loki

put this post to explain my fascination with loki, the nordic trickster god

i'll do it in an FAQ style, because that will help me cover the vast sides of it:

Q: how did i come across loki? loki is not apart of jewish/israeli falklore?
A: well, i came across loki during a conversation with bruno kramm. i talked with him about the ways for me, an israeli, to connect with germans, as audience. what are they like and so. the conversation led me to understand that it is me who has to take the intiative, and "hit" on the german public. so the conversation paused, and we kept watching tv.
then i asked bruno if he knows something about germanic pre-christian falklore. the whole idea of even thinking that a germanic falklore exists came to me from my mutidicplinary art studies in Tel Aviv University. bruno said yes, and tat he had a special book about these thing. so i had an open book, an encyclopedia of all germanic motifs and characters. now...where would i go with it?
so i said to myself: let's find simetric sides between me and this book. at that point in time it was after i written the song "dragon", and immidietly after i finished the song "war", and i wanted to find where my path continues from there. ok. so i used that. i asked how is the element of war portrayed in germanic falklore. so bruno rushed through the pages and opened the book at the volume of "loki". i heard some stories about him, and i found loki quite interesting.
then i continued on with my investigation. from knoledge about runes, and runes taboo made by nazi fascination with them, i had the intuition that it will serve a good enterence point for me as an israeli of jewish origin in germany. i always believe that the root of controversy, is also the root of the connection between sides. i am not blaiming today's germany of anything, but i do know that WWII and the holocaust is the root of the international relations between germany and israel. and i was the passer through, form israel to germany. i carried this historical load with or without my consent or aknoledgement. it is who i am in germany. a survivor of a transgression in germany's history.
so i went to the runes. i found some symbols which to this day i am not sure if they are the correct ones. i read the stories and to this day i am not sure which is the historically exact version of them. i didn't care, and still don't. i found in the variations over the story and symbols of loki, a possibility for symmetry with my own message, and so i reinvented loki, and myself for that matter, and by doing so i finally saw the path where my art and life should go. for history lessons look elsewhere. this is fantasy. i didn't turn pagan, and i'm still a nihilist. this is art.

Q: what interests me about loki?
A: there are so many aspect in which i find loki interesting, that i cannot say that there's one thing that interests me the most. it is the collection of elements, which together compose my facination with it.
so i'll start from the outside and go inside loki's character. i'll start with the way loki is precieved today. loki is misunderstood and labeled wrongly as so many things. i'll use an essay from the internet which i found here to list some of these misconceptions: http://loki.ragnarokr.com/Introductions/top_ten.html

1. "Loki is a giant, who lives with the gods...is not only inaccurate, but represents a fundamental misunderstanding of Nordic cosmology"

2. "Loki tricked the blind Höðr into killing his peaceful brother, Baldr...No less than eight mediæval source mention Baldr's death, and few of them have much in common"

3. "There is no indication of a cult of Loki, as no personal or place-names are in his honour...with hundreds of Icelandic men named Loptur, a name of Loki's...such as Lokehall in Vestergötland"

4. "Loki is bound until Ragnarök...ne source which could easily have inspired all the others is Völuspá, and it does not actually say Loki is bound - quite the opposite!"

5. "Loki is the blood-brother of Óðinn...Few are aware that this explanation of the relationship between these two gods has not been traced back earlier than H.A. Guerber, Myths of the Norsemen (1895)"

6. "Loki is the enemy of Þórr and the Æsir...is not compatible with a reading of Þrymskviða, much of Snorri's Edda, and especially Þórsdrápa, where the kenning bragðmilldr Loka ('compassionate to Loki') is given of Þórr. In these myths, Þórr chooses Loki as his favourite travelling companion whenever faring to Jötunheim"

7. "Loki is the father of lies...frumkveða flærðanna ('seductive-speaking'), slægi ('sly') and vælandi ('debasing'). While none of these are especially complimentary, neither do they mean dishonesty. Loki is very talented with his words, of course, and knows how to use them effectively, but no ancient source indicates that he ever lies or breaks an oath"

8. "Loki is the god of fire...in the nineteenth century, several etymologies were suggested for Loki being derived from logi...This is supported by the experiences of most Loki's folk today, who regularly encounter Loki as a god of fire, but in any ancient context, this idea is nowhere to be found"

