Tiwaz- Part 2
Translations:
Germanic Name: Tiwaz, the God Tyr
Mod. English : Teu (Runelore, 51)
Old. Eng.: Tir
Phonetic Values: T
Physical Forms:
(Futhark, 12-13)
Divination:
Positives: Faith, Loyalty, Troth, Justice, Self-Sacrifice
Warnings: Mental paralysis, Overanalysis, Imbalance, Injustice
(Handbook, 52)
Mythological Connections:
"The North Star is a visible symbol of the God-force of Tiwaz as the summit of the world column-the Irminsul." (Runelore, 127)
This is a reference to the World Tree, Yggdrasil. This tree represents all of the inhabited worlds of this universe, each holding within a unique group of beings. From the Aesir at the summit in Asgard and down to Helheim, the land of the dead. This rune points toward Asgard where the Aesir gods reside along with their allies who represented some of the other beings from different worlds.
The Aesir are seen to be the pinnacle of balanced civilization with a walled in city, but still open to peaceful trade and festivals/gatherings. This was considered both the kind of civilization to aspire to as well as the goal of many Norse people who wish to dwell in one of the halls of the gods after death. When you love your Gods you feel a deep soul-wish to spend even the afterlife in Their presence.
This rune is also used as the warrior's rune or representative of Tyr. It points toward Valhalla in particular where many valiant warriors who die in battle would end up. Folkvangr, Freya's hall, being the other one to host the warrior dead. Tyr was a continental Germanic warrior God, once as beloved as Odin. In recent years the number of followers has decreased. I personally hope this turns around. Tyr represents necessary war. The kind of war that could not be avoided because it was needed to recreate balance when the pendulum of history had swung too far to the left or right.
As the God of The Thing, a yearly gathering to review and enforce the laws of the land, He also represented Justice, the balancing of the scales from a Greek perspective. During The Thing, no violence could be committed nor weapons could be carried in the grounds made sacred by the priests. This was the one time of the year when all the citizens and families were allowed into the Inner Temple, figuratively speaking.
The roles of Chieftain and Priest were separate roles, but in this instance they could overlap. The King or Other ruler could invoke the God with help from the Priest for deeper wisdom in hearing disputes and ruling wisely so as to enrich and stabilize the community. The arrow pointing up then becomes a symbol of mental and spiritual reaching toward the gods and their greater perspectives.
Elements:
The element of fire for its expansion and heat. This rune reaches upward towards a star which is just a distant sun, burning light years away. This element is of a dynamic Energy, ever moving and striving.
The element of Ice for contraction and darkness. In the night sky, the North Star helps us navigate and keep our course true. This element is of matter, or a solid foundation on which to build a society.
It is condensed spirit.
(Futhark, 150)
The ice in this element analysis isn't truly solid, as it can crack at any moment. So Ice has to be combined with other elements to become solid, such as fire to release the water and nurture the creation and maintenance of the earth where humans live together.
Cosmic/Spiritual Meanings:
". . .its cosmic function is the separation of the heavens and the earth by the world column (Irminsul) so that manifestation can take place in the "created" space." (Handbook, 52)
The spiritual meaning of this is cosmic order. Each realm in its own location and fixed in its relation to the other realms. Asgard above, Midgard in the middle, and Helheim below.
This spiritual order also relates to human relationships. It is the order of priests, chiefs, and laity. Strife occurs when there is tension between roles, the uneducated take on more than they can handle, or when toes are stepped on and duties are appropriated by others in a different role. Each person in society must do their job to the best of their ability and work together for the betterment of all.
Magickal Uses:
Obtaining just victory
Building Spiritual Will
Positive Self-Sacrifice
The Force of Faith
The Eights:
Row 1: Mysteries/Tools to learn
Row 2: Trials and Tribulations / Conflicts and paths to success
Row 3: The realm where the student works (Runelore, 140)
In Row 1 we have Fehu, which is the wealth that moves through society. Stagnation leads to jealousy, argument, and social disruption. As a result, heathen societies relied heavily on Hospitality and constant Gift exchanging. The student must learn this lesson of not hoarding wealth, of giving gifts and being hospitable. This is how community is built and we live or die depending on our standing with our community. Back then, exile was a death sentence.
In Row 2 we have Hagalaz which is hail, or a scouring and purifying rain. Sometimes also called seeds, these hail stones were seen as necessary for crops to grow in the "spring". Strife can sometimes lead to jumps in society's understanding or industry. Necessity is the mother of invention. This is the challenge that the student must overcome. In mastering the flow of wealth so as to nurture healthy community, the challenge is during times of loss or scarcity, we may be tempted to hoard. In order to overcome this weakness, we can invent or think our way out of the problem at hand. Either through creative barter, or innovations in food preservation, or farming quick growing crops, etc. Do not let go of the lesson of Fehu when your situation becomes unsteady. You may not have as much to share as you once did, but share what you can.
