Further Reflections on the Snaptun Stone and the Gnezdovo Pendant

 Some years ago, while my Celto-Germanic Culture, Myth and History blog was still active, I posted my thoughts on the images contained on the Gnezdovo mask amulet and the Snaptun stone. There is still a link to my article on Pinterest: Celto-Germanic Culture, Myth and History: The Image of Loki on the Snaptun Stone and the Gnezdovo Amulet http://celto-germanic.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/the-image-of-loki-on-snaptun-stone-and.html

Don't bother clicking on the link as it no longer works! Since that time, due to the popularity of my old blogs, this theory of mine gained traction to such an extent that you will find it repeated on most websites that promote the sale of reproductions of this amulet. Please note: there is a very good reason why I did not reproduce that article on this blog in 2019 when it was founded. This was a theory dating back to 2014, which I now have reservations about. However, it does go to show how gullible people can be, taking the speculations of other people and then promoting these as so-called facts, just because it appears on the world wide web!

There are certainly stylistic similarities between the two objects but that is not proof that my speculations were correct! I stand by my claim that the Snaptun stone has a clear association with Loki. Visually, the face on the stone appears to have its lips sown together. In Skaldskaparmal Chapter 35 (Brodeur translation) it is stated:

'This was their decision: that the hammer was best of all the precious works, and in it there was the greatest defence against the Rime-Giants; and they gave sentence, that the dwarf should have his wager. Then Loki offered to redeem his head, but the dwarf said that there was no chance of this. ‘Take me, then,’ quoth Loki; but when Brokkr would have laid hands on him, he was a long way off. Loki had with him those shoes with which he ran through air and over water. Then the dwarf prayed Thor to catch him, and Thor did so. Then the dwarf would have hewn off his head; but Loki said that he might have the head, but not the neck. So the dwarf took a thong and a knife, and would have bored a hole in Loki’s lips and stitched his mouth together, but the knife did not cut. Then Brokkr said that it would be better if his brother’s awl were there: and even as he named it, the awl was there, and pierced the lips. He stitched the Ups together, and Loki ripped the thong out of the edges. That thong, with which Loki’s mouth was sewn together, is called Vartari.'

It should be remembered that there is also an association between Loki and fire. Many commentators deny this association but there is evidence to be found in Jacob Grimm's Teutonic Mythology, volume 1:

  

'The three brothers Hlêr, Logi, Kari on the whole seem to represent water, fire and air as elements. Now a striking narrative in the Prose Edda places Logi ["flame, fire"] by the side of Loki, a being from the giant province beside a kinsman and companion of the gods. This is no mere play upon words; the two really signify the same thing from different points of view, Logi the natural force of fire, and Loki, with a shifting of the sound, a shifting of the sense. From the burly fire-giant Logi has developed a crafty, seductive evil-doer. Both can be compared to the Greek Prometheus and Hephaestus.'

In my opinion, the character known as Logi in Gylfaginning, who in Old Norse is the personification of fire, is a hypostasis of Loki, as is Utgard-Loki.

'“Then spoke the one who came last, ‘Who was called Loki: ‘I know such a trick, which I am ready to try: that there is no one within here who shall eat his food more quickly than I.’ Then Útgarda-Loki answered: ‘That is a feat, if thou accomplish it; and this feat shall accordingly be put to the proof.’ He called to the farther end of the bench, that he who was called Logi should come forth on the floor and try his prowess against Loki. Then a trough was taken and borne in upon the hall-floor and filled with flesh; Loki sat down at the one end and Logi at the other, and each ate as fast as he could, and they met in the middle of the trough. By that time Loki had eaten all the meat from the bones, but Logi likewise had eaten all the meat, and the bones with it, and the trough too; and now it seemed to all as if Loki had lost the game.

'....

 but he who was called Logi was “wild-fire,” and he burned the trough no less swiftly than the meat. '

The Snaptun stone is most clearly a forge stone, used as part of a bellows, directing air into the heart of the fire. Its soapstone construction makes it resistant to heat. However, this was no simple forge stone; in my opinion, it had a ritual and possibly a cultic purpose, and may serve as evidence for a cult of Loki in Demark, where it was discovered in 1950 at Snaptun, possibly as a result of tidal movement. It also serves as evidence for an association between Loki and the element of fire.

