Runes for the Dark Season: Guidance from Isa, Hagalaz, and Nauthiz

Winter is a time of stillness, introspection, and surrender as the sun fades. Our ancestors historically used this time to turn inward, focusing on resting and tasks of the hearth and home. If preparations were not taken seriously, this could result in catastrophic consequences for those caught unprepared. Heavy snowfalls could cave roofs, storehouses could run short, and disease and frostbite loomed in dark, dank corners. Despite all odds, our ancestors made it through even the toughest, coldest of winters, persevering in the face of hardship.

In the language of the runes, this season and our ability to survive is beautifully expressed by Isa, Hagalaz, and Nauthiz. Together, they form a triad of endurance, transformation, and necessity, representing a poetic map for surviving and ultimately thriving in the dark, just as our ancestors once did.

In today's post, we will explore how to work with these runes during the dark season, including their symbolism and their use in meditations, spells, rituals, and mantras.

Isa, the Ice Rune

When winter’s cold arrives, Isa rules the landscape. Streams freeze, seeds sleep beneath the soil, and life holds its breath. Isa teaches us the power of not moving, of standing firm until the right moment for thaw and action returns. In modern magical practice, Isa can represent frozen progress, mental clarity, or the need to maintain boundaries. It's important to note that its energy isn’t about punishment or stagnation, but containment. 

Last year, I wrote a detailed guide on Isa, in which I addressed the misconception that Isa is a bad omen. It is one of my favorite runes to work with during the winter months because of its dark symbolism, but it is ultimately a reminder to slow down, pause, and wait until we act. 

Meaning: Ice, Pause, Preservation, Concentration of energy, Introspection, Self-control

Working with Isa:

• Spell: Hold a glass of cool water and trace Isa onto it, asking the rune to bring stillness to your spirit. Take a slow sip and speak the words, “I pause. I rest. I restore.” Sit quietly for a few minutes, letting the calm settle before drinking or offering the remaining water when you’re ready to move again.
• Magic: Use Isa for grounding scattered energy, halting unwanted momentum, or preserving intentions until the right time.
• Journal Prompts: What in my life feels “frozen” right now? Beneath the surface of that stillness, what quiet growth may be occurring that I cannot yet see?
  
  

Mantra: “I am the calm between movements. I am ice, holding light within.”

Message/Gift: Isa’s gift is patience. It is a reminder that rest is not failure, but preparation.

Hagalaz, the Hail Rune

Hagalaz is the rune of hail. It is hard, cold, and unpredictable, yet nourishing. While hail initially damages all that it touches, it eventually melts, nourishing what it strikes in return. This is the paradox of transformation: sometimes, we must be broken open to begin anew. 

During the dark months, Hagalaz often manifests as emotional storms or sharp revelations that come to us in the dark as we engage in shadow work. It can feel uncomfortable, but its presence signals the necessary changes we must make to grow. Like Isa, Hagalaz is not inherently bad. Its initial message can be difficult and often feels like a catastrophe when it shows up, but it ultimately serves as a necessary catalyst for personal rebirth.

Meaning: Hail, Catalyst, Sudden change, Destruction that clears the way, Upheaval

Working with Hagalaz:

• Spell: Write a habit, fear, or pattern you wish to release on a piece of ice or paper. Let it melt or burn safely, visualizing the habit, fear, or pattern being released. Follow this up with mundane actions.
• Magic: Call upon Hagalaz during cleansing or banishing spells. Its harsh nature can help break barriers and allow for change. It is particularly powerful at aiding in habit breaking.
• Journal Prompt: What needs to be broken down so that new growth can take root?
  

Mantra: “From storm I am remade. I trust the breaking; I welcome the clear sky.”

Message/Gift: Hagalaz is the hard truth of winter. It reminds us that everything ends, yet within every ending lies the promise of a new beginning.

Nauthiz, the Necessity Rune

If Isa is the stillness and Hagalaz the storm, Nauthiz is the spark that keeps us alive through both. Its Old Norse root, nauðr, means “need” or "distress." On the surface, this seems a bad omen as well, but it's often called "need-fire," alluding to the spark that keeps driving us to overcome challenges. It symbolizes the resilience, resourcefulness, and restraint to persevere in the face of adversity, and that is exactly what our ancestors needed to survive harsh winters.

Furthermore, Nauthiz invites us to look at our true needs over our desires or distractions. What are the bare essentials we require? What do we need in this situation to make it out to the other side? It’s the rune of survival and inner strength, teaching that even when the fire seems small, it can still hold the dark at bay.

Whenever Nauthiz shows up in my rune spreads, I know that whatever may come to pass, I will come out a better, stronger person. It has shown up twice in the last year, and while I have certainly struggled, the growth I have experienced was well worth the trials and tribulations.

