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July for Loki using 30 Days of Deity Devotion prompts, Day 7 • Names and epithets

•Loptr: airy one or lofty one, from the Old Norse lopt (air, sky, or heavens). One of my favorite bynames for Loki, it underlines its bond to the element Air and I find it so fascinating!

•Gammleið: Vulture’s-Path, possibly a kenning for Air itself too, but even more intriguing when we think that Vulture is a scavenger animal, and Fire, Loki’s main element, is also a way to the Otherworld through the sacred ritual of cremation. So, is Loki a Death god too? In my experience, he totally is.

•Lóður: some see Lóður as a god on his own, but I agree with Dagulf Loptson’s analysis and think that’s another name of Loki. Lóður, with Óðinn and Hœnir, basically creates humanity: as they were walking together on a beach they came across two fallen trees, Askr (ash) and Embla (elm). Each god blessed them with a gift: Óðinn with önd (breath), Hœnir with óð (spirit or senses), Lóður with lá (blood?) and litu góða (good color). When Loki meets the Jötunn Þrymr, he calls him Lóður

•Vé: in Gylfaginning, Snorri replaces the names Hœnir and Lóður with the even more mysterious names Vili (will) and Vé (shrine). Assuming Lóður and Loki are the same, so should be Vé and Loki.

•Hveðrung, Roarer, probably a reference to his being a god of Fire.

•Inn Bundi Áss: The Bound God, referred to Loki’s punishment of being imprisoned and tied in a cave, waiting for Ragnarök.

•Frumkveða Flærðanna: Father of Lies, which is funny, because though Loki is of course cunning and smart, and more than capable of using lies to get out of trouble, his devotees know him for being, in fact, the god of truth. Harsh truths, too, but true all the same.

•Inn Slægi Áss: The Cunning God, what were we saying? Yes, he’s sly as a Fox, and brings the Æsir precious gifts thanks to this, not to mention how often he gets them out of trouble.

•Goða Dólgr: Enemy of Gods, one can’t blow the Nine Worlds to Helheim without being considered an enemy of these touchy Æsir.

•”Föðurbróður, vársinna ok sessa Óðins ok ása”, from Skáldskaparmál, Prose Edda: “brother, comrade, and table companion of Óðinn and the gods”. This pretty much explains itself.

Art: Loki as Gammleið by Dagulf Loptson