THURISAZ: SACRED FURY

“ᚦ Þurs er kvenna kvöl 

ok kletta búi 

ok varðrúnar verr 

Saturnus þengill”

“THURS is torture of women

And cliff-dweller

And husband of a giantess

Saturn’s Thegn”

The giant trods across the ice-capped plain. Thorns, sharp and fierce garnish the landscape.

Quite a stellar image, isn’t it? The image of a colossus, born from the great chaotic gap itself. It strides, grunts, and shuffles along. The image of its mission forward burning sharp in its mind. It takes up arms, it bellows a deafening shriek.

Its strike lands true. Thorns of might pierce. The mountain shakes and movement initiates. 

Force, Chaos, Direction, and the Energy to give it motion. It is the meaningful conflict which allows growth. The punch to the face that we must throw to win a fight. Perhaps it’s to protect our girlfriend, specifically her ass, of which the man whose face you are currently rearranging was foolish enough to grope.

For great motion to take place, there needs to be a driving force to accelerate it. Without this forceful push, action is merely an idea. An empty vessel without a pilot.

Thurisaz, the THURS is the runic embodiment of the giants of old with whom it shares its namesake. The giant and the thorn. It is, in its most basic form, the chaotic, reactionary force. The sharpened thorn which stabs and bites at its target.

I talk about chaos a lot, across many articles, and for good reason. The all too often neglected aspect of life and the cosmos. Associated with chaos, there is conflict. Conflict is seen by many as an inherently bad thing.

Upon a closer look, it’s just as important as the gift of wealth or the strength of the bull discussed previously. It’s the instinctual snap of the nerves to allow for all to weave and grow. 

Thurs represents the chaotic and aggressive nature of man. The aggressive will to go forward and strike out we have had since we first learned to walk upright. 

We are animals at the end of the day. Since day one we have had to initiate actions of might and violence against one another. Whether it be warring tribes battling for territory, or a simple standoff over a fallen animal carcass.

This rune, whose shape even resembles that of a crude hammer, can also be the hammer we wield in the times when necessary. 

It’s the force of our emotions, our spirit, our mind lashing out and driving forward. Literally, and figuratively.

I see many people in my life try to act like violence is not necessary. That conflict is not necessary. That chaos and the might of unrestrained energy is not necessary.

I have news for you holier than thou pacifists:

It is. 

There is a dark side to all these things, yes. This rune has its potential for negative use as all in the futhark do. But to turn a blind eye to our chaotic instincts is foolish. 

We have a will to power, the suppression of that will leads to this rune’s bite maiming you rather than what you are targeting. 

THURS: The Masculine Force

The rune itself represents force of action, a powerful and brutal strike. This is tied into the hearts of us men. It is the hammer in a man’s hand, striking a nail with the intent to build. It’s the great hammer with which Þórr himself cracks the sky with. The hammer of the striker which rings through thousands of years. 

It is the man who fights for his kin, for his principles. It’s the swing of the hammer or the fall of the axe to split the head of the man who opposes him.

I feel this is a rune misunderstood by many. Some choose to see it in a negative light solely, in use or casting. 

Thurisaz is not evil. It does not symbolize direct harm. It’s simply a force of nature. A neutral power like a cannon with an unlit fuse. A force of chaos if you will. Any powerful force and how it’s utilized depends on the hands of its user. 

You take a guy who has no idea how to drive a bulldozer, and put him in a bulldozer — what do you think the result is likely to be? Not sure you want to ask him after they’re done scraping what’s left of his supervisor off the pavement.

Understanding Thurisaz is understanding there are very primal forces. The more brutish nature of life and the cosmos. 

It is force. It is conflict. It is the explosive release of energy. The great bolt of lightning. The fall of the stone hammer. It’s the nature of conflict, movement, and initiation. One of the most potent and powerful of the entire futhark. Not to be taken lightly, but necessary to understand. 

Keep the image of the thorn in your hearts, for it is the sacred fury.