The symbol is Tiwaz. It is one of the Nordic runes of the Elder Futhark. Twenty-four runes comprise this alphabet; the first six make up the futhark sound (Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raidho, Kennaz). Elder due to the point in history at which they appear in Germanic writing. 

It is the God Tyr’s rune. It is the only rune in this alphabet that represents a God or a person. There is much history, lore, and esoteric content about Tyr and Tiwaz, which is beyond the scope of this blog post.

Tiwaz is a spear. It is the letter “T” and makes the same sound. 

Some essential concepts.

• Tiwaz symbolizes common justice and sacrifice of the self for the well-being of the whole. Justice means there is an unbiased sacrifice and rational thought for a cause.
• Without fairness, you cannot have justice.
• You need to know the other to have fairness.

The rune is special to me and appears frequently in my life. It is tattooed on my right arm, facing outward. Most people have the rune facing “up” or pointing back to them. 

Often, I’m approached as to why Tiwaz is facing outward. I have been told that pointing a spear at one can be intimidating. Yet, it is my devotion to the concepts and principles of the meaning rune. It represents “onward” in my life. Regardless of the struggles, good times, and accomplishments, we must always continue moving ahead. It means you can always expect fairness and a willingness to know you.

A bit about me that you didn’t ask to know, but now you do 😊