The Rehabilitation of Loki, the Shadow of Odin

Loki, is He a God or a giant? The scholars argue that the Eddas appear to be ambiguous about this. My argument is that His status is no less ambiguous than many of the other major Germanic deities. We know that his father was Farbauti (ON 'dangerous hitter'), a giant. The etymology of Farbauti`s name is associated with lightening or the storm (See Rudolf Simek's Dictionary of Northern Mythology ). His mother was Laufey (ON 'leaf island'-a rather incredulous interpretation). Her alternative or additional name was Nal (ON 'needle) because she was so slender and nimble. Simek suggests that Laufey may have been a tree Goddess. She is generally considered to be a Goddess and listed as such in the Eddas and we have no reason therefore to doubt that She was one. The Eddas are replete with stories of matings between Gods or Goddesses with giants and the giants should be considered as an earlier race of Gods which the Aesir and Vanir displaced. Odin Himself was of giant parentage via His mother Bestla, a frost giantess. Thus we may conclude that Loki had as much Aesir blood flowing through His veins as Odin. However Loki's attitude towards the Gods is ambivalent. Early on in the mythology He is portrayed as a positive member of the Aesir, often coming to their aid in times of crisis. It is only with the beginning of Ragnarok and the events that precede it that we see a markedly different side to Loki. Causing the death of Baldur and preventing His early release from Hel and His slandering of the Gods in the Lokasenna He hastens on Ragnarok and shows Himself as an apparent enemy of the Gods.

That is how people superficially see Loki's role. However like life He is more complex than that and in my opinion He should be viewed as being the Shadow of  Odin. Loki and Odin are said to be 'blood brothers' and often journeyed together in Midgard. There is some suspicion that He is in fact the God Lodur who along with Odin and Hoenir gave life to man. Both Odin and Loki are half giant in extraction but Loki as Odin's Shadow has his giant inheritance from His mother's and not His father's side. Usually it was the Gods who mated with giantesses and not the other way around. My inkling is that Laufey may have been raped by Farbauti and hence the apparent shame and lack of identification with the father. This may account for why some are tempted to see him more in the light of being a giant than a God. Curiously He is named after His mother, not His father for in the Eddas He is referred to as Loki Laufeyjarson. Perhaps He was anxious to bury his giant heritage, maybe even ashamed of it for the reason stated above?

Scholars point out that there is no evidence for any cults of Loki in the pre-Christian past. However this betrays their lack of understanding of His role. If Loki is Odin's Shadow then it is unlikely that we would expect to see any such evidence for the common people were highly unlikely to worship such an apparently negative deity. Additionally as Odin`s Shadow He in effect IS Odin, His darker and seemingly more destructive side. However it is the Loki side of Odin's personality which grants the All Father such naked intelligence, cunning and at times seeming duplicity. Loki is a catalyst, an agent of change and transformation. Whilst He is responsible for hastening on Ragnarok He was not responsible for the loss of the Golden Age. In His seeming 'evil' deeds He is in fact providing a solution to the Wolf Age in which we find ourselves in. Through His actions the new Golden Age will arise after Ragnarok. He is the ultimate problem solver but His motives are not always clear.

Loki represents the ultimate Left-Hand Path Germanic God. He stands alone. He is independent. He cares not for worship, adulation or approval. There is no consensus over the etymology of Loki`s name and this does not surprise me for there is no consensus at all about Loki who is the ultimate enigmatic God. My interpretation of His name is one that suggests 'light'. I am reminded of Lucifer (an Indo-European, not a Semitic name) who shares a similar personality and name. It is likely that Loki derives from the PIE word *leuk. George William Cox in his The Mythology of the Aryan Nations volume II states:

"The name Loki, like that of the Latin Vulcanus, denotes the light or blaze of fire, and in such phrases as Locke dricker vand, Loki drinks water, described the phenomena of the sun drinking when its light streams in shafts from the cloud rifts to the earth or the waters beneath. The word thus carries us to the old verb liuhan, the Latin lucere, to shine, and to Logi as its earlier form, the modern German lohe, glow; but as the Greek tradition referred the name Oidipous......., to know and to swell, so a supposed connexion with the verb lukan, to shut or lock, substituted the name Loki for Logi, and modified his character accordingly."

