Having spent a decade as a man of Loki, I've found that my first conversation about him with most heathens, and even most Lokeans, consists largely of dispelling the illusions cast by popular books on Nordic religion and mythology. I can understand why this happens, as I've read many of these books, which seem to rely entirely on century-old scholarship, unreliable translations and theories from similar books presented as fact. It is harder to understand why some heathens defend ideas from such sources so passionately.

These concepts then spread from books to the internet, where simply inaccurate statements can become the basis of entire articles dismissive to the rôle of Loki in Nordic mythology, or attempting to reduce him to a Nordic devil. However, these portrayals simply do not match the Loki described by more than a dozen Old Norse and Icelandic sources.

So, these are the ten most common misconceptions about Loki, which are no more worthy of serious consideration than the etymology that the æsir gods are called that "because they came from Asia"¹:

1. Loki is a giant, who lives with the gods.

This statement is repeated in many introductory mythology books, and is not only inaccurate, but represents a fundamental misunderstanding of Nordic cosmology. When comments such as these are made, 'giant' is being used for the Norse jötun, and 'god' for the Norse áss and van. However, Old Norse has the words gjør and gýgr for 'giant,' and goð for 'god,' but these words are not used in such a simplistic manner.

The æsir (m/f sing. áss/ásynja), vanir (van/vanja) and jötnar (jötun/jötynja) are three groups of gods which interact and intermarry with each other ². Óðinn is the child of two jötnar, and Þórr is his child with Jörð, a jötynja, and yet both are æsir. Njörð, Frey and Freyja are vanir who live with the æsir, and while Freyja marries an áss, Frey and Njörð each marry a jötynja. All of these 'mixed marriages' take place in Ásgarðr, but they are not called æsir.

On the other hand, no ancient source says that Loki is not an áss, only that both his parents are jötnar, just as Óðinn and Þórr are children of jötnar. Even Snorri Sturluson, the Old Icelandic author who is the single source of many of the misconceptions on this list, never suggests that Loki is a jötun, but rather calls him an áss several times.

The terms gjør and gýgr are then used for trolls and ogres, rather than jötnar. As such, neither the idea that Loki is a jötun, nor that a jötun is a giant, is accurate.

2. Loki tricked the blind Höðr into killing his peaceful brother, Baldr.

In the English language, this myth is not only the most oft-told Loki myth, it may well be the most oft-told Nordic myth. The reason for its wide-spread presence is because the first English anthropologist to receive popular publication, James Frazer, wrote the two-volume Balder the Beautiful in 1913. Of Nordic mythology, Frazer studied one version of the Baldr myth exclusively and then reconstructed an entire cult of Baldr in heathen times. Since then, the cult of Baldr has been shown to be built upon false premises and nineteenth-century poetry³.

This does not diminish the version of the Baldr myth used by Frazer, of course, but rather that evidence has its own problems. No less than eight mediæval source mention Baldr's death, and few of them have much in common.

First are the eddic poems Völuspá, Völuspá in skamma, Lokasenna and Baldrs draumar⁴. Völuspá is one of the most important poems of Nordic mythology, in which Óðinn speaks to a seeress to receive her prophecy. After establishing her knowledge of things past, the seeress asks Óðinn, Vituð ér enn, eða hvað? ("Would you know more, or what?"), and continues to use this refrain to mark separations in topic for the rest of the poem. One such separation is between the depiction of Baldr's death and that of Loki's bondage, as in the mind of the poet, these were unrelated topics.

This separation widens in Völuspá in skamma to ten stanzas, and this irregular and damaged poem even contains a detail not present in the larger poem after which Snorri named it. In it, Höðr is called Baldrs handbani ('Baldr's killer by hand'), implying another must be Baldrs ráðbani ('Baldr's killer by rede'), although this kenning does not occur in Norse poetry. The only clue for this is then a comment Loki makes to Frigg in Lokasenna 28, eg því réð er þú riða sér-at siðan Baldur að sölum ("I gave my rede so that Baldr would not ride to solace").

