Nordic Paganism - Tumblr Posts

Remember when I started this blog as a place to share lokean content, hence the title and everything?

Well, this is a good reminder, just so you know.

Preach it! 🔥

I am just here to say that I love Sleipnir. I adore him. He’s one of the most energetic deities I’ve ever encountered. I’ve never worked with him. He shows up sometimes. I’ve made a dedicated playlist to him full of upbeat songs that you can just dance to. I love his energy. I love Sleipnir!

🔥

Hail Lopt

Hail the Shephard of Shimmering Heat on the Fields Hail the Laughing and Jesting Son of Laufey Hail to the Sly One Bless and walk with us this day

“I never make the same mistake twice. I make it five or six times, just to be sure.”

— Loki, probably.

My thoughts exactly.

When you imagine or draw the gods important to you, are they always attractive? Are any of the gods worthy your worship fat? Do they have a funny nose? Do they have wrinkles, stretchmarks or uneven teeth? Do your gods all looks like they could get work in hollywood, and why? Do you believe hotness is linked to being worthy of being loved and listened to? Do you think about why gods worshiped for a thousand years would accidentally look just like the current ideals of beauty?

working with norse deities

óðinn: "don't worry, i'll get it done. just don't ask me how."

frigg: "secrets are worth gold. yours are diamond. share with discretion."

loki: "i'll break your bone so it'll heal right this time."

sigyn: "would you rather be right or be loved?"

angrboða: "you are the only god you have to live with."

freyja: "go loud. we'll deal with the consequences."

freyr: "...we gotta? okay. baby, hold my beer."

njǫrðr: "can i interest you in some chill the fuck out in this trying time?"

hel: "i'll hold you through it—and you still have to do this."

fenrir: "...can we bite them? we could, in fact, bite them."

jǫrmungandr: "this too shall pass."

gullveig: "fuck around. find out. remember."

þórr: "not everything is a nail, but a screw still bows to a hammer."

sif: "everything is a little more possible with a belly full of warm food."

skaði: "there is always an opportune moment. find it."

Lokean Parable: Let Baldr Be the Best (Baldrs Draumar)

Baldr was a prince of the Aesir. He was handsome and well liked, but also very insecure. Even though he was a prince, he didn’t feel like the other Aesir respected him as much as he deserved. Everyone knew that Thor was the best warrior, and that Skathi was the best hunter, and that Heimdall was the best at following the rules. But there was nothing that everyone knew Baldr was the best at.

One evening, after Thor had regaled everyone with another of his great tales about roaming the outlands, Baldr went to his mother, Frigga.

“I can’t stand it.” He said. “Why are there no great tales of my bravery and daring?”

Frigga smiled lovingly and put her hands on his shoulders.

“Because my dear, you are a prince, and you are too important to send roaming the outlands.”

This cheered Baldr for a moment. Being important was a good thing. But the he realized he wasn’t the most important, so it was just one more thing that someone else was better at.

“If I’m so important, how come I’m not the best at anything?” He asked.

“You are the best at being my son.”

Baldr shrugged. “That’s not much. That only means I’m better at it than Hothr, and he is bad at everything.” He said, and walked off to his hall to sleep.

Frigga thought all night about this, and in the morning, she decided to do something about it. She went to everyone and everything and made them promise that they would let Baldr be better then them. She made the deer promise to let Baldr run faster, and the steel promise to let Baldr be stronger.

“Thor” Frigga said, “I want you to promise to always let Baldr win when you two spar.”

Thor shrugged. “That seems weird. But you asked it, and so I will promise.”

“Skathi” Frigga said, “I want you to promise to always let Baldr hunt better than you.”

Skathi looked at Frigga with eyes like pine shadows in winter. “If that is how it must be.”

“Heimdall” Frigga said, “I want you to promise to always let Baldr follow the rules better than you.”

Heimdall nodded sagely. “I don’t know what that means, but you are in charge and I will always do as you command.”

In this way, Frigga made sure that Baldr was the best at everything and that nothing bad would ever happen to him. Baldr had great fun, challenging Thor to wrestling contests and winning, going hunting with Skathi and getting the most deer, and making up new rules that Heimdall couldn’t follow better because he didn’t know about them.

But all this happened while Loki was away on a long journey in the outlands, and one day, he came back to Asgard. He found Thor, covered in bruises and drinking mead.

“Thor,” asked Loki, “while I was gone, did everyone lose their fucking minds?”

Thor shook his head. “No, but Frigga made us all promise to let Baldr be the best at everything.”

Loki took the horn that Thor was drinking from and downed the rest of it. “That is so much worse.”

Thor shrugged. “It’s not so bad. Baldr will get bored of it sooner or later.”

Loki looked over at Baldr, who was wearing medals representing all things he was best at, including a medal that read ‘medal for having more medals than anyone else in Asgard.’

“I don’t think he will.” Loki said, and left the hall.

