Devoured by Flame

6 July: Do you believe that Loki and Lothur from the creation myth are the same god? Why or why not?

So, I went a little overboard on this one. I feel very strongly about this topic and mostly because of how overlooked I feel it is especially in the wider heathen community.

The short answer: Yes, I do.

I think a lot of modern academics have tried to belittle and make Loki (as well as the goddesses and other less comfortable aspects to Christianity) of Norse mythology less complex than they actually are. I also think that there was likely a desire to not incorporate Loki into any other role besides the “bad guy” or “antagonist” because we love to categorize things in this industrialized, late stage capitalistic society into cute little boxes and squeeze Loki into His own.

But I digress. More importantly, I think that Loki is also Lóðurr because I feel like He is kind of the blood rushing through my veins. I feel very impassioned whenever Loki is near, and a lot of work that I do with Him involves incorporating my passion and creativity.

We can take a look at some of the philosophy behind “Heathen Soul Lore“ by Winifred Hodge Rose in regards to the Hama, which is theorized to be Lóðurr’s gift. Here is where she speaks about the different parts of the Hama. I recognize this is one singular source but because Hodge Rose has managed to do some extensive research (take a look at the very long bibliography on her website), I trust her philosophy to be well thought-out and attainable to liken into daily practice.

These, then, are the gifts of Lodhurr: our Litr, the appearance of our subtle energy body that both shapes and shines through our physical form; our Laeti that shapes our actions, speech, and behavior as physical and social beings; and the La, the life-force of our Hama-soul, that expresses its power through blood, warmth and hair, and through all the appearance and actions of our Litr and Laeti.  In my understanding, these gifts comprise our primary Hama Full-Soul. Our Hama is our persona, which gives us the ability to act in, and be a part of, this great world of Midgard.  Without Lodhurr’s / Vili’s gift of the Hama, we would be simply disembodied spirits.

–“The Shape of Being Human: The Hama Soul”

She goes into talking about the expression of the hama in practice.

Hama and Lichama are the basis of our ability to express ourselves: through our words and the intonations of our voice, through body language, gestures and actions, through facial expressions, and behavior in general, and through our scent, as well, though that is often covered up cosmetically in modern life.  As our Hama shapes our physical body, it also shapes our social expression, our behavior, and our social persona.  All of our other souls need to go through Hama and Lichama in order to participate in our social persona’s actions.  Thus, the character of our Hama shapes the physical, Midgard expression of all our other souls.  This is no small thing, and it leads us to consider how well our Hama, Lichama, and other souls mesh with each other, or fail to mesh well, and are thus prevented from full expression. 

– “Study Guide 5. Exploring your Hama, Lich-Hama and Ellor-Hama”

I will break my theory down into the three parts such as she did, giving way to my UPG and how all of this, I believe, connects to Loki.

Litr – “the appearance of our subtle energy body that both shapes and shines through our physical form“

Most specifically, this is the body of yours that you would likely see in the astral. The one that interacts actively with the Other realm. It’s like your avatar in a video game.

However, this astral body can shape-shift – which… I mean, you can probably see the link here. I am not the only person I know who has told me Loki has taught them the art of shapeshifting in the astral and in this present realm. The part of you that “shape-shifts” when you are actively walking about in the physical world would be linked specifically to this part. I don’t know if I have to explain any further about why this obviously links to Loki – He is the shapeshifter. One of many in the myths, but He is kind of the go-to dude.

“our Laeti that shapes our actions, speech, and behavior as physical and social beings“

A lot of the work I have personally done with Loki as well as others who I know who work with Him have specifically revolved around interpersonal relationships and how we relate to the world around us. Wherein other deities might concern themselves with more nominal aspects of the mundane like strength or organization, structure, Loki concerns Himself with how we see ourselves in others and vice versa. Especially among His people, does He try to strong-arm us into being in right relationship with each other.

Loki is fairly social and inclined to talk about anything and everything to just about anyone. I think He gets around the realms of the Gods just because of how swiftly He moves among people. He is inherently charming, likable, and alluring. It is difficult to not like Loki once one comes to know Him. I like to relate to Him almost as the diplomat between Gods – He does the dirty work to settle things between them. This requires a great deal of charisma and charm.

Additionally, He seems to concern Himself with how we appear to others in the mundane. He has bullied me into getting haircuts I wanted, wear makeup (or not) to reflect how I feel – He has essentially rallied Himself behind this particular aspect of humans that I feel is hard to ignore.

La, the life-force of our Hama-soul, that expresses its power through blood, warmth and hair, and through all the appearance and actions of our Litr and Laeti

“Blood” in this context I feel can be seen as actual blood but also as the pulsing of blood when there is excitement, fear, or any other moment of hyper-arousal. In my own experiences with Himself, my blood seems to pump a lot faster, my cheeks redden, as well as a great deal of sexual energy. Loki is a connoisseur of experiences, I have found. He seems to deal with the exciting and the strange and would sooner ask to accompany an experience rather than do something routine.

Warmth is a good description of His energy. Whenever I sense Him, He feels like a warmth at my heart chakra that pulls forward and restricts like when I see a cute puppy or baby.

And then hair… well. This is also some hardcore UPG but here goes. Hair in back in the Viking period and before was seen as a sign of status – thusly, it was well-groomed, well-maintained and well-styled. If the Hama is meant to be how we are apart of Midgard, status would be very important and so, thus, hair.

In regards to Loki, there is the well-known story that He cut Sif’s hair as proof to Thor of Her adulterous behavior. To cut one’s hair and deplete them of their status in regards to a reflection of their behavior? Sounds very much like something Loki would do. He is the one that pulls the masks off of the faces of those who are false, revealing the less-than-awesome truths underneath. To cut Sif’s hair would be Him revealing a remarkably impermissible act of adultery to everyone around Her.

Whether or not adultery was a serious crime in that age or not, it doesn’t seem to matter as the act itself is still heavily symbolic of a way in which Loki behaves.

Furthermore, I have had experiences where I undergo a very serious transition in my life (i.e. unemployment, Tower moments, etc.) and I feel as though my life is twisted upside down. After each of those moments, I get a haircut. And after each of those moments, I feel one step closer to revealing my more authentic and unmasked self.

Most notably, after dealing with a horrific time at one of my jobs, I was fired. A couple days after being fired, I decided to shave my head and give myself an undercut (it was also during the pandemic so I couldn’t go to a hair dresser anyway). I don’t know if Loki has ever been so excited about an offering as He was with the hair that I chopped off. Not only was I feeling particularly edgy but it was a haircut I always wanted but was too afraid to pursue. This felt like I was, for once, revealing my truer self on the outside. The hair is still on His altar today, actually, and remains to be a very symbolic representation of a huge turning point in my life.

In Conclusion

This turned into an essay. But it’s an important essay.

I think we need to address where Loki has possibly fallen out of favor in the symbolic context of the Norse myths and theorized philosophy of the Norse religion. I feel as though Loki played a more significant part in the everyday world and human creation than anyone has ever given Him credit for.

As ridiculous and crude His jokes are, how whimsical and silly He is – we need to take His insincerity seriously. And not by diminishing Him to a silly trickster fucking up the Gods’ realms and our realm too, but by acknowledging Him as a creator Deity – one who walks alongside humanity and recognizes human nature perhaps better than us humans do. And that, my friends, is why Loki (in my opinion) is most likely Lóðurr.