Month: January 2012

You asked, “Why do you worship Loki?” That’s a complex question. If you don’t get the answers you were looking for from this letter, please feel free to ask more. But understand, I don’t think my “faith” for lack of a better term, is any better than any other. I wouldn’t try to convince people to the righteousness of my beliefs. Everyone has their own path should they seek it. I am happy to tell you what little I know and believe, just for the sake of spreading knowledge. That point will be important later.

Understand first that I don’t “worship” Loki in the same sense that Christians and other mainstream religions ask for worship of a creator god. I don’t view him as a master, or someone who takes care of me. I view him more as a powerful being I respect, may occasionally ask favors from, and he expects something in return. In fact, I’m pretty sure Loki would secretly or openly loathe anyone who did worship him. He leaves that to the self-important and self-righteous.

Also keep in mind that I am not Asatru. The Asatru are modern pagans that follow the Norse deities. They have a code of beliefs and shared rituals. You can find out more here: http://www.asatru.org/. I find myself a bit too pacifistic to consider myself Asatru. I am sure there are some Asatru pacifists out there, but I don’t think the Asatru code makes it easy to believe in non-violence. I do, however, feel a strong attraction to the Norse gods. I know their stories better than other pantheons, and I think my German heritage makes them easier for me to understand. I do not feel as attracted to the Greek and Celtic gods that most pagans follow. That is not to say I don’t venerate gods from other cultures.

So, why Loki? Mostly because Loki is a trickster god. Like many tricksters, the myths often portray him as an enemy, but there’s more to it than that. While the other gods may hate Loki, they call on him to do the dirty work. Like the time he tricked one of the dwarves into building a wall around Asgard.

http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/mythology/myths/text/wall_of_asgard.htm

Like other tricksters, such as Prometheus for the Greeks and Coyote for many Native Americans, Loki is a fire bringer. He taught mankind how to make fire. So he seems to be the only Norse god who actually gives a shit about mankind when they are not fighting and killing each other.

Now, let go of some of those cultural prejudices we all have, and try to keep an open mind about what I am about to say. Fire often symbolizes knowledge, so that Loki is actually bringing the light of knowledge. That puts him in the same category as Lucifer in Christian mythology.

You can make arguments to the contrary, but it seems to me that the Big Three Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, and to a lesser extent Judaism), are very anti-intellectual. The guy who gave people the ability to determine when they are being assholes, is called the Adversary. They generally believe that you need to shut up and learn to do what you are told. I find this attitude chaffing and a waste of our greatest gift, the ability to reason. It strikes me as a means to control people more than a way to help people realize their full potential.

I’m not saying don’t be Christian. There’s plenty of good stuff there. Just like I don’t appreciate the warlike nature of the Asgard, there’s plenty of examples in Christianity that promote free thinking. Or Buddhism, or Islam, or atheism for that matter. It’s just not for me.

I also venerate Thoth as a god of knowledge, but play down his role as Herald of Ra. I venerate Mahatma Gandhi as an ascended being, but disagree with his views on denying our animal nature. All religion is full of contradictions.