Dagaz: Tomorrow Is Coming

Have you ever looked into the sun through your eyelashes in a foggy morning forest and noticed how the light dances gently and seems to bend the boundaries of what is real and what is simply the illusion of the sunlight?
Have you ever sat quietly in pitch black silence, so dark that you can’t even tell for sure if your eyes are open, and you can only hear the beating of your own heart?
If you compare the two, the forest seems to be a much sweeter sensation.
But, don’t forget, you cannot honour the light without the dark.
Dagaz represents the day.
The day, the continuation, the breakthrough, coming out on the other side of the darkness. When Dagaz is rotated 90°, it becomes an hourglass. Inevitably, some dark days in life seem endless, there is no light, and sometimes the only sound you can hear is your own heartbeat. It is helpful in times like this to remind ourselves that this is indeed temporary. Dagaz can bear as a reminder that nothing, no sadness, no loneliness, no anger can last forever. Everything must end.
When Dagaz has been shown to me, it is very often after darkness, a loss or a struggle. It always gives me hope that the light is still there. It may only be somewhere else at this moment. The battle will always end, and the light will return, the day will come at the end of this night that I walk through.
Each person walks a path and sometimes that path is strewn with darkness, skirmishes with demons of addiction, broken hearts, illness, fears and pain. You may be damaged in these trials, your once iron resolve may be shattered and begging for reprieve and sweet rest. In the end, you usually survive, and the smoke clears, the darkness fades, and then the sun begins to ascend to the east. The worst is over. The sun rises on a new chapter of life and shortly after you look back and feel as though it was a different life.
This is Dagaz’s role in reminding you that everything will be ok. Every day has night and every night has a day after. So remember things can get better. However, it’s worth remembering that even if things get better, it won’t happen from writing a cute message on a sticky note and putting it on your mirror. It is picking up the proverbial toolbox and going to work. You must move if you want forward motion. You must light fires if you’re going to banish the darkness. Dagaz also reminds that breakthrough and transformation come through struggle, that work and movement are needed. It’s not always as easy as setting an intention. So don’t get cosy.
There are a million ways to overcome problems, but these require reflection and self-knowledge. Dagaz calls for self-knowing. A way to try and understand what you need from yourself is to journal, speak to your inner self. It’s also helpful to be alone, listen to your thoughts. Try to make lists of things you love, things you hate and contemplate them. Ask yourself why you feel this way about these things. Is it something you truly believe or are you merely obeying what someone or something has told you? Make another list of things you want in your life. Is this something you really want in life or are you just listening to media or society? When you take time during crisis and darkness to understand yourself, things can be understood more clearly, and you won’t sink the ship full of your loved ones and friends. Instead, the storm of darkness will pass, and you may just sail into smoother waters and warm sunshine.
Even our joy must end though, so always know that each moment of pleasure, joy, kindness, peace should be cherished as though the darkest of nights might arrive tonight. Just like day and night is a never-ending cycle, so is life and you only have today one time. Dagaz is here to remind you of your glowing potential and your ability to use this torch to light your way.