9. "Loki is the god of evil, the Nordic devil...is as a leftover from Christian dualism, often represented with the 'gods vs. giants' attitude...Nordic cosmology has both opposites on the same side of the 'gods vs. giants' dualism...what rôle does he play in Nordic cosmology?...The answer is that of a trickster...makes us laugh, and most of the stories involving Loki are funny above all else...his regular violations of social and sexual taboos...that figure was merged with Satan, by giving knowledge and freedom to humanity...The other problem in calling Loki a trickster is the common mistake to overestimate the similarities of different figures in modern paganism"

all these misconceptions together form a character which is basically new to contemporary morality. loki is labeled as a devil, while he is not really one. i mean, even if these misconceptions can be disputed, the existence of this variation on loki exists in the ancient sources, which means that an idea of a character which is not evil but has some transgressive attributes in it existed way before christianity, in people's minds. people can and did actually live in a moral system which is fundamentally different from our own. if anything, this goes to show that the distinction between good and evil as existing opposite sides of the human imminent internal morals, does not exist. people can and have believed differently. by that, loki validates my personal attempts to find a new way to live my life.

but that's just one side of it. there's more to loki than just what he isn't.
i'll use now this link as reference: http://loki.ragnarokr.com/Introductions/whyloki.html

" The unintended consequences of Loki's actions are often more meaningful and far-reaching than the event which set them into motion"

"Loki has no need of hammer nor spear nor any other tool while he has the more powerful, yet more ephemeral, gift of speech...Words, like Loki himself, can be wonderful allies or fearsome enemies, depending on the circumstances"

"For all his flaws, Loki inspires a degree of loyalty not only in Sigyn, but in Odin as well...He was "a member of the club," but as time went on, perhaps he began to question whether it was a club worth joining?"

"Loki is quite probably the most dynamic figure in Norse mythology - one of the few dynamic characters, along with Odin."

or in: http://loki.ragnarokr.com/Introductions/gnosis.html

"his unsolvable paradoxes, seemingly endless contradictions, and deceptively accessible buffoonery provide endless opportunity for speculation, and controversy dogs almost any opinion of him."

"Loki is basically an outsider who interacts with all the different groups of beings and yet is ultimately loyal only to his own will."

"Loki not only is accepted into Asgard, the abode of the Aesir, but is admitted into their council of law as well"

"He really can't be dismissed as an archvillain and nothing more. If he's so evil, how in the world was Odin, the all-wise, persuaded to mix blood with him?"

"Although many of Loki's actions appear evil at first glance, when viewed symbolically they take on a different meaning. Loki must be considered within the old Norse concept of the world, where good and evil were not the polarized absolutes they have come to seem. He ultimately appears as a powerful and compelling personality underneath the buffoonery"

"Loki emerges as one who turns the wheel of the year--in other words, as a force of change. Change is not always pleasant, but most will agree it is necessary now and then."

"Odin and Loki are most definitely related god-forms -- clever and cunning, versed in magic, connected with winter and death, both with a hint of the dark side about them, shape-changers, sex-changers, travelers"

"One can see the union of Odin and Loki as symbolic of the forces of reason and order (the Aesir) accepting and integrating the symbol of the chaotic and primal (Loki) rather than attempting to avoid or destroy him"

"Unlike Loki, Thor is a model of personal honor, but they both seem to disdain the conventional laws of authority"

"Thor gets a little full of himself at times, and Loki sees to it that he is made to feel a bit foolish now and then, just to keep him on his toes. It's pretty hard to be an omniscient tyrant with someone like Loki around to trip you up occasionally. Thor needs this kind of irritation to make him think; we all do."

" In the long run, Balder doesn't seem to lose out by being killed; on the contrary, he trades his innocence for knowledge and reappears after Ragnarok as a much more powerful and majestic figure, the new ruler of Asgard. Maybe Loki did him a favor by instigating his death."

"There are no absolute forces of evil and good in the Norse cosmogony (except for those created by Christian hybrids), and Loki is not another Satan. Ragnarok is more like the end of an eon...There is no sense that the new order is inherently better than the old, or that the old ways were wrong. It is just time for a change...Ragnarok is not a one-time cataclysm, but a recurrent happening, as gods and people evolve ever upward and outward...Loki is the god of change who sets this all in motion; he is resisted, because radical change is never welcome, and because the struggle of Ragnarok is necessary to liberate the new forces. Loki forces the cycle to its conclusion; he is the god who turns the wheel of the universe, though he too is involved in the destruction"

"Conflict, dissension, struggle, exertion, endeavor -- these are the things that move the universe. Without them we would be as stones, unmoving, uncaring, untroubled. Loki is the force that disrupts out lives, that stirs us from the comfort and peace of our firesides and forces us out to battle. He can turn our world upside down and change every idea we hold dear, but with him in our lives we need never fear boredom"

i will not elaborate on the myths themselves, as you can read the source. but the underlining fact is there. loki is the pure mythological incarnation of the nature of artists. he is respected and dangerous, but always essential. great powers need him by their side, even at the cost of them losing their power, just so they could regain their power in the future. it is just an amazing character, and labeling it is evil, is a mistake of a divine mistake, which the gods themselves would not do. loki represents in humans the understanding that theie rules will have to be broken one day, and that only through acceptance of their inability to really control the world, will they be able to survive the next cycle, the next decae, the next war, the next transition of power. when loki is asked to follow a role, he makes the one who asked him to wish it back, not bybraking the law, but by unfolding the flaws intrinsic to the laws loki was asekd to follow. so in short, i am facinated by the character of loki, as it demands of me as an artist to achieve somewhat divine artistic skills. i will never really get there of course, but it keeps me on my toes.

