#norse mythology

Loki: It’s nice to be wanted, you know?

Thor: *exasperated* Not by the law!

I’m taking this latest wolf baby to my printer today to get scanned. (This was a WIP shot but I finished him up this weekend.) The drawing’s an inch or two larger than mine can handle.

Then I’m framing it for entry into a juried exhibit at Apartment Earth Gallery:)

Happy Moon-day!

unconqueredsol:

Frigga spinning the Clouds

Illustrator: J. C. Dollman

Frigga was goddess of the atmosphere, or rather of the clouds, and as such was represented as wearing either snow-white or dark garments, according to her somewhat variable moods. She was queen of the gods, and she alone had the privilege of sitting on the throne Hlidskialf, beside her august husband. From thence she too could look over all the world and see what was happening, and, according to the belief of our ancestors, she possessed the knowledge of the future, which, however, no one could ever prevail upon her to reveal, thus proving that Northern women could keep a secret inviolate.

Illustration Published:
Myths of the Norsemen From the Eddas and Sagas
By H. A. Guerber, London, 1909

memewhore:

Freyja and her magic fuckin feather cloak.

broomsick:

that-witch-cassie:

valhalla is not “the norse pagan heaven” hel is not “the norse pagan hell” and the edda is not “the norse pagan bible” <3

In fact, in Saxo Grammaticus’ account of the norse pagan afterlife (History of the Danes Book I), Helheim was described as a place of green and ever-lasting life. Correct me if I’m wrong but it would be, in this case, closer to what the judeo-christian heaven would look like according to many of their sources.

Helheim from all I’ve read was a very nice afterlife, and the biggest issue with it is that the name is close to the Christian Hell. Tbh most of the issues with Norse mythology / paganism / heathenry stem from trying to find/force parallels with Christian mythology.

One of the symbols used to represent Loki is that of two snakes, circling one another to form an ‘S’ shape, and biting the tail of the other (years of archaeological evidence; see Rundkvist below).

Loki is connected to the snake in a number of ways.

Jormungandr, the giant serpent of Loki’s offspring, is said to be so big that he/she can circle the world and bite his/her own tail (Gylfaginning 34), (Thorsdrapa 1).

In an older version of the myth about Idunn’s kidnapping by Thjassi, Loki turns into a snake at one point to wriggle into the room in which the potion of longevity (similar to Idunn and her apples) is being kept (Skaldskaparmal 5).

A snake was also used to punish Loki after the events of Lokasenna.  Loki was tied down, and the snake was tied above Loki’s head, so that its venom dripped directly onto Loki (final prose section of Lokasenna).

Another notable serpent in Norse mythology is the Nidhogg, a being that feeds on the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil.  However, Nidhogg is not directly associated with Loki in any significant manner (Grimnismal 32-35), (Gylfaginning 15).

Sources:
-Rundkvist, Martin. “Snake Brooches of South Scandinavia.” <http://www.academia.edu/313476>
-image used with permission from <http://aomiarmster.tumblr.com/post/27782533517>
-Gylfaginning, Prose Edda. <http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm>
-Thorsdrapa, Prose Edda. <http://www.nordic-life.org/nmh/thoreng.html>
-Skaldskaparmal, Prose Edda. <http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre05.htm>
-Lokasenna, Poetic Edda. <http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe10.htm>
-Grimnismal, Poetic Edda. <http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe06.htm>

The birth-mother of Fenrir, Hel, and Jormungandr is, for the most part, said to be Angrboda, with Loki as the father.  I disagree with this claim, and believe Loki to be the birth-mother.  There is support for both the former and latter, but that point is not made clear enough in our surviving sources to make a proper conclusion.

The idea of Angrboda as mother of the brood has merit in its simplicity.  Most people assume the female to be the mother, and the male to be the father.  Angrboda is female, Loki is male.  The mother/father is not explicitly stated, so perhaps the simplest explanation should be assumed.

This claim also tends to go hand-in-hand with the assertion that Angrboda is Loki’s mistress or other wife in Jotunheimr, but this seems completely unfounded to me.  There is really no evidence of a relationship having ever existed between the two, or that they even knew one another.  I suppose Loki’s self-professed promiscuity could explain him fathering children with a completely arbitrary woman, but casting Angrboda as Loki’s wife seems to be too lazy an assumption.