The next day, Loki found out that Frigga hadn’t exacted any promises from the mistletoe plant because it wasn’t good enough at anything for her to bother with. Loki made an arrow from the mistletoe wood and poisoned it with a poison made from the white berries. That afternoon, Baldr was showing everyone again how he was stronger than arrows or swords, and telling them to ‘take their best shot.’ All of the Aesir indulged him, except for his brother Hothr, who was blind.

“Hothr,” said Loki, “You should honor your brother as the other Aesir do.”

Hothr shook his head. “It is too embarrassing. Yesterday, I missed and hit a cow instead. Everyone laughed at me, and Baldr won’t stop calling me ‘slayer of cows.’”

“That’s ok.” Loki said. “Take this bow and arrow, and I will guide your shot true. No one will make fun of you after that.”

“I would like that. Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” Loki said, and did as he promised. The mistletoe arrow struck Baldr in the heart and killed him instantly.

This caused great confusion among the Aesir. Odin made the journey to the afterworld where Baldr was feasting, and demanded the Hel send him back to Asgard. Hel was Loki’s daughter, and while she didn’t want to offend Odin and the Aesir, she was suspicious of the demand. She agreed to return Baldr, but only if everyone in Asgard agreed that he should come back.

Odin and Frigga gathered everyone together and they all agreed that Baldr should come back. All except Loki.

“Will you release everyone from their promises if he returns?” Loki asked Frigga.

“No.” She said. “And this time I will get everything. Even the mistletoe. Even you.”

“Hard pass.” Said Loki.

Frigga leveled her finger at Loki. “Fine. You aren’t even one of us anyway. Everyone who isn’t a half breed and a traitor has agreed. Hel must send Baldr back.”

But Hel refused. When the reply came, Frigga was furious. She found Loki getting ready to return to the outlands.

“Someday soon,” she said to Loki “you will pay dearly for this.”

Loki slung his pack over his shoulder and looked around at Asgard, at the halls, and at all the Aesir and Vanir who lived there.

“Someday soon,” Loki said “we will all pay dearly for this.”

❤️‍🔥

Hvedrung

Faðir. 🔥✨🖤

Loki

Trickster

Silvertongue

Liesmith

Skywalker

God of Mischief

My God

Art by Irenhorrors

https://instagram.com/irenhorrors?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Hello Faðir. 🔥

I find this outfit very ridiculous and cute

Hail Faðir! 🔥

Loki’s portrait

T H I S

These firey, wise words by @solostinmysea really resonate with me. ❤️‍🔥

Banged out this sketch quickly the other night…I really love the idea of Loki symbolizing change and growth and breaking free of the things that hold you back. Loki never struck me as a static “bound god”–the whole point is that he can’t be bound, and he’s anything but static. If he represents change (and all the upheaval that comes with it), he’s a regenerative, transformative force. It’s a good reminder to always grow and adapt. Loki is motion. 

Thank fuck somebody said it.

Louder for the people in the back!

If you’re still upset about some dispute the gods had in MYTHOLOGY a thousand+ years ago you need to seriously chill. I can be a Freyja devotee and work with Loki as well. Did he slut shame her in lokasenna? Yes. Was lokasenna written by a Christian HUMAN dude? YES. Remember that. If you take mythology literally without thinking about who wrote it and the context and religions and politics of the time then you’re being foolish. Sorry, but it’s true.

My beloved Vulture God.

Vulture’s Blue Path by CinderR0SE alternate color scheme version of my loki painting vultures path pt. 2
____________________________________
i can seep in, i can dry clear
and yes it would still be there
and no i couldn’t hold you forever but isn’t it drafty at night, alone in that canyon
with the wind of the mind dragging its debris- i wanted to put my mouth on you
and draw out whatever toxin… -but i understand there are limits to love here is a flower
that needs no water
it can grow anywhere nourished on nothing
and yes. poem “you with the crack running through you” by kim ad donizio
_________________________________ next painting in a series of kennings for loki, “Gammleið”, translating to vulture’s path; this is one of my favourite kennings for loki and this is part two of the painting series. in this i relate to lokis role as cremation fire and the stripping of flesh leaving bones in an action to release the soul. in reading his mythos it can easily be correlated with his eating contest with logi (wild fire who wantonly consumes while loki only strips meat and not bones) and his role in baldrs entire death process. this particular kenning really portrays him as a funerary god in this way and i chose to convey that in this image. i relate loki personally to all birds, especially birds of prey and vultures, and in this particular image i crossed how i normally paint him with several species of vultures (most notably in part 2, the cinereous vulture) from the eurasian area of the world (and the black vulture that resides near where i live and that i see often) for the overall look to him; i also visually made it a partial transformation which is a visual nod to the hawk cloak as well. 
i definitely recommend enlarging for details. XD __________________________________________
do not remove my watermark or alter/trace/copy in anyway, and if reblogged elsewhere give me credit, do not remove my artists comments, and link back to my main site; thanks!
~cinder.