The link between Loki and the Gnezdovo pendant is far less certain and this is why I no longer stand by my earlier theory. The discovery of this item dates back to 1993 and was part of a burial hoard, containing a total of 395 items, including temple rings and other pendants. The actual site where it was discovered, Gnezdovo, begain to arouse interest in 1867 with the construction of the Orel-Vitebsk railway after the discovery of some 10th century silver ornaments. However, it was not until 1874 that a systematic excavation started and was led by M.F. Kustsinsky. It should be noted that Gnezdovo was a Varangian trading station, so one should not be surprised by the mix of Norse, Slavic and even Arabic cultural objects discovered there.

While there is nothing definitive in the design of the pendant to indicate that it represents Odin, it should be noted that He is also called Grimnir, the 'hooded' or the 'masked' one and this pendant does appear to resemble a mask. There is certainly a stylistic resemblance between the pendant and the Snaptun stone but this should not be interpreted as definitive proof of a link with Loki. I would also add, that to the best of my knowledge, no academic has stated any association between the pendant and a specific deity. 

Bloodofox, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lokistone.jpg

An image of the original silver find of the Gnezdovo pendant.

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).

Some Reflections on the Norse God Lodurr

The God Lodurr is a rather mysterious deity. On the one hand He had an important role in the animation of the first (Germanic) human beings but on the other hand His name occurs only once in the Elder Edda and not at all in the Younger Edda.

"Until there came three mighty and benevolent Aesir to the world from their assembly. They found on earth, nearly powerless, Ask and Embla, void of destiny.

"Spirit they possessed not, sense they had not, blood nor motive powers, nor goodly colour. Spirit gave Odin, sense gave Hoenir, blood gave Lodur, and goodly colour."(Voluspa 17-18, Benjamin Thorpe) 

Carolyne Larrington in her translation uses the terms 'breath' instead of 'spirit', 'spirit' instead of 'sense', 'vital spark' instead 'blood' and 'fresh complexions' instead of 'goodly colour'. The Old Norse terms are Ond (Odin's gift), od (Hoenir's gift) and la and litu goda (Lodurr's gifts)

Ond has since the 19th century taken on rather mystical connotations thanks to the research of Baron Dr Karl von Reichenbach (1788-1869) who published a number of works on his discovery of Odic force. (See The Odic Force: Letters on Od and Magnetism) Ond is the vital life force or energy that Odin gave our Ur-ancestors.  I do not wish to dwell on this as I intend to write an article more specific to Ond in the future. The focus here needs to remain on Lodurr and His identity.

According to Rudolf Simek (Dictionary of Northern Mythology) aside from Volupsa Lodurr's name also occurs in the 10th century Haleygjatal (Eyvind) and in the 12th century Islendingadrapa (Haukr Valdisarson) as a kenning for Odin-"Lodurr's friend".

A number of scholars have attempted to identify Lodurr with Loki (Gras, Krogmann, Philippson, Schroeder, Thorgeirsson, de Vries, Dumezil, et al). Simek is not convinced by their arguments. In the Gylfaginning of the Younger Edda Snorri instead has Odin, Vili and Ve in the place of Odin, Hoenir and Lodurr:

"'One day', replied Har, 'as two sons of Bor were walking along the sea-beach they found two stems of wood, out of which they shaped a man and a woman. The first (Odin) infused into them life and spirit; the second (Vili) endowed them with reason and the power of motion; the third (Ve) gave them speech and features, hearing and vision." (Blackwell)

Vili and Ve are said to be the brothers of Odin but it could be argued that they were hypostases of Odin. The concept of a God revealing Himself as a trinity is a very old Indo-European idea, plagiarised by the Christian church. This helps to explain why Vili, Ve, Hoenir and Lodurr only occur infrequently in the Eddas and other Old Norse poetry.  In Proto-Norse the names of this triad of Gods alliterates: Wodinaz, Wiljo and Wiha.

If Lodurr was ever considered by the ancient Norse to be a genuine independent deity then it is quite possible that He may have been considered to be a God associated with fertility as Simek points out that Lodurr is related to the Gothic verb liudan which means to grow. The Old Norse lod also means 'fruit' and to 'yield' (Simek) and there could also be a link to the Old Norse ljodr, meaning 'people' and 'community' (Simek).