on the other hand, the judo-christian biable, starts with the words "let there be light". light is translated by some dialects also to the word "loki". this simple coincidence also really intrigs me, because it gives a sense of eternity to all i've said before. there's much more to it, but this figure is so immense in attributes, that i cannot sum it up all at once.

Q: so with all these variations on the story loki, what is my version?
A: the story of loki which i decided to follow as a back bone on my album is that of retribution. loki was brought to stay among the rest of the gods out of their greed. they wanted to have the talent of loki at their side, so they could could have a talented trickster to do their dirty work. to use tricks to commit treatury. but loki would not yield to either side. he would do what he is asked, butthe outcomes of the manner in which he acted brought about opposite outcomes in the long run, and so the balance was always kept. in the end, the gods decided to use no tricks, and simply use lies to fulfill their goals. loki was vurried under a celestial conspiracy of lies. but this realm of gods collapsed under it's own inconsistencies, and put humanity to constant wars. loki was the blaimed for it all, but all the gods knew that of all the remains of what used to be the house of gods, only loki remained true to his reputation, and they know that loki will bring about the metaphisical revolution, one that will wipe out the tyranny of lies, and pose fresh ground for fresh lies to grow on, nd so the cycle will continue with only one absolute constant: loki.

this is the story i follow. if it is incorrect, i don't care. i repeat this notion, that i don't care, over and over for a reason. people seem to forget the difference between art history, fiction and fact, and wish to judge these all by the same standards. i think this kind of thinking represents a special kind of shallowness and backwardness that has spread like cancer in our society, and has limited our ability to think to an almost criminal extent.

Q: do i see myself as the nordic god loki?
A: NO. this is only a metaphor i use for my forthcoming album, and a concept which i will have to exchange with something new in the album after that. i am not starting a cult here.

this, and also. loki, being the god of change in many ways, must keep evolving. so if i am true to taking the role of loki, and if i am not, for consistency's sake, i will have to leave this trend eventually.

Q: so what's the score? if i do not see myself as loki, so why dedicate an entire album to his name? is it to please the german medieval crazeor some caprisic "academic" interest? isn't that a bit shallow for art?
A: well, first of all, i would like to say, that if that was the case, then that would be not a bit, but REALLY shallow. it is both shallow mindedness on behalf of my ability to find a rich concept for an album, and a shallow way to trick the audience to like my music.
no. it may have started out of fascination, but since then, my connection with loki has grown much thicker than that. of course to picture myself as a god, or of divine qualities that would be pure ancient "hibris", or better say, stupid. but on the other hand i do feel that the story of loki reflects my own story in my present life, if taken to metaphorical extreme. like a cartoon perhaps.
but more than that. if i go back to the album "hell sounds", then the last album ended in hell. and it is dante's christian hell which i was refferening to. a place i could never leave. this hell found it's physical place in israel, the land of the jeish tradition. the jewish and christian traditions hold root from the same old tetement or jewish bible, so the differences are slim. the possibility of escape is inexistant. and so i would have remain bounded to it, if was not recieved by europe.
europe is still mostly christian. and europe with it's goth/dark scene is nothing more than a bigger sacle of the same "prison" israel was back in those days. nothing really changed, in my eyes. nothing changes unless i go furder back in time, to pre-roman germanic europe. there i could loki. loki today is placed in dante's hell, but he does not really belong there. he may be kept underground, but after Ragnarok he will rise back victorious, and put about the new world. this idea for a new world for me has strictly persoanl implications, but one element of this new world is the eradiction of stupidity and lies around me. and i choose to rid these through the tricks-of-the-words, just as loki did in his ancient tales. in effect, loki, which i came across by accident, is the actually the only way for me, which is has any chance to have a some kind of a positive outcome, considering my personality.
another trait of loki which i find very similar to my own, is loki ability to change shape, yet remain "loki" through all his transformations. the ability to change is really the only way to win "no win" situations, just as those that have taken part in my life. every attempt to take down a person's will to progress, is based on the assumption that a set of elements that represent him, could be one by one demolished. but without this achilles heel, a person can be truely free. but where most people that do just that lose their integrity, loki remains loki through all his transformations. and that is why it is not enough just to break down loki into his attributes. loki is a single entity, and i can dedicate an album to it, because no other idea i know of has all these meanings fuse together.

these, and much more