Tuesday 12 April 2011
Thursday 2 October 2008
Odin and Loki: A Comparison of Two Tricksters
A few weeks ago, I was looking up stuff about Loki and other Norse concepts - when I happened upon a blogspot blog with the odd title of “parmandur quettaron”, whatever that means. It appears to be a literary blog set up for self-expression by a 23-year-old named Sam Urfer on his profile. Anyway, it featured a literary essay, “Odin and Loki: A Comparison of Two Tricksters”, which, with little introduction or explanatory by-your-leave, proceeded to say some interesting but harsh things about two of my favourite mythological figures. Which I felt I had to discuss on my own blog, once I finally set a suitable one up - and now I have, I shall.
Well, I would like to say to Mr Urfer - if space permitted on his own blog and if he wouldn’t delete it!! (I did leave him a comment, but by necessity briefer.) It was an interesting piece - but I didn’t really accept the DIRECTION you took your conclusions to. (In fact, I found them unacceptable! From a pagan/pagan-sympathetic point of view, not merely an “asatru“ one or the viewpoint of any specific faith.)
And I kept feeling that there was something behind what you said, Mr Urfer… only not really knowing precisely what it was made this more “sinister” to me than it otherwise would have been…. Well, I can see you’re not a person with any particular sympathy for paganism or heathenry!! But I mean, if you had DECLARED yourself as a Christian, which I think you are - it would have made it all more honest somehow. Sorry. (Well, you are very judgemental yourself!)…This is basically the impression I received from it, upon first reading! (Caricature paraphrase coming up!)
OH DEAR ME!! ODIN AND LOKI ARE BOTH GAY, DECEITFUL MALE WITCHES/WIZARDS!! (Call out the Christian Harry Potter Police!!) ODIN AND LOKI THE 2 QUEER, EFFEMINATE PSYCHOPATHIC WARLOCKS!!!
Big deal. Not. (You do realise, Sam, that in addition to the Christian “Harry Potter” panic which you seem to evoke - I’m using association here - you’re calling up one of the cherished movie stereotypes you can look up on those sites, forget the address for now - that talk about things like “the magic negro”??
The Homosexual Psychopath is apparently another stereotype beloved by Hollywood (see Silence of the Lambs), generally for its “yuk” factor among young males, the stereotype analysis sites say.
Is this one reason why you don’t like Odin and Loki? It’s obvious that you don’t!
It’s not my desire to “attack” Sam Urfer particularly, gentle readers all. It’s just that - well, his essay was thought-provoking - and like other stuff which seems to demand a response - for reasons of justice - it provoked some thoughts, which I shall endeavour to answer/explore here.
My take: It’s no wonder those two gods, Odin and Loki, chief figures of Norse Mythology, both resemble each other.
They *are* both mirror images and both *are* Tricksters - well spotted - I am not denying THAT! And Loki, the Fool, (that’s what he is, you see! As well as Trickster!) is meant to resemble/mirror his King, Odin. ’Twould be a poor Fool who didn’t!
(And if only the moralizing Christian element could be leached from the Eddas, and all or much of their later Christian-influenced content - then we would see Loki as useful, Shakespearian-type (or Ancient Greek type or Hopi Indian type!) Fool to his King. And his society. Pointing out where his king is likely to go wrong. And Loki in particular in the revised sagas would not act so “devilish”. Or be treated thus at the end of the story cycle.
This is the problem that Christian influence on a pagan religion has left both believer and literary critic with. BTW - have you, Sam, ever read “Written in Venom” by Lois Tilton - a 2000 fantasy novel telling the Eddas from Loki’s point of view? I would have done it differently (it’s not exactly Marion Zimmer Bradley, it’s much more concise!)… but it’s a good stab at it, using the material that has been left to us in its “final”, that is to say, Christian-scribed phase.
At first, though, I must say, getting back to the subject of the Parmandur blog… I was wondering what sort of person wrote it! I read it initially on a mobile phone, so it was difficult to get to the profile details, though that didn’t help me, later. I must say, though I now think you are a Christian, at first I wondered whether you were one of those types that were more prevalent in the 19th century - a “rationalist” who goes around trying to debunk religions in general, and the main technique is to cite passages from the Bible, or Eddas, or whatever, which, when taken out of context in particular, present the relevant protagonists in the WORST possible lights, as “psychopaths” as we might now call them? (I think the most modern term for it is “sociopath”, or rather, “anti-social personality disorder”.)
