Sitting around a bonfire or campfire, especially with loved ones
Being kind to children; playing with them if offered
Supporting organizations focused on marginalized groups; spreading the word, donating, volunteering, etc.
Supporting organizations focused on children and children's safety
Volunteering at a homeless shelter or an animal shelter
Teaching yourself that it's ok to ask for help, even if you don't receive it at first
Seeking out a community you can join; this will help with creating a support system as well; LGBTQ+ support groups, gamer groups, fandom groups, etc.
Having horse, snake, raven, or wolf imagery around; having skull imagery is also cool, but may not be acceptable in all households
Engaging with your childhood media or toys
Having literally any stuffed animals
Keeping a list of jokes and quotes that make you laugh
Supporting animal conservation efforts
Learning to accept yourself for who you are; embracing unique aspects of your identity, especially those that are looked down upon by others
Showing support for marginalized groups, such as being an LGBTQ+ ally or purchasing from POC small business owners
Identifying your strengths and weaknesses; finding healthy ways to acknowledge them both
Learning new ways of coping with emotional turmoil, including mental illness related situations
Listening to scary stories
Having a candle that reminds you of him (no altar needed)
Collecting lost or interesting objects (so long as it's not reclaimed first lol)
Being a little mischievous/silly with loved ones
Finding little ways to express yourself if you can't do so openly (e.g. wearing a bracelet with the colors of your gender identity, wearing shoelaces with pride flag colors that aren't easily recognizable, etc.)
Being kind to yourself when you're having a difficult time
Learning to forgive yourself for past mistakes you've made
Sleeping with comfy blankets
Drinking hot chocolate
Eating candies and sweets or spicy foods
-
May add more later! So far, this is my list of discreet ways to worship Loki. Hope this helps, and take care, y'all! ❤️
Neo-Nazi Prevention & Dog Whistles
White supremacists are misappropriating Norse mythology
Dog Whistles in the Gender Critical Movement
Guide to Anti-LGBTQ Online Hate and Disinformation
What To Do When Racists Try To Hijack Your Religion
Inside Asatruism's Fight Against the Co-Opting of Their Religion by White Supremacists
Sources and Sites:
GLBT in the Northern Tradition (site)
Vikings are Gay! Podcast (podcast)
Academic Research
Excerpts and Essays:
Sex, Status, and Seiðr: Homosexuality and Germanic Religion
Sons of Frey
Ergi: The Way of the Third
Being Ergi
The Tale of a Transsexual Norse Pagan Spirit-Worker
Scholarly Articles:
Queer Themes In Old Norse Myth
Feminism in Medieval Scandinavia: How Paganism Forged Gender Equality
Magic, Genderfluidity, and queer Vikings, ca. 750-1050
Mythical beasts: How queer bodies expand the religious imaginary
Practices:
Rite of Passage for an Ergi Child
Honoring Ancestors: Queer Rite of Elevation
Queer-friendly Creators:
Ocean Keltoi (YouTube)
Nordic Mythology Podcast (Spotify)
The Norse Gods: Loki: An Evil Queer Icon? (YouTube)
Storied (YouTube)
The Welsh Viking (YouTube)
Hearthkvlt (online shop; artist)
Lockwood Metaphysical (online shop; artist)
Ludvig Levin (online shop; artist)
Queer/queer interpreted passages:
Grettisfærsla
The Birth of Sleipnir
Þrymskviða
Lokasenna
So I recently got that MCU Loki body pillow, and after a couple of days decided to dedicate the pillow to Loki so I could snuggle on him if he so desired.
And my cats spend most of their time in my room... On the bed. Which has so far (4 days now) led to such gems as:
"Are you... making muffins on Loki??"
"Did you just lick Loki‽"
"We are not using Loki as a scratcher."
and
"WTF don't lick your butthole on Loki! That's rude."
I spent a few months without coming in here and in the meantime Hel appeared in my life. Her presence is so strong and powerful and yet so good. It wasn't long ago that this happened, what I feel is that Loki appeared to me at a time when I needed to find the courage to make big changes in my life. But Hel is with me so I can deal with the issues within me, including grief.
I've seen it in places where foxes represent Loki but I've also seen in other places where foxes are modern representations not old representations of Loki due to the nature of foxes. Opinions, sources? All are invited!
Offerings to the gods don't have to be fancy or expensive.