The incident on which Loki eats a woman’s heart comes from Hyndluljod, a source more dated than Snorri, in the Poetic Edda; as such, I feel the references therein are more accurate to authentic Norse mythology.  The account is incredibly vague, and all that is revealed is that Loki eats the half-cooked heart of an “evil woman” that he takes from the embers.  He becomes pregnant from this, and gives birth to “the monsters” (flagð).  It is not made clear to which “evil woman” the heart belongs, or to what beings “the monsters” refers.

 “The monsters” may refer to Fenrir, Jormungandr, and Hel – they are indeed the most suited for the title, among Loki’s other offspring.

These three “monsters” are usually attributed to the union of Angrboda and Loki, so if it is assumed these three are “the monsters”, then it must also be assumed that the heart belonged to Angrboda.  One section of Hyndluljod states that Loki gained the wolf (Fenrir) by Angrboda, which may imply that it was Loki impregnated by Angrboda.

The heart that Loki ate is a mystery all on its own, and its origins should be considered before attributing it to Angrboda.  It came from an “evil woman”, Loki took it from the embers, and it was half-cooked.  The Voluspa, another entry in the Poetic Edda, mentions the Aesir-Vanir war, which came about when an “evil woman” named Gullveig was thrust with spears and burned by the Aesir in Odin’s hall.  We are told she was burnt and reborn three times over, and even that was not enough to destroy her.  Perhaps a half-cooked heart remained, and this was the one Loki ate?  Angrboda’s heart was said to be frozen like the sea spray, so this may be why the heart did not burn when the rest of the body did.  Loki’s reason for eating the heart may have been to prevent further resurrection, which is very similar to Loki’s countless outlandish solutions to unsolvable problems facing the Aesir.

There is a great deal of evidence, although still not fully accepted, that Gullveig and Angrboda are one and the same.  I’ll go into Angrboda/Gullveig/Heid in detail in a later post – I need to answer your question first and foremost, and if I start talking about Angrboda, I’ll never get around to it.  Angrboda is written as Aurboda in Svipdagsmal, which gives the name the exact same meaning as Gullveig.  “Aur” and “Gull” both mean gold, and “boda” and “veig” both refer to a strong alcoholic drink.  From the above, although there is no concrete proof, there is a clear possibility that Loki was impregnated by eating Angrboda’s heart, and thus gave birth to his famous monstrous brood.

It is simplest to assume the female Angrboda as the mother, and the male Loki as the father, but we also have evidence to the contrary.  There is a bit of confusion on this point, and it seems to be intentional.  Angrboda is sometimes called the father, and Loki the mother, and then vice versa.  Perhaps this is intended to call attention to the fact that the parentage is different from what is expected.  Loki’s androgyny is definitely a theme in many of his myths, and Angrboda’s androgyny is also mentioned at one point (An observer cannot decide if Angrboda is a woman, or a man disguised as a woman).  This may be further evidence of their mismatched parental roles.

Furthermore, in Helgakvida Hundingsbane I of the Poetic Edda, two characters are insulting one another by comparing one to Loki, and the other to Angrboda.  The character comparing himself to Loki says to his Angrboda-like opponent that they produced the wolf together, and that he was the father.  The Angrboda companion corrects him, saying that Loki is not the true father, and that he was emasculated by giving birth to the wolf.  If Loki became pregnant by eating Angrboda’s heart, then it was Angrboda’s seed that fertilised Loki, making Angrboda the true father.

So there you go.  We don’t know for sure whether the father is Loki or Angrboda, but I believe it was Angrboda, and there is indeed a good deal of support for this idea.  There is some more evidence, but it requires a lot more explanation, so I might go into it again once I’ve properly explained Angrboda on this blog.

As for Loki’s banishment/getting bound, it was caused by the events of Lokasenna.  For the most part, it seems that the gods bound Loki because they were really angry that he had slandered all of them.  Granted, some of the slander was pretty bad, but a lot of it, if not all, was true.  Loki knew everybody’s dirty little secrets, and when he revealed them all at the Lokasenna, he got into some trouble.  I will write a post on Baldr’s death, and another on Lokasenna as soon as I can – sorry it’s taking so long!  I’m pretty busy with university right now, and my major is Chemistry, which is about as far from Norse mythology as you can get…

Warning: this post is pure speculation.

Since there are many gaps in modern knowledge of Norse mythology, some of the posts here will be more contemplative than informative.  If you have some ideas to contribute to the topic, please feel free to reply to the post.  :)

Why did Loki cut off Sif’s hair?

