Thuriaz Meditation

Torn, Thurse, Thor

Harm, Chaos, Growth

Not all darkness passes from the complex psyche as easily as it does for the Auroch.

Not all beings reach sunlight at the same time – many sorrows are caused when a being lashes out in their pain.

Chaos has its time and place. Sometimes rigid regimes need to be disrupted, to topple. If a tornado destroys the seat of a dictatorship, it results in a chance to build something new. If it destroys farmlands, it results in too much chaos, leading to death.

Sometimes anger is useful. We can achieve great things when anger motivates us to survive against the odds, to make scientific discoveries that prove theories, or to believe that a “better” way can be found to do something. The drive to compete is similarly not bound entirely with “aggression.” Even the rage of the berzerker comes in handy if you must defend yourself, or kill a strong animal in order to avoid starvation.

Even disaster and disease, as terrible as they are, serve as a way, wholly indifferent to our opinions, to keep us in check. The storms and illnesses have gotten worse the more we tinker with our environment. Every time we stop one deadly bacteria, we create stronger, nastier ones. The more we prod at the earth with gene splicers and habitat destruction, the more it prods back.

Thuriaz also references the giants, the “Other.” When we look at members of the groups we identify with, we see their uniqueness. We think of the diversity of skills and opinions. Members of the “Other,” however, are “all the same,” and anyone who stands out as an individual is an “exception” - like Loki or Hela. It never occurs to us that a few obvious culprets, like Surt, have spoiled our opinion of others – after all, who are Skadi and Gerd if not also Jotuns? We look at extremists to define “them,” while dismissing the extremists among “us.”

While our strength is not equal to the damage caused by nature, there are times when we must confront and fight through our problems. Thuriaz is both the destruction, wild and unharnessed, caused by sheer chaos, and the controlled, decisive, forceful strike of Thor's hammer. Thuriaz is the will to not just trample over the problem, as Uruz would, but to stand and look it in the eye.

There will always be problems, competitions, and confrontations, but the hammer of Thor protects those, by definition, weaker than Thor is. When we shield and shelter the victims of natural disaster and economic ruin, we are using the energy of Thuriaz as Thor would – to ensure not only our own survival, but that of humanity itself, even in spite of our moments of weakness. Life is hard for everyone, so learn from your trials (even if you only learn when to be strong enough to ask for help!), and show others compassion during theirs.

Conflicts and challenges happen.

“Othering” is an epidemic.

Be compassionate anyway.
Emerge from life's forge, stronger than before.