Our graduation tassel has been on our altar since we started our senior year of high school last August, as a way of asking Loki to give us the courage we needed to face the future. And now our cords lie on our altar next to our tassel, to thank Loki and now Thor as well for their assistance in getting us to this point, especially now that we're graduating this Friday. Our very first official offering to Thor is a small stuffed goat we made at school; it's not perfect and we didn't have any experience with sewing prior to making it, but it's something that we worked hard on and poured so much time and effort into, and Thor appreciates it all the same. And that, I think, is more authentic than if we had gone out and bought something that was crafted by someone else. -Daemon
𝕲𝖔𝖉 𝖔𝖋: Trickery, Mischief, Cunning, and Seduction
𝕾𝖕𝖊𝖈𝖎𝖆𝖑 𝖉𝖆𝖞(𝖘): April fools, July 23rd, Autumn equinox, Loki's Blot,
Samhain, Yule, Thursday
𝕽𝖊𝖑𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘: Son of Farbauti and Laufey, mother of Sleipnir, father of Hel, Jormungandr, and Fenrir, as well as Narfi. PACT BROTHER WITH ODIN. (Not Thor -.-) , Husband to Sigyn and lover to Angrboda
𝕱𝖔𝖔𝖉𝖘:
Anything sweet-
candies
chocolates
coffee
fruits
pastries
soda/juice drinks
sugar
etc..
-
as well as red foods-
cherries
cranberries
peppers
pomegranate
strawberries
tomatoes
etc..
𝕾𝖙𝖔𝖓𝖊𝖘/𝖈𝖗𝖞𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖑𝖘/𝖒𝖊𝖙𝖆𝖑𝖘:
acrylic
amber
bronze
clear quartz
coins and other cheap random metals
diamond
fire opal
fools gold
galena
garnet
glass
gold
gold stones
grenade
lead
magnesium
obsidian
onyx
plastic
red jasper
rutilated quartz
silver
𝕺𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗: Incense, shiny things, plastic and stuffed toys, found/cheap things preferred, bunny, snake, fox, and raven imagery, art and poetry, knots, hearts, fishnets, lightning imagery,
𝕴𝖓𝖛𝖔𝖈𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝖎𝖓 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖑𝖑 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖐: Aids in spells with getting through tough, tight, and narrow situations, owning up to your shit, mischief, cunning plans, change, cleverness, creativity, youthfulness and beauty, seduction, androgyny, blessing and sharpening a blade or knife.
𝕬𝖕𝖕𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖊: Tall with a slim/cut muscular body type. Long pretty red hair, green/violet/gold eyes, a masculine yet feminine face and a sharp jaw, said to be one of the most beautiful Jotunn.
𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖊/𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘:
~A cunning trickster who had the ability to change his shape and sex, the creator of lightning, hearth fire, the spirit of life. In the beginning he was a beloved friend and honorary member of the Aesir, but toward the end he became an enemy.. Was/is a companion of Odin and Thor, helping them with his clever plans but sometimes causing them embarrassment and difficulties, though also being any enemy of sorts.
Though his father was a Jotunn (a giant), his mother was considered a goddess, thus Loki is included among the Aesir.
-Once cut off Thor's wife's hair and was forced to replace it. He tricked dwarves into a wager for his head if they could deliver wonderful gifts the the gods (including the hair). They made a hammer for Thor, A great spear and a drop-near gold bracelet for Odin, A boat and a huge golden boar for Freyr, and of course new hair made of gold for Sif -Thor's wife. Loki then told the dwarves that the wager said that they could only take his head and that they could not damage his neck. They were enraged but Odin told them that they should have paid more attention when making a wager with the god of trickery. Though Loki was still punished by having his mouth sowed shut so he couldn't deceive for a long time.
-One day someone stole Thor's hammer and left a ransom note, later demanding Freya's hand in return for the hammer that protected both Asgard and Midgard. Loki had an idea though, -much to Thor's dismay- he dressed the thunder god as a bride and took advantage of the giant thief's poor sight. (Also disguising himself as a woman) He tricked the giant, successfully making him think that Thor was Freya. As they ate Thor let out his apatite and the giant said something about his bride having a big stomach. To avoid being caught Loki said that the "goddess" was just eager to consummate their marriage. Thor was furious and embarrassed. The giant got excited and foolishly set the hammer on the table next to Thor. The thunder god took his hammer back and smashed the giant's head, all while still wearing his pretty dress. The gods always had fun talking about the time when Thor dressed up in drag.
