Loki's vision quest

Loki’s Vision Quest ~ Ragnarok

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Loki’s Vision Quest Is Ragnarok.

Loki is the same deity as the Roman god, Saturn. You can read about Loki’s real name meaning and function here.

It is likely that Loki’s true name meaning is Lid from the word Lokk. Similar to his Roman equivalent, Saturn, Loki is the boundary that gives nuances and definitions to our reality. 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. I believe Loki also is all the layers of our mind.

When Loki got captured by the gods to be hung up (hanging ritual), he was hiding as a salmon between two rocks in a waterfall. This tells us that Loki is the ‘lid’ between our beliefs, thoughts and programs. (This version is from the Myths of the Norsemen).

Loki insulting the gods ~ Thor’s Vision quest

This poem can be found in Lokasenna (Loki’s truths) from the Poetic Edda.

Ægir (sea) prepared Ale (mead) for the Aesir gods. Odin (frenzy) and Frigg (beloved) arrive. Thor (thunder) did not show up because he was on the east road (east is a metaphor for the subconscious. This indicates that this is in fact Thor’s vision quest) Note that Jupiter is the Roman version of Thor and the son of Saturn (Loki). Loki’s vision quest begins after Loki insults the gods.

Sif (wife), Thor’s wife, was there. Bragi (noble) was there with his wife, Idunn (forever young).

Tyr (possible meaning can be to dare or to take action) was there. Another possible name interpretation for Tyr is Mars Things, Mars of the Assembly, Thing. Thing was a legislative body among the ancient Germanic peoples. Mars is the Roman equivalent of Tyr.

Njord (strong) was there with his wife Skadi (harm). Frey (lord) and Freya (lady) were there. Vidar (wide), son of Odin, was there. Loki (lid) was there. Frey’s servants were there, Byggvir (barley) and Beyla (bean).

Ægir had two servants, Fimafengr (skilled) and Eldir (fire-lighter). This was a great place of peace. Ægir servants were praised. Loki couldn’t bear to witness this praise of Ægir’s servants and killed Fimafengr. The gods screamed at Loki and drove him away into a forest and then went back to drinking.

Loki returns to Ægir’s hall. This is when Loki’s truths begin. In the vision quest, every character is an avatar of the Seeker.

Loki calls Bragi a coward and Idunn lustful. He says Odin gives victory to less deserving men. He says Frigg is Fjorgynn’s girl and that she has always been lustful for men. Fjorgynn is the masculine of Fjorgyn, Thor’s mother, thus Fjorgynn can be another name for Thor. This reinforces this poem being Thor’s vision quest.

Loki insults Heimdallr by telling him he has to live a hateful life standing with a stiff back always awake. Heimdallr (shining home) is a symbol of our conscious awareness.

Note that Loki who gives definition to everything by being a veil, he is defining the gods in this poem, even though he is insulting them.

Sif, Thor’s wife, offers Loki mead. This is the third reinforcement that this poem is Thor’s vision quest.

She says: Hail to thee, Loki, to your lips now raise this beaker of good beer, so that me alone, among the gods, you will have nothing bad to say.

Loki drinks the mead and tells Sif: You would be alone, weary and cold. I know that you had a cheap man, who was me.

Thor arrives and he tells Loki: My strength hammer, Mjolnir, shall prevent speech from you.

This is clearly Thor’s vision quest. He arrives after mead has been served. Mead is what creates lasting changes in the Seeker. Loki gives definition to all the gods in this poem and Thor gains definition after sacred mead has been served to Loki.

Thor stands up to Loki (lasting change in character).

Thor threatens to throw Loki to the eastern road (vision quest) and no man will see him again. Loki answers that Thor shall not tell anyone about his (Thor’s) eastern journeys since Thor crouched in a gloves thumb part (from their encounter with Utgard-Loki).

Note that Utgard-Loki is outer space Loki. Loki travels with Thor to Utgard-Loki because Loki is also the layer between the atmosphere and outer space.

Thor answers that he would strike Loki with his hammer so that every bone in Loki would break.

Loki answers that he thinks he will live a long life even though he is threatened with his hammer. He then talks about how Skrymir (Utgard-Loki in disguise) was too big for Thor to defeat.

Thor answers that his hammer will send Loki to Hell (the underworld, a metaphor for the subconscious).

Loki is banished.

The punishment of Loki ~ Loki’s hanging ritual

Loki was hiding in a waterfall called Franangrforsi (estrangement) in the shape of a salmon. He was captured by the gods who hung him using the guts of his son Nara (nourish) and his other son Narvi turned into a wolf. (It is interesting to note that Narvi is one of Saturn’s moons). It is possible that the name Narvi comes from the word Nörfi, meaning narrowing. Fewer words describe more things in old Norse than the English language. Narvi is the father of Nótt (night) and I believe Narrow speaks of the transition from daytime to nighttime.

Skadi (harm) took a poisonous snake and fastened it above Loki’s face. Loki’s wife, Sigyn, held a basin over his face to protect him from the venom. The venom is now the sacred mead, and Sigyn is Loki’s soul. The metaphor is used to add tension to the story. Loki’s vision quest is Ragnarok. This is not an easy journey.

When the basin filled up, Sigyn was forced to empty it, thus, the venom would fall on Loki. Loki would jerk so hard that the entire earth shook. Loki being Lid, is also the surface of the earth, thus he is earthquakes. This is also a metaphor for the Divine Essence (precious mead) shaking up the Seeker from within.

Loki hangs until Ragnarok.

