Hail to Thor

Does anyone know of a good traditional way to praise Thor?

Login or Signup to reply to this post.

I would suggest that you start by learning about Thor and get to know Him by studying who He and and stories about Thor and has Him in them. You may also want to do various things such as meditate on Him, set up an alter, give offerings, do invocations, rituals dedicated to Thor, and just work with Him.

To help you, here is some information to start with:


Calendar of the Sun
19 Wolfmonath (January)

Thor's Blot

Color: Blue
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a blue cloth lay a bowl of rainwater, a cup of mead, and a Thor's hammer.
Offerings: Mead libation.
Daily Meal: Goat meat.

Invocation to Thor

Hail, Thor, Lord of the Hammer!
Lord of the Storm, rumbling chariot
That tears across the sky,
Lord who speaks plainly
And has no time for intrigue
And subtle ploys,
Protector of the common man,
Warrior beloved by farmers,
Help us to untwist our tongues
And speak the fiery truth
Hurled blazing like a hammer-bolt
Across the open sky!

Song: Hail Thor, Lord of Thunder

(The cup of mead is passed around, and each drinks for Thor, saying what first comes into his mind, like a lightning bolt of truth. The remainder of the mead, and the rainwater, is poured out as a libation. Then the Mjollnir is passed, and each lays it on their heart and swears to make their word be as a bond of iron.)

http://www.paganbookofhours.org/rituals/thor.html

**keep in mind that the given offerings, alter parts, etc are just examples and are not the only one's you can go by. For the alter you can place things that you feel represent him. You can give an offering of personal belongings that you are willing to give up to Thor. Etc.**


In Germanic mythology and religion, Thor is the god of thunder. He is typically portrayed as red-headed and bearded, and carrying Mjolnir, a magical hammer. Depictions of Mjolnir became popular adornment for warriors during the age of the Vikings, and it is still seen today among adherents of some forms of Norse Paganism. This hammer was an emblem of thunderbolts, generally glowing red hot. Thor had a gauntlet made of iron called Iarn-greiper which let him grasp and throw the hammer. To increase his strength, he wore a belt known as Megin-giord, which was said to have magical properties.

A son of Odin, Thor was married to a fertility goddess named Sif, although he also had a mistress, Jarnsaxa. Thor was known for protecting both gods and mortals from the powers of evil. As keeper of thunder and lightning, he was also considered integral to the agricultural cycle. If there was a drought, it wouldnt hurt to offer a libation to Thor in hopes that the rains would come.

During a thunderstorm, Thor rode through the heavens on his great chariot, pulled by two magical goats. Whenever he swung Mjolnir, lightning flashed across the sky. Mjolnir itself was such a powerful item (as dwarf-made items often are in Norse legend) that Thor needed a special belt and iron gloves to handle the hammer. After it was thrown, the hammer always returned home to Thor. In the Prose Edda, the death of Thor at Ragnarok is described.

The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote of Thor:

"I am the God Thor,
I am the War God,
I am the Thunderer!
Here in my Northland,
my fastness and fortress,
reign I forever!

Here amid icebergs
rule I the nations;
This is my hammer,
Milner the mighty;
Giants and sorcerers
cannot withstand it!"

Thor's influence has carried over into modern times. A day of the week is named for him (Thor's day) and there are a number of references to him in pop culture. He appears as a Marvel comic book character, and pops up alongside Loki and Odin in Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, as well as Gaiman's excellent novel, American Gods . Most recently, Thor has been featured in Joanne Harris' Runemarks , a book for juvenile readers set 500 years after Ragnarok.

Some sources say he is the son of Jord and Odin, and others state he is the son of Frigga and Odin. Either way, he was born of great size and strength.