Or how about war criminals?? David and Joshua the war criminals? Odin the war criminal??Yeah, that’s what they might be called today. Not very relevant in the context of the time though, for there was no such thing. There was no Geneva convention or rules of engagement and the rules we have nowadays for war didn’t exist, of course.
Then I soon noticed: You’re doing a bit of a “straw man”, or a “bait and switch” here, call it what you will. Because into a medieval Icelandic argument (the Lokasenna) concerning two (one assumes) fairly imaginary characters, who are arguing about niceties in concepts such as sexual honour (ergi) and magic - you immediately drag in the blanket term “psychopath”, which is a 20th-century (extra-medieval) definition, which covers all sorts of things which we now find objectionable, which they wouldn’t (necessarily!) have then!
Contrariwise, nowadays we (I hope) find all sorts of things, particularly sexual behaviours and homosexuality in particular, and belief systems/religious/magical practices - to be no big deal and a matter of personal choice, which more traditional and basically patriarchal (still, there are different types of patriarchy) societies didn’t. (Well, they sometimes didn’t!)
And I’m sorry, but you can’t really throw accusations of “psychopathy” and “total selfishness” at Odin and Loki both, without examining the context and the results of their behaviours in the stories. Pertaining to each god. What pray does Loki profit out of his “terrible selfishness”? He gets to be a member of the Aesir. He gets to stay in the tribe of his choice. That’s all he gets. Big criminal payoff, I must say!! Hmm, today’s Wall Street would really do well out of copying him…..
(Oh, and he gets a lot of sexual pleasure… how terrible! And some… interesting… even if also what would still be to a man today rather embarrassing experiences - as comedy shows/movies still tell us - of sex change, male pregnancy, etc! Sounds like a Dark Age sitcom! And if Loki were alive today… are you, Loki?? He’d be a natural for US talk TV!!! Watch out, watch out - he’s coming your way!)
Hmm. Well, I for one, coincidentally being a socialist as well as a pagan/heathen, think that *real* criminals (namely, aka, capitalists, in so many modern instances!) are out for FAR bigger payoffs than that. Than anything garnered by either Odin or his Fool, Loki.
As for Odin - what is his context/payoff? Well. He’s a king, a philosopher-poet-king to boot, a warrior and a tribal leader, like the ruling class of his day. (When the sagas/eddas were written.) He has to defend his tribe against incursions from others, which he manages to do wonderfully well, until the Ragnarok.
And - this being religion - there is also the implication/understanding, that Odin and the rest of the gods are defending the cosmos from beings hostile to a) Life b) Intelligence (particularly human.)
Loki is Odin’s partner in this. (I disagree with your contention that Loki is, like a lot of Jotuns (giants) hostile to humans. He isn’t. (At least, he doesn’t WISH to be. If he is - dragged into the Ragnarok - it is malgre lui!! Now personally I think that Sam Urfer and all Loki detractors should read *this* little web contribution about the fellow: Well, maybe not… I’ve just found it’s been deleted! Shame, really. It was linking Loki and modern politics, it was on newsvine.com, and called The Making of Loki the Lawless Immigrant. Now that really WAS relevant - and some fool has deleted it for, I daresay, “current political pressure” reasons! Shame!)
Loki helps humanity too - like most Tricksters, he is included in the creation myth. (Not the creation of the Cosmos one - they don’t exactly have one… only how it was changed by Odin son of Bor and the other gods. The “creation of humankind” one is the one involving Loki (also known as Lodur - yes, it’s him!), Odin and Hoenir.
There is also a saga recorded in 18th-century Faroe Islands lore, based on earlier folklore, called the Loka Tattur, where he does indeed come to the aid of humans (a farmer and his son) who call on the god, after the other two of the original all-male Trinity, Odin and Hoenir, have been called and wanting - for they can only help so far. But Loki is the most creative, has the best ideas and refuses to give up. Thus he saves the day and is embraced by the farmer and his family, who hail him as the best of all the gods! (Cunning and wit definitely have their place!)
