Norse Mythology & Germanic Lore

Loki is probably the most misunderstood and mischaracterized of all the Norse gods. With the recent re-popularization of Norse mythology and the resulting creative license the entertainment industry is taking with his character, that misunderstanding has been especially amplified. So I think it’s time for some source-material grounding.

It’s important to me to present Norse mythology through a lens that portrays ancient viewpoints as accurately as I can. But, at the same time, I recognize that a lot of people have incorporated Norse characters and themes into their own spirituality in modern times and I have no interest in trying to invalidate any spiritual connections people have made to this material. That said, if we want to understand Loki in the way the original storytellers and their primary audiences would have, then we must view him through their cultural lens and not our own. In this post I will be discussing ancient ideas as they were preserved, with no desire to influence anyone’s personal beliefs.

There are no records from the Norse period that discuss anything like a recognized concept of non-binary sexual or gender identity in Norse society. There are, on the other hand, a good number of records that deal with gender roles and expectations, many of which include insults of the worst kind reserved for people (especially men) who violate those expectations.

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