While he normally carried a cool temperment, he would occasionally go into terrible rages and become very dangerous. Because of his temper, he was sent to live with Vingnir ("the winged") and Hlora ("heat"). All of the Gods were grateful that these two raised him, including Thor himself. In honor of them, he took on two names: Vingthor and Hlorridi.Once he attained his full growth and had become more tolerant and reasonable he was permitted back in Asgard, where he occupied a seat in the council. He was given the realm of Thrud-vang where he built a palace named Bilskirnir ("lightening").

He was a God of thunder, and thus was not allowed to cross the bridge Bifrost: or he would set it on fire with his presence.

" First, Thor with the bent brow, in red beard muttering low, darting fierce lightenings from eyeballs that glow, comes, while each chairiot wheel echoes in thunder peal, as his dread hammer shock makes Earth and Heaven rock, cloud rifting above, while Earth quakes below " (J.C. Jones)

Sources:

Myths of Northern Lands by H.A. Guerber

Norse Mythology: Great Stories from the Eddas by Hamilton

Thor: Ages of Thunder by Gillen, Deconnick and Lee
http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/godsandgoddesses/p/ThorProfile.htm


It may also be beneficial to learn about Thor and the stories with Him by reading the Poetic Eddas and the Prose Edda.


(Not trying to assume you know zilch about Him.)

By Thor's hammer! (Haha, Heathen humor).

Thor can be praised/ honored in a variety of ways. One way to do this would be to have a feast in his honor. A Thurseblot is actually a holiday feast, generally held around the full moon in January. Typically the idea of something like this is to bake goods in Thor's honor, then possibly do rounds of toasting and oaths to Thor, reciting poetry and written works in His name. But you can honestly hold a Thurseblot whenever you feel like- it doesn't have to be on that specific date. You could even do a small blot of Thursday- Thor's Day.

If you go the feast route, Thor tends to be given hearty beers and plenty of food. Goat is the most appropriate food to give but do not break the bones . This is symbolic of the two goats Thor owned that he was able to bring back to life, so long as he did not break their bones. Other meats like roast or beef is good as well. Lots of drinking, if you are old enough, in His name is a good offering. Thor is a fan of alcoholic beverages. Mead or Ale- there you go. Drinking in his name actually is the most common way nowadays to praise him, believe it or not.

For decorations bright vibrant red is often seen as his most prominent color, hence his nicknames Firebeard, Rebeard, etc. His hammer is obviously a symbol you should strive to include in your praisings to him, as it is his symbol and represents various things such as protection and strength. If you want to find something to represent lightening and storms, that would be a good way to go as well!

Here's an example of how a kindred holds a Thor Blot:

http://home.earthlink.net/~jordsvin/Blots/Thor%20Blot.htm

And here's an invocation to Thor, which I love, from Paxson:

Redbeard, Firebeard, Bringer of Lightening
Life-giving Stormlord, Lover of Feasting,
Father of Freedom, Fighter most Doughty,
Donar, Defender, Dearly we need thee.
Hear us no, Hero, hasten to help us,
Gifts thy great goats gallop to bring.
Prosper thy people: Pour on Earth plenty.
Rain in abundance, right for the season.

Or, if you're wanting to be humorous, which he appreciates as well:

Thor bashes Etins! Thor bashes trolls!
When he swings his hammer, Oh how thunder rolls!
Wish a clash and a clatter, All our foes he scatters- From Midgard!

If you need anything else, let me know!

Forgive me- I work with the Egyptians not the norse- but I know that its called mjolnir ( or mjollnir, whichever) so why is it so commonly called his hammer instead of its actual name?

People nay not know how to pronounce Mjolnir. And because it is a hammer it just may be easier to say "hammer" instead. I guess it's a matter of preference.

Also keep in mind that in the Eddas, they often simply refer to it as "Thor's Hammer" or "His Hammer" "The Hammer". They don't call it by it's name more than once or twice.

Thank you! I knew I could count on you Personified! :)

and thank you Vanity! By the way how do you pronounce Mjolnir?

Watch the Thor movie :3 joking, joking...

M- yol- near

The J is pronounced as a Y

Thank you all!