On the 11th day of Yule!

On the 11th day of Yule!

For those who are still with us doing the 12 days of Yule, we bounce back and forth between different Pagan customs.

Standing in front of your Altar, Light a white candle (unless you happen to have an assortment, then use an Orange or Yellow candle) and from it a Pine; Fire Goddess or if you do not have any of those, then use a Sage or Dragons Blood incense. Inhale the incense in and recite the prayer to the God Tyr!

Prayer to Tyr for Courage
by Ari

I stand in the sunset, O Lord of Swords,
Seeking your wisdom in the last ray of light
Falling from between the clouds as scarlet pools
Like blood upon the ground.
I face the act of honor that may break me,
May cast me out from clan and kin,
May cleave a gulf between us.
I have turned my face from this doing,
Times uncountable, yet still I am drawn back.
Time turning, I now accept what must be done,
And my resolve is as iron, but iron unsmelted.
Lord of Swords, I pray you give me the fire of courage
To lay behind my life, my raw honor,
To sustain me as I am pressed through this forging.
One-handed God who does what must be done,
Grim and uncompromising, keep my spine straight,
My head high, my eyes forward on this path.
Hail, God of honor! I pledge to you
That if you bestow this gift, I will use it
Only on a path that I will never need to live down.
Give me that gift which is the last gift,
To keep going in the face of all fear,
To do right in the face of all necessity,
To walk unswerving through fire and blood and steel.

Tirsdag is the day of the Norse god Tyr, the son of Odin. Tyr was a warrior, the god of the sword, and for a long time, it was believed that Tuesday was the best day to start a war.

What to do on tirsdag: These days, we don’t want any more wars, though we don’t want to change the name of this weekday! This is a great day to think about one thing you will do to have the best, most peaceful week possible.

Tyr (Týr, Seaxnet, Ziu, Tue, Tiwaz), of the Aesir: Tyr is the God of Law & Justice, Rational Thought and Right Order, Protection, Divination, Astronomy, Strength and Courage; he is the ancient God of War and the Lawgiver of the Gods. He sacrificed his hand so that the evil Fenris wolf may be bound. In keeping with his patronage over justice and legal affairs, we find his hand in the settings of the Althing (the judgment-assembly of the Germanic peoples) which included ordeals and trial-by-combat as a measure of inducing Tyr to show his judgment.

He is renowned for his great wisdom and is unrivalled in his sense of duty and nerve. He may be invoked in all manners of justice, fair play, and right action. Deutschland (Germany) is also named after him (Tue's Land).

Correspondences:
Runes: Ehwaz, Ingwaz, Jera, Kaunaz, Thurisaz
Color: orange, yellow, red
Day: Tuesday
Incense: juniper, pine
Altar: upon cloth lay swords, lined up in a row, a horn of mead, and a single glove
Offering: agree to a promise that limits your convenience
Plant: blackthorn, juniper, oak, thistle, vervain
Rulership: athletics, bravery, honor, justice, law, order, sky, oaths, victory, war
Stone: bronze, gray agate, smoky topaz, steel
Pronunciation: 'Teer' (Tyr)
Symbol: helmet, sword, wolf, fire, air