Thor is the God of Thunder and the protector of mankind. He defends the perimeter. He is the manifestation of the warrior. He represents power and winning. He represents the man who ventures out into the unknown to fight monsters.
Imagine being in a primitive band out in the middle of a storm. The powerful rumble of thunder in the sky meant Thor was coming. It was a great and terrible sound. The lightning strikes on the horizon meant Thor was doing battle with and crushing his enemies.
For men, he’s more than the thunder in the sky. He’s a piece of human nature and a source of manly inspiration. When you go into the gym to train, you want to feel the strength and power of Thor. You want to dominate the oppressive force of the barbell. Each rep, each set stands as an affront, an obstacle, to your Will to Power.
Thor was invoked to inspire men to victory in battle and protection in travel. He was a crushing force set loose against the enemies of men. The terrible rumble in the sky was Thor revving his engine, seeking the opportunity to bring the hammer down. Thor is known to men when they exert themselves against some external force. He is the red blood surging through their veins as they summon the strength to overcome.
To channel Thor is to channel the feeling—the conviction—that you’re unstoppable.
To feel like Thor is to feel drunk on power. To be ready for battle, no, to be chomping at the bit for it. Thor is waiting for his chance to unleash the devastation of lightning and the earthquake.
This feeling, this surging of the blood, isn’t some kind of false arrogance of a haughty man. It comes to the well prepared warrior who’s honed his craft. It comes to man who’s chosen courage and excellence as his watch words. It’s a confidence born of experience and mastery of his craft.
Disorder in the world stands as an affront to Thor’s righteous indignation. To stand across from him is akin to being dropped off in a boxing right with Mike Tyson in his prime on the other side. The Tyson who’s salivating at the chance to rip your heart out and show it to you. Imagine this—but worse.
He’s a true believer of the order established by his father, Odin. Do you understand what true believer is? It means he is willing to fight and die if necessary. In fact, the Norse Eddas speak of this in the apocalyptic event Ragnarok. Thor—even after the fall of Odin—faces off in an epic death match against the world serpent Jormungandr. After a ferocious battle, Thor smote the serpent into the earth, but he too falls after succumbing it’s venom. To channel Thor is to channel the willingness to fight to your very last breath.
The Gang of Thor
You can’t go to church on Sunday and pray to Thor to help you through your troubles. Thor demands action. Thor doesn’t care about forgiveness or high morality. Thor wants to win and he’s going to help the winners. The way you worship Thor is by joining his gang and embracing physical culture. Strive to do the hard things, to be an overcomer
You get his help by embarking out like the hero. He’s the red blood on your veins as you do battle against disorder. He’s the feeling of strength you get as you power out of the bottom of a heavy squat or deadlift. He’s the domination you dish out on your enemies, born from your devotion to excellence.
He doesn’t give you something for nothing. You sacrifice to him to gain his services or protection for perilous journeys. You must first become excellent and masterful to warrant his attention. He demands devotion to greatness, power, and glory to earn his aid.
It’s not enough to wear mjolnir around your neck. Taking no action in building your physical prowess, mastering your craft, or partaking in dangerous adventure is a disgrace to the symbol. Remember, Thor’s hammer was worn as a defiant refusal to worship the Christian god.
You worship Thor and join his gang not by wearing some pendant, but by getting stronger, by mastering the martial arts, and through venturing out into the unknown, prepared to crush chaos wherever you find it.
Thor understands natural law.
Might Makes Right. Thor doesn’t care about oppression, racism, fascism or any other -ism. He doesn’t care what you identify as. What he cares about is power and victory. It’s not enough that he is strong, he must also have the will to dominate and conquer all opposing forces of men and the order of Odin. He is the War God. As said by Longfellow, his eyes are the lightning and blows from his hammer ring in the earthquake. And most importantly, he abides by natural law:
“Force rules the world still,
Has ruled it, shall rule it;
Meekness is weakness,
Strength is triumphant,
Over the whole earth”
~Longfellow