-One day a builder came to Asgard offering to make them a wall that they needed. He said he could do it in record time, but that he wanted Freya's hand in return. The gods were enraged by his audacity and said no but Loki convinced them to set a wager- he could have the goddess as his wife if he was able to do the impossible task in an impossible amount of time. The idea was that he would try his hardest but not be able to finish in time, therefore giving the gods a free wall that they could just finish the end of.
But the builder had a strong and mystical horse that could lift and carry all the large pieces for him. As the builder got closer and closer to finishing with time still left, the other gods we nervous and angry with Loki- who told them he had a plan. He turned himself into a beautiful mare and seduced the builder's horse, running off to the woods with him, and rendering the builder unable to finish the wall. Enraged, the builder revealed himself as a Giant and was killed, his head smashed in by Thor's hammer.
Loki returned much later with an eight legged colt; his son Sleipnir which he gifted to Odin when he got older and stronger- in exchange for the horse's origin to be kept secret.
-It's said that he gave humans lightning to warn them of Thor's loud thunder before it happens, because he knew it was frightening. The swift walker of the skies is the lightning running ahead of Thor's great thundering cart.
-Tricked Baldr's blind brother Hodr into throwing the one thing that would kill the god; mistletoe- right at his chest. He indirectly killed Frigg's son; one of the most beloved god's in all the Aesir. As his punishment his one of his sons turned and killed the other and he was tied to a stone in a cave, by his dead son's entrails- a snake coiled on a stalactite above his face, dripping venom down onto him. Though Loki's wife Sigyn sat by his side and held a bowl over his face to protect him, she had to move every once in a while to empty the bowl, allowing the poison to drip onto his face as he convulsed, causing the first earthquakes in Midgard.
It is said that he was to break from his chains and aid in Ragnarock.
Baldr's story goes on to describe the burning of his body in a funeral pyre on his ship, Nanna accompanying him. BUT in another version, the goddess Frigg persuaded the other gods to restore Balder to life. She repaid their obliging wizardry with kisses.
(THIS IS WHERE THIS IS MY THEORY) if the second ending is true and Baldr is alive, I think that Odin would eventually release Loki under the guise that he either not cause Ragnarok or aid the Aesir instead of what was prophesized. [I haven't really thought that a deity was speaking directly to me until I read this story, it's like I saw it and it came at me all at once like a vision. Just thought I'd include it.])
Loki is chaos, yes, but there is comfort in chaos. There is comfort in change. Change can be terrifying, but embracing that fear is so freeing. Embracing the newness of it all, the rebirth. If we stayed the same, we would never grow or learn. Life would become too stagnant, too boring. There would be no sense of adventure. There would be nothing new. Change is required, even if it is chaos. Loki is chaos, yes, but there is comfort in chaos.
Ppl: oh OK. What does that mean exactly? Like who is your god?
Me: I worship the pantheon at large, but currently have a space on my altar for Odin and Freyja.
Ppl:
It feels like in CONCEPT most people are alright enough with paganism, even if they think it's strange, but I've found (frustratingly) that the second I ACTUALLY MENTION the Gods or my practice people just shut off, often into assumptions of the Gods as pop culture figures.
MY GODS ARE NOT NEW. THEY ARE NOT A JOKE OR SOMETHING CREATED FROM TIKTOK TEENAGERS OR MARVEL MOVIES OR BOOKS OR WEBCOMICS.
It’s April 1st once more and as is tradition, many people see April Fools’ Day as Loki’s holiday because of His trickster aspect and the fact that He is full of surprises and jokes. When I first became His devotee, I thought of it as Loki’s day off because people were already making a mess of themselves enough in this world for the day that He wouldn’t really need to be around. I also thought He was significantly less present on the day we thought would be His holiday and I thought maybe He just needed a vacation.
However, the longer I sat with the thought of Loki being a “fool” and being full of jokes, the more I realized that this is not really an apt description for Him.
People see the word “trickster” and equate Him with foolish pranks and jest. They diminish Him to a fool to make it easier for them to feel like they can control the narrative around who Loki is. It’s not just people who don’t want Loki around – though that’s usually who mostly does this – but it’s also followers of His that I often see floating around. People are afraid of what they don’t know and I think that’s why April Fools just seems to be so incredibly reductive.