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by: Lopt on Feb 09, 2017

I dedicate this article to Loki, and his three beautiful monster children.

"Loki brings nothing but chaos and destruction! Hell ruin your life!"

"He killed Baldr! Cut off Sifs hair!"

"He did very questionable things to my horse. I demand compensation."

"Hes the father of monsters!"

"Hes the Norse Satan!" (My personal favorite)

This is some of the many things I have been told about Loki. Many Asatruars and other pagans fear and demonize Loki due to his misdeeds in the Norse lore. This was possibly due to Snorris depiction of him in the Prose Edda. Snorri, being a Christian, planted a lot of good vs evil seeds throughout the texts. This sprouted the demonization of Loki and his children, among the Rokkr.

...But in truth he isnt all that bad.

Heres why Loki shouldnt be demonized.

By Olivia Loptsdottir (Lopt)

Loki has many names. World-Breaker, Lie-Smith, Face-Changer, Questionable-Horse-Handler, Shapeshifter, Trickster of the North. Hes a very flexible deity in the ways of chaos, change and mischief. Loki isnt all sunshine and rainbows, thats for sure. But he isnt shy when he needs to lend a helping hand. Whether its to cause some chaos or its to heal.

"To heal? But Loki isnt a deity of healing! Isnt that Eirs job?"

Well, yes. Although, throughout the Lokean community, Loki has been known to take the abused, the mentally ill, the neglected, and the forgotten under his wing. He knows the pain of abandonment. Of sorrow. Of abuse. He knows the feeling of being hated. The feeling of being ridiculed and outcast. Lokis lessons are of a very deep variety. Of course its something that doesnt happen overnight. But for sure, its an eye-opener. To me, as well as other Lokeans, Loki is a god of beneficial -sometimes even necessary- change. And none of it is an easy task. Hell rip you apart. Takes very cherishable things and shatters them. He will pull out the problems you avoid and shove them into your hands and say,You need to deal with this and you need to do it now. Its now or never. He does it for the thrill. Thats the change he incites in you. The change you need to know that you can become a better person. Its painful. Loki knows how to make you jump and dance on your toes. He knows the way you try to sneak around to get to the easy way and he doesnt allow that. Its through the pain, that you start to heal.

"What kind of good could ever come out of Loki?"

Well

For starters, we have:

-Mjolnir

-An eight-legged horse

-Asgards wall

-Gungnir

-Freyrs golden boar and ship

-Making Skadi laugh

-Surtrs sword

-Sifs golden hair

-Thors belt and gloves

-Retrieving Moljnir from that time Thor cross-dressed as a bride.

-That one time when he rescued Idunn from that giant

And much more!

Any questions? No? Moving on.

"A god of truth? But Loki is called the Lie-Smith!"

As mentioned, Loki has many names. How did he acquire Lie-Smith? Well, most likely through his misdeeds in his adventures through the nine worlds. He cut off Sifs hair, made a bet with dwarves for his head, did questionable deeds with a horse. But despite all that, Loki knows how to push someones buttons and call out the truth. Such as an excerpt from Lokasenna. Loki was pushing everyone's buttons in Aegirs hall. They didnt even really deny it. It was just kind of like,Okay yeah I did do that thing, but you also did this and this and this so... between the gods and Loki. Lokis rule is to never lie to yourself, or others. Always speak the truth, even if your voice shakes. The truth hurts. No one likes hearing the truth. Not even the gods. Loki knows lies. But he also knows the burning truth and its sting, its bite. Loki encourages us to be honest with ourselves. When we arent, he tears us apart. And we help him when we fall into our own web of lies and deceits.

World-Breaker

Through your lessons with Loki, your world will turn upside down. And that is a promise. That is fact. No way in Helheim would you ever go through a lesson with Loki that wouldnt be painful, let alone uncomfortable at the least. Theres a reason he shakes up your world- To snap you out of your delusional fantasies and bring you back to reality. Hell tear into your personal affairs if he feels like it. Boyfriend, girlfriend, marriage, friendships. It makes no difference to him. Reality can be harsh, cruel, and unforgiving. Reality is where you really survive. And Loki teaches you that daydreaming can be easily shattered by reality. If you find yourself digging into your fantasies to escape a difficult situation thats affecting you in reality that you procrastinate to face, you best believe Loki will shut it down. No exceptions.

Ultimately, Lokis rule is: Self-Knowledge. No matter what you say to others, be it truth or lie, never lie to yourself. Know yourself excruciatingly well, even the ugly parts, and always be honest with yourself first. When you speak the truth aloud, remember that the greatest honor is in speaking the truth that no one wants to hear, and that everyone has been avoiding out of fear.