The Hammer of Thor

ALLEGORY 18

the MEANING

 of the 

HAMMER

"I WEAR THIS HAMMER as an expression of my relationship with the Gods and Goddesses of my Folk. It is a memorial to my ancestors and the heroes of my people. It represents the holy thirds, Order, Action, and Sustenance; It symbolizes the tripartition of the universe and existence into three distinct destinies, fortunes and fates...

The Hammer is miller, grinder, crusher; that which is wind, thunder, and rain. Ukonvasara Mjöllnir is the great sorrow of Jotuns & Ettins; its master is called Ukkonen, Dönner, Þerkele, Þerun, Taara, Taranis, Thor; He is the Einriði, God of weather, defender of marriage, enforcer of honesty and oaths; to Vingthor alone does Mjöllnir always return. The hammer is the most ancient & holy symbol of both creation and destruction: it is a tool for building and crafting; and a weapon for harm, death, destruction. I will swear sacred oaths upon this holy high symbol, of fealty, contract, and betrothal. I will ask blessings with this powerful emblem for kind weather, calm seas, and bountiful crops. I WEAR THIS HAMMER with pride as an insignia of my honor, ancestry, and Heathen Faith in the Gods & Goddesses of my Folk…"

Signed April 20, 1997, by Eighteen California Department of Corrections Prisoners on day nine of a hunger strike that would continue until the administration formally recognized their “Wotanic Heathen Faith” and granted it "equal opportunity to wear symbols of our faith and the same rights & privileges afforded to other faiths" practiced within the Dept. of Corrections… Their bold actions & sacrifice eventually led to the US Federal Bureau of Prisons officially recognizing Heathen Asatru Faith and allowing its practice & wearing of the Holy Hammer within all U.S. Prisons…