Mjolnir is asteroid #85585 and also known as 1998 FG₂. Mjolnir belongs to the group Apollo and is a Mars-orbit-crosser. Mjolnir got characterized as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid albeit having not enough observation data for confirming its orbit (and hence also called a critical minor planet) also is admitted. Mjolnir was discovered by the American astronomer Roy A. Tucker at his private Goodricke-Pigott Observatory.

Mjolnir is named after Mjölnir or originally (in Old Norse) Mjǫllnir. It is a hammer, which is the main weapon of Thór, after whom the asteroids Donar and Thora are named. While Thór means thunder and Thór is the god of thunder, the etymology of the name Mjǫllnir is disputed. All theories on this topic have in common that the name must allude to lightning. Naming an asteroid Mjǫllnir seems to be superfluous because more than one asteroid is named after the god Thór and Mjǫllnir is only one of his attributes. But there are own tales of Mjǫllnir.

The god Loki, after whom the asteroid Loke is named, bet against the dwarfs Sindri/ Eitri and Brokkr that they couldn’t make items as beautiful or as useful as done by the group of dwarfs, that was known as the sons of Ivaldi. Brokkr had been bragging with the craftsmanship of his brother Sindri/ Eitri. The sons of Ivaldi had made Freyr’s ship Skíðblaðnir, Odin’s spear Gungnir, and golden hair, which replaced the hair, which Loki had stolen from the goddess Sif. So Brokkr and Eitri made the golden-bristled boar Gullinbursti, that was gifted to Freyja, the ring Draupnir, that was gifted to Odin, and the hammer Mjölnir, that was gifted to Thór. Because Loki wagered his head and hence didn’t want to lose the bet, he cheated by having a gadfly (perhaps himself) bite first in Brokkr’s arm, then in Brokkr’s neck, and finally in Brokkr’s eyelid. The dwarf didn’t react to the first or the second bite, but the third bite, which happened while he and his brother were making Mjölnir, forced him to blink. Brokkr worked the bellows, the blinking caused a very short break. This finally caused that the handle of Mjölnir was too short, so that Thór had to use the iron gauntlets Járngreipr in order to be able to wield Mjölnir. This property always is skipped by the Marvel superhero, who is based on the Norse god. Mjölnir nevertheless hits every target, destroys every target, and returns to Thór if he throws the hammer. So the gods acknowledged the dwarfs. Loki kept his head due to some sophistry, but Brokkr stitched Loki’s mouth shut.

Mjölnir once was stolen by the giant Thrym. He wanted to marry Freyja and would give the hammer only to her. So Thór in disguise as Freyja went together with his twin brother Loki to take the hammer back. This is a large and rather famous tale, but also a very late tale, most likely not part of the original mythology. Thór usually uses his hammer to fight giants and to protect mankind. The hammer of Thór or Thórshammar became a religious symbol, but this only in modern times, rather shown in pop culture than in serious religious contexts.

Mjolnir caught my attention because, once more, the Magi Astrology Society did “discover” it and then learnt that it would be symbolic for “enormous physical power and force”. Albeit the Magi Astrology Society doesn’t know how to spell Mjolnir. Thór’s weapon indeed is of enormous physical power and force. But other asteroids could also represent this and different asteroids must represent different properties. Not to forget that there also is an aspect pattern, that is known as the Hammer of Thor! It is a square, that is completed by two sesquiquadrates to a third astrological factor. Mjǫllnir has the distinct features of returning and of a too short handle. So at least from mythology, Mjolnir in an astrological chart should indicate that something returns like a boomerang because it was handled too short-sighted.