The Sword of Teiwaz
The Sword of Teiwaz
Long ago, Teiwaz the Warrior-King—not Woden—was the ruler of the Gods. Teiwaz goes back to the early Indo-European nomadic horsemen whose goal was the conquer everything in their path. While a leader had to have good judgment and the ability to strategize, it was martial prowess rather than wisdom or diplomacy which held the highest value. The God who would eventually become Tyr, the Lord of Swords, began as Teiwaz the Warleader, ripping his way across Europe with his warband behind him. His symbol was a weapon—the sword, the spear, the arrow, the knife—plunged into the dirt which would become the new conquered territory. The rune Teiwaz, which is shaped like a weapon, is the vestigial memory of his name and work.
I’d already known that the red star Aldebaran was Tyr’s Hand, the loss of the God of Honor, and I thought that was all there was to Tyr’s stars—or Tyr’s story. Yet when I meditated on Antares and asked for its divine affinity, it was the older Teiwaz who came forth, even redder with blood than Aldebaran. Red is Tyr’s color, for the blood shed in battle and the blood he himself has shed.
Both Antares and Aldebaran are part of the quadruplicity called the Royal stars, the Watchers or Protectors—Antares in the East and Aldebaran in the West. Antares is a planet of war; those who have it prominent in the charts are said to be gifted with tough, pugnacious personalities. They are fighters in every part of their life, and are not infrequently drawn to the military, embodying Teiwaz’s role as warleader. It is also said to bestow a certain amount of suspiciousness and paranoia, as well as the ability to survive great hardships unconquered.
The Sword of Teiwaz gives power and force … although not necessarily always for good or ethical ends. It is associated with obsession. A warleader must focus on the task and see the war through, and not fall back through cowardice, but that gift of obsession can also become implacable destruction that has no place for mercy or compassion. Like the Scorpion’s sting, Antares can be so wrapped up on the fight that they forget—or block out—the humanity of the opponent, or for that matter any innocent bystanders. The fight needs to be taken internally, and the warrior must fight to keep their own nature on an honorable track.
When I researched Antares, I discovered that it is in a near-exact opposition to Aldebaran – the only two stars to circle locked into each other in this way. These two red stars encapsulate the Warrior’s Cycle. The star of Teiwaz’s Sword is Teiwaz the warleader, tough and skilled and bloody, but vulnerable to the seduction of becoming an uncaring destroyer of all in his path. The star of Tyr’s Hand comes from a later warrior – one who has been displaced by the canny Woden when the wandering warlike tribe became a settled trading colony who needed a leader that could wheel and deal for them. This Tyr has gone from the heedless, obsessive warrior to the older veteran with a deeper understanding of the world. He is now the keeper of honor and integrity who can sacrifice his hand for the greater good.