Loki

In a lot of ways, rekindling this blog is about honoring Loki, because He's a Guy who doesn't mince words, and one of the things He quite frequently challenges His followers to do is Speak UP. I'm not terribly good at speaking up. I'm an introvert. I'm not necessarily shy, but...well...I tend to listen more than I talk. So this is my place to talk and in doing so, I am hoping to honor my God. 

Which brings a lot of people 'round the inevitable "but isn't Loki a Bad Guy?" 

Well...maybe. 

But let's start with the obvious: forget the Marvel Universe. Or...you know, understand that they got a lot of stuff wrong, which is totally okay. It's called "artistic license." But there are a few important things to get straight, right off the bat. 

Number One is actually that we don't know a whole lot about Loki from the original lore. We don't know a whole lot about most of the Gods from the original sources. We don't have a whole lot of original source material to go, none of it was written down by Pagans, very little was written down in the Pagan era (what was, was written by outsiders looking in, not always sympathetically, at the Norse culture) and none of it is written in English, modern or otherwise. That means that for those of us in the English-speaking world, the primary sources are not quite primary, since we're viewing them through the lens of a translator and if you've ever taken a foreign language class in school, you have some concept of how tricky that can be. Most of what we have is written in the Christian era. The material may be older, but the writers were looking at their world through a Christian lens; their goal was preserving their heritage, not the religion of other people's Gods. And that's totally fair. 

In addition to all of the above, the Norse storytellers didn't seem all that concerned with continuity in their stories about the Gods, so the mythic equivalent of "fanfiction" was completely acceptable. Or, to (loosely) quote Olaf/Baldr from The Almighty Johnsons: Norse mythology is a bunch of stories made up by drunk men sitting around a campfire. I'm not positive we can take absolutely everything that has come down to us as "gospel" (and ultimately, it was all somebody's UPG, i.e. Unsubstantiated Personal Gnosis). 

That doesn't mean I suggest throwing the Primary Sources (the Eddas and Sagas) out the window. I should not discuss in public how much money I spend on books on the subject! (Actually, my husband as a pretty good idea and cringes every time I buy a book, because most of the books that I buy on the subject aren't cheap; it's gotten to the point where I feel good about "only" spending $50 on something from the TONIS or Viking series!) What it means is that I take the original lore with the same grain of salt as I take contemporary UPG. 

It's also vital to remember that ON culture didn't weigh "good" and "evil" the same way most modern cultures do. So yeah, Loki was (is) a bit of a rebel, an Outsider, and not exactly a "good guy"--but He's not a "bad guy" either (and please do NOT get me started on Oðinn; this idea that He was the "good guy" is laughable; don't misunderstand, I love Him, but to say that He's the Hero and Loki is the villain--or even that Thorr is the ultimate "Heroic Good Guy"--is to overlook a LOT of lore). 

Honestly, some mangled lore aside, I rather think that the Marvel MCU has done an excellent job of capturing the spirit of Loki. 

But let's untangle a little of the mangled lore; I'll keep it short, in case you've heard this before. 

Loki's father is generally believed to be Farbauti, who is probably some sort of Fire Jötun. The name Farbauti translates roughly to "Cruel Striker", which possibly alludes to lightning. 

Loki's mother is Laufey. Some scholars suggest something like "leafy isle" as the translation/meaning of Her name, but it's not universal. It's unclear whether She is a Jotun or Goddess or something else entirely. 

Which is another point: there isn't as much separating the Jötunar from the Æsir Gods. Oðinn is descended from Buri, a mysterious figure who emerged from beneath the same ice that formed the Primordial Giant (or Jötun) Ymir; Buri took as his mate one of Ymir's children. Their son, Bor, took as his mate one of Ymir's grandchildren (or possibly great-grandchildren). That makes the original Æsir something like three-quarter Jötun. (All of this according to Snorri, one of those Christians writing in the Christian era, seeking to preserve his heritage.) The primary difference between the Jötnar and the Gods is their temper, which is the only way they are finally recognized for what they are in the lore. And let's face it, several of the Gods are known for their mighty tempers as well. Perhaps it's a genetic trait.... 

At some point in the lore, in a story story did not survive, Loki and Oðinn swore an Oath that one would not drink unless the Other was also served (according to the poem Lokasenna). In multiple stories, Loki is a travelling companion of both Thorr and Oðinn. Many contemporary scholars speculate that Loki may be the same Deity as the mysterious (as in not much is said about Him) Loðurr, who (in the poem Voluspa) gifted mankind with "beautiful colors" (Kvilhaug's translation) or "vitality" (a more common rendering), or perhaps "good looks" or "features" (another common rendering), or possibly "life-blood" or "heat".

önd gaf Óðinn, óð gaf Hœnir,
lá gaf Lóðurr ok litu góða

Any one of those translations fits with what we know of Loki, who is (likely) descended from a Fire Jötun and (possibly) a leafy/earthy Goddess/Jötun. Loki Himself is known to have a quick wit and fiery disposition. (There is a tremendous amount of debate about whether Loki and Logi are the same Deity or not, and whether or not Loki's name is related to "fire" or to "spider" or to something else entirely; to my mind, the jury is still out on the etymology. What I do "know" is that fire seems to be a common association and I have had personal visions of spiders in connection to Loki or possibly Laufey and/or Her ancestry, but have only barely begun to scratch the surface or the research needed to "confirm" that to my rational mind's satisfaction.)

Taking on faith that there is a connection, whether or not it is in the etymology of His name, between Loki and fire, I think we come close to the heart of the Loki's character. Fire is necessary for warmth--but it is dangerous. We use fire to heat our homes and cook our meals, to light the long winter nights--but not respected, not properly tended, not cared for and looked after, fire will burn us to the ground. 

And sometimes, we need a little destruction in our lives. Sometimes we have to burn something to the ground in order to build something new on top of it. That is almost always a terrifying prospect and a frightening experience. 

So yeah, Loki scares some people. He should. He is a boundary pushing, world shaking, lock breaking, truth speaking (I know what Snorri says, but I have reason to doubt it), Outsider. He is a gender-bending, shape-shifting, flame-tongued God who is fiercely protective of His children and willing to burn it all to the ground when He deems it necessary. 

And if you think for a second that He's the only God who can be capricious or dangerous, you don't know the stories very well. While I don't think we can take the whole of the lore as "gospel", I don't believe we can cherry-pick either. Rather, I take each story as if it contains a kernel of truth at it's center and lots of embellishment. I try to find that truth, to the best of my ability, and above all, I try to listen to and honor my Gods. 

I'm a Lokean and I love my wild, beautiful, glorious God with everything that I am and all that I possess.