Hagalaz, the Rune of Impersonal Destruction

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Meaning: hail   Phonetic equivalent: 'h'

Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem

Hail is the whitest of grain;

it is whirled from the vault of heaven

and is tossed about by gusts of wind

and then it melts into water.

Norwegian Rune Poem

Hail is the coldest of grain;

Christ created the world of old.

Icelandic Rune Poem

Hail

cold grain

and shower of sleet

and sickness of serpents.

Hagalaz

Cala Gobraith, 2009

Hailstorm.

Harbinger of nature's destruction,

herald to nature's rebirth.

Hearken to the hidden lessons of

Hagal's fearsome wrath and know

hope can spring from the most

harrowing of life's circumstances.

Krasskova sees Hagalaz as spiritual descent, subconscious, repressed issues, shadow-realm/shadow-work, shamanic journeying, passages, the 'dark night of the soul', and “normal” things imbued with destructive essence (water turned to hail can be incredibly destructive).

Freya Aswynn sees Hagalaz as the destructive elements of nature, severe weather, impersonal destruction and the hidden realms of the past and of the dead.

To Melville, Hagalaz represents, among other things, misfortune, damage, shock, short-term distress followed by long term rewards, powerful natural forces, evolution, regeneration, a signal of one cycle ending and a new one beginning, a difficult time, but the challenges faced making one  stronger and as being a herald to a positive and rewarding transformation. Associations: deity- Ymir, tree- yew, plant- lily of the valley, animal- none, bird- goose, stone- aquamarine, astrology- Uranus, color- ice blue, element- water/ earth.

For Oswald, this rune represents hail, weather, damaging natural forces, disruption, interference, suffering, hardship, illness, or injury. Associations: deity- Urd, Heimdall, tree- ash, plant- bryony,  zodiac- Aquarius, color- light  blue, element- water (ice), stone- onyx.

Paxson considers Hagalaz a rune of hail, of Becoming, of potentiality, a road to destruction or rebirth, potential for chaos or new beginnings and the matrix of transformation.

Hagalaz is a very special rune to me because my first runic ally was from this collective. This rune, to me, is impersonal destruction, such as that of nature or of disease or destruction that might fall under 'Murphy's Law'... things going wrong simply because they can.  Like Thurisaz, I see a protective aspect to this rune and, like Thurisaz, I also associate this rune with Loki.

Meditation associations: Impersonal destruction, natural disasters, comfort and safety, unavoidable destruction that fosters rebirth and new growth, such as land after wildfires or the like. Chaos, new life, fires of change, primal fierceness, graves with lush growth coverings.

Runes: Theory and Practice, Galina Krasskova

Power and Principles of the Runes, Freya Aswynn

The Book of Runes, Francis Melville

Discovering Runes, Bob Oswald

Taking up the Runes, Diana Paxson