November Eve :: Deity of the Sabbat :: Loki
Evidence, or lack thereof, shows us that Loki was not worshipped as the gods of the Aesir and Vanir were by Nordic
peoples, yet he appears in many myths and is a prominent figure in the lives and dealings of the gods, to whom he may be
considered a companion. In some legends, he is faithful to Odin, even being referred to as Odin’s blood-brother in the poem
Lokasenna, but his loyalties are always in question. In other myths, he is a demon of strife and a trickster, seemingly
taking delight in bringing the gods into difficult situations and then appearing (sometimes) to rescue them through his own
wit, cunning and skill. Legends of Loki appear in Historica Danica by Saxo, the Icelandic codices, in Volupsa Hin Skamma
(The Short Prophecy of the Seeress) and in Prose Edda by Snorri Sturlson, who describes Loki as “pleasing and handsome in
appearance, evil in character, very capricious of behavior”. After the coming of Christianity to the North circa 1100 CE,
Loki was closely equated with the Christian devil.
Loki may have first entered myths as a giant though in some tales he is linked with the dwarfs. He is the son of the giants Laufey and Farbauti, who is also the father of Bleifstr and Heblindi, a name given to Odin. As Loder, he is the brother of Hoener and Odin. His close relationship with the All-father waxes and wanes through legends as Loki’s deeds alternate between helpful and harmful. It was Loki who stole Odin’s hammer, Mjollnir, from the dwarfs to give to the god, but it was also Loki who stole Freyja’s necklace, Thor’s belt and iron gloves and the apples of youth. Loki’s final act of treachery, the slaying of Balder the good god, would place him squarely at odds with all of the Aesir, even Odin.
Loki’s liaisons are many and he is not always regarded as male, or human for that matter. By Tyr’s wife, Loki is the father of an unnamed child and by his own wife Sigyu he is the father of Vali/Ali and Narve/Narfi . He is also said to be the father by Nott of the ruddy faced god Neri/Norine, who is associated with morning. By morphing into a mare, Loki was able to lure away Svadilfari, the stallion belonging to a giant who was constructing the walls of Asgath in order to make the giant break his contract. From the union with the stallion, Loki gave birth to the magical, eight-legged Sleipnir, Odin’s horse who was able to carry the rider across earth, sea and air without effort. He also gave birth to Fenrir the wolf, Jormundgand the serpent and Hel (or Angrboda) the queen of the underworld after consuming the half-burned heart of the Vanir goddess of evil, Gullveig1.
All of Asgard was alarmed to learns of the birth of Loki’s three monstrous children and did their best to arm and defend themselves against them for the gods had heard the prophecies of the great harm these children would cause. Odin sent the gods to retrieve Fenrir, Jormungand and Hel and bring them to Asgard so that he may decide their fates. He cast Jormungand the serpent into the ocean that surrounds the world and the monster grew to such a size that it could chew on its own tail while encircling the entirety of Midgard, the middle part of the universe in which man lives, while it brooded endlessly on how it could one day avenge its punishment. Hel, the half flesh-colored half blue and decaying daughter of Loki was thrown into Niflheim, the realm of the dead, where she was given dominion over nine worlds into which she sends the souls of the deceased who died of old age or illness rather than honorably in battle. The wolf Fenrir was raised by the Aesir until his destructive nature proved too much even for them and they were forced to fetter him. He broke the first two mighty chains without exerting effort but was finally bound by the third chain which was so thin as to be almost invisible.
Approaching the final episode of Norse mythology, Loki’s persona becomes less mischevious and more evil. It is his role
in the death of Balder, “the shining one”, that is the final straw for the Aesir, who saw the act as the ultimate evil. For
some reason, perhaps for his own twisted enjoyment, Loki convinces the blind god Hoder to throw mistletoe, the only thing
in the universe that can harm Balder at the god. Loki guided the blind god’s hand and turned a small sprig of mistletoe
into a deadly spear2 that would set in motion the irreversible events that would lead to the end of the world. After
Balder’s death, it was bargained that the god could return to the world of the living and by doing so the world would
avert its own demise, if only everyone on earth would weep for Balder. Upon hearing this, Loki changed into an old woman
and refused to shed a single tear, thus causing the beloved Balder to remain in Hel.
Outraged, the Aesir wished to kill Loki, but they could not because he was destined to play a major role in the end of the world, also called Ragnarok or the Twilight of the Gods. His three children are also destined to return at Ragnarok, that was why Odin could not kill them but could only cast them far enough away that they could not cause direct harm. Because they could not kill him for his betrayal, they devised a punishment worse than death. They turned his son Vali into a wolf so that he would rip his brother Narve to shreds before his father’s eyes, then Narve’s intestines were used to bind Loki to three boulders. Above the bound giant, Skadhi hung a venomous snake that dripped poison from its mouth onto the giant causing unbearable pain that made him writhe and strain against the bonds he could not break. Sigyu, Loki’s loving wife is said to attend her husband night and day, holding a bowl above him to catch the poison as it falls. When she pauses to empty her bowl, the poison sears Loki’s skin causing him to thrash about and as a result we experience earthquakes.
At Ragnarok, Loki will lead the forces of Midgard, the part of the world inhabited by men that is envisioned as a fortress constructed by the gods around the middle of the universe. The Midgard serpent (Jormungand) encircles all of Midgard, awaiting his vengeance. At Ragnarok, Loki will steer the boat of the giants, which is called Naglfar and is made of the clipped fingernails of the dead. His son Fenrir the wolf will eat the sun and the serpent will break free of its prison and spit so much poison that it will splatter both the sky and the sea. In Loki’s final act, he will battle his nemesis Heimdall, the watchman of the gods and both will fall.
Loki’s character becomes darker and more evil as the Norse myths wind to a close and this is an important aspect but for the majority of the tales he is a mischievous, cunning and wily individual who brings pleasure and occasionally discomfort. A festival in his honor was held around the time of Samhain as the forces of darkness took hold across Europe.
2 Saxo relates Balder’s death as having occurred by a magic sword wielded by the god Hoderas as the two battled for the hand of the goddess Nanna.
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