And know what?? I think so too! (I would, I’m a Lokean!) And this little tale shows that in the most heathen, outlying areas, Loki was still honoured and loved as he would have been in the pre-Christian ear, for centuries past medieval times.
So what does everybody reckon, then? Are Tricksters always the big psychopaths?? Or are they the CREATIVE souls, who can get us out of trouble/problems/danger? As well as get us into them?? Eh?Loki is the one for me. (Sure, I’m a Lokean. Can’t help it as I’ve said in a previous post. No-one should really “choose” to be a follower of Loki - you should not be able to be anything else!!)
But I don’t see the point of attacking Odin, particularly in the manner Mr Urfer has in his post. Odin is only trying to do the best for his tribe, his entire world, his entire world view, and the humans who make up part of it! Rather than just his “immediate family” as Sam rather narrowly puts it.
I only wish he hadn’t fallen out with - and later so cruelly treated - Loki. You don’t say what was done to Loki, do you, Sam - and it wasn’t just the serpent-venom thing and binding that most people know about! There were one or two accompanying, even nastier factors. I don’t know if it was pagans that thought these up or Christians. I might cover it in a later post..
I suppose it is because Loki and Odin are so alike that they fall out. Also, I believe that Odin is *afraid* of Loki. He’s a dark horse! But - again it’s a shame - for in the Eddas handed down to us, Loki in fact makes NO Satan-like grab for power or the throne of Asgard! That’s only in Marvel comics!!
But anyway, Sam, re Odin: Tell me - how well do YOU think YOU would do, at being God??That’s why it’s so difficult for humans to conceive of a God in humanlike terms, and still have Him all “perfect”.
Anyway, that’s enough for one post.
Well, I would like to say to Mr Urfer - if space permitted on his own blog and if he wouldn’t delete it!! (I did leave him a comment, but by necessity briefer.) It was an interesting piece - but I didn’t really accept the DIRECTION you took your conclusions to. (In fact, I found them unacceptable! From a pagan/pagan-sympathetic point of view, not merely an “asatru“ one or the viewpoint of any specific faith.)
And I kept feeling that there was something behind what you said, Mr Urfer… only not really knowing precisely what it was made this more “sinister” to me than it otherwise would have been…. Well, I can see you’re not a person with any particular sympathy for paganism or heathenry!! But I mean, if you had DECLARED yourself as a Christian, which I think you are - it would have made it all more honest somehow. Sorry. (Well, you are very judgemental yourself!)…This is basically the impression I received from it, upon first reading! (Caricature paraphrase coming up!)
OH DEAR ME!! ODIN AND LOKI ARE BOTH GAY, DECEITFUL MALE WITCHES/WIZARDS!! (Call out the Christian Harry Potter Police!!) ODIN AND LOKI THE 2 QUEER, EFFEMINATE PSYCHOPATHIC WARLOCKS!!!
Big deal. Not. (You do realise, Sam, that in addition to the Christian “Harry Potter” panic which you seem to evoke - I’m using association here - you’re calling up one of the cherished movie stereotypes you can look up on those sites, forget the address for now - that talk about things like “the magic negro”??
The Homosexual Psychopath is apparently another stereotype beloved by Hollywood (see Silence of the Lambs), generally for its “yuk” factor among young males, the stereotype analysis sites say.
Is this one reason why you don’t like Odin and Loki? It’s obvious that you don’t!
It’s not my desire to “attack” Sam Urfer particularly, gentle readers all. It’s just that - well, his essay was thought-provoking - and like other stuff which seems to demand a response - for reasons of justice - it provoked some thoughts, which I shall endeavour to answer/explore here.
My take: It’s no wonder those two gods, Odin and Loki, chief figures of Norse Mythology, both resemble each other.
They *are* both mirror images and both *are* Tricksters - well spotted - I am not denying THAT! And Loki, the Fool, (that’s what he is, you see! As well as Trickster!) is meant to resemble/mirror his King, Odin. ’Twould be a poor Fool who didn’t!
