God of the Woodpeckers

February 9, 2018

In my forthcoming book, Divining with Animal Guides, I have a chapter on woodpeckers. I mention that woodpeckers are associated with rain, thunder, and the god Thor. The red cap on some woodpeckers is how Thor gets his red hair. I was looking at pendants representing Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, and noticed that the bottom part of the hammer has a beak-like point. The pointy Mjolnir is not the only depiction, but it has been found in many graves. This replica from Sweden (Kurck collection, date and site unknown) has a particularly strong bird resemblance.