Those experienced with Norse pantheon-- Loki?

[thesarahsound]

I was meditating before I fell asleep last night. Suddenly, a masculine face sprang into my vision. He had longish, shaggy dark hair and the most maniacal grin I have ever seen spread across his face. His skin appeared a yellowish color, presumably because it was reflected firelight. He laughed hysterically and then vanished from my view.

I was terrified. I could feel my pulse speeding up and I truly felt scared from this sudden intrusion. As I tried to focus on the image the face had burned into my brain, a single name popped into my head. Loki. My first reaction was, “Oh, god, no”, which is pretty ironic now that I think about it. In reading Norse mythology, I have always held a bit of contempt for the trickster god. He is a purely destructive force, as far as my understanding goes.

Further irony ensued. Today, when looking at options for my First Year Seminar in college next year, there was one entitled “Tricksters and Troublemakers” about the archetype in European, African, African-American, and Native American mythology.

Was it even Loki? If so, what would be a logical way to interpret his appearance? I'm pretty new to the pagan path and would like some answers. Thank you!

[phathead]

I would offer something to consider. The trickster aspect of any god can not be, by its very nature, a purely destructive or purely good force. The whole point, not to mention their power comes from being at the exact point of juxtaposition to go either way. That is why they are the gatekeeper or messenger because they freely travel between worlds. The common perception that they are purely destructive forces is usually coming from man. in other words, humans who, in the past, may have had one idea of how things should go or what they thought was best for them was turned upside down, insideout or reversed because the trickster knew better than they, because of foreknowledge gained traveling between worlds, what lesson they really needed to learn and what was best for them.......they can also be extremely generous for no apparent reason. Then again, they can just jack you up to liven up the day!

[Garm]

Loki's has been pushed in to the collective consciousness lately, I expect he's just been running around grooving on the energy

Similarly I have had problems feeling connected with Thor until very recently while Odin and Hel were hanging around long before I knew who and what they were

The mass media is a powerful artifact

You might want to give that trickster course some serious thought though, could be a hint

[Avalanche]

I'm a Lokean, so I'm pretty familiar with Loki myself. Whether or not it was really him, I have no idea. It very well could have been (and the dark, longish hair fits with what I've seen). As for what his appearance means, that could be anything. Could be messing with you or maybe he's got some interest in you, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. Only way to find out if there was any meaning in that would be to ask Loki himself. Or perhaps one of the other gods could give some insight if you're not comfortable trying to reach out to Loki. Although like Garm said, that particular course might be interesting given the situation.

[Daecon]

Loki isn't a purely destructive force. He's the wildfire, destructive and dangerous when manifest, but bringing new growth in His wake, albeit often unintentionally. Besides the large body of "Loki tricks some giant and wins a benefit for the Aesir" legends, there's also one where Loki shaves Sif bald. Thor forces Him to replace the stolen hair with a golden headpiece, which He does with the aid of the Dwarfs. He also takes the opportunity to acquire several other valuable items, including what would become Thor's own signature weapon, Mjolnir.

[thesarahsound]

Thank you all so much for your input! In reflecting on how I felt after he appeared, I definitely realize now that he didn't mean me any harm, he just wanted to startle me. Which definitely worked. XD I'll have to buck up and try asking him. It feels kind-of juvenile to me to ask another god about him when I could just go to him, you know? But seriously, thanks again everybody!!

And I'm definitely considering that course. I would have considered it even without this little message, so this is making me even more sure that it might be the right one to choose.

[Woden's Spear]

Loki's has been pushed in to the collective consciousness lately, I expect he's just been running around grooving on the energy

Similarly I have had problems feeling connected with Thor until very recently while Odin and Hel were hanging around long before I knew who and what they were

The mass media is a powerful artifact

You might want to give that trickster course some serious thought though, could be a hint


I agree. In fact, I can think of a great number of reasons why the Father Of Lies would be yucking it up in the collective consciousness, these days.

[Avalanche]

Thank you all so much for your input! In reflecting on how I felt after he appeared, I definitely realize now that he didn't mean me any harm, he just wanted to startle me. Which definitely worked. XD I'll have to buck up and try asking him. It feels kind-of juvenile to me to ask another god about him when I could just go to him, you know? But seriously, thanks again everybody!!

And I'm definitely considering that course. I would have considered it even without this little message, so this is making me even more sure that it might be the right one to choose.

It does seem a bit strange to ask indirectly, but I know some people are so uncomfortable with Loki they wouldn't want to ask him. It's the feeling that talking to him is inviting him into your life and that will bring all sorts of bad things. I've done something similar before, although I was asking Loki about another god that I was uncomfortable with. But if you're comfortable asking directly, I think that's the best way to figure something out. And just hope that Loki's not going to remain silent on the matter or give cryptic answers.