The AEgishjalmur – also known as the ‚Helm of Awe‘ - Only if you are looking at it‘s shape, without any prior knowledge of what it symbolizes, nowadays speak to many people as we see how many people wanted to get tattooed this - inspire awe and fear: eight arms that look like spiked tridents radiate out from a central point, as if defending that central point by going on the offensive against any and all hostile forces that surround it.
The following interpretation is confirmed by a spell called “There is a Simple Helm of Awe Working” in the collection of Icelandic folktales collected by the great Jón Árnason in the nineteenth century.
The spell reads: Make a helm of awe in lead, press the lead sign between the eyebrows, and speak the formula: ‚Ægishjálm er ég ber milli brúna mér!‘ which means something like: I bear the helm of awe between my brows!
This symbol is attested in the ‘Little Book Of Magic’ – a seventeenth-century Icelandic manuscript, written on animal skin and containing magical staves, sigils, prayers, charms and related texts.
It is known to have once been owned by Icelandic Bishop Hannes Finnson who was alive from 1739 until 1796 and known for having a vast library containing many volumes of magic related texts and manuscripts.
- Weight: 44 grams each
- Wearable size: minimum 2mm lobes required to wear them
- Diameter: 80mm
- Handmade on Bali
- High quality Gold or Silver Brass
- Available in Small and Large