It is a bit of a strange thing to do.  Loki and Thor are close companions, and it is well known that Thor has a tendency to resort to violence far too quickly when angered.  This clearly would not end well for Loki, so why do it?

One explanation is that Sif’s hair was something in which she and Thor had great pride, and therefore Loki in his role as a trickster figure interfered with this contentedness (tricksters often work to bring humility to the prideful).

Another characteristic of tricksters is that they are unpredictable, and do not need a reason to do anything; so there is also the possibility that Loki simply cut Sif’s hair because the opportunity arose. However, contemplating a motive for Loki based on the assumption that he acts in the same way as other trickster archetypes may not yield accurate conclusions, as Loki’s behaviour is not identical to tricksters of other mythologies.

A further thought: it was custom to cut a woman’s hair when she had been unfaithful to her husband.  Was Loki punishing Sif for adultery?  With whom would Sif have committed adultery?

In Lokasenna, when Loki is drunkenly revealing all the dirty secrets of his fellow gods (which may or may not be true), Loki accuses Sif of cheating on Thor with none other than himself.  It seems a bit weird for Loki to lie with Sif, and then to cut her hair in punishment for it.

However, it does provide an explanation for how Loki accomplished the hair-cutting in the first place.  Sif would need to have been asleep, Thor would need to be gone, and Loki would need to be alone with Sif - the perfect opportunity would arise after a bout of secret mingling.

The exact etymology and meaning of Loki’s name is not fully understood, but many researchers have guessed at different root words that may stem from or make up Loki’s name.  Here are a few of the possible root words, and their meanings:

Loki

• loca - prison
• leug - to break
• lok - end
• logi - fire
• luka/ljuka - to close, to bring to an end (most likely meaning, in my opinion, and from what I’ve read)*

Lodur

• laða - to attract
• laudi - shape
• liudan - to grow
• ljóðar - people
• lóð - fruit, land
• lodern - to blaze
• luhþurar - fire bringer

Loptr

• lopt - air
• lopteldr - lightning

*The final and closing day of the week, which we now call Saturday, was a day held sacred to solely Loki, among all other gods. This may support the idea that Loki is connected with endings, and that therefore his name corresponds to luka (to end/close).

If there are any other root word theories circulating out there, feel free to share them!

Many of the figures in Norse mythology are known by several different names, as well as different phrases that describe them (called kennings).  The following is a list of some that refer to Loki, and I will update the post accordingly as I find or am informed of others.  A lot of the kennings provided by Snorri are found nowhere else, and are somewhat inconsistent, so I only included a few.  

Loki’s Names: Bekki, Blind, Gammleid (leader of amusement), Haloge, Hvedrung (roarer), Lodur, Logaþore, Loge, Lôgna, Logi, Lokkji, Lopt (lofty), Sataere

Loki’s Kennings: brother of Byleistr, brother of Helblindi, blood brother of Odin, confidant of Thor, friend of Odin, friend of Thor, fromkveda flaerdanna (seductive speaking), gift bearer, harmer of Sif’s hair, laugaz (blazing god), laugatjanaz (blazing one), prisoner of Geirrodr, rogur (slanderer), scar lip, sea thread’s father (the sea thread is a kenning for the Midgard serpent), sky walker, slaegi (sly), slaegurtyr (sly god), staunch friend of Hoenir, thief of brisingamen, thief of giants, thief of Idunn’s apples, vaelandi (debasing), villi-eldr (blazing), wolf’s father

Bonus: One kenning used to identify Thor is bragdmilldr Loka (compassionate to Loki)

In the Norse creation mythology, the worlds were created mainly through the clashing of fire and ice, heat and moisture.  Among the first beings in existence were the fire giant/deity Surtr, the hrimthurs (ice giant/deity) Ymir, and the giant nourishing cow Audhumla.  From heat and moisture on his body, Ymir begat other beings, and they in turn produced their own offspring.  Odin was closely descended from Ymir on his mother’s side, and Odin’s paternal grandfather, Buri, was considered the first god.  Buri had been different from Ymir’s creations in that he had been created from the cow Audhumla’s licking of a block of ice (creation was again achieved through a meeting of heat and ice).

Odin and his immediate family, although partially descended from Ymir, considered themselves set apart from Ymir’s creations, dubbed the Jotnar.  Odin and his brothers saw Ymir as an enemy, and, fearing his immense power, they caught him unaware and slew him.

