My inspiration for writing this article stems from my meditation on the Hagalaz rune of the Elder or Common Germanic FUTHARK, a rune that held a great deal of personal significance for me in the late 1990s. This rune also appears in the Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-Frisian FUTHORC as Haegl and in the Younger FUTHARK as Hagall. Guido von List included this rune in his own Armanen FUTHARKH as Hagal.
The shape of the rune stave differs significantly across the aforementioned rune rows. The Elder and Anglo-Saxon versions resemble a letter H and have that letter as the initial sound in the rune name. The latter version features a double rather than a single-barred cross bar. The Younger and Armanen versions, however resemble the Iar rune stave of the Anglo-Saxon FUTHARK. It should be noted that Hagalaz or more accurately *Hagalaz is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic term in contrast to Haegl and Hagall.
The general accepted meaning of Hagalaz in all three rune poems is hail which symbolises destruction, chaos and change. Usually this destruction is swift and devastating. This interpretation can be seen very clearly in the various rune poems:
Old English 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 the world of old.
Icelandic Rune Poem
Hail = cold grain and shower of sleet and sickness of serpents.
Swedish Rune Poem
Hail best in home.
I believe that the rune or runic influence which governs this age is Hagalaz. The last vestiges of the old word order are now perishing, a process which began in the Industrial Reveolution and gained pace in the aftermath of WWI and WWII. Here in recent years in the United Kingdom we have witnessed huge, rather than gradual swings of support between the two main parliamentary parties, the Labour and Conservative parties, and now we are witnessing the emergence of a third political force in the form of political populism with the Reform UK Ltd company!
Unfortunately, events have shown that the electorate, specifically in England, lack a general education in politics and are unable to understand the rudiments of how the United Kingdom is governed and the different functions of the various organs of state. The primary consequence of this general ignorance is the easy manipulation of the vast majority of voters, most of whom would not have been qualified to vote until the 19th century. To extend the electoral franchise to all and sundry is based upon the erroneous assumption that all men (and women) are of a minimum level of intelligence and education, which is clearly not the case. Mother Nature does not recognise the concept of 'equality' or the 'brotherhood of man': these are modern liberal man-made concepts which are not based in reality.
In the 18th century the franchise was only applicable to men who owned land worth a minimum of 40 shillings. All this changed in 1832 with the passing of the Representation of the People Act which extended the franchise to any man who paid an annual rental of £10 or more. The 1867 Representation of the People Act extended the franchise to men over the age of 21 who lived in the urban towns and cities provided that they met the property requirements. The impetus behind this act was to appease the growing demands for political representation by the urban working class. More single member borough seats were created in urban centres, allowing more men to vote, not just residents in rural areas. These new seats were Darlington, Stockton and Hartlepool in County Durham, Middlebrough in the North Riding, Dewsbury in the West Riding, Burnley in Lancashire, Wednesbury in Staffordshire, Stalybridge in Cheshire and Gravesend in Kent. The 1884 Representation of the People Act extended the franchise further as well as introducing other changes. Employees who were not tenants but lived in property provided to them for their sole use by their employers could now vote also.
The Industrial Revolution had created new urban areas which people flocked to from the rural towns and villages for work, consequently placing a huge demand for accommadation which was quickly built to a poor standard. These new populations were cut off from their organic rural roots and so crime, poor health and living standards and degenerate living ensued. A people divorced from their roots become aimless, atomised cogs in a wheel with no sense of identity. The origins of today's society has its beginnings in the Industrial Revolution which has done more harm than good for the broad masses of people.
The horrors of WWI placed further demands upon the establishment to extend the franchise even further. Parliament, terrified by the prospect of revolution spreading to the United Kingdom, and having seen the downfall of the German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian royal dynasties, introduced the 1918 Representation of the People Act which extended the franchise to ALL men over the age of 21, regardless of whether they owned or rented property or land, and to woman over the age of 30 who resided in property with a rental value of at least £5. Voting in local government elections was also granted to women over the age of 30 on the same grounds as men. Finally, in 1928 the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act extended the franchise to all men and women over the age of 21 and there were no minimum property qualifications. The Representation of the People Act, 1969 lowered the voting age to just 18. In summer of this year, the government announced its intention to reduce the voting age even further to a mere 16. Between 2013 and 2015 the voting age in Scotland was reduced to age 16 for various types of elections but obviously not for the general election as this covers the entire United Kingdom and the voting age remains at 18 for the time being for this type of election.
There has been a general presumption, frequently stated, that political literacy has greatly increased over the last 100 years or so due to mass compulsory education but I beg to differ. In my encounters with the general public I have found very little political literacy but a great deal of ignorance, both of a political and non-political kind. It is of course very easy to blame the educational system but in reality it is the quality of the human raw material which is to blame. In my 65 years I have found that the great mass of the native English population seem lacking somehow. The cause of this, in my opinion, is to be found in the Norman Conquest of 1066 when England's elite were exterminated (with a few exceptions) and the English population were bred for serfdom, a state of affairs which has continued until the aftermath of WWII and the emergence of the counter-culture of the late 1960s and early 1970s. From this point onwards a significant part of the educated population began to wake up to the horrors of war and the evils of capitalism.
Over the last couple of years, due to the ongoing war between the Ukraine (the 'west's' proxy) and the Russian Federation, the subject of conscription has periodically reared its ugly head. The establishment has from time to time tested the barometer of public opinion by the leaking of information and careless remarks made by generals and intelligence service chiefs (both of whom should in theory and practice be politically impartial) and then subsequently denied by ministers when the barometer readings do not meet with their jingoistic expectations. The days when young men could be expected to risk life and limb for the military-industrial complex without complaint and resistance are over.
Since the summer of 2024, the United Kingdom, most especially England has witnessed mass demonstrations and even riots in protest against illegal and mass immigration. Ordinary people, frustrated by the establishment's refusal to listen to, acknowledge and act upon their legitimate concerns and fears have turned to extra-parliamentary means to vent their anger. Unfortunately, these people lack legitimate and respectable spokesmen and leaders. Many people are using various forms of social media to voice their frustrations but more often than not their comments are inarticulate and uneducated, descending into what is in reality 'hate speech'. Inciting others to commit acts of violence and to engage in treasonous acts (violent removal of government, military coups and political assassinations) are both illegal and reprehensible, and such people rightly deserve to be punished.
The discontented masses know what they are against but not what they are for; they have no concrete goals and lack any kind of ideology beyond hate. Such a directionless and leaderless body of angry people will accomplish nothing except play into the hands of the establishment who will simply double down on their efforts to silence and criminalise dissent. The pitchfork-wielding insensate mob is a danger to the good and the bad, and most of all to themselves. Destruction and chaos are the end result of their efforts. They are the very epitome of the actions and meaning of Hagalaz.
Ultimately, out of chaos and disorder a new order of being has its birth but all I can see at the moment is the destructive elemental force of Hagalaz, not a new beginning.
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