Examining the Tyr Rune in 2025

The Great Depression, Tyr Year, Hearthside Blog

The 2025 New Moon rune according to The Nordic Animist Year by Rune Rasmussen is Tyr/Tiwaz. In these posts I examine the prediction for the year based on the Swedish rune poem in Rune’s book. I then compare the Swedish rune poem to other rune poems to try to gain more insights. After that I examine historical data on weather/climate, as well as politics, to try to predict what to expect in this year. This is all speculative. I want to see if the 19 year cycle can predict world events, specifically in Scandinavia and circumpolar regions.

We start with the Swedish Rune poem as that is in Rune Rasmussen’s book.

Swedish Rune Poem:

Tyr i Vatŭm ledast.

Tyri brinner bäst i.e.. dyrast.

Tyr (bull) is badly off in water/Tyr (bull) is meanest of spirits.

Resinous wood is best for burning, i.e. hardest.

The strangest part of this poem to me was how Rune was translating Tyr as a bull. I am not sure what his reasoning for this was. Since it doesn’t seem to actually say that in the Swedish, and I haven’t yet been able to find another source for the Swedish rune poem other than his book I don’t have much to go on. Is Tyr a bull because he is stubborn? I think a little of Taurus the bull and wonder if that is where the correlation is being drawn.

If I put aside the part about the bull the Tyr rune for this year suggests a difficult year. It seems like storms are predicted. (Tyr is badly off in water. The need for long burning wood.)

Next we go to the Norwegian rune poem, and see the themes are completely different.

Norwegian Rune Poem:

Týr er æinendr ása;

opt værðr smiðr blása.

Tyr is a one-handed god;

often has the smith to blow.

This seems mostly to be a description of the god Tyr, but who is the smith? Is the smith Tyr himself or perhaps Wayland the Smith? Is the smith one of the dwarves who made his sword? I think it is significant here that Tyr is one-handed in this interpretation, so unable to easily wield a weapon or unable to create a defensible position, depending how you look at it. This may be a hint to the kind of caution that must be taken with this year.

As we move on we see even more themes with the Anglo-Saxon rune poem.

Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem:

Tir biþ tacna sum, healdeð trywa wel

wiþ æþelingas; a biþ on færylde

ofer nihta genipu, næfre swiceþ.

Tiw is a guiding star; well does it keep faith with princes;

it is ever on its course over the mists of night and never fails.

When I think of a guiding star I think of navigation by ship. Unlike the Swedish poem it seems to denote fair weather, but specifically for princes. Does this mean it is a good year for the wealthy, but perhaps not for the common people? We do see that mists and night are described here, so it is difficult to see the way, yet somehow this “weather” favours princes.

Finally, we look at the Icelandic poem, which is interesting because it is yet again describing Tyr himself.

Icelandic Rune Poem:

Týr er einhendr áss

ok ulfs leifar

ok hofa hilmir.

Mars tiggi.

Týr

god with one hand

and leavings of the wolf

and prince of temples.

We see again that Tyr is described as one-handed. This time his one hand is called “the leavings of the wolf.” Perhaps the wolf in this case is the storm, or consuming force, in this year and we must expect to sacrifice for survival. What is even more striking is that Tyr is described here as the “prince of temples” which makes sense as the original sky god of Norse stories. That said, it makes an interesting parallel with the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, suggesting a more promising interpretation in which those who embody the energies of Tyr, by acting with justice and being willing to sacrifice, will find their way. In this interpretation each of us can be princes who can navigate the mists and darkness of this storm.

Now we can leave that in the back of our brains as we examine the historical data from other Tyr years. I like to look at climate and political data from both Sweden (since we are using primarily the Swedish rune poem as a jumping off place) and Canada (because I live here) to determine what a Tyr year looks like. This year I will also be looking a bit more at global politics because I feel the Trump election has helped to set the tone for this year, even here in Canada. We also have an election looming, and Canada does to some extent get influenced in our politics by what is happening south of the border.

The last Tyr year was in 2006 in Canada and it was marked by being a warm and wet year, with flooding and summer storms. 1987 also was a wet year for much of Canada. Montreal was hit by severe thunderstorms and flooding. The year also featured a devastating tornado in Edmonton. In contrast, 1930 was the beginning of the Dust Bowl on the prairies, a devastating multi-year drought. There is great variation in weather for Tyr years in Canada but it can consistently be said to be extreme.

Similar to Canada we see extremes in Sweden during Tyr years. 2006 was marked by low snowfall in Europe, and a heatwave in Sweden that led to many hospitalizations. In 1987, a cold snap led to flooding and deaths in Sweden.

Interestingly, the previous Tyr year was 1968. This was the year that the Swedish Ambassador first warned the UN about the effects of climate change. This leads us into another interesting feature of the Tyr year, the need for change. In the 1960s, Sweden was caught up in a post-war movement. In 1987, Sweden was caught up in a race-crisis. In 2006, Sweden faced a historic election, voting in a new government after 12 years! As we can see the Tyr year denotes upheaval and difficult changes, the perfect political storm.

In Canada in 2006, the top news story was the War in Afghanistan. In 1987, the Meech Lake Accord was drafted. This gave French Canadians a basis for preserving their cultural identity within Canada and gave Quebec more power of self-determination. In 1968, Canada was reforming its political identity to recognize the rights of Indigenous people, women, and French Canadians through various movements. Pierre Trudeau won the federal election after the previous government winning a confidence vote just months before. Canada shows resilience in Tyr years, riding out upheaval and finding victory in difficult political climates. Like the God Tyr, Canada has managed to use Justice to overcome adversity in previous Tyr years.

In the United States in both 1987 and 2006 they were caught up in wars with Iraq. In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and was described as a year of great turmoil and change.

1930 marked the beginning of the Great Depression in both Canada and the United States. It had rippling effects worldwide. This shows just how extreme the upheaval of Tyr years can be and gives us a warning to approach this year cautiously.

Through the lens of political data we see that Tyr years have been full of war and political upheaval for Canada and the United States, but overall the political climate of these years in Canada has been more positive, leading to new political movements and rights for Canadians. Racial tensions seem to be high in Canada, the United States, and Sweden in Tyr years, with Sweden also placing emphasis on environmental concerns.

It seems to me when combining all this data that we can expect for 2025 to experience extreme weather and storms. The political climate is also that of storms, and the way that this plays out will depend on the country. We can expect political upheaval and we will need to prepare ourselves. It seems that be prepared to weather these political storms will lead to better outcomes than getting caught up in the storm and political climate. This is a warning to be like Tyr and act justly. Some sacrifices may be needed for the benefit of everyone.

Previous Years:

2021 - Nöd

https://hearthsidecommunity.blogspot.com/2021/05/examining-naudiz-in-2021.html

2022 - Is

https://hearthsidecommunity.blogspot.com/2022/02/examining-isa-in-2022.html

2023 - Ar

https://hearthsidecommunity.blogspot.com/2023/05/examining-ar-in-2023.html

2024 - Sol

https://hearthsidecommunity.blogspot.com/2024/06/examining-sol-in-2024.html

References:

“The Sword at the Wedding” by H. R. Ellis Davidson

"The Deicidal Otherworld Weapon in Celtic and Germanic Mythic Tradition" by Martin Puhvel