Ymir had been an enormous being, so his death did not come without collateral damage.  The blood that poured from Ymir’s body created a flood that killed Odin’s parents and all the Jotnar but one, Bergelmir (also known as Farbauti).  It is generally believed that the longstanding feud between the Aesir and Jotnar arose from this near destruction of all Jotnar and complete destruction of Ymir, as committed by the Aesir, and the ultimate battle of Ragnarok was to be the Jotnar’s revenge for the act.

Bergelmir and his wife had taken refuge on a small wooden boat, and thus escaped from the treacherous fate that befell the rest of the Jotunnar.  It is unclear whether Bergelmir’s wife Nal (also known as Laufey) was Jotunn or god (As).  Bergelmir is said by some sources to have been the only remaining Jotunn, but in other sources his wife is included with him (although this may have simply been an assumption made because it was a Jotunn to whom Nal was wed).  Whatever Nal’s ancestry though, it was the union of Bergelmir and Nal that repopulated the world’s tree with Jotnar once more.  The land to which they escaped became Jotunnheimr.

Among Bergelmir (or Farbauti) and Nal (or Laufey)’s offspring was Loki.  The myth concerning the conception of Loki states that Loki was born from Bergelmir (or Farbauti) striking Nal (or Laufey) with lightning.  Loki was originally a fire deity before he became more closely associated with the trickster archetype, and this better explains the odd story of conception.  Farbauti, meaning “fierce strike”, was a representation of lightning.  Nal meant “pine needles”, and her other name, Laufey, meant “leaves”.  In this way, Loki – fire – was created by Farbauti – lightning – striking Nal or Laufey – pine needles or leaves.  The story describes a natural phenomenon with representative personifications.

A farmer entered into a game of chess with the Jotunn Skrymsli, and if the Jotunn won, the farmer had promised his only son as payment.  Skrymsli ultimately did win, and announced he would come the next day to collect his prize.  If the boy was hidden so cleverly that Skrymsli could not find him, then he would allow the farmer to keep his son.  Not wishing to lose their son, the farmer and his wife appealed to Odin, Hoenir, and Loki for help.

Odin caused a great cornfield to grow up overnight, and he hid the farmer’s son in a single kernel of one ear of corn in the middle of the vast field.  When Skrymsli arrived, he ploughed through the field, harvesting every single ear of corn in his search.  He finally grabbed the ear in which Rogner dwelt, and Rogner cried out in fear, alerting the Jotunn to his presence.  Odin snatched Rogner from harm’s way, and Skrymsli resolved to return the next day for his payment.

Hoenir was next to attempt to hide the farmer’s son.  He changed the boy to a feather, and hid him on the breast of a swan.  Skrymsli came again the next day, searching diligently, and, on noticing a feather out of place on a swan, once again located his prize.  Before the boy could be seized though, Hoenir caused a gust of wind to carry the feather away to safety.  Skrymsli went home without his prize a second time.

Finally, it was Loki’s turn to hide the boy.  He stole away with the boy during the night, taking him out onto the ocean in a small boat.  Loki pulled several fish from the ocean and tossed them back until he found a female flounder.  He then proceeded to hide the farmer’s son as a tiny egg in the roe of the flounder, and he tossed the fish back into the ocean.  Unfortunately, when Skrymsli came the next day, he discovered Loki returning to the shore, so he set on the sea with his own boat.  Loki insisted on accompanying Skrymsli, since he wanted to be nearby if the farmer’s son was in need of further protection.  Skrymsli pulled up several fish, and eventually pulled up the very fish on which Loki’s charge was hidden.  Loki feigned hunger at that point, and asked Skrymsli if he could eat of his catch.  It did not need to be a great amount of food – even the tiniest fish (on which the farmer’s son was hidden) would do.

Skrymsli ignored Loki and continued searching among the fish in his catch.  Finally, he located the boy, but before Skrymsli could claim the child for his own, Loki snatched the boy away and flew him to the mainland.  Loki had also failed in hiding the boy from Skrymsli, but he was not willing to be defeated.  He instructed the boy to run away, and to be sure to run through the boathouse on his way home.  Skrymsli returned to land quickly and gave chase, following the boy across the land and through the boathouse.  In the boathouse, however, Loki had set a sharp spike in such a position that it would pierce Skrymsli’s skull as he ran through.  Loki’s trap succeeded, and Skrymsli fell to the ground defeated, but not killed.

