Hagalaz

hHagalaz Elder Futhark Rune Meaning

Hagalaz is the first rune of the 2nd aett.  The elder futhark is the oldest of the runic alphabets. It consists of 24 letters divided into 3 aetts. It is 8 runes in each aett. The 2nd aett is called Hells aett.

Hagalaz ~ Crisis, catastrophes, collapse, hail, the uncontrollable, obstacles, change for the short term worse, but long term good, nature destructive powers, blame, and shame mentality, chaos.

Hagalaz has no reversed aspects.

Hagalaz means hail. 

Associated deity from the mythology: Hella

f fu uth,þ þa ar rk kg gw wh hn ni ij jï,ei ïp pz zs st tb be em ml lŋ ŋd do o

The Mythology of Hagalaz

Hella is the queen of the underworld and the Norse Goddess of the dead. Hella is one of three children Loki had with the giantess Angrboda. Her siblings were the Fenris wolf and the Midgard serpent. The children lived much of their childhood in the land of the giants. Since Loki was the father and Loki was Odin brother, Odin decided that the children were to be raised as Aesir in Asgard. Hella was born with one side of her face looking like a corpse and her other side of her face a beautiful woman. Because of this, the other Gods found it very uncomfortable to be around her and she found herself very unhappy in Asgard. She had no friend and everyone avoided her. She asked Odin for permission to leave Asgard which he granted her. He gave her the world of Niflheim to rule, and he named the place after her, calling it Helheim. In giving her Helheim he also gave her the responsibility to care for the people who had died in sickness, old age or other causes other than in battle or in violence. Hella would welcome the souls as they arrived at Helheim and she would decide if they were good or evil and to what degree. According to her findings, she would then settle the souls into one of the nine worlds of Helheim. This is how Hella become the Goddess of the Dead.

Interpretation of Hagalaz

This is the first of the three great runes of resistance; collapse, need, and stagnation. Hagalaz is the collapse and symbolises troubles, failures, problems. It can often be outside influences such as extreme weather conditions and crash in the financial market. This rune is complicated to use as it is also a rune for protection and attracting good fortune. It gives us the wisdom to look ahead and to be prepared.

Hagalaz rune meaning on a rune cloth

Water ~ Keep a low profile.

Fire ~ Scandal and drama.

Earth ~ Baby steps.

Air ~ Control issues.