Tyr and Justice

I have been at school all day, studying for my exams. My first exam is this Saturday and the subject is Criminal Theory. The course is an overview of various criminological theories about crime, chiefly concerned with why crime occurs in the first place and how it cane be solved. Thinking crime and justice I started thinking more about Tyr.

As I noted in an earlier post, Tyr's hand was bitten off by Fenrir. I assume it was his right hand, and I believe we can assume Tyr was right-handed. In addition to being the god of justice, Tyr was a warrior. When I think of a warrior god of justice, who has no sword hand, and thus cannot wield his sword I wonder what that says about our own justice system and the pursuit of it.

This Criminal Theory course I am taken has taught me one thing: crime is an endemic problem in American society, yet we have no way of solving it. First, we cannot determine the cause of crime. We do not now why people commit crime. We don't know exactly who commits crime. We don't know how often people commit crime. Second, even if we knew all these factors that make up "the criminal," we still could be at a loss for how to address it. What do we do if positivist theories are true, and that people are genetically pre-determined to commit crime? Do we go out Minority Report style and incapacitate all prospective criminals? What if the Marxists are correct, and crime is a necessary aspect of the capitalist system? Do we have to have a socialist revolution to solve crime? Would we do that?

All these questions bring me back to Tyr. Tyr is the god of justice, but without his sword hand he is not able to swing the sword of justice. Does that echo our own problem as Americans in law enforcement today? We have vast power at our disposal. Yet, we still cannot control crime and keep it at a manageable rate in California. Perhaps the story of Fenris and Tyr states more than it initially appears.

Ubsubstantiated Personal Gnosis

There is a fairly well-accepted phenomenon in Asatru called unsubstantiated personal gnosis. In Paxon's book she noted that "[i]f a religion is to live, new ideas are necessary. In heathen circles, [new ideas] are provided by what we call 'Unsubstantiated Personal Gnosis.'" (Paxon 146.) It basically is a new idea that perhaps one saw in a dream, perhaps the gods gave then, or perhaps they simply thought of it. It is not very scientific and is not in the lore, however for personal worship they are accepted around Asatru circles as valid for the individual. I don't know if what I had today qualifies as an UPG, but it certainly was one of my first spiritual moments since finding Asatru.

First, a word on Odin. Odin is a powerful god, and he is a god associated with words and language. (61.) He has power over the dead and many revere him for his wisdom. (62.) Odin is also known for having two Ravens, who fly around during the day and report back to Odin at night in Valhalla. (Wikipedia.) Allegedly, Odin is reverred by those who work with words and people who are scholars or students. (63.)

Today, I became frustrated. I am in the midst of finals, and I had begun to lose faith in myself. The material I must know is daunting, and I began to lose faith in myself. Frustrated and hungry, I packed up my things and I decided to walk to subway for a sandwich. On my way I noticed a large black raven. He was perched on a small parapet near my home. He was noteworthy bird: I had never seen him before and I was struck at his massive size. The bird gazed at me as I walked by, and I at him. I turned the corner and I immediately thought of Odin. I wondered if in some odd way that raven was one of his, or connected to him in some way. I felt as if Odin was letting me know that I had better work hard in order to learn the material and gather the wisdom I need in order to be successful on my exams.

It was a very spiritual moment, for I felt close to something larger than me. For perhaps the first time in my life, I felt there was something intangible surrounding me; something that I could not truly understand.

It was a glorious moment.

Paxon, Diana. Essential Asatru. New York: Citadel Press Books, 2006.

Wisdom

It is best for man to be middle-wise,
Not over cunning and clever:
The learned man whose lore is deep
Is seldom happy at heart.
--The Havamal

The above quoted stanza is one of the first words of wisdom that I ahve taken from the Lore that has stuck with me. I think it has a couple pithy meanings. First, I think it says that modesty is a virtue to be taken seriously. The man who is middle-wise has shortcomings, and if he has such short comings, he should be more ready to accept limitations. Such limitations are what make us human. They are also what helps form kindred and community: once we realize we are not capable of being completely self-sufficient uebermenschen, we come to realize that reliance upon others is a necessity for a long, fruitful, and meaningful life. From what I have gathered thus far in my studies is that Asatru is about building kindred and community. We rely upon our Folk for guidance and strength. The family, the tribe, and community is sacred and the source of our strength. Without that, we are nothing. From our realization that we cannot be completely independent, despite independence being one of the Nine Noble Virtues, comes the source of strength.