Loki then cut off Skrymsli’s legs, but the legs reattached to the body afterward through magic.  Loki cut the legs off once more, and this time branded the severed areas with hot metal to cauterise and seal the wound.  With the wounds sealed, they could no longer reattach themselves.  Skrymsli eventually succumbed to his wounds and died.  The boy returned to his parents, finally safe from the Jotunn Skrymsli, and the family was so grateful that they thereafter honoured Loki above the other gods.

When Loki gave birth to the wolf Fenrir, it was foretold that Fenrir would kill Odin one day in battle.

Although kept among the gods at Asgard, Fenrir was designated their enemy before he had even opened his eyes.  The gods sought to bind Fenrir in such a way that he could never escape, but if they failed, Fenrir would surely attack them for such actions.

As such, the gods bound Fenrir in fetters under the pretence that it was just a game.  Fenrir would be bound by the fetters, and he was to try to break free.  Fenrir agreed to the game, and was bound as tightly as the gods could manage.  However, much to their surprise, Fenrir broke free of his bonds.  The gods returned after that with increasingly stronger bonds, hoping to trap Fenrir, but each time Fenrir successfully broke free.

Finally, the gods sought the help of the dvergues, master craftsmen.  The dvergues did not disappoint, and created for them an unbreakable fetter called Gleipnir.  It was made of the beard of a woman, the breath of a fish, the sinew of a bear, the root of a mountain, the spittle of a bird, and the sound of a cat’s footfall.  All of these things, each one supposedly impossible, gave the fetter its indestructibility.

The gods approached Fenrir again, this time with Gleipnir, and asked to play the binding game with him once more.  Fenrir was wary about the ribbon-thin fetter they held.  The fetters had been increasing in size until now, but given the appearance of this one, it was surely strengthened by magic.  It was difficult to miss the gods’ hatred for him, and Fenrir suspected that the gods truly meant to bind him, despite the pretence of a game.

Fenrir agreed to play the game once more, but only on the condition that one of the gods stick his hand in Fenrir’s mouth.  He hoped the prospect of losing a hand would keep the gods from foul play.  The brave god of war, Tyr, volunteered to comply with Fenrir’s request.

So Fenrir was bound with the unbreakable fetter, with Tyr’s hand in his mouth.  Once Fenrir was bound, he struggled to break free, but found that he could not.  The gods had indeed tricked him, and they intended to keep him trapped there forever.  In anger at the trickery, Fenrir bit off Tyr’s hand.

But the gods had not averted Fenrir’s fate.  They had ensured it.  In binding Fenrir, they had made Fenrir their enemy.  When Fenrir broke free at the outset of Ragnarok, he was filled with anger at the gods who had kept him prisoner his entire life.  It had been foretold that Fenrir would kill Odin, and his treatment from the gods was what had driven him to it.

Loki is conspicuously absent on all occasions when the gods attempted to bind Fenrir.  Given that Loki plays a prominent role in most myths, and that he was the mother of Fenrir, his absence is somewhat strange.  It may have been that Loki was kept from the proceedings, so that he would not interfere for the sake of his son.

Furthermore, it was at this time that the gods began to mistrust Loki, and to see him as an enemy.  Loki had always been mischievous, but the gods had considered him an ally until this point.  It may have happened simply because of Loki’s relation to the killer of Odin, or perhaps because Loki had protested against Fenrir’s treatment, and they saw anyone who desired Fenrir’s freedom to be an enemy of Asgard.  A further possibility is that Loki was entirely guilty of becoming mistrustful, and an enemy of Asgard.  Perhaps, after seeing Asgard’s treatment of his son, who had done nothing, Loki could no longer feel loyalty to the Asgard that had once been his home.

One day, Odin, Hoenir, and Loki were travelling together across various lands.  They came upon an otter by a river, and Loki slew and skinned the animal.  Odin and Hoenir congratulated Loki on the excellent work, and the three continued to the estate of Hreidmarr, king of the dvergues/dwarves.

Hreidmarr took them into his home, intending to show them hospitality.  His intent changed, however, when he caught sight of Loki’s fine otter pelt.  Hreidmarr’s son Otr possessed the ability to change his shape into that of an otter, and it was Hreidmarr’s son whom Loki had killed.

