Dagaz is the Rune of polarity.
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
Dæg byþ drihtnes sond, deore mannum,
mære metodes leoht, myrgþ and tohiht
eadgum and earmum, eallum brice.
Day is the lord’s messenger, dear to men,
the ruler’s famous light; it is mirth and hope
to rich and poor and is useful for all.
First it has to be said, that for the Norse people, days were counted from dusk till dusk. So the new “day” would start at the moment when the sun disappeared behind the horizon. In the end, it isn’t overly relevant if Dagaz represents the moment when darkness turns into light or light into dark the essential aspect of the Rune is that moment of twilight when one is still present while the other already starts to show itself. Day and night are polar opposites and this polarity between opposing forces is something that lies at the core of Norse Mythology. We can see that already in the very beginning, in the Norse creation myth. There the first two worlds that appear are polar opposites, Niflheim, the world of mist, and Muspellheim, the world of fire. The two would naturally repel each other but are kept in place by Yggdrasil, the world tree. This tension between these two worlds eventually leads to the emergence of Ymir, the first being.
Dagaz is the Rune that stands for this concept of polarity and tension. These days we have labeled tension as something bad, something to be avoided whenever possible. The Norse system has a very different approach where this tension is actually essential in order for something new to arise. The shape of Dagaz shows that concept in an abstract form as two extremes are synthesized in a small point that stands between them. This idea of synthesizing opposites also lies at the base of the obsession of the Norse system with the number three.
Dagaz is a Rune that is not often used in practical magic but is very essential in the quest of Self-transformation. True transformation can only happen if we really know ourselves. This is one of the hardest things to achieve, as we unfortunately are not the person that we constantly tell ourselves we are, but in many cases the diametrical opposite as well. One way to test that statement is to pay attention to behavior that really enrages us in other people. Careful and honest self-contemplation usually reveals that this is a trait we can find in ourselves.
Dagaz can help to bring light into the dark or darkness into the light. It can help us to travel to the outer edges of ourselves and synthesize what we find there. Therefore, Dagaz is an essential Rune in the quest for Self-transformation but it better be handled with care.