bad wolf magic

I've been thinking about Tyr and Fenrir a lot lately. To me, they seem like a divine pair/twin motif. You're handed an emotionally impossible situation and you both do whatever you can to do what you think is right.

Note: below is my UPG, inspired by the myths and my interpretations of them as they relate to my own experiences. The following are not concrete facts/universal.

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Tyr earnestly believes that, despite how much he loves Fenrir and remembers the pup he once was, he is now too dangerous to the community to be fully free. Fenrir is not killed, but is restrained to the point of being out of sight out of mind for many of the gods--whether this was an act of mercy requested by Tyr is something I wonder. Was he holding out hope that the prophecy wouldn't come true? Despite the emotional pain of betraying someone who trusted him, despite the physical pain of losing his dominant hand, Tyr believes the greater good and safety of others trumps his and Fenrir's individual suffering.

"Sometimes it hurts like hell to do the right thing," is the mantra I come away with.

Fenrir believes that he is just existing as he always had. It's not his active plan to harm anyone and when he grows to his full size and begins to step into his power, how he is seen by others changes drastically and without his knowledge. All of a sudden he is seen as a monster and a threat, despite the only "proof" of his violence being a premonition. His betrayal, confusion, and rage eventually leads Fenrir to enact the violence determined for him by how he was treated and what he was expected to be.

"My existence is not a threat, but I will fight like hell if you threaten my existence," is the mantra I come away with.

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Perhaps it's not hard to see why these messages and myths would be top of mind for me and perhaps other members of marginalized and terrorized communities in the US in 2025.

I have let loved ones and other people go who have become dangerous to me and my loved ones. Letting these people go hurt and often continues to hurt, and I know they feel betrayed and abandoned by me in their own confused ways. However, I have been abandoned by my loved ones, elected officials, coworkers, and peers due to them suddenly deciding I am dangerous.

I look to them both for strength. I look to Tyr for conviction, bravery, integrity, and honor. I may be irate, I may be wrathful, but I will never let my heart darken. There is a light in my soul fueled by my loved ones, the gods, and the earth that I won't allow to dim. I look to Fenrir for courage, finding effective channels for my righteous anger, and remembering the undeniable truth that I deserve love and dignity.

Hail the Warrior! Hail the Chain-Breaker!

Hail the Protector! Hail the Liberator!

The Norse pantheon (the Æsir and the Vanir) comes mainly from the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. Like Celtic myths, the stories were recorded after conversion, so some pieces are fragmented. Working with Norse deities means approaching with respect, patience, and honesty.

Core Principles for Working with the Norse Gods

Study the myths: The Eddas and sagas are your best source.

Hospitality matters: Generosity, truth, and keeping your word are highly valued.

Offerings: Mead, ale, bread, milk, fruit, runes, crafts, and acts of courage or learning.

Connection: Meditation, ancestor work, seasonal festivals (Yule, Midsummer, Winter Nights, Blót).

⚡ Æsir Deities (sky, war, rulership)⚡

Odin (Óðinn) – God of Wisdom, Magic & Runes

Domains: Knowledge, prophecy, poetry, war strategy, magic, death, runes.

Symbols: Ravens (Huginn & Muninn), wolves, the spear Gungnir, Yggdrasil.

Offerings: Mead, poetry, runes carved or written, incense, sacrifices of time to study.

For Beginners: Read or write poetry in his honor, study the runes, or meditate on wisdom-seeking.

Frigg (Frigga) – Goddess of Hearth, Family & Foresight

Domains: Marriage, motherhood, domesticity, prophecy, sovereignty.

Symbols: Spindle, keys, sky, geese.

Offerings: Milk, honey, bread, weaving or needlework, prayers for family and home.

For Beginners: Keep your home tidy in her honor, light a candle and dedicate it to her protection.

Thor (Þórr) – God of Thunder, Protection & Strength

Domains: Storms, fertility, strength, protection of humanity.

Symbols: Hammer (Mjölnir), oak, goats, thunder.

