Hagalaz is destructive hail that melts into life giving water. It’s a challenging rune that demonstrates the whimsical nature of the gods. Thing just didn’t turn out the way you planned or the way you would have liked them too. It really is time to go back to the drawing board, review and make some new plans. We may have made some good plans prior, but obstacles and unexpected events jumped into the way that had to be dealt with. Sometimes delays and setbacks are blessing in disguise. It may not feel that way right now, but as you rethink things over, you realize that you may have missed some very important aspects of a project. Redoing can be much more costly in many ways than just doing it slowly and right the first time. It really isn’t until something bad happens that the tough get going, or you realize how resilient you can be to bounce back from the edge. After a farmer sows his seeds, it is time to be vigilant. Harvest is in sight but many things can destroy what you’ve sown. Do you have a contingency plans if something should happen? Are you prepared for unexpected events? Setbacks must be written into any plans so each possible obstruction has some wiggle room for recovery. Of course a person can’t foresee all of them, but many can be avoided with careful planning. Murphy’s Law can take over where anything that can go wrong will go wrong, but here you use every action has a reaction to your benefit. The malicious manner of Loki, the trickster god, is ever present.

Saturn, the taskmaster planet, is a good example of the lessons Haglaz can teach you. Saturn makes you run through the gauntlet of responsibilities, and if you don’t do it right, you will do it again and again until you get it right. Sacrifice is part of change with this rune, and perhaps you might just have to cut your losses and move on.

The Tower card also personifies the feeling of Hagalaz. When you actually face your worst fear, it really isn’t as daunting as you had imagined and it’s not as if you didn’t see something coming. The Tower is surprisingly a neutral card, and it really is up to you which way The Tower falls, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; this just indicates that there’s been a change in circumstance that needs your attention. You might be going through a test period or a very testy period, but this will only make you stronger, and mistakes made will be your teacher so you can avoid them in the future. Another from of destruction can be more in the form of physiological disruptive forces from the unruly power of your emotional sea.

Whatever the reason for change, some physical or physiological destruction will occur for rebirth to begin. Fenrir, the threatening wolf-puppy, was sent to Ragnarök, the place of future events, where he would devour the Sun, plunging the world into darkness, thus bringing on judgment day for the Twilight of the Gods. It’s time to let go of the past emotional baggage. The cycle of rebirth into a present being will not happen if you are a non-being of the past. This is quid pro quo, something for something; there are no free rides on the celestial Viking ships. With a smile on your face, you’ll overcome whatever obstacles that fall into your path to not allow the devouring of your Sun in your microcosmic world to plummet you into darkness. A new and different path will be walked since the one you were walking disappeared under your feet. There might be a bittersweet end; however, the doors of new opportunities will swing open.

Ragnarök, a series of future devastating events, is the theme of the Hagalaz rune for the continuous cycle of ruination and rebirth with the devouring of the Sun by Fenrir; the devouring of the Sun and the Moon by the wolves Sköll and Hati; the sinking our of world-civilization Midgard into the sea by the sea serpent, Jormungand; and the shaking of the world tree Yggdrasil to the ground. However, for some oddball reason, humans will survive and prevail because Midgard, the civilized-human world, will rises green and fertile again from the sea. Cool, I think!

Keywords: Hail, Disruption, Constraint, Damage, Adversity, Interference, Natural Forces, Limitation, Delay, Resolution, Sacrifice, Balance, Restoration, Ruin & Creation

Associated Tarot Cards: Tower, Judgement & 5 of Pentacles

Astrological Signs: Aquarius & Capricorn

Planets: Saturn &Uranus

Norse God: Loki, the trickster, begins the chain of events that leads to the destruction of the god.

Other Spellings: Haal, Hagalar, Hagl, Hagalz & Haglaz

Pronunciation: Haa-ghaw-laz