The Eddas know of an Utgard-Loki and a Logi, a fire giant. Wagner in his Das Rheingold conflates the two characters of Loki and Logi together in the form of Loge and it would appear that there may be good grounds for doing so. It is interesting to note that the Old Norse equivalent of Saturday is Laugardagr, the Swedish logerdag and the Danish loverdag. Clearly originally before the pernicious influence of Christianity Loki had a much more revered role in the Germanic pantheon but like many of the Gods He was demonised and this demonisation continues amongst many modern day 'Asatru' and 'Odinists'. We need to view Him as the Germanic Prometheus who has brought the light of intelligence to man rather than the Christian imposed idea of being a 'devil'. To understand Loki we must try and free ourselves of our 20th century thinking and Christian indoctrination which I believe is the root cause for Loki's perception as being a type of heathen 'devil' or even as the 'archetypal Jew' which some heathens consider Him to be. It is clear to me that Loki represents those repressed parts of Odin's Self, those parts which both He and His followers have disowned (especially in modern day American inspired Odinism which owes much more to Christianity than genuine Germanic heathenism). By embracing this concept we will be able to understand Odin as a personality far better than the current one dimensional thinking allows. At the same time we will be able to understand Loki far better and appreciate His contribution to the Norse mythos. Those parts of our Self, those drives which we have that are deemed to be unacceptable by one's parents, teachers and society at large we disown but this act of repression does not make them go away. Instead they become repressed in the personal Unconscious and take on a life of their own, becoming the Shadow. We must learn to accept the Shadow, to integrate it as far as possible but NOT to be controlled by it. This is the process of Individuation taught by the great father of analytical psychology Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), the 'Aryan Christ' (see Richard Noll).

Denn die Todten reiten schnell

Many years ago whilst reading Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) I encountered for the first time the phrase Denn die Todten reiten schnell which is translated to mean 'for the dead travel fast' and is traceable to an earlier work by Gottfried August Bürger called Lenore (1773).

"In the carriage, Harker notes: As he spoke he smiled,and the lamplight fell on a hard-looking mouth, with very red lips and sharp-looking teeth, as white as ivory. One of my companions whispered to another the line from Burger's 'Lenore'. "Denn die Todten reiten Schnell." ('For the dead travel fast.') [ Dracula ] “Sieh hin, sieh her! der Mond-scheint hell. Wir und die Todten reiten schnell.” [Lenore]

This concept is familiar to those of who have experienced what is commonly known as astral travelling, when the spirit is temporarily loosened from the physical body and one is capable of travelling anywhere at or beyond the speed of light. It is conjectured by some that if we exceed the speed of light then we can experience time travel. I believe that this is perfectly possible and unlike the world of Science Fiction it does not require a special device. The secret is to be found within. For some this is an art which must be mastered and to others it is a gift. By the click of an internal switch one may experience an altered state of reality. This is something which I practiced as a child and as a young man but which I am no longer comfortable doing for there is always the lingering doubt that one may not be able to return from this altered state.

During astral travel or projection one experiences no limitations. All things feel as if they are possible. One is able to travel so quickly that one feels composed of light itself and this should not surprise us. The human body and indeed all forms of life are expressions of energy at different vibrational levels. Science tells us that energy can not be destroyed-only transformed, and this is what death is all about-a change of vibrational frequency when one being freed from a dense physical body which operates at a lower frequency level to becoming a being of light. Essentially our Gods are advanced beings of light who operate on the highest frequency levels. As such they are able to move freely throughout time and space. The Wild Hunt is one expression of this idea and is to be found not only amongst the Germanic peoples but also among other closely related Aryan peoples. As Claude Lecouteux pointed out in his Phantom Armies of the Night. The Wild Hunt and the Ghostly Processions of the Undead (1999) the 'troop' is made up of either human beings in ghostly form or animals or often a combination of the two. It can be both silent or noisy. Most accounts refer to how noisy the apparition is. Depending upon the country and the region the Wild Hunt may be led by Wode (Woden), Mother Hulda, Dame Holla, Percht and many other deities or supernatural beings. Mr Lecouteux stresses that "the Wild Hunt undoubtedly had an Indo-European origin," and makes reference to similar occurrence in India. Indra and the Maruts take the place of Woden in their equivalent of the Wild Hunt. Indra is often compared to the Germanic *Thunaraz. The Rig Veda likens the human body to a chariot whilst the eternal Self (the I) is the lord of the chariot (the Me). The lord of course may unlink himself from the chariot is he so wishes. This concept is also found in the Hindu Upanishads.