Offerings: Ale or mead, bread, pork, iron tools, hammers, acts of bravery.

For Beginners: Say a prayer for protection before travel. Raise a toast of ale, water, or juice in his name.

Tyr (Týr) – God of Justice, Oaths & Sacrifice

Domains: Law, order, honor, sacrifice, courage.

Symbols: Wolf, sword, scales, binding.

Offerings: Swords or knives (symbolically), bread, oaths kept, acts of fairness.

For Beginners: Honor him by keeping promises, mediating disputes, or journaling about truth and fairness.

🌿 Vanir Deities (fertility, nature, wealth, magic)🌿

Freyja – Goddess of Magic, Love & War

Domains: Love, beauty, magic (seiðr), war, wealth, fertility, death.

Symbols: Cats, falcon cloak, Brísingamen (necklace), boar.

Offerings: Honey, mead, flowers, amber, beauty rituals, self-love practices.

For Beginners: Dedicate a beauty/self-care ritual to her. Offer flowers or wear jewellery in her honour.

Frey (Freyr) – God of Fertility, Prosperity & Peace

Domains: Agriculture, abundance, peace, kingship, prosperity.

Symbols: Golden boar (Gullinbursti), ship, phallic imagery, sun.

Offerings: Bread, mead, fruit, seeds, gardening, caring for animals.

For Beginners: Plant something in his name. Leave an offering of bread or grain.

Njord (Njörðr) – God of the Sea, Wealth & Travel

Domains: The sea, fishing, wealth, safe journeys.

Symbols: Ships, seashells, fish, wind.

Offerings: Fish, seashells, coins tossed into water, mead, prayers for safe passage.

For Beginners: Offer seashells or water at the shore. Dedicate safe travel to him.

Hel – Goddess of Death & the Underworld

Domains: The dead, ancestors, transition, acceptance.

Symbols: Half-living/half-dead imagery, dogs, bones, grave soil.

Offerings: Black/white candles, bread, bones, prayers for the dead, ancestor offerings.

For Beginners: Honour your ancestors. Light a candle for the departed in her name.

🕯️Simple “Introduce Yourself” Ritual to a Norse Deity🕯️

Materials: Candle (red for Thor, white for Frigg, black for Hel, etc.), cup of ale/mead/water, simple offering (bread, fruit, flowers, or symbolic item).

Steps:

Cleanse your space (with incense, bells, or just focused intention).

Light the candle. Hold the offering before you.

Say aloud: “Hail [Deity’s name], I greet you with respect. I bring [offering] as a gift of welcome. If it is your will, may we walk together in truth and honour.”

Pour out or place the offering respectfully (outside, into earth or water if possible).

AI art is NOT devotional art

On the one hand: Web-witch is right to state their opinion of not wanting people to gatekeep how people should practice witchcraft. They are fine in that belief and I agree with them in that singular aspect. People should be allowed to practice how they want so long as it doesn't hurt others.

On sehetep-shenwer's side: I also fully and completely agree that AI generation isn't and shouldn't be considered devotional pieces. There is no human ingenuity going into creating those pieces. It is frankensteined styles cobbled together mcguyver style in the hopes of passing as "artistic creation". There is no passion in AI generation. There is no act of creation that goes on on the practitioner's side. Just Input>Output of machines, now that isn't to say that Technowitchery shouldn't rely on the tools available to their practice. But that AI Slop Generation takes away a fundamental and frankly personal connection you could be forming with your gods by actively attempting to create for yourself.

It is of my opinion that making a collage on Canva YOURSELF is more apt of a way to show devotion than using AI generation to do the work for you. I get that not everyone has the time of day to dedicate to creation and making of things, but if that's something that's truly important to your practice then you'll find the way to make the time.

Tyr was the first non Christian deity I prayed to.

I won’t go into detail but i was in a bad living situation and I so badly wanted justice for what was being done to me.

So I knelt, i brought offers and I prayed, and a few months later I was out of there and safe.

it's about "your name is a golden bell hung in my heart. i would tear myself to pieces to call you once by your name." it's about regret.