I believe the passage also notes that intelligence can be dangerous. This is very applicable in our world. All sources of power are corruptable. The warrior could use his sword for noble deeds just as easily as villanous ones. The wise one can use his knowledge to help his community, but he can also use it to take advantage of those around him, which will always led to the ruin of the kindred and himself. In our modern era, this holds ever true. In a world where our great minds have created devastating weapons that could destroy the world over dozens of times, one questions whether that keen intellect was truly wise.

Finally, I believe it says something about our happiness. There is truth in the old maxim: "Ignorance in bliss." Knowledge, as I noted above, can be dangerous. It can lead to pain and suffering. Sometimes it can lead to fear. That fear can often lead to brash action. Brash action can lead to pain.

That last stanza sounds far too much like the teachings of a certain Jedi master.

Fulltrui Tyr

I went down to the bookstore today to do some work for school. While I was there I browsed the religion section and I picked up Essential Asatru by Diana Paxon. I have heard from people on the boards that she is a Wiccan hack. From reading about her online I think they are right. However, as a brief introduction to Asatru I think her book fits my general purposes.

I read her brief history of Norse peoples and then some of her descriptions of the gods. As I understand it, it is a Wiccan concept to have a "patron diety." I read on some forums, however, that having a fulltrui is more in line with actual heathen practice. A fulltrui, according to my source, means having a fully trusted one. It is a god that you feel the closest to. After reading about Tyr, I felt the closet to him than to other gods.

According to Paxson, Tyr is a noble and wise warrior god. He is also seen as a figure of sacrafice and justice. All of these virtues are important to me since I want to be a district attorney. I am serious about justice and I am serious about the often difficult questions it will present me during my career. I also found a spiritual connection to Tyr because of his hand.



Tyr's most famous tale concerns the losing of his hand to the wolf Fenrir. Fenrir was one of Loki's children. The gods kept Fenrir in Asgard where Tyr fed him, because he was the only one brave enough to do so. Fenrir grew larger and larger, and the gods grew fearful that they would not be able to contain him. The gods attempted to bind Fenris, but the wolf broke every fetter they could create until they got the dwarves to craft the fetter called Gleipnir. After finishing Gleipnir, they called Fenrir to put it on. Fenrir refused while the gods assured Fenrir that he could break it easily. As collateral for putting on the fetter, Fenrir demanded one of the gods put their hand in his mouth. Only Tyr was brave enough to do so. Fenrir donned the fetter. He could not break it and he thus bit off Tyr's hand.

After I read this story I looked down at my own hand. One week before I discovered Asatru I had gotten into a fight with Colin, my roommate and good friend. We have never come to physical blows before, but we were both enraged. Colin pushed me and I fell through a recycling bin and sliced my hand open. I know wear a nasty scare on my right hand, the same hand Tyr lost.

Perhaps I am reading far too much into this wound. But I find it interesting that I marked by hand exactly around the same time I discovered Asatru and Tyr's story.

That said, I feel a connection to Tyr. I will keep him close to my heart.

Tyr, we praise thee on this day,
Protection grant from those who slay;
Fetter fear, the victory win,
Bind the wolves without, within!

Why Am I Here?

I have been an atheist my entire life.

I still am.

The fact that I am an atheist, however, does not bar me from having a sense of spirituality. I grappled with this thought for a long time. I have had many in life tell me that I could be spiritual without actually being a theist. I usually wrote off such suggestions as pure nonsense.

The past several years of my life have been the hardest. I graduated college and began a grueling and difficult tenure at law school. I entered a very serious depression. I think many factors led to it. Of all the factors that led to depression one stood out:

Was this really it? With law school I began to realize how short and quick life is. Soon I will begin my career. Then my family. I will work. I will die. Is that all? This was difficult to grapple with, but as I sense my own mortality I realized I wanted something more in life. I wanted something beyond the self. Something to make me feel truly human.

That's when I found Asatru.

I was surfing the internet one night, when I came across Asatru. I began reading about it and it intrigued me. The religion of pre-Christian Europeans. As someone who has always had a strong interest in his background and in his history, such a faith was quite intriguing. I began reading more about it, and I became more and more fascinated and attracted to it.

As a reconstructionist religion, I felt I could truly make it my own. Without any monolithic written work, like the Bible, a lot of the practices seemed to be left to the individual. I could practice it as I wished. I could make it my moral code, use it to garner strength and patience with an ever more frustrating and difficult world.

I am still an atheist, however that does not matter too much to me with Asatru. I do not believe the gods exist on some metaphysical plane or manner. But, I do believe they exist as concepts and as ideas. They exist as values. They exist as something that I can internalize and something that I can look up to. That is their value to me, and that is something I have been searching for for many years.

Once finals are over I will truly jump into researching the lore and researching secondary sources. I am looking forward to this, and I am looking forward to the journey that lies ahead.