The Urge To Destroy Is Also The Urge To Create! Thurisaz!

The Urge To Destroy Is Also The Urge To Create!… Nature Abhors A Vacuum!… Thurisaz Is The Essence Of Both Death & Destruction!!!

Often in the occult is death and destruction romanticized in almost a nihilistic fashion and yet even through this romantic overindulged idea there is however some real truth. Death & destruction by most people (especially outside of spirituality and the occult) is something greatly feared and almost seen as the sad end to something great. However, in reality this is far from the truth. Thurisaz by most accounts is a rune of destruction and pain. For rune magicians it would not surprise me to find a curse formed around the idea of being a thorn in someone’s side. Yet, in my own work with Thurisaz I have come to a slightly different perspective in my interpretation.

This rune is linked to what most ceremonial magicians would consider Saturn qualities. Saturn is the essential part of the cycle that breaks things down at the end of their life. It is not deliberately belligerent in a case to cause pain to others even if that happens to become a side effect. Death and destruction however are a very real part of nature, neither inherently good or bad for polarities sake. If I want to build something new on a plot of land I may have to tear something down that already exists in this place. Even outside of the physical sense in order for me to accept new ideas and conclusions I will have to destroy old ones that conflict or become outdated. For the most part this is a very natural part of the flow of creation. The harsh truth that in order for progress something somewhere must die or be destroyed in order to accommodate it. This can be seen both in nature as well as human tendencies, not to forget psychology and concept.

Now Thurisaz does contain a potential to be used as a destructive force against others in the baneful magick sense however, before jumping into this potential I think it is first more important to understand its deeper core. Thurisaz simply is the rune that ends the cycle, in order for something new to be born. In this sense the destruction this rune brings is also the initiation of new creation. The continuation of Fehu in some sense.

Old Norwegian Rune Poem:

“Thurs causes anguish to women,

misfortune makes few men cheerful.”

Old Icelandic Rune Poem:

“Thurs is torture of women

and cliff-dweller

and husband of a giantess

Saturn’s thegn.”

Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem:

“The thorn is exceedingly sharp,

an evil thing for any thegn to touch,

uncommonly severe on all who sit among them.”

In the Old Norwegian and Icelandic Rune Poem I draw a completely different interpretation than what most will. The woman in the poem in my interpretation is a reference to the sacred feminine. It embodies the truth that the feminine quality is that which gives birth to creation. The first part of the cycle. This is why this misfortune of Thurisaz (death and destruction) makes few men cheerful, which we can see today in how most people handle death. Additionally, we have the reference to Saturn which also ties this in together. With all of this in mind, this rune is simply the end of the cycle. If Fehu is creation, Uruz is Progression/Evolution this would make Thurisaz Death. Beginning, Experience and End. These three runes outline the simply outline of life. Something is created, it lives and then it comes to its end. Thurisaz simply is the embodiment of the end.

The key is to remember that these three runes form their own cycle. Whenever Fehu creates it summons Thurisaz to end the cycle, and whenever Thurisaz ends a cycle it calls Fehu to create again. Nature abhors a vacuum and nature will inevitable fill that void. This can also be looked upon in another sense, directed at ritual. Fehu is the evocation, the calling, the conjuring while Thurisaz is the banishing.

Anything That Has A Beginning Also Has An End!… No Flame However Brilliant Does Not One Day Splutter And Fade!!!

Aside from the romantic nihilism of death and destruction Thurisaz can be taken into different context. This other context is simply put misfortune, torture and pain. In some ways this is similar to Uruz in that harsh negatives are a part of growth. However, Thurisaz in this sense to me is more focused on the human aspect. Saturn while relating to the end cycle is also known for causing a lot of chaos. In this sense Thurisaz is the human tendencies to want to bring misfortune, and pain to other. The Giants were the enemies of the Aesir and both sides wished great misfortune on the other. The Aesir were often in the myths the thorn in the side of the Giants.

This to me speaks of the nature of our human polarity. We love and adore certain people, yet we also have people in our lives we would happily see suffer. Each rune has a polarity perspective which we should always consider. But how would you apply this rather nasty and harsh rune into practice?

The first and most obvious is baneful magick. However, I feel there is a much better use for this rune over all. Banishing is a practice in magick that is paramount to the cycle of rituals. Calling upon Thurisaz at the end of a ritual to banish and clear the area would be a good option. Additionally, this rune could be used as a harsh method of healing. What most would refer to as dark healing. Putting this rune upon the body in the place of the illness with the intent to kill the ailment. In many respects this can be a more violent rune in terms of healing but the only way to rid of a cancer is to destroy it at its root. I will say this as a disclaimer that this rune is not a cure for cancer and should not be used instead of any medication.

Another option for this rune would be almost a different kind of road opener. Being able to create a vacuumed in your life with the intent of something being filled in. The only issue with this is the fact that you would not be directly choosing what fills that vacuum. Banishing seems like the most versatile option. Using it to banish old spirits and energies from a new house. In many senses this would also be a form of cleansing. The key to this rune is knowing how to apply it, death and destruction while hash, can be applied in ways that promotes the flourishing of life and new creations.

If you would like to read more of my work on the runes you can pre-order my upcoming book “Beyond Prophecy: A Practical Guide To Rune Magick” at this link: https://gumroad.com/l/xljLN

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Couldn’t thurisaz be used to protect as well?

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Oh…i agree with all you have written, it was a lovely read…

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I would say so yes. In a brutal violent kind of way :stuck_out_tongue:

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Thank you :slight_smile:

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I love these micro-essays, and I’m so sad these are coming out faster than I can read them! I don’t enter Thurisaz for another 3 days! bookmarks wildly

Never stop!

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Glad you are enjoying them :slight_smile: these are all going to be in my Beyond Prophecy book but with a lot more extra,

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As I work hardly with Thurisaz atm, I couldn’t agree more.
Harsh but effective cleansing the flesh , freeing the spirit

Thurisaz represents Thor and his hammer, so yes certainly.