“She’s the last unicorn in the world.” “It would be the last unicorn in the world that came to Molly Grue.”

She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in books written by rabbits. Of all unicorns, she is the only one who knows what regret is - and love.

A nice cup and some clean, fresh, water on the altar can often be all you need for daily offerings

Grow a plant on your altar, use your weekly watering as a devotional act. Hermes is currently helping my peace lily grow :)

Draw their sigil on your nails and then paint over them with nail polish that matches their color correspondences.

If you can’t acquire alcohol for your deities (wine, vodka etc) because you’re too young, white vinegar also works. The quality we’re looking for is the purification aspect. White vinegar is natural, antibacterial and never goes bad. You can leave it on your altar until it evaporates if you want.

If you work with a deity involved with self love like Aphrodite, investing a little more time into your skin care and scent can be very rewarding. Nothing super boujie, it can be as simple as getting some nice smelling lotion at the dollar store.

Food and water offerings don’t have to be external, especially if you’re in the broom closet and don’t have an altar. Reserve the first bite of your meal for your deity. Savour its taste while you think about them. Pour yourself a crisp glass of cold water and guzzle it as a devotional act.

Use a washable or dry erase marker to draw sigils on your shower wall for bath rituals. It’ll come right off when you’re done.

Tea bags are just bags of dried herbs. You can use these as offerings or draw sigils on them and burn them for witchcraft. No one is ever suspicious about a little tea. Adding a tea bag to your water offerings also gives them an extra kick.

A couple dollars at the thrift store will take you a long way. I love thrifting items because they’re usually well loved. I especially like thrifting spirituality books that past practitioners have written in. Sometimes my deities communicate with me through the books that are available on any given day. If I was just talking to Leviathan about the power of water and I see a book about Hydromancy, I know that he’s sending me a sign. Like, 90% of the books Lucifer has sent me popped up at the thrift store. Most expensive one was $7.99. (and I tag swapped it for 2.99 😊 thanks, Hermes-

and on this note, literally steal. Not from small local thrift stores, but I mean this with my whole chest, steal from Value Village. If you can sneakily swap a tag and get something for cheaper literally do it. Value Village gets all their inventory for free I literally do not care. Corporate thrift stores don’t deserve rights. I steal from Value Village as a devotional act to Hermes 😊 lmao )

If you don’t have money to spend on really nice paintings and posters of your deities for your altar, start buying books about them. It’s a double win. A book about Greek religion will certainly have multiple beautiful sculptures and paintings of Aphrodite that I can cut out and put on my wall. A book about angels might have a cool painting of Lucifer. Books about Goddesses, ancient religions, anthropology, astrology etc. You get the opportunity to learn, and if it’s a book you don’t particularly care too much for, you can take it apart for imagery. People ask me all the time where I got all of my paintings and pictures from. BOOKS.

Does your deity have a kind of complicated sigil that you love but you also kinda hate redrawing every other day? Sorry Cerberus (Naberius) I love you but that sigil is so complicated babe.

Learn how to block print! It’s very simple. You get a block of linoleum (usually pretty cheap, I think mine were like $5) , some ink (~$10), and a carving tool (varies depending), and make a sigil stamp! All you gotta do is draw your sigil and carve it out nicely one time. You can still bless it and imbue it with your energy, and you can easily put it on prayers, talismans etc.

Try to take your promises more seriously; do your best to fulfill them

Own a weapon - be it self-defense or just one you admire

Take a walk/hike in nature; try to challenge yourself with doing a more difficult route (within reason; look after your well-being)

Have a candle that reminds you of him (no altar needed)

Wear jewelry that reminds you of him

Keep a picture of him in your wallet

Take a walk alongside a stream

Support causes you believe in; homeless shelters, humanitarian organizations, etc.

Volunteer at a homeless or animal shelter

Practice compassion towards others and yourself

Engage in random acts of kindness; holding the door for someone, offering to help someone carry something, giving to a family in need, etc.