In Row 3 we have Tiwaz. The realm of the work at hand is Midgard which balances between Asgard and Helheim. Through right action we can continue our journey and work toward our reward. It is also the reward of the community, since not sacrificing them to our selfish needs, we can bring them with us on our path up the tree by sharing what we have learned.
I also want to talk about the neighbors of Tiwaz.
The rune before Tiwaz is Sowelo, the rune of Victory. Since Tiwaz is the rune of a "just" victory. I assume Sowelo is a rune of victory by any means, not just justice. This rune is a bit maligned by the Nazi's appropriations.
Runes throughout recent history, and pagan symbols, were heavily co-opted by the Nazi Party, both as an attempt to use esoteric symbols or magick to skew their winning the war, and also as propaganda to convince some people that they were superior to others. They divided the country against itself and conquered much of Europe with this trick of the mind. The true lesson of the runes and Odin's pathwork up the tree of Yggdrasil were completely lost on the godless Nazis. They were in fact atheist and attacked all religions in the country, including Christianity eventually. Their only reason for turning to pagan symbols was to harness the work of German Nationalist Rune Revivalists of the Victorian era which were becoming increasingly popular with the general public Toward their own political ideological ends. This basically amounts to a cultural genocide for anyone of European ancestry since our symbols now have taint attached to them. Bastards!
Sowelo is the rune that when two are crossed over each other, it becomes the Swastika, meaning double victory. This was originally a symbol of enlightenment, of group energy working toward a common goal. It was meant as a symbol of good, of community, of positive attraction.
It's relationship with Tiwaz is that of perfecting victory. It is not enough to win, although winning gives you the opportunity to determine the definition of right. To progress on our journey toward spiritual evolution, our victories must be just and a part of continuing Right Action.
The rune after Tiwaz is Berkano, the pregnant rune. This rune symbolizes birth while keeping self-consciousness. You know who you were while becoming someone new. This is a perfect rune for after a set on victory runes. Once you have won the battle, what next? Society must be made a-new and be reborn from the mess and violence of war. The self must be healed and made new in order to reintegrate into society as a peaceful person, and not the warrior on the battle field.
This rune also looks a bit like the seed rune if you cut it into two halves and arranged them open above and below each other. It is the release of energy for new growth. It is the reaching upward of the stalk and leaves simultaneously to the reaching downward of the roots. Blood and bone make great fertilizers. It must be part of why they are more than acceptable as offerings to the gods in sacrifice.
And Tyr is a God of sacrifice. In mythology He placed his hand into the mouth of the giant chaos wolf Fenrir as a promise that no harm would come to Him while the Gods attempted to bind Him. Because the Gods succeeded, Fenrir bit off Tyr's sword hand. Tyr made a sacrifice of blood and bone in order to attempt to control the forces of Chaos that would have destroyed the nine worlds.
Final Meditations:
The rune Laguz can be clearly seen in this rune. Like in Ehwaz which has two laguz runes facing each other like two horses, this rune also seems to have two Laguz but back to back and overlapping. Laguz is a rune of initiation and rebirth. It is connected closely to death and the return to the land of the dead usually involving a water rite. As Tiwaz is a rune of justice and sacrifice, positioned before another rune of birth, Berkano, this adds to the deeper meaning of Tiwaz. Two Laguz runes back to back represent two stages of rebirth. The stage where the students has mastered the tools of row 1 and the stage where the student has survived the hardships of row 2. One Laguz looks back at the past stages of death and struggle to hang onto those lessons, while the other looks forward to completing row 3 culminating in Dagaz and Othala.
Tiwaz also seems to have the rune Isa piercing and pushing the rune Kenaz skyward. Isa is also a stabilizing force. It seems to provide support or foundation for the student during initiation. It also ties to water but in a frozen bridge sense. Kenaz is a fire of sacrifice as well as controlled fire. The fire used to create such as in smithing.
I'm not sure if this is in reference to a funeral pyre, or the elevation of crafting to that of a mastered artform worthy of deity.
(Futhark, 41, 30)
The Rune Poem:
Tiwaz is found in the rune Ear, the clay, which reminds us of the mortal body. The stanza is grim and heavy and refers to life as a broken promise. This adds some more credence to a pyre of fire on a platform foundation. (page 84)
The stanza about Tiwaz also references the North star as a Victory charm. The keeping true to your goals or your course. There is no mention of the god Tir in this version. (page 60)
3 Paths Through Midgard:
"The Path of the Yeoman" In this poem we see another reference to the North Pole. In this case it is a sign of predictability and comfort. It's steady course in the sky reassures us of life's regular cycles. Even mortal life follows a steady pattern: birth-life-death/rebirth.
