fjorn-the-skald:

capndinokitties:

Loki and Satan

My husband is comparing Loki and Satan………

“If he was a good guy the Gods wouldn’t have tied him up and dripped acid on his face.”

It physically pains me to hear this.

That is a shame to hear, indeed. 

While the lore of old may often present Loki in a negative light, he is a vastly complex figure that is certainly not to be considered purely ‘evil.’ Besides, I would add that it is not always the bad who are bound, but even the good, for in times of great trouble and turmoil the tides may sway in either direction: Bad can oppress Good and proclaim itself as the true ‘Good,’ although only disguised as such–and only the watchful and cautions can tell that they are actually being deceived.

Of course, the context of that particular story certainly doesn’t reveal Loki to be a ‘good guy’ (since he arranged the death of a member of his community and thus dealt them a great wound). But he ought not be cast off to a state of pure evil, judged on that account alone. That’s far too easy to do, and unwise indeed. We are fortunate to have more lore about him than that tale alone, and so all accounts should be used before judgements are passed.

I know that I’m preaching to the choir here, but Loki can often be regarded as a figure who reflects the members of Old Norse society that struggled to stay in line with normative forms of behavior (through the perspective of folk who maintained and exemplified that normative order). But I won’t go too far into that, since (to be responsible) I would have to provide specific examples and evidence from medieval texts, as well as counter-examples. (I will say, though, that much more attention–and creativity–is needed in regards to better understanding the stories behind marginalized voices and folk in the past.)

It’ll suffice to say that, regardless of what the Norse thought of Loki (for that will always be up for interpretation), he means something special to many folk alive and (struggling to be) well today. Let’s not judge him too rashly, nor base our assumptions off of too few accounts and perspectives. Tell your husband (and others like them) to open their mind, and perhaps read more lore about him that isn’t necessarily as negative (here’s a little list). There are many tales from yore that show Loki’s resourcefulness and willingness to help his community.

Even us normal folk, humans, have times that show us at our worst–and I, for one, would not want to be judged by those moments alone. I’d rather folk see my light, and not just my troubled shadows that haunt me and everyone else.

– Fjörn

It’s also worth pointing out that the gods chained Prometheus to a rock and had an eagle eat his liver every day for the crime of giving fire to humankind.

Rebellion against the gods wasn’t always framed as “evil.” Gods weren’t always considered morally perfect. The Promethean action of the figure Christianity calls “Satan” – the serpent tempting Eve and Adam to eat the fruit that granted them knowledge of good and evil – doesn’t always have a strictly negative valence in Jewish tradition.

Christianity oversimplifies things – and that includes the dichotomy of oppressed and oppressor that persists on the supposedly post-Christian Left. (And I’m farther left than a lot of people out there, but it needs pointing out that even the second commenter was still importing Christian morality.)