Morgan Daimler - Pagan Portals--Thor

If you have found Thor interesting and would like to dig deeper into who he is you can look at the books in the bibliography for further reading. I would also like to include here some other resource options that might be helpful in a continuing quest to get to know the Thunder God.

Thor the Viking Thunder God a site by academic D L Ashliman from 1999 which features some basic facts about Thor and links to articles about him http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/thor.html

There is a collection of public domain copies of the Eddas and Sagas on the Sacred Texts website. These are good resources to begin with, especially if budget is an issue, but any translation that comes from that period must be read in its context: translators during the Victorian era tended to omit material they found inappropriate (based on their mores) and to add material that they felt was either needed or made the story more interesting http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ice/index.htm

Thor on Norse Mythology for Smart People another site with an academic tone and solid references. This entry offers a good concise overview of who Thor is https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses/thor/

The Northvegr website is a good source for material on Norse culture http://www.northvegr.net/

The Viking Answer Lady webpage has a good discussion of the White Christ versus Red Thor of the conversion period. It is also a good page in general to use as a resource for more specific questions. http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/hvitkrst.shtml

There is an entire genre of music called Viking Metal which focuses on Norse themes and mythology and many bands within that and related genres will have songs about or connected to Thor. I cant possibly list them all here but I will offer some highlights to give readers some ideas of where to start.

Swedish Death Metal band, Amon Amarth, has an album titled Twilight of the Thunder God and much of their music deals with themes around Norse mythology.

The Polish Metal band, Hazael, has an album out titled Thor.

The Faroese Metal band, Tr, has a song called Hammer of Thor which tells the story of the forging of the hammer

The Norwegian Metal band, Wardruna, also covers Norse mythology themes in their music.

And of course there is always the classic: Wagners Das Rheingold opera can be found in multiple formats and is also available on Youtube.

Dryad Design offers three different Thor statue options, one a smaller figurine and two slightly larger seated figures. One seated figure is flanked by his two goats, the other holds his hammer in his lap. They were all originally hand craved by artist Paul Borda then cast in resin and the detail carries through.

Sacred Source has a plaque featuring Thor riding in his chariot and a museum replica statue of Thor holding a hammer in his lap.

There is also a wholesaling company that makes a more dramatic statue, styled after idealized Viking imagery, that can be found in many retailers who carry deity statues. If none of these suit your taste there are a variety of hand carved or moulded options on sites like Etsy that can be made to order, although I do advise caution and some research before purchasing direct from artists; some are known to have ties to white supremacy groups.

Pagan Portals is a series whose purpose is to offer people a solid introduction to specific topics. This book is intended to serve as such an introduction to the Norse God, Thor, giving a reader a basic overview of his history, mythology, symbols, and his presence in the modern world. It would be impossible in a book this small to cover any of these topics fully so what we will do here is aim to touch on each of them in a way that gives readers a grounding in the topic. Those who want to go further can look at the bibliography for suggested further reading.

In writing this book I have tried to find a balance between academic sources and personal experiences. As someone who has been part of the Heathen community for over a decade I want to share my own experience honouring Thor so that people can see at least one possible expression of Heathenry in the modern world, but I also want to provide a strong academic resource for readers. I have tried to include an extensive bibliography and list a selection of other references that could potentially help readers connect to Thor in both intellectual and experiential ways.

As with my previous books I am using American Psychological Association (APA) formatting for citations which means that after any quoted or paraphrased material you will see a set of parenthesis containing the authors last name and the date the book was published; this can be cross-referenced in the bibliography if you would like to know the source. I realize not everyone likes this style but I prefer it because I find it the most efficient way to reference sources.

It would be impossible to include everything about Thor in a single book of this size, however, I have tried to include what I consider the most pertinent information. Ideally readers will be interested enough to continue researching and reading more, but if this is the only book on Thor that you read it should still give you a solid basic understanding of who Thor was and is. To accomplish this I am looking at sources spanning both Norse and Germanic cultures, historic and modern, as well as books about Thor written by scholars as well as non-academics who feel a strong connection to him. I believe that this wide approach is the only way to get a true understanding of Thor fully in context.

This book by nature will likely tend to focus on a more Heathen perspective, both historic and modern, but it is written for anyone interested in Thor regardless of religion or belief system. I realize that this may be something of a contentious approach because some modern practitioners of pagan faiths like Wicca and Asatru can be a bit antagonistic but I would rather cast a wide net than be overly specific in the audience I write for. I dont think that a persons religion matters as much as the intent with which they approach the Gods and the effort they put into learning about them and connecting to them. So, whether you are a Heathen, Asatruar, Reconstructionist, Neo-pagan, Wiccan, witch or any other variety of pagan or polytheist this book should still be useful to you. That said, however, my own personal experiences will tend to be framed within the context of my spirituality as an American Heathen with Reconstructionist tendencies.

Other Titles by Morgan Daimler

Brigid

Meeting the Celtic Goddess of Poetry, Forge, and Healing Well

978-1-78535-320-8 (paperback)

978-1-78535-321-5 (e-book)

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Gods and Goddesses of Ireland

A Guide to Irish Deities

978-1-78279-315-1 (paperback)

978-1-78535-450-2 (e-book)

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Irish Paganism

Meeting the Celtic God of Wave and Wonder

978-1-78535-145-7 (paperback)

978-1-78535-146-4 (e-book)

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Manannn mac Lir

Meeting the Celtic God of Wave and Wonder

978-1-78535-810-4 (paperback)

978-1-78535-811-1 (e-book)

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Odin

Meeting the Norse Allfather

978-1-78535-480-9 (paperback)

978-1-78535-481-6 (e-book)

The Dagda

Meeting the Good God of Ireland

978-1-78535-640-7 (paperback)

978-1-78535-641-4 (e-book)

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The Morrigan

Meeting the Great Queens

978-1-78279-833-0 (paperback)

978-1-78279-834-7 (e-book)

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