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…