(And if only the moralizing Christian element could be leached from the Eddas, and all or much of their later Christian-influenced content - then we would see Loki as useful, Shakespearian-type (or Ancient Greek type or Hopi Indian type!) Fool to his King. And his society. Pointing out where his king is likely to go wrong. And Loki in particular in the revised sagas would not act so “devilish”. Or be treated thus at the end of the story cycle.
This is the problem that Christian influence on a pagan religion has left both believer and literary critic with. BTW - have you, Sam, ever read “Written in Venom” by Lois Tilton - a 2000 fantasy novel telling the Eddas from Loki’s point of view? I would have done it differently (it’s not exactly Marion Zimmer Bradley, it’s much more concise!)… but it’s a good stab at it, using the material that has been left to us in its “final”, that is to say, Christian-scribed phase.
At first, though, I must say, getting back to the subject of the Parmandur blog… I was wondering what sort of person wrote it! I read it initially on a mobile phone, so it was difficult to get to the profile details, though that didn’t help me, later. I must say, though I now think you are a Christian, at first I wondered whether you were one of those types that were more prevalent in the 19th century - a “rationalist” who goes around trying to debunk religions in general, and the main technique is to cite passages from the Bible, or Eddas, or whatever, which, when taken out of context in particular, present the relevant protagonists in the WORST possible lights, as “psychopaths” as we might now call them? (I think the most modern term for it is “sociopath”, or rather, “anti-social personality disorder”.)
Or how about war criminals?? David and Joshua the war criminals? Odin the war criminal??Yeah, that’s what they might be called today. Not very relevant in the context of the time though, for there was no such thing. There was no Geneva convention or rules of engagement and the rules we have nowadays for war didn’t exist, of course.
Then I soon noticed: You’re doing a bit of a “straw man”, or a “bait and switch” here, call it what you will. Because into a medieval Icelandic argument (the Lokasenna) concerning two (one assumes) fairly imaginary characters, who are arguing about niceties in concepts such as sexual honour (ergi) and magic - you immediately drag in the blanket term “psychopath”, which is a 20th-century (extra-medieval) definition, which covers all sorts of things which we now find objectionable, which they wouldn’t (necessarily!) have then!
Contrariwise, nowadays we (I hope) find all sorts of things, particularly sexual behaviours and homosexuality in particular, and belief systems/religious/magical practices - to be no big deal and a matter of personal choice, which more traditional and basically patriarchal (still, there are different types of patriarchy) societies didn’t. (Well, they sometimes didn’t!)
And I’m sorry, but you can’t really throw accusations of “psychopathy” and “total selfishness” at Odin and Loki both, without examining the context and the results of their behaviours in the stories. Pertaining to each god. What pray does Loki profit out of his “terrible selfishness”? He gets to be a member of the Aesir. He gets to stay in the tribe of his choice. That’s all he gets. Big criminal payoff, I must say!! Hmm, today’s Wall Street would really do well out of copying him…..
(Oh, and he gets a lot of sexual pleasure… how terrible! And some… interesting… even if also what would still be to a man today rather embarrassing experiences - as comedy shows/movies still tell us - of sex change, male pregnancy, etc! Sounds like a Dark Age sitcom! And if Loki were alive today… are you, Loki?? He’d be a natural for US talk TV!!! Watch out, watch out - he’s coming your way!)
Hmm. Well, I for one, coincidentally being a socialist as well as a pagan/heathen, think that *real* criminals (namely, aka, capitalists, in so many modern instances!) are out for FAR bigger payoffs than that. Than anything garnered by either Odin or his Fool, Loki.
As for Odin - what is his context/payoff? Well. He’s a king, a philosopher-poet-king to boot, a warrior and a tribal leader, like the ruling class of his day. (When the sagas/eddas were written.) He has to defend his tribe against incursions from others, which he manages to do wonderfully well, until the Ragnarok.
And - this being religion - there is also the implication/understanding, that Odin and the rest of the gods are defending the cosmos from beings hostile to a) Life b) Intelligence (particularly human.)
