Myths and Legends: Journeys Through Time
Loki
Mischief, jokes, puns, trickery, buffoonery, clownish, childish, foolish antics. All these words
and more are used to describe somebody who’s acting goofy or silly. These words also
describe the sort of actions that fall under the realm of the Trickster Gods. In every
mythology there is at least one god, goddess or being that is considered a trickster.
For the Native Americans it was the Coyote and the Raven, for the Greeks it was Prometheus,
Hermes, Sisyphus and others, the Celtics had leprechauns, fairies, and beings of that nature.
The Norse pantheon however had Loki. In fact..mention the words Trickster God and the first
person most people name is Loki. Norse mythology was the mythos of the vikings. Beings
like Thor; god of thunder and lightning also wielded the hammer Mjollnir, Odin; ruler of the
universe and ruler of all the deities, Heimdall; creator of mankind and watcher of the Bifrost
Bridge, Asgard which was home of the gods, Valhalla home of the fallen warriors and
Valkryies who were the battle angels and ALWAYS female. Loki however was a special
case. He’s considered a god but his origin is that of a frost giant. The giants and the gods
differed much like the Greek Titans and Gods. He starts out as a mischief causing, joke
pulling, prank loving misfit. Somebody that was good for entertainment….no so good
for when serious work needed to be done. Although connected with fire and magic, Loki
is better known for his mischief, shape changing ability. He’s also known for fathering (in one
case mothering) with the giantess Angerboda; Hel the goddess of death, Fenrir the giant wolf
that would eventually kill and devour Odin at Ragnarok and Jourmungand the midgard
serpent. In the case of being a mother, Loki helped the Gods of Asgard out. The giant
Hrimthurs boasted that he could construct the walls around Asgard in a single winter and if he
finished he would gain the sun and moon as payment. He would also gain Odin’s wife Frigg
too. The god were sure they would lose so they chose not to accept Hrimthurs’ wager but Loki
was quite confident that Hrimthurs couldn’t finish in a single winter, so he goaded the gods
into accepting the bet. With his stallion Svadilfari, who was able to haul the heavy rocks
quickly, Hrimthurs was making good on his wager. Seeing this, the gods forced Loki to
sabotage the bet. Loki turned himself into a mare and led Svadilfari away into the forest.
Without his stallion, Hrimthurs lost the bet. As a result of the forest frolick with Svadilfari,
Loki ended up prengant and gave birth to Sleipnir, an eight legged colt who would become
Odin’s magical steed. Although Loki’s pranks and mischief were generally lighthearted, they
became darker as time went on. The darkest being when he became responsible for the
death of Balder. Balder was the god of beauty and was loved by everyone and everything.
However it was foretold that he would die and that his death was one of the signs that
Ragnarok was coming. To prevent this, Frigg went around to every animal, god, goddess,
creature, and plant making them promise to not harm Balder. The only plant she did not get
this promise from was mistletoe as she believed it to be too young to be held to such a
promise. Loki tricked Frigg into revealing the only thing that could kill Balder and upon
finding out, Loki coaxed the blind god Hod, into joining in a game of throwning things at
Balder. This was a favorite pastime of the deities as Balder could not be harmed. Loki handed
Hod a sprig of mistletoe and directed his aim. Hod threw the sprig as hard as he could and
everyone watched in horror as it pierced Balder who died instantly. For this crime Loki was
punished severly. He was bound by three rocks, one between his shoulders, another under
his loins and the last beneath his knees. A venomous snake was placed above his head and
dripped venom on him for eternity. His wife Sigyn, who remained faithful to him despite his
fathering beings with the giantess Angerboda, lovingly collected the venom in a bowl so that
it would not drip upon Loki. However when the bowl filled, she had to leave to empty it and
this left Loki unprotected. When the venom hit his bare skin, he would writhe about in pain
and cause earthquakes. Ragnarok was the end of days for the gods, the day they would go to
war and fight amongst themselves. When Loki’s chains broke and he was freed, it was he who
lead the giants into battle. Loki killed Heimdall but also died at Heimdall’s hand. As much
fun as mischief and pranks are they can be taken too far. Not even Gods are immune to the
allure and excitement of pulling a prank on somebody or acting foolish, nor are they immune
to the consequences that come from causing such foolish acts.
http://www.timelessmyths.com/norse/aesir.html#Thor
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/l/loki.html
http://www.timelessmyths.com/norse/ragnarok.html#Balder
http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/norse-mythology.php?deity=LOKI&ds=N