Rokkatru

[EyeofOdin]

I get a little disappointed sometimes when heathens shun the "darker" gods such as the gods of Hel, Muspelheim or Jotunheim. This is usually because we cite the Lore and say that these entities are not in good relationship with The Aesir.

I however hold a different view. I don't think that the Lore is literal, and is most likely an abstract story talking about energetic concepts or explaining an inner truth about the deity in question. It is entirely possible that the Lore is literal and that Loki is not in good standing with the Aesir, but is it our place to get involved with Divine politics and take sides? Do we have the mental and spiritual capability to understand that? I think not. I'm hesitant to say that we are not worthy of doing certain things, but I will say that IMO it's not our place to decide which gods and goddesses are "worthy" of worship. They are gods. We are not.

 

[Riverwolf]

Loki is Odin's Blood Brother. He may be a trickster, but he's not evil at all. If anything, he provides a playful contrast to Odin's constant brooding. I've also heard that the name "Loki" is cognate with the Celtic "Lugus", the name of a God who was very much a friend to humanity.

His demonization, far as I can tell, resulted from interacting with Christianity and the popularization of the Baldur story. Even then, I don't regard it as evil, but a subversive attempt at providing humanity hope by sparring Baldur from Ragnarok, that he might come back.

 

[vaguelyhumanoid]

"Jötunn" means "devourer". The jötunn and other monsters represent primal forces of destruction, chaos, death and the predatory aspects of nature. They also can represent the aspects of ourselves that we have trouble controlling, e.g. the Fenris and Jörmungandr myths. Does that make them "evil"? No. However, it does make them dangerous, feral and potentially hostile. I personally wouldn't revere or work with Fenris, for example. That's not a moral judgment, it just seems like it could have some major consequences that I don't want to mess around with. However, I will say that Ægir and Loki are two of my favorite Norse divinities.

Also, I've definitely heard of people invoking giants and monsters historically - either bribing them to leave humans alone, or calling down their aggression against enemies. Loki was certainly villified more and more over time due to Christian influence, and even Jörmungandr might correspond with a beneficial Slavic deity.