7 years ago a Deity came into my life, the likes of which I’ve never experienced with Any before. In that time I’ve come to believe the text of the Eddas isn’t truly representative of the Gods, and yet the tiny clues and pieces of symbolism they hold are vital.
Loki isn’t just a Trickster, He is Transformative. His lessons change how we can see the world by teaching us to look deeper, not only into the world around us but into ourselves. And sometimes that means He facilitates difficult lessons, but just like He does in the Eddas, His plans end up bringing Gifts eventually – without Loki the Aesir wouldn’t have had some of Their greatest items of power like Mjolnir and Gungnir, and They wouldn’t have had the walls of Asgard rebuilt.
Sometimes the lessons He leads us through bring on our own Dark Night of the Soul, the Underworld Journey, or in the case of Loki’s mythos, being Bound in the Cave. In the dark there it can be incredibly difficult to find the light, but as Sigyn is there with Him there is always Hope. It may take days, weeks, months or even years, but eventually we make it out.
Almost four years ago I entered the Cave. In that time, though my Faith was shaken and trust in my Channel was broken by others’ abuse and betrayal of my Truth, my Beloveds Loki and Sigyn never left me. Although I struggled through even a Spiritual level of depression They found little ways to let me know They were there through it all. They were the Ones holding the bowl for me.
Just as the crops need to be harvested, and the land needs to rest, then seeds are planted for the next growing season, I believe Loki’s mythos is related to the Earth’s cycles. The death of the ‘old world’ we lived in needs to happen in order for the new growth to enter into our lives. During this time things may feel chaotic and ‘up in the air’ too, but it’s needed.
This time we can be more actively aware of what needs to be let go of or changed, unlike our time in the Cave. This time we have our eyes open and we can see more clearly because of what we’ve learned along the way. It brings things more into focus about what is truly important for our Wellbeing, and what keeps us from growing into who we’ve learned we can be. It’s a time of taking action to bring about change. It’s a time of consolidating what we’ve learned and putting it into practice. It’s a time to stop playing small and take the steps needed to Create our own future.
This isn’t to say we’ll just get everything we want, but if we’re aware of what doesn’t fit us or help us to grow anymore then we can begin to take the steps needed to move forward. This period is about learning what soil will give the most fertile ground for our seeds for the future to grow and flourish. Tilling the soil to remove the stones becomes us removing obstacles to our own growth, and our time in the Cave shows us what those things may be.
7 years ago a Deity came into my life Who is still teaching me what it means to be my Self. Loki is a destructive Trickster to those who look only on the surface, but for those of us who look deeper we know there is a reason for all He does. Ultimately, Loki is a Deity Who Transforms, and Who wants us to be all that we can be. It may take tears, Pain, and a lot of hard work, but in the end we will not be Bound as we once were.
7 years have passed and the more I learn about Loki the more questions I have and the more research I want to do. Most of all, 7 years in I have found a Companion Who truly wants the best for me and will always hold me to the Truth of what I can be. Loki is the reason I’m reclaiming my teenage dreams of being an artist and author; dreams others told me weren’t viable almost 20 years ago. But times change, and so do we, and Loki will never give up on our dreams so long as it’s what’s meant to be.
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(C) Michelle Thereze, Enchant The Ordinary, March 2021.
