Photo of "Das Rheingold" at the Metropolitan Opera in 2009, designed by Mr. Schneider-Siemssen.
Credit: Beatriz Schiller/The Metropolitan Opera Archives

A Germanic wooden godpole from Possendorf, Thuringia, 1st Century. The position of the arms is interesting; it may have been that offerings were placed in the hands, as was done with Greek and Roman statues of Gods. ⴲ

In the Vǫluspá, we learn that the Gods were loving—ástgir—when They created us. The component ást means "love" or "affection", thus rendering ástgir as "loving" or "affectionate". In Old English, the word would be ēstig.

This provides Germanic Pagans with a valuable insight into the nature of our Gods, specifically Óðinn, Hœnir, and Lóðurr—the three Gods responsible for our creation.

Image: Odin, Hoenir and Lodur create Ask and Embla - Lorenz Frölich (1895).

This is a must-read regarding the misconceptions of Tyr, Odin, and the Sky Father/ Cheiftan of the Gods.

I have written a few threads myself from a broadly IE approach, but this one is needed from a Germanic perspective.

Art: Tyr, der Schwertgott by Carl Emil Doepler, 1882. ᛏ

https://news.1rj.ru/str/sagnamadr/1944

The Second Merseburg Charm, which recounts Odin healing Baldr’s horse, has multiple later 18-19th Century parallels in Scandinavia, Scotland and Saxony, wherein Jesus or St. Olaf take the place of Odin, which shows this particular healing charm was widely known. 
They all follow a very similar formula; always along similar lines of “bone to bone, blood to blood,” etc. and would be recited when applying bandages.

Jacob Grimm collected multiple examples from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Shetland Islands. One example from Norway;
“Jesus himself rode to the heath,
And as he rode, his horse's bone was broken.
Jesus dismounted and healed that:
Jesus laid marrow to marrow,
Bone to bone, flesh to flesh.
Jesus thereafter laid a leaf
So that these should stay in their place.”

Artur Hazelius recorded one from Småland, Sweden, brazenly invoking Odin in the 19th Century.
“Odin rides over rock and hill;
He rides his horse out of dislocation and into realignment,
Out of disorder and into order, bone to bone, joint to joint,
As it was best, when it was whole.”

Book 4, hymn 12 of the Atharvaveda contains a very similar healing charm for a broken bone;
“Thou art the healer, making whole, the healer of the broken bone:
Make thou this whole, Arundhatī!
Whatever bone of thine within thy body hath been wrenched or cracked,
May Dhātar set it properly and join together limb by limb.
With marrow be the marrow joined, thy limb united with the limb.
Let what hath fallen of thy flesh, and the bone also grow again.
Let marrow close with marrow, let skin grow united with the skin.
Let blood and bone grow strong in thee, flesh grow together with the flesh.
Join thou together hair with hair, join thou together skin with skin.
Let blood and bone grow strong in thee. Unite the broken part, O Plant.
Arise, advance, speed forth; the car (chariot?) hath goodly fellies, naves, and wheels!
Stand up erect upon thy feet.
If he be torn and shattered, having fallen into a pit, or a cast stone have struck him,
Let the skilled leech join limb with limb, as 'twere the portions of a car.”
~Griffith translation
ᚬ

Painting by Jeff Easley.

Bledsian Sunnstede!
Góðan Midsommar!
ⴲ
…almost looks like a figure in the smoke there.

An incredible blót to Thunor last night. My customer kindly let us use his weoh before I ship it out

The hamarsmark of Þórr as mentioned in Hákonar saga Góða has been a point of debate when it comes to authentic heathen customs, but it is attested among the Lapps as Johan Randulf (1723) records in the Nærøy manunoscript:

(…) og alle saa vel giffte som ugiffte Finner der gaae til nadvere et glas øll, men besybderlig et glas brendeviin, om hand det haver og dypper de 3 fingre der udj, hvor med hand i siin pande teigner et kaars, som skal betyde Thors Kryds-hammer, dette giør hand til at forsikke Thor om sin stedsvarende troe tienste (…)

(...) and all Finns, both married and unmarried, who go to communion have a glass of beer, but particularly in a glass of Brennivin if they have it, and dip three fingers in the glass, where with their hand on their forehead they draw a cross, which must mean Thor's Cross-hammer, this serves to assure Thor that they are his faithful servants (...)

It is further stated that on Christmas eve, the Lapps make the cross on their doors, or make said sign with a knife in beer or liquor when they drink, or in a pot of butter.

Schefferus in Lapponia also states that the idols of Horagalles were marked with crosses on the chest of the idol with the blood of the sacrifices they gave to the god.

“Little a sand-grain, little a dew drop, 
Little the minds of men:
All men are not equal in wisdom, 
The half-wise are everywhere.”
~Hávamál 53, Auden and Taylor.
…how little some things change.
Art by Carl Emil Doepler, 1887.
“Lítilla sanda
lítilla sæva
lítil eru geð guma
því at allir menn
urðut jafnspakir
hálf er öld hvar.”