Modern Germanic Heathenism and its Corruption by Political Extremism

One of the obstacles to the growth of Germanic heathenism is the divide between those who perceive heathenism to be a purely ancestral religion (folkish) and those who regard it as wholly inclusive (universalist). This divide is then further reflected in the political divide between the 'left' and the 'right'. These are both barriers and unnecessary ones at that which impede the growth of Germanic heathenism and place pressure upon individuals to 'choose' a particular path. Those who are on the periphery of heathenism, people who may have an interest but are nor participants may be deterred from exploring heathenism further if they are exposed to the extreme end of either of these factions.

When I say the 'extreme' end I am referring to the following:

1. In folkish heathenism this is best represented by (predominately) American Wotanism, an extremely racist interpretation of heathenism which has and does act as an impetus for extreme political activism, criminality and even terrorist activities. This must not be confused with folkish Odinism or Wodenism (a form of heathenism found primarily in England).

2. Universalist Asatru which minimalises the importance of race and ethnicity and thus of ancestry itself, downgrading heathenism into an eclectic 'pick and mix' religion along the lines of 'Wicca'.

The animosity felt by both extremes to each other does a great deal of harm to the perception of heathenism amongst outsiders. Both extremes denigrate the faith of the other and each claims to be the only genuine interpreter of modern heathenism. This is a form of religious supremacism and reminds me of the centuries old conflict between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, both claiming to be the only valid interpreter of the Christian religion. This should not surprise us as the people engaged in the revival of modern heathenism are mainly products of 20th century thinking and have not yet learned to shed themselves of centuries of Christian intolerance.

The 'intolerance' that I speak of is to be found in both extremes of heathenism. The 'Wotanist' contingent intermingle a false interpretation of National Socialism (Hollywood uniform fetishism) with heathenism and a dash of Italian fascism. This unholy concoction damages our religion and marginalises it in the minds of the public, playing straight into the hands of those who would see our revival fail. Heathenism is thus viewed as being the religion of 'neo-nazis' and 'white supremacists'. The extreme universalists by engaging in neo-liberal politics also damage our religion as many outsiders who do not share their political views then dismiss heathenism as a tree hugging religion intended only for feminists, lesbians and those who seek an open border policy allowing our land to be flooded by yet more third world immigrants, thus creating the conditions for our eventual biological displacement. The universalist interpretation is largely revisionary as they project their western neo-liberal values onto an age and people who would deem their worldviews to be alien and inimical to the welfare of the folk.

Both the 'neo-nutzis' and the neo-liberals at both extremes of heathenism endanger it by their blending of it with their own personal political views. Both extremes make a laughing stock of our religion and cause many to keep their distance from it. Politics dilutes the religion and causes it to have a nasty 'smell'. We must strive as individuals to separate our political ideals from our heathen practices and beliefs. We must be aware that many people not only do not hold extreme political beliefs but may not be interested in politics at all.

It is unfortunate for us that Germanic heathenism first started to really grow in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s and thus our concept of it in England and in northern Europe generally is to a large extent framed by American thought. I have already commented many times in the past on my previous blogs that North Americans, especially those in the United States are inflicted by a strange neurosis, almost a pathology of sorts which I have termed the 'Pilgrim Fathers Complex'. For a country which is supposedly secular by constitution unlike northern Europe it is a hotbed of Christian fanaticism and fundamentalism and this to a certain extent is reflected in American Wotanism and Odinism. How much of our practices are actually Germanic in nature and how much is simply a 20th century American Hollywood view of 'Viking' religion, heavily coloured by Christian morality?  A very early heathen movement started by Stephen McNallen in 1969 was given the rather embarrassing name of the Viking Brotherhood. Fortunately this eventually became the more appropriately named Asatru Free Assembly.

