Topic: Asatru

The conversation explores the reconstruction of ancient Nordic religion using the Edda, Sagas, and folklore. McIntosh explains the significance of Thor's hammer, a symbol dating back to prehistoric cave paintings. He describes a specific tradition from the Edda where the hammer is used as a fertility symbol in wedding ceremonies, a practice currently being revived in Sweden.

McIntosh discusses the nature of gods using Carl Jung’s analogy of a riverbed in the collective mind. Different perspectives on deities are examined, ranging from physical manifestations to Jungian archetypes and thought forms. Reference is made to Svenbjorn Bjentinsson, founder of the Asatru movement in Iceland, who claimed to have physically encountered Odin.