Introducing Loki part two

In Introducing Loki part one I skimmed the surface of Loki Past and ended by noting we have to deal with this wily wight as he is and look at aspects of Loki that are universal rather than bound by early Scandinavian culture. The Loki cycle shows aspects of his character, and to show his character it doesn't matter if a story is purely Scandinavian in origin or a variant borrowed from another culture. The point is that the story tells us something about Loki. I think the aspects of Loki I describe below are relevant to Loki today.

I suggested one aspect of Loki is fate, but Loki is far more than that, and has taken on other aspects as time passed. An originally lovable rogue Loki changed after eating the heart of Gullweig, and seems over time too have enhanced his dark side.

Another aspect of Loki that comes out of the cycle is that, as a trickster, he is a catalyst and agent of change. When Loki is involved in something it changes. Generally he will clean up his mess and leave you better off than before. In the tales Loki is complexL Trickster, sex changer, ( and not fussy who he sleeps with) and shape shifter - one of the few traits Root considers may be original - and, in his flyting at Aegir's feast, I see him as a prophet. Unlike his blood brother Odin he is no oath breaker. He was forced to promise to kidnap Idunna in order to save his life and kept his promise where Odin would have made a promise only to break it as soon as he was free.

Perhaps his worst crime is to tell the truth, all the truth, regardless of the consequences., for as I tell people often, Truth is dangerousin a world run on lies. At Aegir's feast he shows he knows all the secrets of the gods and only Thor ( His friend till then) can force him to stop - but not before he prophecies the destruction of the hall.

Loki is an independent god. He is neither Aesir or Vanir., and may actually be a dwarf giant He is blood brother or brother to Odin and may have taken on some of One Eye's darker traits, for Odin can also be regarded as a tricky and deceitful fellow, especially in his aspect of Bolverk. Loki is companion to Thor and when invoking him it is a good idea for the cautious to invoke Thor as well to prevent Loki getting carried away. Loki is a great talker can travel through air and water and charm the wind off the trees. It is only late in the cycle, after eating the heart of Gullveig, that Loki arouses any enmity from the gods.

Loki is father of Fenris the world wrecking wolf and of the Midgard Serpent. He is father of Sleipnir, the eight legged horse that carries Odin between the worlds. Sleipnir is usually regarded as a benevolent child of Loki but can anything that carries the god of death between worlds be that harmless? Even his eight legs, it has been suggested, represent the eight legs of pall bearers. Spiders too have eight legs but the meaning of this is unclear.

And are Fenris and the Midgard Serpent the monsters they seem? There was a prophecy that Fenris would cause much trouble for the gods and their trickery in binding him made an enemy of one who might have been an ally or at least stayed neutral. Again an effort to thwart a prophecy brought it about. Thor's hatred of the Midgard Serpent likewise made an enemy where perhaps none existed before.

Loki is generally accepted as a fire god and represents wild fire. With blood brother Woden, god of Wind and frenzy he evokes echoes of the wind and fire that swept over Jesus' disciples at Pentecost.

Moving to metaphor Loki represents for me the wild fire of undisciplined creativity and the spark of intuition. The Book of Troth puts computers, those magic boxes that transform our world faster and faster, firmly under his patronage and all of "cyberspace" must be his domain. New Agers say we are in the age of aquarius but events since 1987, widely touted as the dawning of Aquarius, tell me it is much more the age of Loki and Odin as Bolverk.

So what does that tell us about Loki today. Loki seems to me to be the kind of person who reinvents themselves as needed. Mouth with a death wish Loki isa free spirti gliding through the world turning everything to advantage. Soured by the heart of Gulllweig and possibly recovering the recession of 2007-2009 has his fingerprints all over it, and those of Bolverk who caused nine men to kill each other as a result of their own greed. When I see the free market economic theory of recent decades proven false and watched the then chairman of the Federal Reserve say “There may have been a flaw in my reasoning” I hear Loki laugh. When I see the British Democratic system in turmoil as a result of Mps sticking their noses too deep in the trough I hear Loki snigger. When I see revelations of wrongdoing, even legal wrongdoing, in high places I see Loki in Aegir's hall. Loki is the one who reveals hypocrisy – when he feels like it and believes it will create chaos.

One of the problems in identifying what Loki does today is the fact he has gone underground like a peat fire and much of what he does continues below the surface then erupts.

you may find Introducing Loki part three  useful if you want to go beyond a purely intellectual knowledge of Loki