Loki - the Trickster God
Loki was the son of the giants Farbauti (father) and
Laufey (mother).
He was not an Aesir,
but lived in Asgard
with the Aesir.
Odin had taken him in and
made Loki his blood brother.
Loki was described as being quite handsome.
Loki - full of mischief
Loki was not to be trusted. He was full of mischief.
As time went on, Loki became more and more evil.
Loki had the ability to transform himself into other beings, including animals.
Loki often got the gods at Asgard in trouble, though he could also make amends on some occasions and make right what he had done wrong.
Loki and Angrboda
Loki was married twice. His first marriage was with Angrboda. She was a Jotun (troll).
The Three Children of
Loki and Angrboda
Loki and Angrboda were the parents of the three monstrous children:
Hel,
Jormungand (the Midgard Serpent) and
the Fenrir wolf.
Hel – She ended up as the ruler of the Underworld in Niflheim (World of Mist).
It was Odin who threw Hel down to Niflheim and made her ruler of the world of the dead.
In Viking times the term “Go to Hel” meant “to die”. It was certainly not a pleasant place. This was a grim and dark place. Anyone who died of old age or illness was sent to Hel.
Half of Hel was light colored and the other half dark blue colored.
The appalling dog named Garm guarded the Underworld.
At Ragnarok (the end of the world) Garm and the god named Tyr killed each other.
Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent was thrown into the ocean by Odin.
Jormungand loved his new home and grew outrageously huge. It did not take long before the serpent encircled all the land.
He was feared by humans and gods.
Jormungand and the thunder god Thor were especially bitter enemies.
At Ragnarok Thor and Jormungand killed each other.
The Fenrir Wolf
Odin decided to keep the Fenrir Wolf at Asgard, the home of the gods.
This was a most unfortunate decision. The Fenrir grew large and fierce. The gods agreed they needed to put the Fenrir Wolf on a leash for their own safety.
In Asgard there was no leash strong enough to hold Fenrir.
Eventually the gods received a leash which the dwarfs had made.
The leash was as light as a silk ribbon, but stronger than an iron chain. The leash was made of six ingredients: the sound of a cat’s walk, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish and the spit of a bird. This explained why these items no longer existed. The leash was named Gleipnir.
The only problem was that no god dared to get close to Fenrir. That is no god except Tyr. He was exceptionally brave.
Fenrir agreed to try the new leash. The wolf was confident the leash could not hold him imprisoned. The Fenrir Wolf only had one condition if he was to try the new leash; one god had to put a hand in his mouth.
Tyr stepped forward and did put his right hand in the jaws of the wolf.
Fenrir quickly bit off the arm.
Tyr became the god with only one hand and the Fenrir Wolf was securely tied to the leash named Gleipnir.
Tyr has given his name to Tuesday.
The Fenrir Wolf did not break loose before Ragnarok, at which time the wolf killed Odin.
Loki and Sigyn
His second marriage was to Sigyn. They were the parents of Vali and Narvi. These two sons had a gruesome fate indeed.
Loki had an evil side. He was responsible for the murder of Balder, the beloved son of Frigg and Odin. He had tricked Hod into shooting an arrow made from the mistletoe. Hod was the brother of Balder and he was blind. Loki helped him aim.
Hod had no knowledge of what would happen. The small mistletoe plant was the only living thing that Frigg had not asked to make an oath not to hurt Balder in any way or form. The arrow hit Balder in the chest and he fell dead to the ground.
Loki murdered Fimafeng
Not long after the death of Balder, the ocean god named Aegir invited the gods to a feast at his home. Aegir was tremendously wealthy. He was the grandfather of Heimdall. Heimdall was the god who guarded Bifrost (the rainbow bridge which connected Asgard with Midgard).
Even though Loki was not invited he showed up at the feast.
The gods praised the two servant named Eldir and Fimafeng for their good work. Loki responded with jealousy by killing Fimafeng. He then fled from the party.
The gods continued drinking.