Meaning: Necessity, Friction, Survival, Inner fire, Constraint, Hardship, Need-fire

Working with Nauthiz:

• Spell: Light a single flame in the dark and say: “From need, I rise. From lack, I learn. Within me burns the will to endure.” Focus on your inner fire, however faint, and visualize it growing.
• Magic: Use Nauthiz to kindle motivation, persistence, or self-discipline, especially during creative or spiritual dry spells.
• Journal Prompt: What truly sustains me in hard times? What false needs drain my strength?

Mantra: “From need, my fire rises. What I require, I call inward. My inner flame is enough.”

Message/Gift: Nauthiz teaches that necessity births ingenuity, and endurance is a teacher that leads to growth and renewal.

Dark Season Rune Meditation

One of the best ways to connect with any rune is to spend time working with it, and the first step in this process is through meditation and opening yourself up to the messages the rune has to offer you. This runic meditation is designed to do just that, allowing you to connect with each rune individually and with the story they tell.

Lay these three runes out in front of you in the following order: Isa, Hagalaz, Nauthiz

As a reminder, Isa reminds us to pause and gather strength, Hagalaz to accept and endure the transformative process, and Nauthiz to use your inner light to move forward with purpose.

Sit quietly before the runes, breathing in their energy of cold, storm, and inner flame. Study each rune closely, seeing how each flows into the next, how stillness breaks away into rebirth. Reflect upon how each rune appears in your life right now, and what steps you could take to move forward. Write down any messages, epiphanies, or thoughts that arise.

Next, pick up each rune starting with Isa and hold it in your hands. Close your eyes and open your heart and mind to any messages Isa wishes to send to you. Do this for each rune, writing down your experiences as you go.

When finished, say, "From stillness, I learn patience. From the storm, I learn release. From need, I learn resilience. Thus, I walk the dark and come out renewed."

I encourage you to work through the following journal prompts to help put everything into perspective.

1. Where in my life am I being asked to slow down or stop? What strength might be quietly building in that stillness?
2. What disruption, shift, or “storm” is currently reshaping me? What truth might it be clearing space for?
3. What essential need or inner fire becomes visible when everything unnecessary is stripped away?
4. How do the energies of stillness, breaking, and need show up as a continuous story in my life right now?
5. In what ways am I being remade by this season? How can I honor the resilience I’m cultivating as I walk through it?

Dark Season Rune Spread

I have been trying to come up with more rune spreads as of late in my attempt to better connect with my Nordic ancestry. While we cannot be certain if or how runes were cast, it is clear they held meaning to the Norse. This spread is built around the meaning of Isa, Hagalz, and Nauthiz, with the runes you draw for those locations painting a picture of your life right now and what actions you need to take this winter to ensure your rebirth in the spring.

As with all divination, begin by cleansing and consecrating your space and grounding and centering yourself. If you feel called to, cast a circle and invite any deities, spirits, or ancestors you wish to guide you to join you. Hold your rune bag in both hands and close your eyes. Breathe deeply and slowly in and out, focusing on your intention to understand where you are, what is being reshaped, and what inner strength will carry you forward. With your intention firmly in your mind, say, "Through stillness, through storm, through need, I seek the wisdom of the dark season." Draw three runes and place them in a horizontal line as seen below.

Rune Meanings:

1. Rune One: The Freeze- This position reveals where energy has paused, where growth is dormant, or where your own spirit is asking for rest. It can highlight such things as a project that needs to wait, a boundary you need to reinforce, or part of yourself that is quietly gathering strength. However, Isa reminds us not to force movement but instead to let things rest.
   Write it down and reflect: What is frozen in my life right now? What is being preserved beneath the surface? What should I let rest?
2. Rune Two: The Breaking- This position exposes the forces of transformation that are clearing the way for renewal. It can signify a necessary ending, a habit or attachment that must be released, or a shake-up that creates clarity. Either way, a truth is breaking open so you may see clearly.
   Write it down and reflect: What storm or breaking is reshaping my path in this season? What blockages are being removed?
3. Rune Three: The Ember- This position points to what sustains you, that fuel in your core that will help you navigate this time or trial. It can indicate a skill or mindset that you will need to carry with you, a need that must be honored and respected, or a source of motivation. In the end, it reveals what you truly need and what you should tend to.
   Write it down and reflect: What burns beneath it all? What inner fire must I tend to move forward through the dark?

One of the major strengths of this layout is the story it tells. Position one represents Isa, showing us where the world has gone still; position two is Hagalaz, revealing what cracks exist in the ice; position three is Nauthiz, illuminating the fire you carry forward that survives the breaking. Whatever runes you draw tell this story and will help you answer the question: How does the dark season shape me?

You can download your free copy of the journal prompts below.

Isa, Hagalaz, and Nauthiz are not easy teachers, but they are certainly honest ones. They show us that life, even magic, does not always glitter. But, beneath every frozen field are seeds awaiting the warmth of spring; after every storm, the air is cleared for new breath; and in every moment of need, the ember of human perseverance glows. I hope that this winter you will recognize the strength in the stillness and that whatever storms may come, they bring clarity to your life.

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