Chilling with Loki
I read about an interesting seidr that had Loki giving advice to everyone. Now, I am rather skeptical about people being skinridden by gods, but the message sounded like it could’ve been from Loki–at least the Loki I know. So, I’m going to keep my mind at least somewhat open when it comes to that seidr.
My Experiences with Loki
Loki is sort of the ADHD poster child of the gods. Who is on a sugar and caffeine buzz. Although the stories may show him as malicious at times, I’ve found that he’s more of a sympathetic trickster god. He plays tricks that often gets him into trouble, but he also works hard at trying to fix things. (Often to avoid the ire of the other gods.) He doesn’t like hypocrites and will often voice his opinion, whether the opinion is wanted or not.
Advice from Loki
I’ve gotten advice from Loki, often because Tyr didn’t have advice for me. Loki’s advice is…well…, not necessarily the best. Sometimes he’s made things worse. So, I don’t necessarily follow his advice. Because he’s a chaos god, you can expect your life to be interesting if he shows up.
Seidr and Skinriding
If I were to do seidr, I don’t think I’d want Loki skinriding me (possessing), just because he’d do something that would get me into loads of trouble. The Seeress who let Loki skinride was bold in doing so, probably because she had people who could help her if anything went wrong. And probably because Loki is a god and pretty much gets what he wants. The Seeress is undoubtedly experienced in seidr, so I can’t pass judgment on that.
Loki’s Advice
Loki made it clear we need to bring joy and play into our lives. Because we’re facing a dark time. A time when everything is in upheaval. He also said this is a dangerous time for pagans because of the enemies we face and we must build our masks to keep us safe. That’s why many of us don’t want to be outed. Lastly, he said that know that Odin is working to ensure things survive during this time of upheaval. The term, Ragnarok, was used. Many other pagans have used the term “Tower Time” to describe what we’re going through.
What is Tower Time?
Tower Time refers to the Tower card in Tarot. It means utter destruction and change, if I understand it correctly. This time is when the tower (old thing) is destroyed and people must rebuild. It is a time of violent change.
I am not fond of “Tower Time.” But we’re obviously living through it. And Loki apparently gave us advice for dealing with it.
What Do I Think About This?
If Loki did indeed skinride and give the people there his message, I think the message is sound. Even if he didn’t, the message is sound. We need to find joy in life. We need to be careful because of the Christian extremists. And we need to have faith that something will survive this time.
To be honest, I’m worried about the future of the human race as well as the future of the United States. We have Christian Taliban trying to make the US into a theocracy. This is definitely worrisome. We’ve also seen how five Christians have relegated women to breeding stock.
I don’t have an answer to what is going on. But Loki sure seems to think that somehow we’ll get through this if we’re careful.
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I was reading 
But the post got me thinking about all the special things that happen day-to-day that we take for granted. Most of the time, we tend to use the words, “magical” to describe something special. Whether it’s a beautiful sunrise or sunset, a natural place, or some place out of the ordinary, we are quick to state there’s something “magical” about it. And while I’m not fond of the m-word, as many of my readers can tell you, I think it might be correct to use the term “magical” to describe that.
At this point, you may ask what is magical? Do we simply swap the word “special” for “magical”? I don’t know if that’s appropriate or not, but I think it might be the case. While you and I can argue over the existence of magic, in the long run, it may be semantics. What I consider nature, you might find magic in it.
When I look at our world, it brings me all sorts of wonder. We’re special when it comes to our universe. Our universe had to have just the right laws for stars, galaxies, and life to form. A little too much gravity, or changes to the mathematical constants, and we wouldn’t exist. It’s kind of like our planet. We know life came about because certain factors came together to produce it.
The word “intelligent design” is a concept that the Christians use for belief in their creation stories. While I believe that the gods may have had a hand here and there tweaking our world, I believe that we evolved from lower forms of life. I don’t for a second believe that the gods came from the ice rime licked by a cow, unless somehow this is a metaphor for what actually happened. I don’t think Odin and his brothers fashioned humans from fallen logs, unless you think of it as some metaphor for evolution. We have so much garbage in our genetic code and many serious genetic issues that it certainly doesn’t suggest that anyone intelligent actually designed us.
As creatures of this world, we can’t help but look around us in wonder. Whether you see the glorious mountains, a stormy sea, a brilliant blue sky, or a meadow full of wildflowers, each are a gift for us to marvel at. Have you ever been somewhere that was so perfect in your mind that you couldn’t help but stand back in wonder? Maybe it was the feel of the breeze on your skin, the melody of the birds, the scent of wildflowers, or the stillness of the forest. That moment when you felt it: wasn’t it perfect? Yes, if you’ve felt it, you know what I’m talking about.
I finally acquiesced to being old. Okay, maybe not that far, but I realize I need help. I can’t write as fast as I used to. That’s probably because of accidents I’ve had in my misspent youth, which means that I can’t really type that fast.
Okay, those of you who have read my stuff know I’m a skeptic when it comes to witchcraft and Magick. (‘Magick’, of course, is the fancy-smancy word for ‘magic,’ because apparently Aleister Crowley thoughts magic had too few letters.
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Apparently you need herbs, candles, crystals, and stuff to focus your energies to get shit done. I don’t understand why if the magic is built on intent, that someone could just cast a spell without all the extraneous stuff. But hey, I’m not a witch.
