NORSE MAGIC · LESSON 5 OF 7 · 14 MIN
The Icelandic Staves
Galdrastafir from the Icelandic grimoires — the Vegvísir, the Helm of Awe — and the sorcerers who were burned for them.
After the Middle Ages, Icelanders kept magic alive in small handwritten books. Their characteristic sign is the galdrastafur (plural galdrastafir), the "magic stave": a design of lines, crosses, circles and hooked strokes, often built from runes, drawn or carved for a single practical purpose.