Hreidmarr bound the gods so they could not escape, and it seemed that they would be trapped there forever, if not killed.  Loki attempted to explain that it had been an accident, but it could not dismiss the pain and rage Hreidmarr felt at the loss of his son.  Loki would need to resort to craftier methods.

The dvergue king Hreidmarr was well-known to be a great lover of gold.  In fact, his own castle was constructed with gold.  Loki appealed to Hreidmarr’s avarice, promising to repay Hreidmarr handsomely for the death of his son.  Hreidmarr was hesitant at first, but as Loki described in detail the wondrous riches that Hreidmarr could acquire, he eventually relented.  He released Loki to obtain the reward, and would hold Odin and Hoenir until Loki returned.  The amount of treasure to be brought back would need to completely cover Otr’s pelt.

Loki knew that no ordinary treasure would satisfy Hreidmarr enough to save Odin and Hoenir, so he resolved to obtain the greatest treasure he knew, the collection of the dvergue Andvari.  It included several sets of enchanted armour, beautiful red gold, and a ring Andvaranaut that led its owner to more gold.

Loki stole the treasure of Andvari, but Andvari escaped with the most important piece of the treasure, Andvaranaut, by turning himself into a salmon.  But Loki was not to be discouraged, and he soon captured Andvari and forced him to relinquish the ring.

Angry at the loss of his treasure, Andvari secretly cursed the ring before giving it to Loki, ensuring that the owner of the ring would encounter great tragedy.

Unaware of the curse on the ring, Loki initially wanted to keep the ring for himself.  However, when he covered Otr’s pelt with Andvari’s treasure, a small fraction of the pelt was uncovered.  Loki was unwilling to part with the ring, but the rescue of Odin and Hoenir was much more important, so he eventually added Andvaranaut to the pile.

Odin and Hoenir were released, and the three gods were allowed to return to Asgard.  Unfortunately, the curse of Andvaranaut did indeed cause tragedy for Hreidmarr.  Hreidmarr’s sons, Fafnir and Regin, wanted a share in the treasure, but Hreidmarr refused.  In response, Fafnir murdered Hreidmarr and drove his brother away.  Fafnir’s greed turned him into a dragon, and, consumed with greed, he sat upon his glittering pile of treasure, guarding it from anyone who fancied it for himself.

One day, while borrowing Freyja’s falcon cloak Valsharmr, Loki came upon the jotunn Geirrodr’s expansive castle.  Unfortunately, Loki was spotted, and seized before he could escape.

Geirrodr demanded to know who he was, and why he was spying on him, but Loki remained silent.  Geirrodr had a famous hatred for Thor, so as Thor’s best friend, Loki was sure his true identity should remain hidden, at least if he valued his life.

When Geirrodr did not receive an answer though, he imprisoned Loki, denying him food, drink, and sunlight.  Loki endured for three months before he started to think he could take no more of the torture.  He called for Geirrodr and begged to be released, promising to do or say anything the jotunn desired.  On learning that his prisoner was Loki, Geirrodr agreed to release him, provided that Loki brought Thor to Geirrodr’s castle, without his hammer, the gloves required to carry the hammer, or the girdle Megingardr, which increased Thor’s already prominent strength.  Loki agreed, and was allowed to return to Asgard.

On returning, he set about enticing Thor to travel with him to Geirrodr’s castle.  However, Loki stipulated, Geirrodr did not want Thor dining in his hall with his hammer, gloves, and girdle of strength, since Thor could easily disrupt the party and kill him instead.  Thor was not enthusiastic at the prospect, but Loki assured him Geirrodr would feed and house them well, and that Geirrodr’s two daughters, Gjalp and Greip, were stunning to behold.  Trusting Loki’s judgement, Thor finally agreed to go.

On the way, Loki and Thor spent a night at the home of one of Odin’s past mistresses, the jotunn Gridr.  When Gridr heard that Thor was journeying to Geirrodr for a feast without his battle accessories, she assured Thor that he had been deceived.  Geirrodr was a fierce enemy of Thor, and was intent on killing him.  Thor was outmatched without his weapon, but if Thor did not go to Geirrodr, Loki would be captured, tortured, and possibly killed for failing to keep his promise.  Thor did not want such a thing, so he resolved to kill Geirrodr himself.  He asked Gridr to borrow her girdle of strength and iron gloves, and also her magic staff Gridarvolr.  Gridr agreed, and sent Thor and Loki on their way.

