Moon Owl Observations

The God Tyr

Tyr is a Norse god of war. He is known to be the lawgiver of the gods and was the leader of the Norse Pantheon, until he stepped aside for his father, Odin. It is not known who his true mother is but there are mentions of it either being Friggo or an unnamed giant. This god of law and order is also one the 12 principal deities of Asgard. Tyr is excellent in all manners of justice, fair-play and right action. He is honourable, brave and inspires courage in others.

A few things are named after Tyr, but the most prominent are the day Tuesday (Tiws day) and the rune. Depending on what set or style of runes being used, his is usually called Teiwaz, Tiwaz or just Tyr. It is the rune of balance and justice. The rune of sacrifice for the self for the well-being of society. His rune signifies positive regulation that needs personal sacrifice to carry it through to a successful result. It also is the rune of law and order of the human world and orderliness in the cosmos. It is part of the third aett and in rune lore Tyr and Frigg guard the eastern quarter.

Tyr is also known as Tiw, Ziw, Tiwaz, Teiwaz and the maimed god. Why the maimed got? Well there is an interesting story to explain that. Tyr sacrificed his hand to help his people from the monster Fenris. Fenris the wolf was one of Loki’s children and Odin saw him as a threat and wanted to lead him to Asgard in hopes of making the wolf gentle and tame. Tyr was the only god who was brave enough to bring Fenris food, but as the days passed Fenris kept growing in size, strength and fierceness. It was decided among the gods that the dangerous wolf needed to be bound. The wolf knew how strong it was and agreed to being bound many times since he knew he could break free, which he did. The gods then got a slender, magick, silken rope made, called Gleipnir. When Fenris saw the slender rope, he did not trust it and refused to be bound- that is unless someone put their hand into his mouth as a pledge of good faith. Only Tyr was bold enough to step forward and place his hand between Fenris’ jaws. The gods then quickly bound the wolf, and it held. When Fenris discovered that he bit off Tyr’s hand at the wrist. Hence why he is known as the maimed god.