Loki’s Vision Quest ~ Ragnarok

Loki's vision quest in norse myths

It is likely that the hanging ritual is a metaphor for the sleep paralysis induced by the famous mshr0om our ancestors took (I cannot mention the name due to censorship). It is the one famously used by the Siberian shamans. The mshrOom opened up their mind and they explored Hella’s halls.

Hella’s name could mean Holy from the word hellig, or Whole from the world Hel. She is the goddess of the subconscious. This is why we have the expression; ‘you have to go through Hell to get to Heaven’. Within our subconscious, we connect to our Soul. Our Soul is connected to Divine Essence, the Creator of All. This is why they believed lasting changes in the character could only occur after receiving precious mead.

In the Major Arcana cards, the Seeker only has to face the Devil (their fears) after receiving precious mead (Temperance card). The Seeker can now easily overcome their fears and the Tower (limiting beliefs) collapses. The Seeker comes out of the vision quest in three steps; Star, Moon, and Sun. The Seeker is born again in the Judgement card. Full integration is seen in the World card. The World card is connected to Saturn (Loki). At the end of this post, you will learn that Loki is Yggdrasil (the world).

Ragnarok is complete destruction and the Seeker is reborn again in the new world called Gimle (fire shelter or place protected from fire). Loki is the lid between the old self and the new self.

A harsh winter sets in called Fimbulvetr, meaning terrible winter. According to Snorri, it is three winters back to back, with no summer in between. The world of men will be a very hard place to live in. Before the earth sinks to the sea, there will be no man left who is true to another.

The earth sinking into the sea speaks of the Seeker sinking into their subconscious during the vision quest.

A great earthquake releases a wolf from the underworld. Heimdallr (awareness) blows his horn Gjallarhorn. Bifrost (trembling) bridge is broken and the Utgard Jotuns can now cross. Loki (lid) escapes his chains and captains a ship with Jotuns (devour) from Jotunheim. This ship is called Nagalfar meaning nail-farer. Fenrir (flood rider) escapes the magical rope he is tied up in. Jörmungandr (earth serpent which is a metaphor for the equator) releases his ouroboros.

Note that Jotunheim, Muspelheim, Niflheim, and Helheim are parts of the human psyche that speak of the subconscious. Vanaheim is also connected to the subconscious but Vanaheim means Home of the Water and it is the Seat of the Soul. Alfheim is the home of the light elves and Nidavellir is the home of the dwarfs. These are realms of our psyche that is least likely to be corrupted, similar to the hobbits in Tolkien. Alfheim means Home of Magical Counsel.

Midgard and Aasgard are our conscious awareness.

When Fenrir’s rope is broken, he floods everything. Now he is precious mead in this Vision Quest story. The Seeker is experiencing ego death.

Surtr (darkness) kills Freyr. Thor kills Jormundgandr but is killed by the monster’s blood. Odin is killed by the wolf Fenrir. Fenrir is killed by Odin’s son Vidar (wide). Loki fights Heimdallr and they kill each other. Tyr fights the wolf of the underworld, Garmr. When all these battles are over, Surtr burns all the worlds, including Yggdrasil. The world will rise again out of the sea (coming out of the vision quest). Both Baldr and Hodr come back. So do Vidarr and Vali. Thor’s sons Modi and Magni also come back. The Universal laws are restored.

Loki is restored through all the layers (lids) that are created in Gimle. A new Midgard serpent goes around the earth, Odin’s runes (universal and spiritual laws) are reborn, Odin’s brothers Vili and Ve forever live in ‘wide wind-home’.

Loki is Yggdrasil

Loki's vision quest

Our ancestors became very good at human psychology since they explored their minds during the Vision Quest. Since Loki is the layers that give definition to things, Yggdrasil can be seen as an avatar of Loki.

Yggdrasil has been translated into Terrible Horse. Ygg (terrible) is a name for Odin and it has been translated as Odin’s horse. Odin’s horse is Sleipnir who can travel through all of Yggdrasil. Sleipnir (slippery) is Loki’s offspring and therefore an avatar of Loki.

Loki is Yggdrasil, or at least all the layers that give form to Yggdrasil, both as our human mind and as a metaphor for the soul.

How was Sleipnir made?

The gods decided to create a fortress around Asgard and hired an unknown Jotun architect. He offers to undertake the task as long as the gods give him the sun, moon, and Freya in reward. Loki convinced them to make a deal with the Jotun that would be impossible for the strange architect to keep. They told the Jotun architect that provided the fortress was finished in the course of a winter and he completes the work with no other assistance than his horse Svaðilfari.

The architect agreed and set out to work, progressing so rapidly, the gods realises he will complete the task in one winter. Near the end of winter, the work was finished except for one portal which could be easily done.

The gods threatened to kill Loki unless he could hinder the architect. Loki waited until nighttime of the final day and he turned himself into a mare, inviting Svaðilfari into the forest. The two horses galloped into the forest and stayed all night until the night was nearly gone, and it was no longer possible to complete the work.

The Jotun architect was Hrimthurs (frosty) in disguise and when the gods realise, they call on Thor for protection. Thor kills Hrimthurs with his hammer Mjolnir. As a result of Loki and Svaðilfari’s night in the forest, they have the famous horse Sleipnir.

Sleipnir becomes Odin’s horse.

Grani (Spruce) is Sleipnir’s descendant.

In Volsunga saga, Odin gives the hero Sigurd a horse that is of Sleipnir’s descent. This horse’s name is Grani meaning Spruce. It is interesting to note that the name of Sleipnir’s descent is the name of a Tree.