@solostinmysea you're the sweetest! 🖤

This really hits a note as, besides Loki, Thor was basically the first Nordic Deity I met "in person" in my practice. I haven't been called by him or whatever, but I know he's there, and tend to call upon him when I need extra protection.

I feel close to the Jötnar and honor them in my practice, yet I understand the delicate balance Thor is part of when he fights them. Hard to explain, just like Nature, but there is a balance.

Hear ye, hear ye, let me tell you how the mighty God Thor came to be.

It was at a time when the remnants of Ymir were scattered and formed the realm known as Midgard. The Trees were growing, the rivers flowing.

Three brothers even formed the first humans out of two types of wood they found in the sand.

And then there was Jörd. Her Hair was like reed, her body full and fertile. Her personality rich and and wild like the landscape around her.

Jörd gave birth to her first and only son and she gave him the name of Thor. Soon he'd join the oldest of the three brothers into Asgard, but until that, he was raised by his mother.

Thor grew up in relative proximity to the humans, who he always observed, trying to understand them.

He saw, that they were plagued by devastating storms, high waves and tides, rock slides and other catastrophies.

Reason for these catastrophies were the Giants, forceful and uncontrollable at that time, sweeping over the land of men.

Young Thor had pity for the mortals, seeing them suffer from the endless amounts of water raining down and mudding and drowning the seed, the waves taking the fishers and amber collectors with them.

It was not long, when he challenged one of them, the Giant named Rigna. For a moment, he was not occupied with letting it rain on the people and the sky cleared and humankind had some relief.

This motivated Thor. In his youthful openness to risk, he charged and tackled Rigna, both falling to the ground, creating an earthquake strong enough to make mountains shiver of fear of breaking apart.

But Thor knew that rain was important to the people and their crops so he withdrew and weakened, the Rain-Giant only gave moderate amounts of the precious drops to the earth.

Thor understood. To bring a balance to the rain and other weathers, he'd have to fight the responsible Giant again and again, weakening them in consequence.

Young Thor did not knew yet, that this could also mean that the Giants could also overwhelm him, still inflicting damage to the lives and possessions of men.

But for the moment the chaotic nature of the Giants was contained. And the young God had found his main task: protecting humankind and regulating the natural forces to make them blessings instead of catastrophies.

So he'd do it not only with the rain, but also with the sea, the air, the soil and the fire. As best as he was able.

Amen to that.

And from a pagan point of view, I do believe anyone who really had the chance to practice with both Loki and Sigyn can tell you how strong their bond is. So it still amazes me that so many people simply won't listen, for the sake of what, narrative? Even in the pagan community from what I hear, which makes it all the worst.

Defender of Sigyn

So we often talk how Sigyn defended and protected Loki. It's in the official sources of Norse mythology, after all.

However, @roruna pointed out to me today the Guttenberg project of Norse mythology; or, The religion of our forefathers, containing all the myths of the Eddas, systematized and interpreted, by Professor R. B. Anderson.

In his work, this scholar ennumerates several of Loki's names and kennings. One of them I had not seen yet, but it warmed my heart to find out about it, and how it totally confirms Loki's GOOD relationship and love for Sigyn (if anyone dared to doubt it *looking at you Marvel, Marvel fans, Joanne Harris, Rick Riordan, Neil Gaiman, Melvin Burgess and the others...*)

That kenning is: "Defender of Sigyn"

In other words, Sigyn protects Loki, and Loki defends Sigyn.

They are a team and they have each other's backs.

Yes, Sigyn is Loki's ride or die, but FOR REASONS. Because he loves her and will defend her if anyone dares to attack her.

Now, I would be SO NICE for the modern writers to stop spreading Marvel's lies, and depict Loki & Sigyn as they are supposed to be : a LOVING pair, who would do anything for each other, and whose bound was much stronger than Gleipnir itself.

Inn Slægi Ass, sketch

Louder for the people in the back!

I had to make this meme. I am so fucking sick of recons telling me that I shouldn't worship Loki. "No historical proof" and I love the answers when I point out the snaptune stone or the Gosforth Cross "well acktshually that's not proof of a cult." Well it had to mean something right? Loki had to be significant to those that carved those stones. They just didn't take all that time for the funsies. Anyways heres the meme. I just needed to vent lol. And yes it's always the recons that bring this up like out of nowhere when a Lokean appears.

IMO It doesn't matter if Loki was worshipped back then or not. They are worshiped and loved now and has a following, that's what matters.

Hello hello HELLO

My friend here is on FIRE 🔥

Lokean teachings indeed, as far as my experience goes as well.

As much as freedom can feel lonely sometimes, it's nothing compared to the true, harsh isolation of being caged.

Beautiful ode to her 💜

My sweet Goddess. ❤️