Vegvisir Vikings buckle belt

A Vegvísir (Icelandic ‘sign post’) is an Icelandic magical stave intended to help the bearer find their way through rough weather. A leaf of the manuscript provides an image of the vegvísir, gives its name, and, in prose, declares that “if this sign is carried, one will never lose one’s way in storms or bad weather, even when the way is not known” Icelandic magical staves (sigils) are symbols called Galdrastafur in Icelandic, and are credited with magical effect preserved in various grimoires dating from the 17th century and later. According to the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft, the effects credited to most of the staves were very relevant to the average Icelanders of the time, who were mostly subsistence farmers and had to deal with harsh climatic conditions.