Have a stuffed animal of any creatures you associate with justice, fairness, or courage; have a wolf stuffed animal

Keep imagery of spears/weapons, shields, scales, Viking warriors, promises/others, or self-sacrifice (specifically for the greater good) around

Practice patience and restraint, especially with people who bother/annoy you; you can also practice this towards yourself

Find healthy outlets for your emotions; martial arts, building, crafting, drawing, writing, etc.

Learn about emotional regulation; practice emotional regulation

Try to consider all perspectives in a situation; try to understand things from another's point of view; try not to immediately cast judgement

Practice not engaging in needless gossip; such things can end up being extremely harmful to all parties later on

Learn about healthy conflict resolution skills; try to implement these in your next conflict

Practice becoming more comfortable with the idea of conflict; it is only natural that we sometimes will disagree with people - that is not always a bad thing

Go outside of your comfort zone; challenge yourself by doing things/taking risks that intimidate you (to a reasonable degree)

Do someone else's chores or a task that is tough for them; offer to shovel snow for someone or do some yard work for them

Challenge yourself with some hard work; do something with your hands

Assert your boundaries; discover what your personal boundaries are; not all boundaries need be spoken

Let someone know when they've done something that bothers you; this is a kindness to both of you - a chance for them to learn

Tend to a garden - something that takes hard work or brings you peace

Feed neighborhood cats, dogs, birds, etc.

Donate supplies to homeless or animal shelters; hygiene kits are great for homeless, animal food and treats for animal

Focus on building a foundation of personal strength; know yourself inside and out; don't buy into the dumb things people may say, you know yourself better than others

Listen to your gut; work on trusting yourself

Exercise; get some movement throughout the day

Make something for someone else; make a gift yourself; a drawing/painting, a wood carving, a knitted blanket, a handmade candle, etc.

Check in with your loved ones more often, even just a quick "Hey, how are you" or "I love you"

Bake or cook something for your neighbors; hand them out; cookies, pastries, biscuits, etc.

Restore a vintage item; clean a toy or.important item from your childhood; take good care of your family heirlooms

Engage in family traditions or create your own c:

Get more comfortable with compromises; in disagreements, try to suggest them

If it's not something you're practiced at, learn to agree to disagree; we don't always have to prove our points, and that's ok

After a difficult day, take a warm bath/shower

Try your hand at a new skill or hobby

Support someone through a difficult time; support yourself through a difficult time

Know your limits when helping others; you need not sacrifice yourself for everyone you meet

Treat yourself with the same love and kindness that you treat others with

Make a list of your personal strengths; try to recognize them when they show up - maybe do this on a weekly, bi-weelky, or monthly basis

Surprise a loved one you live with by hanging up affirmational post it notes somewhere they'll see it; you can also do this for yourself

Get more comfortable with the idea that we don't get along with everyone; it's ok if someone doesn't like you

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This is my list of discreet ways to worship Tyr. I hope someone finds this helpful. I'll likely add more in the future. Take care, everyone! 🧡

Praying before their altars (bonus points if you write your own)

Read books other than their myths (books you think they’d enjoy themselves)

Meditating with them

Learn about magickal subjects related to them

Dedicate a journal for notes and document experiences you have with that deity (including moments where they’ve assisted you and any divination conversations you’ve had with them)

Listen to their messages and follow through with them

Light incense that reminds you of them

Find artwork that feels like that deity and hang, print or save them

Divination Methods (Runes, Tarot, Pendulums, Bone Throwing, etc.)

Watch content on different subjects they’re related to (documentaries on death, relationships, crime, etc.)

Dedicate, care, and/or name pets, plants, plushies, etc to them

Learn not just their pantheon and myths but the culture that influenced them

Wear jewelry dedicated to them (bonus if you have that deity enchant them with protection)

Share meals with them

Thinking of them in passing (like “hey that thing reminds me of *insert deity*”)

Talk casually at their altars and give them an itinerary of your day