious about runes and their possible uses. I shall submit one to you.
i actually choose not to recieve money in exchange for the runes I’m carving. I have a unique relationship with the crystal shop owner and she offered to trade with me if I perfer. And since a home full of crystals sounds delightful to me, I’m going with that option.
She wants me to carve two full sets and three copies of each individual rune.
I see this as an introduction to runes for most people of this area.
To carve a set takes very little time. Some crystals are very hard and difficult to cut through, but fortunately the symbols are very simple, straight lines. If you like I’ll mail you a set as my thanks for the work you do on this site. You can email me an address if you like.
Sincerely.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Algiz planted into the ground with “roots” being nourished by Mother Earth and it’s “stem” of potential shooting upwards as a “Prayer –is not seen as reverse position for me,but rather it is an answer to Eihwaz in it’s meaning of Birth-Death-and Rebirth!! I see Algiz hanging itself upside down like Odin for this Great Universal Sacrifice for “New Life”.Could so-called reversals of runes have larger,more Universal messages when shaping one’s Wyrd? Sincerely, Munsey
October 27th, 2009 at 9:02 am
I have a similar view of Algiz reversed (as does Freyer Aswynn). And absolutely I think the runes in any positon carry universal messages and meanings! Thanks for raising that – I should have made that clear in my article. It is a universal law that positive and negative must exist together.
I think each rune carries many layers of meaning. Which are applicable will depend on the context. I find that more than just one level of meaning can be appicable to a situaton.
I do think that Algiz reversed could be, in some circumstances, signalling a warning of an unprotected state. But, most often to me I see the branch-root aspects of a tree – of life. We must have our roots well down before we reach for the stars! So in most everyday readings, Algiz reversed will tend to signal a need for more preperation – a need for a stronger foundation for whatever our goal is.
October 28th, 2009 at 8:41 am
Yes! thanks Mahryan for the light—a stronger foundation or as you mention feeding the roots,helping them to attach securely in any new Vision! I drew a symbol for myself, that reflects this. I will draw it out and wear as Totem. Othala with Tyr inside,from Tyr’s arrowhead drew an Evergreen tree using Tyr’s shaft as the trunk. Used Othala’s 2 “legs as 2 roots just extended Tyr”s Trunk to be a middle root,too–and there was Algiz!!!!!!His/Hers prayer arms as roots into Mother Earth—-Her Trunk reaching to Father Sky,which in my Spirituality reflects the Harmony/Peace of Mother/FatherNature. this drawing of symbols helps in my meditations and in envisioning or “Shape shifting” my Wyrd.The Autumn months on The Medicine Wheel for exactly what your instructing—Introspection-going into the “Twilight” space between the seen and the unseen worlds.Good time for prep work before the winter months of Renewal and of course for all New Beginnings in the Spring.So as the Bear to the Cave i go. Thanks, Munsey
November 9th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
I really enjoy exploring the links between the roots of of spiritual ( not religious) traditions as you do here Munsey. I beleive it is importnat for us to do this. Thank you for sharing!
November 10th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Thank You,too-Mahryan.Sincerely,Munsey