The two attempted to cross the river Vimur to reach their destination, but the river grew fierce, and Loki was forced to cling to Thor to keep from being washed away.  Wondering why the river was behaving thusly, Thor looked upstream, and saw that Geirrodr’s daughter Gjalp was adding liquid to the river, causing the water to rise significantly.

Thor threw a rock at the jotunn to stem the river flow.  He pulled himself and Loki out with the branch of a rowan tree, and they finished making their way to the home of Geirrodr.

Thor and Loki were led to a room with a single chair, and Thor seated himself.  Suddenly, the chair began rising toward the roof, threatening to crush Thor against it.  Thor acted quickly and used Gridr’s unbreakable staff to push himself away from the roof.  This sudden action caused the two jotnar pushing his chair to the ceiling, Gjalp and Greip, to break their backs and fall to the floor.

It was then that Geirrodr entered, and took hot iron from a fire with tongs.  He threw it directly at Thor, but Thor easily caught the projectile in the iron gloves he wore.  Realising the danger he was in, Geirrodr hid himself behind a pillar, but Thor threw the molten iron back at Geirrodr, and it crashed through the pillar to pierce and kill Geirrodr.

Some versions of the myth include Thjalfi in Loki’s place, or Thjalfi making the journey with both Thor and Loki, but his involvement is uncertain, because he does little that is noteworthy in this myth.

Freyja, as a god of fertility like her brother, engaged in many sexual encounters, and Loki, who made it his business to know embarrassing stories of his fellow gods, was well aware of Freyja’s promiscuity.  In fact, in the Lokasenna, when an extremely drunk Loki is insulting each of the gods, he accuses Freyja of having slept with every male god, including her brother Freyr (although this incestual practice seems to be closer to the norm among the Vanir).  Freyja was also closely involved with Odin, who took on multiple mistresses in addition to his wife Frigg.

One day, Freyja noticed a beautiful necklace (some versions of the myth say a belt), called Brisingamen, being forged by a group of four dvergues, the Brisings.  She was instantly enamoured, and felt compelled to own the accessory.

She offered the Brisings all manner of gold and riches, but the dvergues refused.  Their price for the necklace was Freyja.  Freyja would spend one night with each of the four dvergues, and then the necklace would be hers.  Eager to own the necklace, Freyja agreed to the terms, and set about fulfilling her obligation.

For one reason or another though, Loki had followed Freyja, and was now privy to Freyja’s shameful actions in exchange for a piece of jewellery.  Loki returned to the hall of his sworn blood brother Odin, and informed him of what he had seen.  Odin was angered, and he asked that Loki steal the Brisingamen from Freyja.  Freyja’s room was sealed while she slept, so Loki turned himself into a fly to enter through unseen gaps.

Freyja was wearing the necklace while sleeping, so Loki, now turned into a flea, bit Freyja on the cheek, provoking her to turn over in her sleep.  Once Freyja turned over, the necklace’s clasp was exposed, and Loki was able to unfasten and remove it from Freyja’s neck.  Loki collected the necklace and left the room as silently as he had entered.

When Freyja awoke to find her necklace missing, she confronted Odin, and Odin in turn confronted Freyja about her interactions with the dvergues to gain Brisingamen.  To regain the Brisingamen, Odin ordered Freyja to incite between two kings such strife that they begin an unceasing war, later known as the Battle of the Hjadnings.

An alternative conclusion to Loki’s theft of Brisingamen did not include Odin at all.  It is also possible that it refers to a different occasion entirely.  In this version, instead of bringing the necklace to Odin, Loki disguised himself as a seal and attempted to hide.  However, Heimdallr, who possessed powers of greater sight and hearing than the gods, had seen where Loki had gone.  Heimdallr confronted Loki, and a battle ensued.  The battle, strangely enough, featured both Loki and Heimdallr in the form of seals.  Heimdallr has not exhibited the ability to transform himself in any instance other than this, so the accuracy of this version is difficult to determine.  All in all though, Loki ultimately lost, and was forced to surrender the Brisingamen, whereupon it was returned to Freyja.

[ID: Purple text on a white background saying “The I-read-too-much-as-a-kid-and-now-I’m-genderfluid starterpack” with four book covers featured: the first book in the “Bloody Jack” series by L.A. Meyer, D'Aulaire’s “Norse Gods and Giants,” William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” and “Monstrous Regiment” by Terry Pratchett. End ID.]

One time a nonbinary person told me to read “Monstrous Regiment,” and now I’m genderfluid.