Often in England Germanic heathenism is given the appellation of 'Odinism' or 'Wodenism'. This again is an Americanism and it should be recognised that our ancestors never called their religion by these terms. In all honesty we do not know what our ancestors called their pre-Christian religion and it may not have even had a specific term as to them religion embraced all stages and aspects of life and was not considered to be something which was kept separate. Whilst there undoubtedly was a 'cult of Odin' or Woden this did not embrace all of heathenism but was just one aspect of it. It is a fallacy to term Odin or Woden as the 'father of the Gods'. This is a rather late development and there is no evidence at all of any early primacy of this deity. Indeed in Norway and in Iceland (largely colonised by Norwegians) it was Thor who was regarded as the most popular and older of the deities.

By focusing almost exclusively upon the cult of Odin or Woden we are in effect cutting ourselves off from the great richness and diversity of heathenism. As with the Celts the Germanic peoples had many deities, some of whom were specific to a certain tribe or a location such as a mountain or river. Thus by naming our religion Odinism or Wodenism we are giving the outside world an impression that we are simply just another brand of monotheism as opposed to polytheism. I believe that this is in large part due to the American genesis of Germanic modern heathenism which is in my opinion heavily tainted by Christian monotheism. If one wishes to give a further name to Germanic heathenism then Asatru ('faith in the Gods') is as good as any. However it could be argued that even this term is not all inclusive if one takes a particular interpretation of who the Aesir are. For those who follow the Vanir deities there is of course the term Vanatru. My preference is just to call it heathenism. The fact that very few females are drawn to Odinism is no doubt down to the male-centric nature of the religion. There is far too much emphasis placed upon the male Gods and lacks a perception of balance. We need to see a little less of the 'warrior' emphasis and more of the nurturer and the mystic.

An example of Christian influence upon Odinism is the formulation of the 'Nine Noble Virtues' which owes more to the North American pioneers of the 'wild west' and the Judeo-Christian 10 commandments than it does to our ancient Germanic ancestors. The codification of belief is not Germanic but Judaic.

Dagenham Woden Idol from the third Millenium BCE

A replica of the Dagenham Idol on display in the Museum of London, by Ethan_Doyle_White , is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagenham_idol No changes were made to this image and the image owner does not endorse this blog.






Our knowledge of the Germanic deities is too tightly bound up in the public mind with Viking Age Scandinavia and consequently discussion of the Gods tends to focus too narrowly on this small geographical area in the latter stages of historical Germanic heathenism. My quest over recent years is to uncover evidence for and information about our deities over a wider northern European area and from a much earlier time period.

An interesting example of archaeological evidence for the cult of Woden is to be found in the Dagenham Idol, found in Dagenham in 1922 and carbon dated to 2250 BCE. This is a staggering 3,000 years prior to the early Viking era and significantly from what came to be England. Fortunately the idol was found buried in peat just under 10 ft below ground and near to the skeleton of a deer which is thought to have been a votive offering to the Gods. I understand that the idol is 'owned' by Colchester Castle Museum and is on indefinite loan to Valence House Museum in Dagenham with a copy on display in the Museum of London.

The idol is carved out of Scot's Pine wood and is 18 inches in height. Like many such idols found to be dated to the late Neolithic to the early Bronze Age this idol has two legs but no arms. What identifies this idol with Woden is a damaged left eye.

In an edition of the British Archaeology magazine in 2014 the Dagenham idol was identified to be similar to other idols of this nature found at Seahenge at Holme Beach in Norfolk. The wooden circles at Seahenge have an identical carbon dating and interestingly the Dagenham idol is said to originate from East Anglia as well. The fact that there should have been a cult of Woden in East Anglia in the third millenium BCE should not entirely surprise us we now know from DNA analysis and the study of the origins of Old English that there has been migration from the Germanic north of Europe to eastern England for many centuries prior to the 'Anglo-Saxon invasions' of the mid 5th century CE.