The true meaning of Loki, the norse god

Loki is Saturn ~ the veil between our worlds

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To understand the true meaning of deities, it is helpful to interpret their names and the names of their children and spouses. Sometimes even the names of their siblings give vital clues.

A common interpretation of Loki is that his name means fire, but this name could be from another deity called Logi (fire).

I believe his name means Lid (from the word Lokk), symbolising the surface of the earth, and the plates of the earth, and also the lid between our conscious and subconscious mind. He is the father of Jormandgandr, the world serpent, a symbol of the Equator. He is also the father of the Fenrir wolf who during Ragnarok will Ride the Mesh (name meaning of Fenrir). He is the father of the Holy Goddess of the Subconscious, Hella.

Loki is Saturn

Loki is connected to the World card in the tarot deck. He is also Yggdrasil which this post explains.

Loki used to be written as Lodur, one of Odin’s brother. He gave his name to Laurdag (Saturday) which reveals his Roman equivalent is Saturn. Saturn is the god of agriculture, which connects Loki to the universal laws of seasons and nature. Laurdag means ‘bathing-day’, but it is not to be taking literally. It is the bathing in divine essence it allures to. Everything in Norse myths is tied to the vision quest.

Saturn as a Roman god is often depicted wearing a veil. This veil is said to give everything definition, including separating the elements. I believe this is what Loki represents, both on a practical level and as a metaphorical one.

If Loki’s true name meaning is Lid, then this boundary gives nuances and definitions to our lives. It separates in such a way that we can compare, thus, we can define things, including who we are. The lid between the conscious and subconscious gives a structure that makes everyday life possible. If we were aware of all the processes in the subconscious, it would overwhelm us.

Loki is the veil between our atmosphere and outer space, which is why he travels with Thor to Utgard-Loki. Utgard-Loki is outer space Loki, the law that gives form to our Universe.

Loki tricks Hodr to aim the mistletoe dart at Baldr, killing Baldr. Baldr’s death is a metaphor for the end of summer and the beginning of fall and winter, thus, Loki is also representing the boundary between our seasons.

He is also the veil between young and old. This is symbolised when Loki gives Idunn (forever young) to Thiassi. As a result, all the gods turn old. Loki turns Idunn into a nut and brings her back to the gods again. Loki first married Glut, meaning Glad (happy). He also had children with the Jotun Angurboda, meaning Anguish.He is the veil between altered states of consciousness and our emotions.

Loki is a character in the famous Volsung saga, an epic vision quest about overcoming greed. Loki is the veil between our different subconscious programming. I believe it is Loki that makes it possible to understand ourselves.

Loki is the layers between universal energies, both physical and spiritual. He is the veil between all the planes of existence. He is the boundary that keeps the Universe together. This connects him to Heimdallr who guards this boundary. When certain criterias are met, these boundaries are shifted, which is why Loki kills Heimdallr, and Heimdallr kills Loki during Ragnarok.

Loki is the surface of this earth, including oceans, as well as the earth’s plates. This connects him to volcanos and earthquakes. Loki endured his own hanging ritual in the vision quest when the other gods tie him under a serpent. Loki’s faithful wife, Sigyn, remained next to him with a cup, catching the venom as they fell. When her vessel was full, the venom would fall upon Loki’s face, creating earthquakes, even so high that heaven started shaking (volcanos). Loki remains bound up until Ragnarök. The hanging of Loki is part of the vision quest, the serpent’s venom is the mead, and his wife, Sigyn, his soul. Since Loki is the surface of the earth, this is also a metaphor for earthquakes. Earthquakes becomes another metaphor for the inner transformations that occurs during the vision quest.

Loki and the Poem of Skrymnir 

You can read this poem here.

Keep in mind that if Loki is indeed Saturn, then he is more a wisdom deity than a trickster deity. He represents evolution and lived experience. 

The story goes like this:

A Jotun called Skrymnir(monster) competes against a peasant and wins the game, claiming the peasant’s only son. Skrymnir decides he will fetch the son in the morning, unless the parents can hide him so cleverly that he can not be found. The parents prayed to Odin to help them, and the god came down to earth and changed the boy into a tiny grain of wheat which he hid in the middle of a large field. Skrymnir shows up in the morning and strode off to the field with a scythe. He selected the particular grain where the boy was hidden, making the boy cry out in pain. Odin returns to the boy and brings him back to the parents. Odin cannot further help the parents and call for Hønir to step in for him.

Hønir changed the boy into a feather and hid him on the head of a swan. Skrymnir arrives and seizes the swan, biting down its neck, and the boy narrowly escapes as the feather falls out of his mouth. The boy’s pain calls out to Hønir who returns him to his parents. Loki steps in for Hønir.

Loki tells the parents to build a boathouse with an iron-rod window. Then Loki hides the boy out to sea and conceals him as a tiny egg in the roe of a fish. Skrymnir returns for a fishing excursion. Loki accompanies him and Skrymnir catches the fish where the boy is hiding as an egg. The boy calls out in pain and Loki rescues him. He tells the boy to sit behind him so the monster Skrymnir cannot see him. He tells the boy to jump on shore but not to make a mark in the sand. The boy runs to the new boathouse. Skymnir chases him but crashes into the iron-rod window, getting his head stuck. Loki wastes no time and strikes at Skrymnir’s shin. Skrymnir is amused at this and heals the wound with ease. Loki then strikes at the other shin and thows a stick and stone so Skrymnir cannot not repair the wound, thus killing the monster. Loki returns the boy to his parents telling them the monster has lost his life. 

This story is about overcoming fear. Loki is even the veil between fear and fearlessness.

The vision quest involves receiving precious mead (divine essence) and our ancestors believed it was this union with the divine that creates lasting changes in us. It is after the boy (soul) has been in the ocean (union with the divine) that Loki (the Seeker) is able to overcome fear.

If you interpret every character as the Seeker on a journey of overcoming something, the myths come alive and will speak to you directly.

Conclusion

Loki also is the veil between the evolutionary processes, our emotions, time, beliefs, the seasons, the elements, the different Universal forces, and our conscious and subconscious programming. I believe he is all the layers of our minds and even the shifts in our paradigms. He is an integral part of the vision quest because he can take us to the bottom belief. He is the layer between our old self and new self.