#tyr ask

Honestly, I don’t find it awkward at all.  I don’t provide their offerings on the same plate or in the same cup, but other than that… They share the same altar space and are equally important to me.  I think Tyr can empathize with the Wolf in a way, even though he knows the Wolf must be chained.  And I think the Wolf has respect for Tyr, even though they have both hurt each other greatly.  After all, Tyr held to the letter of his word and sacrificed his hand when the Gods chose to trick and bind the Wolf.  He did not pull away.

I think, possibly, if someone worked with the Wolf in a different way, they might find honoring Tyr to be strange or awkward but… as the Wolf plays out in my own life, he does not manifest in a manner that can be allowed to run free.  The Wolf and Tyr play a big part in my recovery from mental illness and self-harm.  Other folk work with the Wolf for different reasons, but for me… letting the Wolfish parts of me run wild would lead to my death, eventually.  so… For all I must honor and empathize with and accept the Wolf, I must also honor Tyr and aspire to his bravery and sacrifice as I too attempt to bind the Wolfish parts of me.

Working with Tyr…. I would start perhaps with investigating what drew you to Tyr. How does his story relate to your life? 

 Spend time honoring him, write/speak your own prayers, re-read his story, meditate upon the rune Tiwaz. He guides us in many different ways, and I’m certain you connect to him on a personal level much differently than I or others who honor him. 

Yes.  That definitely makes sense to me.  It’s one of the more straight-forward correlations I think: Tyr as patron of police and soldiers.  

That said, I also think Tyr is a patron of those fighting against police brutality - those who seek to change the system, end racial profiling, address the mass incarceration of people of color…  (I speak as an American on these issues).  I think Tyr has strong correlations to both the police and their protestors.  

Law enforcement is necessary, but it also needs to be Just.  To my mind, it makes perfect sense that Tyr would support police and protesters in the effort to reach one ideal: a safe and peaceful community where consequences are reasonable and humane.  I think he would seek major reform for our entire justice system.

To me, Tyr is one of bravery, honor, sacrifice, and love.  He upholds justice - even at great personal costs - and was willing to break his word to do what was necessary and Right.  The sacrifice of his hand - his broken promise to the Wolf - makes me think that he would not allow his love of Order (laws) to outweigh his greater love for Justice.  Hardly a vigilante, I believe Tyr is one to engage in the long, hard work of changing entire institutions - neither willing to follow a harmful system, nor rejecting the need for an institution that serves and protects the community.

he is Sternhe is Distanthe is Constanthe requires me to be Honest    to keep my wordhe is Steadyhe is Strong

I think UPG stuff can sometimes be very unique to different people and I think that the individual is sometimes the best one to judge if their practice is respectful or not (with some exceptions perhaps regarding blatant disrespect).

So, instead of trying to lay down some view of my own (which I don’t really have at this point anyways), here are some questions for you my friend.  Do you feel that this mental connection you’ve made between Tyr and dogs/other animals is rude or offensive to him? Does it seem like it originates from an unkind or disrespectful reason?  It may help to ask yourself why Tyr makes you think of dogs and other animals and what sort of a connection that is.  Can you  come up with other words that relate to this connection?

For example: Tyr, Dogs, Loyalty, Friendship, Faithfulness.  Tyr, Dogs, silly, dependent, domestic,Tyr, Animals, Loving, Kind, Gentle

Those aren’t necessarily connections that make sense to me, but just jot down connected words without judging them at first, and then look at them to see if you can better understand this connection you made.  From there you can better determine if your thought is respectful or rude.  From here you can also examine whether or not it seems to fit the lore and what you think about how it relates or does not relate to the writings.