Algiz (ᛉ) — Elk-Sedge, Protection, Sacred Boundary

Algiz (ᛉ), fifteenth rune and seventh of Heimdall's ætt, is the rune of the elgr (elk) or the elk-sedge (ON: elgr-secg) — the marsh grass whose razor-edged leaves wound anyone who grasps it. The Old English Rune Poem warns: 'Eolhx-secg eard hæfþ oftust on fenne' — elk-sedge most often dwells in the fen, growing in water, grimly wounding. Its upright stave-form, resembling a figure with arms raised, was carved on shields and boundary-markers as a vé (sacred enclosure) ward. Algiz governs the protective boundary between the sacred and the profane — the fence of the hof (temple), the guardian at the threshold between Miðgarðr and the wilds beyond.