HAGEL

HAGEL is quite literally 'hail' and is sacred to winter and the death goddess Holda or Hela. She appears in nursery rhymes as Old Mother Goose and snowflakes fall from her wings as she flies across the midwinter sky.

In runic imagery Hagel is the agent of Wyrd (fate or destiny) and its power to change things in our lives. On a cold day a shower of hail can appear out of a blue sky transforming the landscape with its whiteness and destroying the newly sown crops.

In a reading Hagel indicates delays in plans and sudden disruptive events. We can never hope to control the power of Wyrd but we do have a degree of free-will. Hagel tells us to sit out the storm and wait until the Sun shines again. We must always look on the bright side of life and learn from our experiences, good or bad.

The runes can only guide us in what to do and the final responsibility is our own. Sometimes we have to face the Dark Goddess and learn the lessons she has to offer the hard way.