At a glance

• Sound: t
• Place: rune 17 of 24, the first rune of Tyr's aett
• Also known as: Teiwaz, Tir
• Keywords: Tyr, justice, honor, courage, self-sacrifice, guiding star, warrior's oath, leadership, victory, faith

Lore and history

In the Old English rune poem, Tir is named a guiding star, one that keeps faith well with princes, ever on its course over the mists of night, and that never fails. The rune takes its name directly from Tyr, the Norse god of law, war, and the solemn oath, and it carries the sound t. It stands as the seventeenth rune of the Elder Futhark, and it opens Tyr's aett, the third of the three aettir. In Norse myth, Tyr was the god who placed his own hand in the mouth of the wolf Fenrir so the other gods could bind the beast in chains, and he paid for that pledge with the hand itself when the trick was discovered. The rune poem's picture of a star that never breaks its course and the story of a god who kept his word at great cost sit together as one old meaning: faith held, no matter what it demands.

In a reading

In modern rune practice, Tiwaz is drawn when a situation calls for clear, grounded justice rather than compromise. Many of us turn to it before we have to stand up for what is right, especially when doing so asks something of us in return. It is carried or cast when we need courage that holds steady, the kind that does not flinch, and it often marks a moment where honor matters more than comfort. In a casting, it points toward right action, fair outcomes, and the willingness to give something of ourselves so that a greater balance can hold.

A little more

In Norse myth, Tyr placed his hand in the jaws of the wolf Fenrir as a pledge of good faith while the other gods bound the beast, and when the wolf realized the trick, Tyr lost the hand. It is a story widely told as the clearest picture of what this rune's name has always stood for: honor paid for in full, even when the price is steep.

Keep exploring

• Before it: Sowilo
• After it: Berkano
• All 24 runes