If the lore is filled with tales of brave and heroic deeds it also has its shadow side. Darker deeds done by a god. Enter Loki. A much darker trickster god who slips his way through the lore. Like the multiverse itself Loki provides a balance of dark in a realm of light. He has his justified place alongside the heroic deeds of the other gods. He just goes at things slightly sideways.

Take the example of the feast where Loki calls out the rest of the gods on their personality shortcomings. Why does he do this?  Is it just to make himself seem superior in a room filled with brave and heroic deities?  I say not. I believe that the purpose of the tongue lashing is to help the gods see areas for self improvement. Just like all sentient beings the gods are subject to evolution. Perhaps the telling it like it is episode of Loki simply was there to show off areas that needed improvement.

As the bringer of Baldur’s death Loki served as an example of the treachery of nefarious deeds. All through the tale his actions are of a deceitful kind. His refusal to weep at Baldur’s death served to only place the last nail in the coffin. Baldur was doomed to exist in Hel. But does the action of Loki here not set the stage for a glorious rebirth of Baldur after Ragnarok?  Even here Loki’s actions serve a higher good. Once again he sets the stage for growth.

Every set of tales needs to be balanced between light and dark. Otherwise the tales are woefully one sided. Loki and his deeds serve as that balance. Because of his example the deeds of the other gods can be viewed as heroic and brave.

Some say Loki is merely the dark aspect of Odin. I’m not sure where I stand on that issue. But it makes for some interesting speculation.

All great works of literature need a villain. The Eddas have a fine example in Loki. But is he such an evil deity after all?

Author: vitkimusings


One thought on “Loki”

  1. Thanks for creating this blog. I find your posts to be very informative and engrossing. Thank you for posing the question at the end. I believe that the gods are dynamic beings that have their positive and negative aspects.
    Loki has done what can be considered by some to be vile deeds, however, the god were equally as cruel when they bound him to a rock with the entrails of his own son. Conversely, Loki done good deeds, albeit sometimes as a penance for the mischief he caused . In Lokka Tattur he saves a child from a giant. He procured the Odin’s spear and ring , Thors hammer, and Skidblading and Gullinbursti for Freyr. I don’t think that tricksters can be easily lumped in to being good or evil. They have an essential function in mythology as agents of charge.


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