Rune Tiwaz By Allan Perkins

Ramblings of a Roving Rune Caster

The rune Tiwaz is the seventeenth rune in the Elder Futhark. It is the rune of the Spiritual Warrior. Therefore, it is also the rune of success and the competitive spirit. Tiwaz represents a great task completed.

While some rune casters today use the power of Tiwaz as a kind of gauge for determining the success of relationships and other mundane achievements, the heritage of this glyph is much more noble.

The deity connected with Tiwaz is Tyr, the Sky God, the god of Law and Justice, and ruler of the Thing. The Thing was the ancient Germanic general assembly. It was said that Tyr guided the Thing to conform to the law and justice—the world order.

Tyr’s understanding of justice was different than what we think of today. It had to do with the concept of "justice by arms." Wars were a major part of justice. They were seen as a conflict between the "forces of fair play" and the "forces of unjust oppression." When two men or two armies battled, the gods would come down on the side which had the most spiritual power, ensuring victory. The amount of power each side obtained related to how closely they followed the law. Tyr ruled over these judgment wars. He also decided which fallen warriors the Valkyries would return to Valhalla.

Tiwaz also represents a tremendous strength and bravery. While this is true on the mundane level, it is equally true on the spiritual level. Like the good soldier and gallant leader he was, Tyr set the example for us to follow.

When Odinn brought Loki’s offspring, the giant monster wolf Fenris, to Asgard, none of the gods would go near it. But, Tyr willingly fed the beast. Then, when the monster continued to grow larger and more vicious, the gods tried to bind it in chains. Twice the gods convinced the wolf to submit to be bound in powerful chains, only to see them easily broken apart and the monster again free. For their third attempt, the gods obtained an unbreakable rope made by the dark elves. The elves created it, using magic, from the longings of a bear, a woman’s beard, the voice of fishes, the roots of a mountain, the sound of a cat’s footsteps, and other such materials. But, Fenris did not trust the gods. He refused to be bound a third time unless one of the gods would place his or her hand in his mouth. As you can guess, the only one who would agree was Tyr.

The gods bound Fenris, saving the worlds, but the monster got his licks in, too. He bit off Tyr’s right hand at the wrist. Tyr did what had to be done to save the worlds, and did it in a way that conformed with the law. In this way, he followed the Self and set an heroic example for us.

This myth demonstrates another aspect of Tiwaz: That of self-sacrifice. But remember, this is not martyrdom because of self-pity or destructive intentions. This is doing what must be done, when it has to be done, for the better good.

However, there is another piece of Nordic mythology which is representative of Tiwaz. It is the world column, known as Irminsul. The world column terminates at the polar star and sets between heaven and earth, god and man, fire and ice. In this way it keeps world order.

Also, remember that the polar star, Polaris, is the center point of the northern sky. The stars rotate around it, and for generations upon generations Nordic sailors used it to guide their ships.

So it is with Tiwaz. It represents our guiding star on the journey to the Self. Let the Self rule on both sides of the world column, mundane and spiritual. Finally, in all things follow the example set by Tyr. If you do, you can build a strong spiritual will, develop a dynamic force of faith, and find a success in tasks mundane and spiritual.

Tiwaz reversed is a warning that the inquirer is not on the path to knowing the Self. It may be that the inquirer is not demonstrating one of the traits of the spiritual warrior. The sense of doing the right thing, conforming to the ideals of justice and the spiritual law, strength of will, bravery, tenacity - a failure in any, or all, of these could be shown as Tiwaz reversed. So could a misdirection of effort. Are you fighting with the self to achieve the Self, or are you trying to change another? But, remember, these deficiencies may not be conscious. Meditation and study are often required to make them apparent.

Finally, if you feel the importance of the power behind Tiwaz and the example of Tyr are from the ancient past and have no significance today, consider this. The English for Tyr is Tiw, as in Tuesday. So, every week, on the third day, remember Tyr and the significance of Tiwaz on your path to the Self.

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