There is no equivalent to this clue in Baldrs draumar, the only heathen source devoted to discussing the death and avenging of Baldr, and the only mention of Loki in this poem is in the final stanza. In a similar situation to Völuspá, Óðinn is seeking wisdom from a seeress, only this time they part on explicitly poor terms, and she leaves saying, svo komir manna meir aftur á vit, er laus Loki liður úr böndum og ragna rök riúfendur koma ("so I will not come to men until after Loki loosens his bonds and ragnarök's rending end comes"). Her only mention of Loki is in a manner similar to Völuspá, where he is unrelated to the story of Baldr's death.

Two hundred years later, Saxo Grammaticus wrote Gesta Danorum, a Latin redaction of Danish legend and mythology. In it, he tells how the brothers Hotherus and Balderus vied for the love of a woman, until Hotherus used a magic sword to kill Balderus. He mentions a "saga of Hotherus" as his source, which may or may not be the Icelandic Hromundars saga. In that relatively obscure text, the hero is Hromundar and one of several villains is named Baldr. Baldr dies in a battle in which Hromundar also fights with his magic sword, Mistelteinn, but the two never fight each other.

Shortly after Saxo's version the most famous account of Baldr's death was written by Snorri Sturluson, in his Edda. This work, with a name generally regarded to mean 'poetics,' was essentially a primer on reading the poetry which has since come to be called 'eddic.' In doing so, he retold the myths contained in those poems, and provided a context for them. Whenever possible, Snorri quoted his sources, andas a result it is notable that he never cites Baldrs draumar or indicates knowledge of that poem. While there is little raw information in that poem not present in the sources Snorri had, it has the structure of telling a fairly complete story where many of Snorri's details are noticeably absent:

• Höðr, whose name means 'war,' is only blind in Edda.
• Baldr, whose name means either 'bold' or 'lord,' is only peaceful in Edda.
• The murder weapon as a sprig of mistletoe, which does not grow in Iceland, rather than mistelteinn, which could be a sprig or a sword, is only in Edda.
• The kenning Baldrs ráðbani, and that accusation against Loki, only exists in Edda.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Snorri claims the feast described in Lokasenna was held to discuss the punishment for Loki's crime in helping to kill Baldr. However, this is clearly not the case, as if it were, his comment in stanza 28 would be a confession. In such a case, the assembled gods would have an excuse to punish him, and this would serve well as a climax for the poem. However, this 'confession' comes less than half-way into the poem, and does nothing to even slow the rhythm.

As a result of these problems in Snorri's version, many theories have been brought forth to explain the source of his details and discrepancies. A regular favourite is the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot, but the similarities between the blind Höðr killing Baldr and the blind Longinus killing Christ simply do not explain other details. These details could easily come, however, from the Irish Aided Fergusa, in which the blind Lugaid is tricked by the jealous Aillil into throwing a javelin to kill his foster-brother Fergus, in the only manner that could kill him.

Following this rather direct explanation Snorri's version, several other scholars have attempted to defend it as authentic. Most notable is Georges Dumézil, who spent half of his work Loki attempting to show how a tale discovered in the Caucasus in the nineteenth century was descended from a common Indo-European source as Aided Fergusa and the Baldr myth. Others have added to this claim a story in Kalevela, apparently forgetting that Finnish culture is not Indo-European, but the original theory suffers badly enough under scrutiny. At the time Snorri wrote, he had already spent several winters in the halls of Nordic royalty with their skálds, often well-travelled to Ireland, where vikings had traded, wintered and occasionally conquered for five centuries. With such easy contact with stories from that culture, which produced numerous stories where the hero has a single fatal weakness, a common tradition going back millennia is neither necessary nor even indicated.