Loki insulted the gods
Loki returned to the feast a second time. This time he insulted everyone present. There was no stopping him. Loki made crude accusations. Finally Loki realized he ha
d gone too far. He fled a second time, but this time the gods wanted revenge.
Loki tried to hide in a river and transformed himself into a salmon. Unfortunately for Loki the gods soon discovered where he was hiding.
They caught Loki and brought him to land. The salmon transformed back to Loki.
The gods take revenge and Loki was severely punished
The gods changed his son Vali into a wolf. Vali attacked and killed his brother Narvi.
The gods took the intestines of Narvi and it was used as a rope to tie Loki to a cliff. Above Loki was a venomous snake which constantly dripped toxin on Loki.
Sigyn patiently held a bowl above his head to gather all the venom.
Every time the bowl was full and Sigyn went to empty it, some venom would drip on Loki.
The pain was so excruciating the earth would tremble as Loki screamed and wringed.
This explained earthquakes in Viking times.
Loki would remain bound until Ragnarok.
He would at that time lead an army against the gods at Asgard.
Loki died at Ragnarok. Loki and Heimdall killed each other.
Loki gives birth to Sleipnir;
the eight-legged horse
The Wall around Asgard
The gods at Asgard were growing more and more concerned about the threat the giants represented. They thoroughly agreed building a strong wall around Asgard was of outmost urgency.
As it happened a master builder turned up at the Bifrost Bridge asking to speak with the gods. Heimdall permitted the stranger to make an appearance before the gods.
The master builder told the gods he had heard rumors that the gods were considering to build a wall around Asgard. He then offered to build the strongest wall ever and this he would accomplish within three years.
The gods were skeptical. The man was a stranger and they didn’t know if he was to be trusted. They asked how much he demanded to be paid for the job.
The master builder wants Freyja for his wife
The stranger said he did not want gold or riches. In return for a job well done he demanded the beautiful goddess Freyja for his wife. He also demanded the Sun and the Moon.
The gods were shocked. Under no circumstance would they permit a stranger to marry their beloved Freyja. Loki argued with the gods. He felt strongly about having the wall built. He suggested that they agree to the proposition, but instead of three years they could set the terms to six months.
Loki argued it would be impossible for the mason to complete the wall in six months. The gods would get part of the wall built for free and Freyja would be safe at Asgard. In addition the gods could deny the master builder to bring in extra help. Loki persuaded the gods to go along with the plan.
The terms are agreed on
The master builder agreed to the new terms with one condition; he was to be allowed to use his stallion named Svadilfari. The deal was made. If the mason finished building the wall before the first day of spring he would have Freyja for his wife. If the wall was not completed he would walk away empty handed.
It was the first day of winter. The mason went to work immediately. It turned out that his stallion was extremely strong. The mason worked with incredible speed. The gods at Asgard started to get anxious and they suspected the master builder to be one of the giants in disguise.
Three days before the first day of spring the wall was almost finished. Panic arose at Asgard. They were in a rage for having let Loki convince them to make a deal that could cause them to lose the goddess Freyja.
Loki makes amends
This time Loki regretted what he had done. He knew he had to do something to save Freyja. He suddenly got a brilliant idea. Without his stallion the mason would not be able to complete the wall.
Loki decided he needed to distract Svaldilfari. He transformed himself into a mare. It worked. When Svaldilfari saw the mare, the stallion galloped towards the mare. The two horses disappeared together into the woods.
Thor killed the mason
The mason was now hysterical. The gods now knew that the mason indeed was a Jotun. Thor reached for his hammer and with a hard stroke hit the mason. He fell dead to the ground.
Loki was nowhere to be found. Sometime later Loki did return to Asgard. He did not arrive alone. He was accompanied by an eight-legged grey horse. His interaction with the stallion had resulted in him giving birth to this extraordinary horse. He had stayed in the transformed state as a mare until after the birth of the foal.
The eight-legged horse was given the name Sleipnir.
Loki gave the horse to Odin.
That is how Loki became the mother of the horse of Odin.