Tyr

Devotional and Research Site
Dedicated to the God Tyr

Why is the year 994 A.D. important?

This is the year that King Olaf Trygvesson, after having brutalized King Ethelred's forces in England off the coast of Kent, and while waiting for the gold and silver payments that was Ethelred's payoff to stop the fighting, decided to go to a local fortune teller he had heard about. Said fortune teller was said to possess the gift of prophecy. According to the book The Last Apocalypse - Europe at the Year 1000 A.D. by James Reston, Jr. "Rowing off in a sea buck to the hermit's rocky retreat, Olaf asked if the prophet could foresee Olaf's future. Would the [then] prince be successful in battle? Would he regain power in the north?"

"The prophet replied that Olaf would be a great king and to prove that his vision was correct the prophet told Olaf that he would suffer a mutiny among his men and in the ensuing fight he would be wounded and carried to his ship on his oblong shield. After seven days, he would recover and thereafter would allow himself to be baptized a Christian."

What do you know? It happened just as the 'seer' said it would. Why is this of any import? Because prior to 994 A.D. Europe was pagan and after Olaf converted to the religion of the 'white christ' he ruthlessly went about converting everyone else too on his way to becoming King. In time the old gods and goddesses that had been worshipped were forgotten but because of the psychic energy given to them via prayers and the invocation of their names before warriors went into battle they are not gone but merely waiting to be called forth again to help humanity.

Who is Tyr?

The Rites of Odin by Ed Fitch published in 1990 through Llewellyn says that Tyr is "the invincible warrior of the Nordic pantheon, and far older than all the others of Asgard." He is said to have sacrificed his right hand to help bind Fenrir, the wolf who, when set free, is destined to devour the Sun. It is thought by scholars that he may have been the original father-god of the archaic Indo-Europeans, long before the dawn of our histories."

Norse Mythology by Arthur Cotterell, originally published in 1997 and updated for 1999 by Lorenz Books has this to say: "Tyr, also known as Tiwaz, was the Germanic war god... He was closely associated with Odin and like that god, received sacrifices of hanged men. It is not unlikely that Tyr was an early sky god whose powers were later passed on to Odin and Thor. Gungnir, Odin's magic spear, may once have belonged to Tyr, since it was customary for the Vikings to cast a spear over the heads of an enemy as a sacrifice before fighting commenced in earnest, and over recent years archaeologists have found numerous splendidly ornamented spears dedicated to Tyr."

In Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic by Edred Thorrson, originally published in 1984 (using the 6th printing 1991) through Samuel Weiser, Inc. it states:

Esoteric interpretation of the name Tyr - "the sky god".

Phonetic value - 't'.

The T-rune embodies the force ruled by the god Tyr. Tyr is the Norse god of law and justice, who governs proceedings at the thing (the Germanic general assembly). The Tyr force is one of passive regulation. In northern mythology it is this god who comes closest to a transcendental quality. These characteristics are exemplified by the major Tyr myth in which the god sacrifices his hand ("active abilities") between the jaws of the Fenris wolf in order to save his fellow AEsir from destruction. Thus tiwaz is the rune of self-sacrifice and of kings and great leaders of the people.

The word tiwaz, tyr in Old Norse, is the exact cognate to Sanskrit dayus, Greek Zeus and Latin Jupiter. A threefold mystery is contained in tiwaz: (1) justice, (2) war and (3) world column. Certain aspects of all three concepts are intimately related in the runic cosmology.

This is the most important aspect of the God Tyr:

Tiwaz is principally the force of divine order in the multiverse, and especially among mankind. But Tyr is also important as a 'war god'. This is because of the special judicial and spiritual qualities that were imparted to conflict by the ancient Northmen. An Old Norse word sums up this aspect quite well: vapnadomr ("judgement by arms: war"). Combat was seen as a struggle between numinous forces in conjunction with physical ones. Both of these are considered to be extensions of the same ultimate source. The man, or army, with the most numinous power (which is developed by right and honorable past action) will be favored by orlog to win the struggle.

Tyr rules over the administration of this form of justice so he is invoked for victory and is therefore an important war god.

The aspect of the world column expressed by the T-rune is that of the separator of heaven This separation creates a phenomenological quality and is therefore necessary to multiversal manifestation as we know it. This column maintains world order, and protects humanity and the gods from the destruction that would come should the heavens (energy) and earth (matter) collapse into one another.

The T-rune is the mystery of spiritual discipline and faith according to divine law. It is the religious instinct in the individual and society.

Key words: Justice, World Order, Victory (according to law), Self Sacrifice and Spiritual Discipline.

The Tyr (Tiwaz) Rune

The Viking Prayer

Lo, there do I see my father
Lo, there do I see my mother and my sisters and my brothers
Lo, there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning
Lo, they do call to me
They bid me take my place among them in the Halls of Valhalla
Where the brave may live.
Forever.

(from 13th Warrior - movie version)

Tarot card used was from the Power of the Runes deck by Voenix (the artist). ISBN 3-905219-00-x. The publisher is listed as AGM AGMuller which has a website. I have used the email link for inquiry as they do not list the Rune deck on the site but list tarot decks prominently. They do have a sign in form to be added to their mail list for their esoteric catalog. I'm hoping that the Rune deck is listed in here. If it is I will post more information on how to obtain the deck in the easiest fashion.

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Placed in the virtual world 22 February 2001

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Tyr

Devotional and Research Site Dedicated to the God Tyr