More recently is the work of Karl Hauck, who spent much of his 'Bracteates articles' associating a few single-sided coins to the Merseberg charms, which either mention Baldr, or use baldr as a term for a lord. Over the course of these articles are claims that a "wing-god" is Óðinn, who is apparently also a "healing-god" according to Hauck. When "Óðinn" appears next to a big fish, this is supposed to be Jörmungand, as a scene inspired by Jonah and Leviathan (as Óðinn does not generally encounter Jörmungand otherwise). However, when "Óðinn" appears next to two figures, one of which is stabbing the other with a spear, this is supposed to be an early depiction of Loki killing Baldr, even though such a depiction contradicts Snorri's version, the only one where Loki is supposed to be involved.

I have no idea why the Baldr myth attracts such elaborate and absurd theories, but none are as feasible as the simple conclusion that Snorri either rewrote a known Irish legend to fit the few details he had or, more likely, heard a version from a skáld who had already done so.

3 & 4. There is no indication of a cult of Loki, as no personal or place-names are in his honour.

These two comments are often repeated together like this, despite producing such a complete non sequitur, and as such, I shall answer them together.

The second clause is the more obviously false, with hundreds of Icelandic men named Loptur, a name of Loki's, and the Icelandic name for the star Sirius being Lokabrenna ('Loki's brand')⁵. Further, a quick survey of the U.N. gazeteers for Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden produces dozens of towns and other places beginning with a genative form of Lok-. Not all of them are related to Loki, but a few certainly appear to be, such as Lokehall in Vestergötland.

However, while personal and place-names to Loki certainly hint at the possibility of an ancient cult, it is no more proof of one than their absence would be proof against one. A more tangible indication is that worship of Sirius, the brightest star of the night, was wide-spread in the ancient world. According to the well-travelled Ibrahim ibn Ahmed at-Tartushi of Cordova, the Danish city of Hedeby was no exception⁶.

5. Loki is bound until Ragnarök.

The collected evidence for this idea is immense, except that the one source which could easily have inspired all the others is Völuspá, and it does not actually say Loki is bound - quite the opposite!

In the pattern mentioned earlier, where the seeress regularly asks Óðinn if he wishes to know more, the shortest parcel of knowledge she conveys before requiring Óðinn to cross her palm again with silver is stanza 34:

These eighteen words of information are apparently the most valuable in the poem, being the shortest passage requiring further payment. Two of those eighteen words have a specific meaning that the one bound simply appears to be Loki. One possibility for who this might actually be comes from Saxo Grammaticus. While he euhemerised the gods in Latin and can hardly be considered a reliable source, Gesta Danorum provides the only clue for someone who might appear to be Loki. In his version of the Útgarðaloki myth, it is not Þórr but a hero named Thorkillus who finds this figure, described as an ancient god, but he is chained to the rocks inside a cave, and has been long enough for his breath and body odor to have become fatal.

The idea, that Útgarðaloki is bound in Hverland, is hardly proveable, but the conclusion that someone is there in the place of Loki is obvious.

6. Loki is the blood-brother of Óðinn.

Few are aware that this explanation of the relationship between these two gods has not been traced back earlier than H.A. Guerber, Myths of the Norsemen (1895), a notoriously inaccurate source from the early years of Scandinavian and Germanic studies, when facts, theories and creative ideas were often presented equally. Until then, the kennings for Loki of Býleists bróðir and Helblinda bróðir were taken at face value, with both Býleist and Helblind considered heiti (alternate names) of Óðinn.

Since that early work, blood-brotherhood has become the explanation for both those kennings, and the ninth stanza of Lokasenna, where Loki asks,

This easy answer does little to explain why ale bearing would be important in an oath of brotherhood, unless it were representative of something far more important, such as the gildi ('offerings') of Völuspá 23. It similarly does not address the complete lack of Býleists blóðbróðir ('Býleist's blood-brother') as a kenning, despite several good opportunities for this beautiful alliteration. These inconistencies, as well as problems in understanding some 'Óðinnic triads', are eliminated simply by recognising that the explanation of blood-brotherhood raises more questions than it answers, and returning to the previous understanding that Loki and Óðinn are brothers.

