Jul
The Wheeling Hagal Rune
Legend describes Thor’s wagon as throwing hail from its wheels. They were on to something! The cycle of the Hagal Rune is like a rapidly spinning wheel. It spins and pelts. From the apex of the wheel, hail pelts downward with a slight arc. Think of the power of the windup, spin and throw.
During World War II, the British army had a minesweeping tank known as the Crab and the Flail. Usually they used the chassis of a Matilda or Sherman tank. A spinning wheel was fixed to the front. Chains were hanging from the wheel, and they flailed the ground furiously, detonating and breaking hidden land mines. The flail tank is a good visual example of the Hagal cyclic motion.
It is the nature of Hagal to pelt relentlessly. Hailstorms do this, and a heavy downpour can have a similar, if less painful, effect. Hagal makes everyone stop what they are doing and run for cover. It changes everything in an instant. Other examples of the Hagal Rune can be found in the machine gun, cluster bomb unit, fragmentation grenade and falling confetti. A humorous application of Hagal was a regular routine on the old Captain Kangaroo show. The “Bunny Rabbit” character would unleash a brief downpour of ping-pong balls onto the Captain.
The key to understanding the Hagal Rune cycle is in its spinning motion. The spinning wheel gives power, speed and sting to the pelting. If you get a chance to see film of the old “flail” tanks in action, you will find an image that brings Hagal’s cycle to life.