Loki is Odin’s partner in this. (I disagree with your contention that Loki is, like a lot of Jotuns (giants) hostile to humans. He isn’t. (At least, he doesn’t WISH to be. If he is - dragged into the Ragnarok - it is malgre lui!! Now personally I think that Sam Urfer and all Loki detractors should read *this* little web contribution about the fellow: Well, maybe not… I’ve just found it’s been deleted! Shame, really. It was linking Loki and modern politics, it was on newsvine.com, and called The Making of Loki the Lawless Immigrant. Now that really WAS relevant - and some fool has deleted it for, I daresay, “current political pressure” reasons! Shame!)
Loki helps humanity too - like most Tricksters, he is included in the creation myth. (Not the creation of the Cosmos one - they don’t exactly have one… only how it was changed by Odin son of Bor and the other gods. The “creation of humankind” one is the one involving Loki (also known as Lodur - yes, it’s him!), Odin and Hoenir.
There is also a saga recorded in 18th-century Faroe Islands lore, based on earlier folklore, called the Loka Tattur, where he does indeed come to the aid of humans (a farmer and his son) who call on the god, after the other two of the original all-male Trinity, Odin and Hoenir, have been called and wanting - for they can only help so far. But Loki is the most creative, has the best ideas and refuses to give up. Thus he saves the day and is embraced by the farmer and his family, who hail him as the best of all the gods! (Cunning and wit definitely have their place!)
And know what?? I think so too! (I would, I’m a Lokean!) And this little tale shows that in the most heathen, outlying areas, Loki was still honoured and loved as he would have been in the pre-Christian ear, for centuries past medieval times.
So what does everybody reckon, then? Are Tricksters always the big psychopaths?? Or are they the CREATIVE souls, who can get us out of trouble/problems/danger? As well as get us into them?? Eh?Loki is the one for me. (Sure, I’m a Lokean. Can’t help it as I’ve said in a previous post. No-one should really “choose” to be a follower of Loki - you should not be able to be anything else!!)
But I don’t see the point of attacking Odin, particularly in the manner Mr Urfer has in his post. Odin is only trying to do the best for his tribe, his entire world, his entire world view, and the humans who make up part of it! Rather than just his “immediate family” as Sam rather narrowly puts it.
I only wish he hadn’t fallen out with - and later so cruelly treated - Loki. You don’t say what was done to Loki, do you, Sam - and it wasn’t just the serpent-venom thing and binding that most people know about! There were one or two accompanying, even nastier factors. I don’t know if it was pagans that thought these up or Christians. I might cover it in a later post..
I suppose it is because Loki and Odin are so alike that they fall out. Also, I believe that Odin is *afraid* of Loki. He’s a dark horse! But - again it’s a shame - for in the Eddas handed down to us, Loki in fact makes NO Satan-like grab for power or the throne of Asgard! That’s only in Marvel comics!!
But anyway, Sam, re Odin: Tell me - how well do YOU think YOU would do, at being God??That’s why it’s so difficult for humans to conceive of a God in humanlike terms, and still have Him all “perfect”.
Anyway, that’s enough for one post.
What it means to be one of Loki's!
First off: The first question that anyone should ask themselves when first landing on a blog with a title like this one: One of Loki’s what??? Precisely? His eyeballs? His feet? Teeth? Testicles?? Nope, nope, nope, it refers to one of Loki’s followers. Precisely. That applying to myself.
(Who Loki?? Norse god of mischief, chaos, destruction, creativity, trickery and a lot else besides!! See Wikipedia article but don’t believe all you read.)
If you, gentle reader, random browser, really want to learn a lot more about Loki, I suggest that you log on to the livejournal community, http://community.livejournal.com/lokeans. It’ll tell you all you want to know (lots of links to articles on the first page) and also quite a lot about what kind of crazy people worship him (like me) and the general tenor of modern Heathenry nowadays. (Heathens = pagans who worship the gods of the North.) Apparently, I find that it is no longer (if it ever was) populated by dirty hairy biker white supremacists. (Well, there are a few, but they are mostly in US state and federal prisons!) It’s pretty politically enlightened, these days, is Heathenry. I think so. Pretty racially mixed too. (Yes, there are black people and people of Jewish ancestry who are extremely attracted to worship of Thor, Odin, etc!) I’m a bit of a mongrel myself, though neither black nor (very) Jewish. Do I have a bit of Germanic ancestry? Yes…. And I speak the language.