7. Loki is the enemy of Þórr and the Æsir.

The notion of Loki being Þórr's enemy appears to largely be the result of reading the ending of Lokasenna, where Þórr serves as the bouncer of Ægir by removing Loki from the hall. However, it is not compatible with a reading of Þrymskviða, much of Snorri's Edda, and especially Þórsdrápa, where the kenning bragðmilldr Loka ('compassionate to Loki') is given of Þórr. In these myths, Þórr chooses Loki as his favourite travelling companion whenever faring to Jötunheim.

The idea that Loki is the enemy of the æsir, besides being based on the misconception of Loki not being an áss himself, appears to be dependant upon Loki's rôle in Snorri's version of ragnarök. In it, Loki leads the forces of destruction to destroy the æsir, as opposed to in Völuspá, where he simply rides the boat which takes him to the battlefield. Also in Snorri's version, Loki and Heimdall kill each other, although this is in no other source. Whether or not this is accurate does not especially matter, it would only mean that Loki has a score to settle with Heimdall, not with the rest of the æsir.

8. Loki is the father of lies.

The basis for this one is simple enough: Snorri allegedly says so, in Skáldskaparmál 15, when listing kennings for Loki, one is bölvasmiðr, often translated as "father of lies." However, the exact translation of this kenning is 'bale-smith', one who creates misery. Other words Snorri uses to describe Loki, which are often mistranslated to mean dishonesty or lying, are frumkveða flærðanna ('seductive-speaking'), slægi ('sly') and vælandi ('debasing'). While none of these are especially complimentary, neither do they mean dishonesty. Loki is very talented with his words, of course, and knows how to use them effectively, but no ancient source indicates that he ever lies or breaks an oath.

The closest he comes to lying is when he lures Iðunna out of Ásgarðr with her apples. Unfortunately, this has also been mistranslated, with several versions in English stating that Loki tells Iðunna he saw apples more beautiful than hers, when the original does not have this. Loki says he hefir fundit epli, þau er henni munu gripir í þykkja ("found some apples she would think worth having"), and then he suggests she bring her own apples for comparison. The text is unclear on whether the forest actually had any particularly lovely apples, and this is as close as Snorri provides us with a lie.

However, the only source Snorri had for this myth was the skáldic poem Haustlöng, which he quotes at length. In this earlier version of the myth, dating to heathen times, not even this statement is given, it is only said that Loki caused her to arrive at the giant's court.

9. Loki is the god of fire.

This statement is not necessarily wrong, in that it has become self-fulfilling. However, the idea that this was the case to ancient heathens is very likely wrong. The first association of Loki with fire comes from Snorri, but while he pits Loki against Logi ('flame'), he appears to only be making a pun from this, not equating the two. However, in the following centuries, dozens of folk sayings arose where Loki was blamed for summer heat, sparks from a bonfire, scalded food and other fire-related events. Then in the nineteenth century, several etymologies were suggested for Loki being derived from logi. Oddly, none of them used the -ki suffix for diminutive and familiar names such as 'kraki,' as this would produce the natural result of Lokki from addressing 'Fire' (as Log-ki) directly. Nonetheless, this etymology has not found support among linguists, who usually consider Loki derived from loka ('close, lock, end').

Following the logi etymology, when Richard Wagner adapted Nordic myth for his Ring cycle, he translated Loki into German as Loge ('fire') and gives him fiery powers. Between the popularity of these operas and the commonly repeated Loki-logi association, most of the depictions of Loki since have involved fiery imagery. This is supported by the experiences of most Loki's folk today, who regularly encounter Loki as a god of fire, but in any ancient context, this idea is nowhere to be found.

10. Loki is the god of evil, the Nordic devil.

At this point, the problems with this depiction should be obvious, as the devilish Loki is built upon a foundation of the other misconceptions listed. However, the underlying reasons for portraying Loki as a Nordic devil figure are not addressed simply by proving the inadequacy of this image.

