paganism

This story is most interesting for what it reveals about Newark as a signature rural service centre – read on….!!!

There cannot be that many things in national life to celebrate for those who still worship the Norse gods.

Pagan druids and their followers might gather at Stonehenge every solstice, but there is no special national holiday to celebrate either Odin and those who live with him in Asgard, the home of the gods.

But now, after years of being ignored, the Odinists and those who still look to Norse mythology for inspiration and guidance, have finally got something to smile about.

The Royal Mail is to issue a ‘pagan’ stamp next month, depicting the Norse god Thor, the hammer wielding god of thunder and protector of mankind.

Admittedly it forms part of a set of stamps commemorating Marvel Comics superheroes – of whom Thor is one, enjoying his own comic series and film spin offs – rather than the original figure of Germanic mythology.

But the Odinist Fellowship are pretty pleased all the same.

They are a registered charity that exists to “promote the original old religion of the English people and the native faith of the northern lands”, so they naturally welcome any celebration of Norse mythology.

The Odinists – who worship at a Grade II listed former almshouse in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, dating back to the Tudor period – are so pleased they aren’t even complaining that the Thor shown in the stamps is the one created by an American comic publisher rather than the traditional depiction of him.