ALGIZ ( EOLH )

or Algiz (Elk -Sedge)

The Higher Self, Spiritual Nature, Duality, needing care in approach to important matters

In many ways Elhaz is the most difficult rune to understand, for it is given several interpretations, perhaps because there have been different images used to express a complex concept. The Old English name, "elk-sedge" is a kenning for sword. It represents a two-edged blade, that like the two-edged sword mentioned in the Book of Revelations, coming out of the mouth of the Son of Man, signifying on the one side destruction and the other salvation. It is easy for the user of a double-edged sword to injure himself and yet it is a very powerful weapon with double the power of a conventional blade. The rune shape is taken as a splayed hand held out ion defence or the horns of an elk, another translation, both of which can be used in attack or defence. The four sacred elks lived in the World-Tree, eating its leaves.

The Anglo - Saxon Rune poem, the only one to mention this rune, interpret the rune as eel-grass, found on marshes, `that grimly wounds,--any man who tries to grasp it. Eel-grass has many creative functions. It was used for thatching, kindling for the fire and bedding for animals -again that which is of worth must be handled with care. So too must the path of spiritual growth and divination be approached with respect and not treated as a game or for selfish or negative ends.