Who is Thor?

   Most people easily recognize Thor as simply ?The Norse Thunder God?, but He is really much more. Although He certainly is the Lord of Storms, this is but one aspect of the deity who is so well known, and yet so misunderstood and over-simplified.

        He is so misunderstood, that I have seen countless articles, even from other heathens, who portray Thor as a slow-witted, brutish, and somewhat ignoble deity. He is usually represented as being constantly angry and stupid, in the manner of ?Thor mad! Smash, Smash! Kill, Kill!? Frankly, that sounds more like the Incredible Hulk to me, but unfortunately, this is how so many see Thor these days.

        Thor is most certainly not a ?dumb? God. After all, what kind of a deity could out wit a dwarf whose name was Alvis (literally ?All-Wise?). For those unfamiliar with the tale, A dwarf named Alvis came to Thor?s hall and asked for the hand of His daughter, Thrud, in marriage. (Apparently, the dwarf was promised this by the other Gods, but the tale of how that happened seems to have been lost down the ages.) Thor was away from home when this deal was struck, and refused to give His daughter away to someone over an agreement made without His consent. He, as father of Thrud, was the only one who could give away His daughter in marriage. The dwarf persisted that Thrud should be his, and so Thor put him to a test of wits about the lore of ancient times. Alvis agreed and answered every question right, but it did him no good. Thor out-witted the dwarf by keeping him busy until the sun rose, and Alvis, like all dwarfs, was petrified into stone by the sunlight.

        From this example, I believe the kind of wisdom which Thor represents is ?blunt?, in the straightforward manner that is based by thinking logically. Whereas, Odin displays his wisdom through the clever use of poetry and philosophy, Thor displays wisdom through basic logic and honest speech.

Now, since I have mentioned Odin, I know that a lot of studied heathens shall probably be thinking of ?the Lay of Harbard?, where Odin disguised Himself as a grey-bearded old ferryman who refused to ferry Thor across the sound that separated Him from home. Harbard managed to conceal His identity while Thor simply tired of tolerating the wave of insults being dealt to Him and left to find another way home. While the two are exchanging words, Harbard implies that Thor?s wife, Sif, is having an affair with another(this is a reference to Loki, which is related to another tale). Thor says that He believes Harbard is lying and refuses to automatically buy into what He is being told simply because Harbard is saying that it?s true.

        Now, many have said that this is representative of Thor being slow-witted and thus unable to decipher what Harbard is telling Him. I openly disagree. I believe that this shows Thor in a sense of honesty and integrity, which reminds me of an old saying: ?Believe half of what you see, and nothing of what you hear.?

        Thor would not accept what He was being told because(as far as He was concerned) it was a rumor coming from a mere ferryman. Although it was true, the whole thing shows Thor as a ?show me the evidence? kind of guy. He doesn?t believe what He is told simply because some one claims it is so. This reflects on His honesty with His family as well, as He would rather be trusting of them rather than trust the rumors of a stranger. So, maybe the morale has to do with questioning and examining before passing judgment.

        Now, going back to Loki, Thor has had quite a relationship with this wily deity. His many adventures with Him are usually comical and seem to show the two Gods as effective counter-balances to one another.

        Loki Himself is also the victim of some pretty horrible misconceptions. So many see Him as the ?Norse Satan?, which is unbelievably far from the truth. He is also confused by being called the ?Father of Lies?, in spite of the fact that no where in the lore does it say that He ever broke an oath or lied. In fact, the only God whom the lore says broke an oath once, was Odin(which He admitted to Himself in Havamal). Loki is just a necessary counter-balance to the order of existence. He is not technically dishonest, either. He is just very, very clever at getting done what needs to get done, even at his own expense. For it was his skill in the craft of deception that lead to the creation of Frey?s ship Skidbladnir, Odin?s spear Gungnir, His steed Sleipnir, and Thor?s hammer Mjollnir.

        As Thor?s companion on His various journeys to the Eastern Lands, Loki?s wiles prevented Thor from thinking too highly of Himself, so that His power did not become perverted into a deity who would have been a big-headed, omniscient tyrant. And likewise, it was Thor?s threats of force against Loki?s insults in ?Lokasenna? that stopped His string of abuse to the Aesir. So this seems to be a representation of human principles and virtue; Loki?s tricks keep you reminded of the virtue of humility, so that you don?t grow too big for your boots, and Thor?s strength reminds one to be independent and not let humility turn into self-degradation and dishonour(unless it is absolutely necessary, as I will explain further along).

        This is one of the main reasons that Thor is my patron deity: He represents fierce independence and self-reliant strength without being abusive of his powers. He represents honour itself, and yet has admitted that He is an outlaw(in the Lay of Harbard).

        The outlaw factor seems to come from His attitude towards logical thinking and independence. There were many circumstances in the lore where a troublemaker was afoot and no other God would do anything because they were bound by certain laws (such as hospitality or peace accords), but then Thor would come in and make short work of the troublemaker. He seems to view law as a ?guideline? to be followed when the circumstances permit, but not as the unquestionable Divine word which must never be broken. Were it not for such an attitude, Jotuns would be inhabiting Asgard right now.

        Thor?s aspect in nature as the Thunderer is also a fine example of what His strength accomplishes. He bravely battles the Jotuns and stops them from gaining overmuch control. The Jotuns seem to be representative of spiritual forces of entropy and chaos, which must exist if everything is to keep going, yet also must be battled from taking over everything completely. That?s Thor?s primary job, taking out the trash.

        Thor also is my patron because he represents perseverance, even in the face of humiliation and danger. He has hunted the world serpent and fought it ferociously and knows that the one day He does catch it, He too must die. This displays facing down death in an honourable way, one that is fearless and without regret right to the end.

        In perseverance over humiliation, Thor has displayed this clearly in the Lay of Thrym, where Mjollnir was stolen by a Jotun who intended to ransom it for Freyja?s hand in marriage. Freyja refused, so Heimdall came up with the idea of dressing up Thor in bridal linens, so that He might get closer to the hammer and recover it. Loki accompanied Him and was the one who convinced Thor to do it. At first Thor said, ?If I don bridal linens, the Aesir shall think me womanish?. But Loki rebutted by saying that Thor must do what He had to do if He wanted the hammer back, for without the hammer, Midgard and Asgard were practically defenseless and would be overrun by Jotuns.

        Thor did what was necessary even though it was more than self-degrading, but this was only because it was extremely necessary. After all, how many of us have ever worked really lousy and self-degrading jobs because we needed the money to eat this week?

        So, in conclusion, I believe Thor to be the deity that drives my perseverance over trials. His examples have been good lessons from which to learn. Whenever I find myself whining about how annoying and inconvenient life can be, He?s basically the guy that says to me, ?Oh, boo hoo! Suck it up and get out there!?

        That?s my theory so far. But theories can change, so I always keep an open mind towards the theories of others.

        Khasmoda