That being said, sometimes you catch a lucky break. But I would argue that every time I had a lucky break, I had been “in the neighborhood” figuratively speaking, to get that lucky break. Some shit that has shown up “out of the blue” had seeds planted months, or even years, before. Lot of luck is being in the right place at the right time. Just ask any hunter. You seldom find deer in metro areas — or rather, deer you can shoot, other than with a camera.
Ah the joys of Samhain and the muddled mix of goddesses and pantheons that the Wiccans bring. Don’t get me wrong — I’m a person who believes the Heathen gods and goddesses are the same as gods and goddesses with different names in other pantheons. However, there are differences and I’m not into simply playing the mix-and-match game that many pagans do.
without respect for each culture and pantheon. That smush Zoroastrianism with Celtic beliefs and call it good. Or that brings in Christian, Egyptian, and Norse gods and beliefs together in a type of melange that is quite unpalatable.
Samhain was the Celtic/Gaelic new year which is a lot like our Yule (which, incidentally, the Wiccans also celebrate.) Harvest was an important time for them, and Wiccans believe that the veil between the living and the dead thins during this time. Yule, on the other hand, deals with the the darkest times of the year, if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, which is more in turn with the concept of the “Veils.”
be sure, but when you mix different systems, you can’t help but lose some of the authenticity. If you’re a Wiccan, I mean no insult. I like people who are Wiccans as much (and sometimes more) than some Heathens I know. Even so, you’re in Wicca for the magic and witchcraft. I get that. We have our own (ahem) “magic,” but it isn’t necessarily the spell variety. In fact, it’d be nice if Heathens did court the Wiccans to get some of their numbers in ours. (I guess we won’t do that by calling them “Heathen Lite,” eh?)
Being mindful and paying attention to the land opens a whole new world of experiences you never knew existed. You start noticing not only the cooler temperatures of autumn setting in, but also the increase or decrease in humidity that follows the change. Maybe you start seeing stratus clouds and high cirrus replace the fluffy cumulus. Maybe you see a shift in the bird population, the increase or decrease of certain insects, or even the shift in the quality of light you get. Instead of noticing the latest fall fashions creeping into people’s wardrobes, you notice how the squirrels are moving from tree to tree to gather food. You may see different species of birds. If you live in a place with deer, you may see a shift in their foraging.
At this point, you may be wondering how this makes you a better Heathen. Let’s think about this a bit: our gods and the landvaettir are nature entities. Even Odin, who is our creator god, deals with natural forces. (How much more natural is the creation of life?) So, we’re looking at gods who reside over nature. By paying attention to things not human made, we gain a deeper understanding in the world around us. You become a better Heathen, and you even open yourself up to the wights and gods. It may or may not be a type of magic, but I know it works.
gods without all the mumbo-jumbo. In fact, I suspect it’s the best way to get in touch with the gods. You don’t get a conversation with the gods from mumbling prayers or sacrificing goats usually. You get that from opening yourself to them and seeing who pops up. That requires paying attention to them and listening to what they have to say.
I ran into an interesting post on Patheos entitled 
they discriminated on religious beliefs, class, and political alliances. So if you were a Viking from Scandinavia who believed in the Heathen gods, 
You know, it’s okay to be introduced to the Heathen gods through Marvel, but if you’re becoming a Heathen because you find Tom Hiddleston or Chris Hemsworth sexy, maybe what you’re looking for isn’t a religion but a fan club. You shouldn’t worship Loki because you’re enamored with Hiddleston. Believe me, you aren’t the only one coming into the Northern religions because of the movies. The rest of us who are serious are going to sigh in disgust. We’re not a place for you to live out your fantasies when it comes to actors, so you might as well go someplace else.
So, if you’re an alcoholic, or a borderline alcoholic, who wants to use Heathenry as an excuse to drink, go to rehab. Seriously. We need people who have their wits about them and not people who use Heathenry as an excuse to drink.
I’m probably going to step on toes here, but if you’re using Heathenry just to dress up in cool clothing and armor, swing swords and carry medieval weapons, maybe you need to either be in an reenactment group or the SCA and not a Heathen. Certainly there are Heathens in reenactment groups and the SCA, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be there. The problem is when those people don’t take their Heathen beliefs seriously. Look, I get that there are atheist and agnostic Heathens out there, but they still take their lore seriously (maybe a little too seriously for my taste). No, I’m not saying that you need to become a recon asshat who insists that everything be done according to their (or some Asa-pope’s) interpretation of what the ancestors did, but at least you’re interested in the archaeology, lore, Eddas, writing, and the past.
on this.) Heathenry has a limited amount of magic — we have seidr, we have runes, we have gods and giants, we have wights and other supernatural critters, we have berserkers and ulfhednar and whatnot. We have our own lore and magic that surrounds it. That being said, if you’re really looking for playing with magic a lot, you need to check out other pagan beliefs, most notably, Wiccan. It’s not that most Heathens wouldn’t welcome you into the fold; it’s just that you’ll be disappointed with Heathenry because we really don’t have what you’re looking for. Other pagan beliefs have more magical tendencies. The Heathen magic is usually communicating with wights and gods, being possessed by a supernatural entity, foretelling the future, wards, and making requests to entities in the form of blots. I’m not saying you can’t become powerful in your own right, but in many cases, you’ll find the magic somewhat lacking.