Having said that, if you worship Loki, and therefore count yourself as a Lokean (that’s how it’s spelt) or “one of Loki’s”….. (That’s how they go on…. It’s “one of Thor’s”, “one of Odin’s” etc… I think it’s got as much to do with your personality, or personal archetype as much as anything else. Well, mine corresponds to Loki’s, and there’s nothing I can do about it! It’s an affliction - as some people at the above lokeans community seem to admit!)
If you are one of Loki’s - you’re stuck with him! (And should be proud, I might add.) But if you are one, you tend to be a bit of an outcast, among Heathens, as much as anyone else - because Loki is really a very naughty boy!!! Even among gods. You see. However, a lot of that, in the mythology, might have been because of Christian influence on the faith and culture in the 9th and 10th centuries, and even before…. And also stellar write-ups of our favourite gods by slightly later medieval Icelandic scribes like Snorri Sturluson, who was a fervent Catholic, and couldn’t RESIST writing Loki up as the equivalent to Satan, the “blemish upon all gods and men”… but Snorri also said “and he is one of the twelve [Aesir] whose natures are to be regarded as divine” (!!!) I think Snorri had a split personality.
But even allowing for that, Loki is a pretty bad lad, at times. Well, he’s a Trickster! Go and look that up on Wikipedia: they had a fairly good article on it, about 12 months ago. Understand that archetype, and you’ll understand the Universe, my friend.
What might people not like about Loki?? Well, he’s a shape shifter and also a sex changer - consummate gender bender and pansexual being! Oh, and he’s also a murderer, according to the later stories in the cycle. But don’t let that put you off!
IS THIS A RELIGIOUS BLOG?? Well no, not really - thought I set it up because I thought I might discuss some stuff of relevance to the lokean community that won’t fit on their site. I set this up mainly for literary purposes though, to discuss literature and mythology, particularly as it pertains to stuff like Norse Gods - AND the Trickster archetype, my be all and end all.
(How did I come to all this?? Well, that’s for another post, if I feel like it. But briefly: I’ve only really recognised myself as a Heathen quite recently, though always knew I was attracted to the mythology - and I’ve been into general paganism and Wicca before, still am. But I wanted something a bit more definite than New Age fluff; also Wicca proper is more based on Celtic type ideas, and while I like them (especially the Fairy Faith - which is something else! Yet again!)…. I can’t really get my head around them like I can with the Nordic. I was always attracted to that - just waiting for the spectre of racism to go away… now it looks like it has, I can come out safely!)
How did I know before I even “joined”… have I joined? Which one my patron god was?? That’s so easy. Like I said, there WAS no choice. I’ve been attracted by, possessed by, Tricksters, ever since my early-to-mid-teens. I like them all, the mythological and the literary. I used not to differentiate. But of late, I’ve decided that one has to commit oneself to something, a “proper religion”, if you will. So I’ve made some small steps in that direction.
But sure, I’ve never met a Trickster I didn’t like - “real” or fictional - from Warner Bros’ Bugs Bunny, to Richard Adams’ El-Ahrairah (a lot of them are rabbits, surprisingly, or not!) to the Native American Raven and Coyote, to Hermes to Prometheus to Loki… I like them all!! (Anyone who can tell me who the Celtic Trickster is, BTW, will get my eternal gratitude, or a cookie or something.)
So this blog is also intended as a paean to all Tricksters, literary and mythological. Rather than a religious blog devoted specifically to one religion, eg. Asatru or whatever.
So - that’s it!! Somewhere in all the above is the answer to what “one of loki’s” means!!!
Oh - and the id. picture?? That’s not Loki specifically, it’s a Fool from a Tarot deck. Rather a nice picture…
(Who Loki?? Norse god of mischief, chaos, destruction, creativity, trickery and a lot else besides!! See Wikipedia article but don’t believe all you read.)
