Hagalaz as a Birth Rune

The lives of Hagalaz people are rarely calm. Sudden turns that no one could foresee happen to them. But they, better than anyone, know how to survive a blow and build something new in its place.

Hagalaz teaches that not everything is in our power. What the rune teaches is acceptance: to stop fighting what has already happened and put your strength into what can still be changed.

• Resilience. You withstand blows that break others.
• Renewal. After a crisis you rebuild your life, often better than before.
• Sobriety. You see reality without illusions.
• Calm in a crisis. When everything collapses, you keep a clear head.

The flip side of Hagalaz is expecting disaster. The person gets so used to blows of fate that they see threats everywhere and won't let themselves be glad.

The other extreme is the role of the destroyer: breaking what works yourself, just so as not to wait for it to break on its own. What the rune teaches is that after hail comes the thaw.

In love you are a deep, dependable partner, especially in hard times. You don't vanish when things get tough; you help your partner through the crisis.

Try not to expect a catch in the relationship. Let yourself trust and enjoy the calm periods: they are part of life too.

Natural fits include work dealing with crises and change: turnaround management, emergency medicine, rescue services, psychotherapy, insurance, restoration, construction, risk management.

You are valuable wherever others lose their heads. Your success often begins after the old has collapsed.

The half-month of Hagalaz falls at the end of October and the start of November, when the first cold, storms and hail arrive. Nature sheds its leaves, and the year turns toward winter. Hagalaz opens the second aett, Heimdall's aett.

Before Hagalaz comes Wunjo: autumn joy gives way to trial. After it comes Nauthiz, the rune of need: the storm has passed, and now what matters is holding out through a lean time.