Icelandic magical staves

Icelandic magical staves (Icelandic: galdrastafir) are sigils that were credited with supposed magical effect preserved in various Icelandic grimoires, such as the Galdrabók, dating from the 17th century and later.^{[1][better source needed]}

Table of magical staves

Icelandic name	Manuscript description	Image
Að unni	“To get a girl”, this magical stave is used by a man in love to gain the affections of the object of his desires.[2]
Ægishjálmur	Helm of Awe (or Helm of Terror); to induce fear, protect the warrior, and prevail in battle.[2]
Angurgapi	Carved on the ends of barrels to prevent leaking.[citation needed]
Brýnslustafir	For use on whetstones.[3]
Draumstafir	To dream of unfulfilled desires.[3]
Dreprún	To kill an enemy's cattle.[4]
Feingur	A fertility symbol.[3]
Gapaldur	Two staves, kept in the shoes, gapaldur under the heel of the right foot and ginfaxi under the toes of the left foot, to magically ensure victory in bouts of Icelandic wrestling (glíma).[2]
Ginfaxi
Hólastafur	To open hills.[2]
Kaupaloki	To prosper in trade and business.[2]
Lásabrjótur	To open a lock without a key.
Lukkustafir	Whoever carries this symbol with them encounters no evil, neither on the sea nor on the land.[5]
Máladeilan	To win in court.[6]
Nábrókarstafur	A stave used when making necropants (nábrók), a pair of trousers made from the skin of a dead man that are capable of producing an endless supply of money.[7]
Skelkunarstafur	To make your enemies afraid.[8] (A similar looking stave is titled Óttastafur in the Huld Manuscript.)
Rosahringur minni	A lesser circle of protection.[2]
Smjörhnútur	Butterknot, to find out if butter was made using milk stolen by a Tilberi.[9]
Stafur gegn galdri	Staves against witchcraft.[10]
Stafur til að vekja upp draug	To raise the dead and drive away evil spirits.[2]
Þjófastafur	For use against thieves.[11]
Tóustefna	To ward off foxes.[12]
Varnarstafur Valdemars	Valdemar's Protection Stave; increases favor and happiness.
Vatnahlífir	Protection against drowning.
Vegvísir	To guide people through rough weather.[3]
Veiðistafur	For luck in fishing.

See also

• Galdr
• Hex sign
• Runic magic

References

1. ""Staves or magical signs" Galdrastafir - Strandagaldur ~ Galdrasýning á Ströndum ~ Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft". galdrasyning.is.
2. "Magical Staves". Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft. 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
3. Huld Manuscript ÍB 383 4 in the National Library in Reykjavík
4. From a 17th-century grimoire, in the Antikvarisk-Topografiska Arkivet in Stockholm.
5. "ÍB 383 4to | Digitized Manuscript Viewer". handrit.is (in Icelandic).
6. From a 19th-century manuscript, lbs 4375 8vo, in the National Library in Reykjavík.
7. "Nábrókarstafur - Strandagaldur ~ Galdrasýning á Ströndum ~ Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft". galdrasyning.is.
8. From Skuggi. Ársritið Jólagjöfin 4. Ár. 1940. "GALDRA-SKRÆÐA" by Jochum M. Eggertson
9. "Butterknot - Tilberi ~ Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft". galdrasyning.is.
10. From a 17th-century manuscript, lbs 143 8vo, in the National Library in Reykjavík.
11. From a 17th-century medical text, am 434a 12mo, in the Arnemagnean Collection in Reykjavík.
12. From a 19th-century manuscript, lbs 4375 8vo, in the National Library in Reykjavík.

External links

• Media related to Icelandic magical staves at Wikimedia Commons
• Hrafnhildur Inga Guðjónsdóttir. 2024. "On Icelandic Occult Symbols Today". Hyldyr.
• List of the staves at the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft
• Galdrastafir: Icelandic Magical Staves