"Subject as the stars, to rise and fall." (page 27)
Germanic Name: Tiwaz, the God Tyr
Mod. English : Teu (Runelore, 51)
Old. Eng.: Tir
Phonetic Values: T
Physical Forms:
(Futhark, 12-13)
Divination:
Positives: Faith, Loyalty, Troth, Justice, Self-Sacrifice
Warnings: Mental paralysis, Overanalysis, Imbalance, Injustice
(Handbook, 52)
Mythological Connections:
"The North Star is a visible symbol of the God-force of Tiwaz as the summit of the world column-the Irminsul." (Runelore, 127)
This is a reference to the World Tree, Yggdrasil. This tree represents all of the inhabited worlds of this universe, each holding within a unique group of beings. From the Aesir at the summit in Asgard and down to Helheim, the land of the dead. This rune points toward Asgard where the Aesir gods reside along with their allies who represented some of the other beings from different worlds.
The Aesir are seen to be the pinnacle of balanced civilization with a walled in city, but still open to peaceful trade and festivals/gatherings. This was considered both the kind of civilization to aspire to as well as the goal of many Norse people who wish to dwell in one of the halls of the gods after death. When you love your Gods you feel a deep soul-wish to spend even the afterlife in Their presence.
This rune is also used as the warrior's rune or representative of Tyr. It points toward Valhalla in particular where many valiant warriors who die in battle would end up. Folkvangr, Freya's hall, being the other one to host the warrior dead. Tyr was a continental Germanic warrior God, once as beloved as Odin. In recent years the number of followers has decreased. I personally hope this turns around. Tyr represents necessary war. The kind of war that could not be avoided because it was needed to recreate balance when the pendulum of history had swung too far to the left or right.
As the God of The Thing, a yearly gathering to review and enforce the laws of the land, He also represented Justice, the balancing of the scales from a Greek perspective. During The Thing, no violence could be committed nor weapons could be carried in the grounds made sacred by the priests. This was the one time of the year when all the citizens and families were allowed into the Inner Temple, figuratively speaking.
The roles of Chieftain and Priest were separate roles, but in this instance they could overlap. The King or Other ruler could invoke the God with help from the Priest for deeper wisdom in hearing disputes and ruling wisely so as to enrich and stabilize the community. The arrow pointing up then becomes a symbol of mental and spiritual reaching toward the gods and their greater perspectives.
Elements:
The element of fire for its expansion and heat. This rune reaches upward towards a star which is just a distant sun, burning light years away. This element is of a dynamic Energy, ever moving and striving.
The element of Ice for contraction and darkness. In the night sky, the North Star helps us navigate and keep our course true. This element is of matter, or a solid foundation on which to build a society.
It is condensed spirit.
(Futhark, 150)
The ice in this element analysis isn't truly solid, as it can crack at any moment. So Ice has to be combined with other elements to become solid, such as fire to release the water and nurture the creation and maintenance of the earth where humans live together.
Cosmic/Spiritual Meanings:
". . .its cosmic function is the separation of the heavens and the earth by the world column (Irminsul) so that manifestation can take place in the "created" space." (Handbook, 52)
The spiritual meaning of this is cosmic order. Each realm in its own location and fixed in its relation to the other realms. Asgard above, Midgard in the middle, and Helheim below.
This spiritual order also relates to human relationships. It is the order of priests, chiefs, and laity. Strife occurs when there is tension between roles, the uneducated take on more than they can handle, or when toes are stepped on and duties are appropriated by others in a different role. Each person in society must do their job to the best of their ability and work together for the betterment of all.
Magickal Uses:
Obtaining just victory
Building Spiritual Will
Positive Self-Sacrifice
The Force of Faith
The Eights:
Row 1: Mysteries/Tools to learn
Row 2: Trials and Tribulations / Conflicts and paths to success
Row 3: The realm where the student works (Runelore, 140)
In Row 1 we have Fehu, which is the wealth that moves through society. Stagnation leads to jealousy, argument, and social disruption. As a result, heathen societies relied heavily on Hospitality and constant Gift exchanging. The student must learn this lesson of not hoarding wealth, of giving gifts and being hospitable. This is how community is built and we live or die depending on our standing with our community. Back then, exile was a death sentence.
In Row 2 we have Hagalaz which is hail, or a scouring and purifying rain. Sometimes also called seeds, these hail stones were seen as necessary for crops to grow in the "spring". Strife can sometimes lead to jumps in society's understanding or industry. Necessity is the mother of invention. This is the challenge that the student must overcome. In mastering the flow of wealth so as to nurture healthy community, the challenge is during times of loss or scarcity, we may be tempted to hoard. In order to overcome this weakness, we can invent or think our way out of the problem at hand. Either through creative barter, or innovations in food preservation, or farming quick growing crops, etc. Do not let go of the lesson of Fehu when your situation becomes unsteady. You may not have as much to share as you once did, but share what you can.
