Book Review

Pagan Portals: Loki

Trickster and Transformer

by Dagulf Loptson

104 Pages

 

 

Pagan Portals is a series of introductory volumes, each designed to be a doorway into the title topic, and to encourage the reader to find out more if they are so inspired. Dagulf Lopston has added to the growing collection with his new book on Loki, with the subtitle Trickster and Transformer. The book works through who Loki is, plus includes ways to honour the deity and even how to become a dedicant of Loki.

I’ve been interested in the Norse gods since I was tiny. In fact, my first book on Norse mythology was simply called “Loki” and was a collection of tales about this enigmatic deity, culminating in the death of Baldur and the resulting path towards Ragnarok. I was mesmerized by these stories, but my paganism never really went down a Norse or Heathen path. This meant I never learned too much more about my favourite Norse god, but that’s now been fixed thanks to Dagulf’s new book.

Loki goes beyond the experiential and includes well sourced information to back up everything that’s written. This makes it ideal for those looking to learn where Loki’s legends come from and how the stories relate to modern Loki worship and reverence. The key structure of the book is around various epithets of Loki. Each chapter explores a different name, where it comes from, what it means, and a relevant ritual or task to honour this epithet.

I love the attention to detail in this book. The exploration of the origins of the god, the names, and the connection to other figures from Norse mythology is meticulous yet also entertaining and inspiring. Dagulf doesn’t shy away from the fact that Loki is oft-maligned and misunderstood, and that Loki is far from the completely “positive” deity that some might be searching for.

It’s important to remember that all Pagan Portals books are short, as they’re only designed to be introductory volumes. Having said that, this small book packs a big punch and is full to the brim with useful and inspiring information about the original trickster.

Dagulf Loptson has been a devotee of Loki for over 20 years. His articles on sites like polytheist.com give practical ways of working with Loki, and this new book has certainly expanded on that. As well as writing, Dagulf is also a talented tattoo artist.

 

Pagan Portals – Loki: Trickster and Transformer on Amazon
 

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About the Author:

Mabh Savage is a Pagan author, poet and musician, as well as a freelance journalist.

She is the author of A Modern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors & Pagan Portals – Celtic Witchcraft: Modern Witchcraft Meets Celtic Ways.