The obvious reason why many heathens so easily adopt this image of Loki is as a leftover from Christian dualism, often represented with the 'gods vs. giants' attitude addressed above. While the problems with this are easily addressed, such as showing that the jötun-descended æsir are not warring against their relatives, Jörð and Mímir, and that the jötynjar Gerð and Skaði live in Ásgarðr, the ingrained dualism in our psychology provides much more difficulty. Certainly there are opposites in Nordic religion, such as muspel ('fire') and nífl ('ice'), but very few beings represent an embodiment of these concepts, and all of those that do are considered 'giants.' Thus, one of the main valid dualisms in Nordic cosmology has both opposites on the same side of the 'gods vs. giants' dualism.

However difficult the process of removing the need for a Nordic devil, a different problem emerges when simply removing Loki from that position, which is fortunately easy to address. That problem is that if Loki is not the Nordic devil, what rôle does he play in Nordic cosmology?

The answer is that of a trickster. Unfortunately, this word is associated with 'safe' pranksters and cartoonish depictions of malice, which are completely inappropriate. When a more developed understanding of this archetype is explored, using it to describe Loki makes more sense.

First of all, a trickster provides, which Loki does directly or indirectly for the net, Óðinn's spear and horse, Frey's boat, and also re-provides that which is lost, which Loki does for Iðunna's apples, Þórr's hammer and Sif's hair. More obviously, a trickster makes us laugh, and most of the stories involving Loki are funny above all else, with some events having no other purpose, such as tying his balls to a goat's beard. Tricksters also cross boundaries, such as Loki's familiarity with Ásgarðr, Jötunheim and Hel, and his regular violations of social and sexual taboos. A trickster is typically related to a creation god, often as a younger brother such as Coyote to Wolf. Sometimes the trickster interferes with creation, and gives it a direction not anticipated, such as Raven giving light and Prometheus giving fire to humanity. This may have even been the original rôle of the Serpent of Eden, before that figure was merged with Satan, by giving knowledge and freedom to humanity.

Towards this, many scholars identify Loki with Lóður in Völuspá, which makes even more sense when Loki is the brother rather than blood-brother of Óðinn. That god's gifts to humanity are lá ('hair' or 'vitality'), læti ('voice' or 'manners') and litu goða ('good looks'). Similar to light, fire or "knowledge of good and evil", these traits are especially important in defining humanity as separate from other animals, and get us into plenty of trouble.

The other problem in calling Loki a trickster is the common mistake to overestimate the similarities of different figures in modern paganism. Just because Loki and Coyote are both tricksters, does not mean they act or should be treated the same. But that is still far less of a mistake than treating Loki like Lucifer.

-Selvårv Stigårð

Notes:

1. Snorri Sturluson, Edda.

2. For those who require more evidence that the jötnar are a group of gods, besides the æsir and vanir interacting with them as peers, see Gro Steinsland, "Giants as Recipients of Cult in the Viking Age?" Words and Objects (Oslo, 1986), despite its acceptance of using 'giant' as the standard English translation of jötun.

3. John Stanley Martin, "Baldr's Death and The Golden Bough" Iceland and the Mediaeval World: Studies in Honour of Ian Maxwell. (Victoria, Australia, 1974).

4. Eddic poetry displays the traits of an oral tradition developed over the course of centuries, such as described in Albert Lord, The Singer of Tales (Cambridge, 1960) and several books by Ruth Finnegan, such as Oral poetry: its nature, significance, and social context (Cambridge, 1977). A number of articles using a solid foundation of work that places eddic poetry within this context can be found in Edda: A Collection of Essays (Manitoba, 1983).

5. The name Lokabrenna first occurs in eighteenth-century manuscripts according to Íslensk Orðsifjabók (Orðabók Háskólans, 1989), but as there are no earlier references to Sirius in Icelandic literature, it is impossible to determine its origin.

6. Jacqueline Simpson, The Viking World (New York, 1967).