If you, gentle reader, random browser, really want to learn a lot more about Loki, I suggest that you log on to the livejournal community, http://community.livejournal.com/lokeans. It’ll tell you all you want to know (lots of links to articles on the first page) and also quite a lot about what kind of crazy people worship him (like me) and the general tenor of modern Heathenry nowadays. (Heathens = pagans who worship the gods of the North.) Apparently, I find that it is no longer (if it ever was) populated by dirty hairy biker white supremacists. (Well, there are a few, but they are mostly in US state and federal prisons!) It’s pretty politically enlightened, these days, is Heathenry. I think so. Pretty racially mixed too. (Yes, there are black people and people of Jewish ancestry who are extremely attracted to worship of Thor, Odin, etc!) I’m a bit of a mongrel myself, though neither black nor (very) Jewish. Do I have a bit of Germanic ancestry? Yes…. And I speak the language.
Having said that, if you worship Loki, and therefore count yourself as a Lokean (that’s how it’s spelt) or “one of Loki’s”….. (That’s how they go on…. It’s “one of Thor’s”, “one of Odin’s” etc… I think it’s got as much to do with your personality, or personal archetype as much as anything else. Well, mine corresponds to Loki’s, and there’s nothing I can do about it! It’s an affliction - as some people at the above lokeans community seem to admit!)
If you are one of Loki’s - you’re stuck with him! (And should be proud, I might add.) But if you are one, you tend to be a bit of an outcast, among Heathens, as much as anyone else - because Loki is really a very naughty boy!!! Even among gods. You see. However, a lot of that, in the mythology, might have been because of Christian influence on the faith and culture in the 9th and 10th centuries, and even before…. And also stellar write-ups of our favourite gods by slightly later medieval Icelandic scribes like Snorri Sturluson, who was a fervent Catholic, and couldn’t RESIST writing Loki up as the equivalent to Satan, the “blemish upon all gods and men”… but Snorri also said “and he is one of the twelve [Aesir] whose natures are to be regarded as divine” (!!!) I think Snorri had a split personality.
But even allowing for that, Loki is a pretty bad lad, at times. Well, he’s a Trickster! Go and look that up on Wikipedia: they had a fairly good article on it, about 12 months ago. Understand that archetype, and you’ll understand the Universe, my friend.
What might people not like about Loki?? Well, he’s a shape shifter and also a sex changer - consummate gender bender and pansexual being! Oh, and he’s also a murderer, according to the later stories in the cycle. But don’t let that put you off!
IS THIS A RELIGIOUS BLOG?? Well no, not really - thought I set it up because I thought I might discuss some stuff of relevance to the lokean community that won’t fit on their site. I set this up mainly for literary purposes though, to discuss literature and mythology, particularly as it pertains to stuff like Norse Gods - AND the Trickster archetype, my be all and end all.
(How did I come to all this?? Well, that’s for another post, if I feel like it. But briefly: I’ve only really recognised myself as a Heathen quite recently, though always knew I was attracted to the mythology - and I’ve been into general paganism and Wicca before, still am. But I wanted something a bit more definite than New Age fluff; also Wicca proper is more based on Celtic type ideas, and while I like them (especially the Fairy Faith - which is something else! Yet again!)…. I can’t really get my head around them like I can with the Nordic. I was always attracted to that - just waiting for the spectre of racism to go away… now it looks like it has, I can come out safely!)
How did I know before I even “joined”… have I joined? Which one my patron god was?? That’s so easy. Like I said, there WAS no choice. I’ve been attracted by, possessed by, Tricksters, ever since my early-to-mid-teens. I like them all, the mythological and the literary. I used not to differentiate. But of late, I’ve decided that one has to commit oneself to something, a “proper religion”, if you will. So I’ve made some small steps in that direction.
But sure, I’ve never met a Trickster I didn’t like - “real” or fictional - from Warner Bros’ Bugs Bunny, to Richard Adams’ El-Ahrairah (a lot of them are rabbits, surprisingly, or not!) to the Native American Raven and Coyote, to Hermes to Prometheus to Loki… I like them all!! (Anyone who can tell me who the Celtic Trickster is, BTW, will get my eternal gratitude, or a cookie or something.)
So this blog is also intended as a paean to all Tricksters, literary and mythological. Rather than a religious blog devoted specifically to one religion, eg. Asatru or whatever.
So - that’s it!! Somewhere in all the above is the answer to what “one of loki’s” means!!!
Oh - and the id. picture?? That’s not Loki specifically, it’s a Fool from a Tarot deck. Rather a nice picture…
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