In Row 3 we have Tiwaz. The realm of the work at hand is Midgard which balances between Asgard and Helheim. Through right action we can continue our journey and work toward our reward. It is also the reward of the community, since not sacrificing them to our selfish needs, we can bring them with us on our path up the tree by sharing what we have learned.
I also want to talk about the neighbors of Tiwaz.
The rune before Tiwaz is Sowelo, the rune of Victory. Since Tiwaz is the rune of a "just" victory. I assume Sowelo is a rune of victory by any means, not just justice. This rune is a bit maligned by the Nazi's appropriations.
Runes throughout recent history, and pagan symbols, were heavily co-opted by the Nazi Party, both as an attempt to use esoteric symbols or magick to skew their winning the war, and also as propaganda to convince some people that they were superior to others. They divided the country against itself and conquered much of Europe with this trick of the mind. The true lesson of the runes and Odin's pathwork up the tree of Yggdrasil were completely lost on the godless Nazis. They were in fact atheist and attacked all religions in the country, including Christianity eventually. Their only reason for turning to pagan symbols was to harness the work of German Nationalist Rune Revivalists of the Victorian era which were becoming increasingly popular with the general public Toward their own political ideological ends. This basically amounts to a cultural genocide for anyone of European ancestry since our symbols now have taint attached to them. Bastards!
Sowelo is the rune that when two are crossed over each other, it becomes the Swastika, meaning double victory. This was originally a symbol of enlightenment, of group energy working toward a common goal. It was meant as a symbol of good, of community, of positive attraction.
It's relationship with Tiwaz is that of perfecting victory. It is not enough to win, although winning gives you the opportunity to determine the definition of right. To progress on our journey toward spiritual evolution, our victories must be just and a part of continuing Right Action.
The rune after Tiwaz is Berkano, the pregnant rune. This rune symbolizes birth while keeping self-consciousness. You know who you were while becoming someone new. This is a perfect rune for after a set on victory runes. Once you have won the battle, what next? Society must be made a-new and be reborn from the mess and violence of war. The self must be healed and made new in order to reintegrate into society as a peaceful person, and not the warrior on the battle field.
This rune also looks a bit like the seed rune if you cut it into two halves and arranged them open above and below each other. It is the release of energy for new growth. It is the reaching upward of the stalk and leaves simultaneously to the reaching downward of the roots. Blood and bone make great fertilizers. It must be part of why they are more than acceptable as offerings to the gods in sacrifice.
And Tyr is a God of sacrifice. In mythology He placed his hand into the mouth of the giant chaos wolf Fenrir as a promise that no harm would come to Him while the Gods attempted to bind Him. Because the Gods succeeded, Fenrir bit off Tyr's sword hand. Tyr made a sacrifice of blood and bone in order to attempt to control the forces of Chaos that would have destroyed the nine worlds.
Final Meditations:
The rune Laguz can be clearly seen in this rune. Like in Ehwaz which has two laguz runes facing each other like two horses, this rune also seems to have two Laguz but back to back and overlapping. Laguz is a rune of initiation and rebirth. It is connected closely to death and the return to the land of the dead usually involving a water rite. As Tiwaz is a rune of justice and sacrifice, positioned before another rune of birth, Berkano, this adds to the deeper meaning of Tiwaz. Two Laguz runes back to back represent two stages of rebirth. The stage where the students has mastered the tools of row 1 and the stage where the student has survived the hardships of row 2. One Laguz looks back at the past stages of death and struggle to hang onto those lessons, while the other looks forward to completing row 3 culminating in Dagaz and Othala.
Tiwaz also seems to have the rune Isa piercing and pushing the rune Kenaz skyward. Isa is also a stabilizing force. It seems to provide support or foundation for the student during initiation. It also ties to water but in a frozen bridge sense. Kenaz is a fire of sacrifice as well as controlled fire. The fire used to create such as in smithing.
I'm not sure if this is in reference to a funeral pyre, or the elevation of crafting to that of a mastered artform worthy of deity.
(Futhark, 41, 30)
The Rune Poem:
Tiwaz is found in the rune Ear, the clay, which reminds us of the mortal body. The stanza is grim and heavy and refers to life as a broken promise. This adds some more credence to a pyre of fire on a platform foundation. (page 84)
The stanza about Tiwaz also references the North star as a Victory charm. The keeping true to your goals or your course. There is no mention of the god Tir in this version. (page 60)
3 Paths Through Midgard:
"The Path of the Yeoman" In this poem we see another reference to the North Pole. In this case it is a sign of predictability and comfort. It's steady course in the sky reassures us of life's regular cycles. Even mortal life follows a steady pattern: birth-life-death/rebirth.
"Subject as the stars, to rise and fall." (page 27)
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