Þórr siðr

"The Hexenkopf in Pennsylvania The Hexenkopf Rock in Pennsylvania is a popular destination for many "Weird" happenings. The site of numerous instances of folklore and "supernatural" occurrences. However most notable the Hexenkopf is considered the Throne the Goddess Holle took after she led the ancestors of the Pennsylvania Dutch to America. In Germany many similar legends are given to mounds, cairns and mountains for Holle so it stands to reason she would find a fitting throne in America for her followers, known as Urglaawe in America."

Gods bless America.

A primer on the diversity of cultic activity in the ancient world.

The classical Greeks were aware of their diverse cults and localised organisational structure, as the words epichoroi, polites and astoi all denote a localised people living in the same space as each other such as a city-state or micro-polity... Beyond a few big, trans-regional sanctuaries such as Olympia and Delphi, the local horizon was the main factor of religious and cultic activity in the Greek world.

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Excellent piece by The Chad Pastoralist.

It has come to my attention that a channel called the Sacred Stew is spreading slander about me. I will gladly swear upon the name of Þórr, that the (rather unhinged and disgusting) information espoused has no basis in reality, and I have witnesses willing to attest to this and my character. What is true though, is that I am a landowner and a working man, who seeks to worship Þórr in a traditional manner. I am happily engaged, and my tribe is made up of married men all with families. Slander is easy to do when hidden behind a screen, or when the target is far away. Furthermore, I will remind you that Waldgang is a place where men are able to settle their disputes. Think on that.

Eldar Heide makes the point that the contradictory cosmological motifs of the Eddas follow the same pattern of later folktales, with the worlds of supernatural beings being modeled in a binary format while detailing different modes of spatial access. Many of the descriptions of accessing these worlds being intentionally obscure. Many examples detail that access to Jötunheimr can be through water, through the air, under the earth or through a mountain; the dwellings of supernatural beings are situated at heavens end, to the east, south; the realm of the dead being situated in the north and under the earth, under hills and mountains and/or situated across, or under a body of water. Another way to look at this, is that the supernatural world lies between the spaces of our world, being beyond the borders of our world, while still being situated within it in an immanent sense. Access to the otherworld fundamentally depends on local beliefs of the people telling the folktale and their immediate environment. Contradictory motifs do not make any which one any less true or real, but allow for a more dynamic worldview. Many real places in the world hold the evidence of the divine actions of the gods and there are innumerable access points to the otherworld. There is no separation between our world and the otherworld, and ascribing a definitive or rational spatial logic derives from the idea of authorized religion, which is Christian in nature. We must bring the magic of the divine back into our world, and to acknowledge this will allow us to experience it.

It is our view, that blót in the traditional sense of animal sacrifice is a fundamental and higher form of worship, as it is requires a greater expense and involves the taking of a life in honor of a god. That being said, if one does not have access to worship in such a manner, then one should seek out another who has a practiced hand in the traditions of ritual slaughter, and contribute to and attend their sacrifices. This allows one access to the divine rewards that come from them, and is customary per ancient tradition. But more importantly, contribution and attendance of a blót in the traditional manner allows for the opportunity to learn from others on such traditions, and replicate them in one’s own practice. This is the handing-down that the word tradition implies. Matblót, or a food sacrifice, while more accessible, is considered a lesser offering to the gods. Such offerings are permissible on a daily and weekly basis to maintain the reciprocal relationship with one’s god.

The blótsteinn at Waldgang post-sacrifice, in November 2022.

The hamarsmark of Þórr as mentioned in Hákonar saga Góða has been a point of debate when it comes to authentic heathen customs, but it is attested among the Lapps as Johan Randulf (1723) records in the Nærøy manuscript:

(…) og alle saa vel giffte som ugiffte Finner der gaae til nadvere et glas øll, men besybderlig et glas brendeviin, om hand det haver og dypper de 3 fingre der udj, hvor med hand i siin pande teigner et kaars, som skal betyde Thors Kryds-hammer, dette giør hand til at forsikke Thor om sin stedsvarende troe tienste (…) (...) and all Finns, both married and unmarried, who go to communion have a glass of beer, but particularly in a glass of Brennivin if they have it, and dip three fingers in the glass, where with their hand on their forehead they draw a cross, which must mean Thor's Cross-hammer, this serves to assure Thor that they are his faithful servants (...)

It is further stated that on Christmas eve, the Lapps make the cross on their doors, or make said sign with a knife in beer or liquor when they drink, or in a pot of butter. Schefferus in Lapponia also states that the idols of Horagalles were marked with crosses on the chest of the idol with the blood of the sacrifices they gave to the god.