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Thoughts, lessons, and theology from an eclectic witch from a varied background.

Monday, July 27, 2020

July for Loki: Post No. 27 - God of Trauma Carrying.

Dear Reader,

I'm going to be the first person in line to say that Loki is not the only god who has trauma that they carry. His is, however, some of the most well documented. If you go through the old stories, we have a pretty good sized list that makes me think that if there was a god to turn to for support in carrying your own trauma, Loki would be your go to 9 times out of 10.

First, one must question what reason Loki goes by a matronymic surname. It is my suspicion that his relationship with his father is bad and his rejection of his father by way of being known as Laufey's son instead of Farbuti's is an indication of how toxic that relationship is. This is all UPG, mind you, but when most are known by a patronymic surname, it makes you wonder. At best, Farbuti is an absent figure, worst case... well, we've all read about domestic abuse of children in the news. Add to this the fact that these are deities and I am sure it gets uglier. (This could hint to why Loki is willing to do what seems insanely reckless, like betting his head, because his logic is what the other party could do couldn't be much worse than what he grew up with.)

Then you have the myth where Slepnir is conceived. I've noted a number of people making rape jokes concerning this myth. It seems to be generally believed that Loki didn't willingly conceive his equine son. If we operate upon this presumption, then Loki is most definitely a survivor of sexual assault. He is mocked for this "perversion" in the Lokasenna and a time when he reported lived beneath the mountains and birthed yet more "monsters". It is unclear if the time he lived beneath the mountains was a period of misadventure or not. The ambiguity opens the door to consider the possibility that Loki was the victim of sexual assault multiples times. There's a lot of trauma that goes with sexual assault and it gets compounded if it happens more than once in someone's life.

Next we have to consider the entire myth cycle where he is with Angrboda and their children are taken away. Some sources declare that Loki wasn't a willing partner in their conception. We've covered sexual assault trauma. But let's put this aside for a moment, what level of trauma would it be to have your children kidnapped by your blood-brother? (I have an alternative story that runs counter to the kidnap story and the additional sexual assault story, but that will wait for another day.) All because they're afraid of a prophecy that they bring into actuality with the kidnapping of the children of Loki and Angrboda. (This is not the first time someone does something to 'prevent' a prophecy and winds up fulfilling it. And it is someone who is supposedly smart enough to know better than that.)

Or the myth cycle of the binding of Loki that includes the murder of his sons by Sigyn, Narfi and Váli. How traumatic would it be to witness the murder of your children? And then to be bound for the remainder of time within a cavern with the guts of one? (I would consider the transformation of Váli as a form of murder for he is magically transformed into a wolf that ravages Narfi, whose guts are used to bind Loki to three stones. Váli Lokison is, in my opinion, as much a tragic victim in all of this as his parents. That, however, is something for another time as well.)

The Bound God is subject to slow torture despite Sigyn's efforts to relieve it. Loki carries a mountain of trauma experiences in the lore that we have. Even if we do our best to dust off the influence of Christianity and other elements that have made the stories drift away from their original sources, Loki is still a tragic figure. People in modern heathenry tend to focus on Baldur as suffering the ultimate tragedy because he was such a "good" god who was slain by way of misadventure. But, honestly, Baldur's death as unfortunate as it was/is pales compared to the sheer volume of wrongs wrought against the god of mischief. 

Baldur dies. He is given a proper send off to Hela's hall. He is received with honors. Loki lies beneath the earth perpetually bound and suffering the acid drops of venom falling from the serpent that Skadi puts over his head, watching as his beloved wife Sigyn struggles to keep things together witnessing this and holding a bowl to catch the venom. But at some point, that bowl fills and she must empty it. And one wonders where did she get that bowl, is it perhaps the hollow of Narvi's skull cupped in his mother's hands?

There is a reason why I turn to Loki when my own trauma gets too much to bear, because he's seen some shit and always has a cunning way to help me carry my own load.

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