July is Honor Loki Month in some corners of the polytheistic internet these days. I plan to participate in this in a very definite way in the final seven days of this month, and have already made preparations for part of that…
But, in the meantime, it seems that Loki has been poking at the edges of my dreams. He hasn’t yet appeared in person himself, but he seems to be very purposefully and blatantly manipulating the strings from some safe corner off-stage, as it were, or as if he’s giving the other actors lines like a strange divine prompter…
So, here’s just a taste of something…
Here is one of my favorite portrayals of Loki on film thus far.
Now, you may be saying, “But wait, PSVL! That’s not Loki, that’s Matt Damon!”
Well, yes, you’re technically correct: but, he’s playing a character called Loki.
Now, I’m sure you’re saying, “But hang on, PSVL! He’s not playing ‘Loki-Loki,’ he’s just playing a character called Loki.”
And, again, you’re technically correct.
But, what sort of character is this Loki that Matt Damon played in Kevin Smith’s Dogma? He’s a divine being in exile, who made the heavens rain down with fire, and who is planning various things to get in good with the main divinity of his pantheon, which may in fact bring about the destruction of all the universe…
How is this different from “Loki-Loki”? (And I mean that in the best possible way!)
So, not unlike Loki himself, who seems to be pulling some strings from off-stage in my own life these days (at least in a devotional and oneiric manner), I also think that “Loki-Loki” probably also had a great deal more influence on the conception of the character of Loki in Dogma than perhaps many people would have given credit for. Does that mean Kevin Smith is thus a closet polytheist, a pagan prophet at heart? Not at all…and that’s one of the great things about polytheism, in my opinion–one never knows where the gods will show up and say something very clearly to someone, even though someone else may hear the same words or see the same things and never know the difference.
Hail to Laufey’s son, Loki, the great puller, plucker, and occasional cutter, of so many strings!
Wow, okay, mind blown. I haven’t seen Dogma (yet, cause I’m gonna watch it ASAP), but – all these different pieces of weirdness in my life just clicked into my head because of that post.
By: Aine Llewellyn (@whitestagforest) on July 16, 2012
at 11:28 pm
I hope it is a good clicking, and not an “I’m out of ammunition” clicking, or a “my jaw is now dislocated” clicking…!?!
But yes, thanks for commenting! I do like to play my part as a messenger for the gods whenever possible, even if I don’t know I’m doing it at a given moment!
By: aediculaantinoi on July 17, 2012
at 6:49 pm
Dogma is my all-time favourite film. There’s a line at the start of the film, after his conversation with the nun, which illustrates this point beautifully. Loki’s friend, Bartleby says ‘You know for a fact God exists. You stood in the presence of the Almighty and He spoke to you, personally. And I just heard you pretend to be an atheist.’
Loki’s response? ‘I know. I just love fucking with the clergy, man.’ That’s Him, right there. That’s my God.
Just want to say also, as someone who’s fulltrui is Loki, I hear an awful lot of people on the internet who say He’s not worthy of worship. Hearing otherwise from a number of unexpected places this month (including this blog and Sannion’s, among others) has done my heart a lot of good. It is nice to see how Loki wriggles His way into so many hearts, even in a small way. I love seeing so many people taking part – and I look forward to your further posts on the subject!
By: Limnaia on July 17, 2012
at 5:27 am
Thanks very much for stopping by and commenting!
As I’m not a full-time devotee of Loki, and really don’t know him much at all (I know the lore, but of course that’s not the same thing at all!), I’m very pleased that something I’ve written relating to him resonates with those who are very close to him. And, I hope the things later in the month will be of some interest and pleasure as well!
[And, this totally confuses me about modern polytheists who say they're polytheists but who seem to think certain deities are totally verboten to give cultus to or even acknowledge...it's nonsensical, but then again, I'm not a member of those communities, so who am I to say anything? Bleh...!?!]
By: aediculaantinoi on July 17, 2012
at 6:48 pm
Had I but know that Loki was such a looker, perhaps my devotional life would have taken a different course altogether!
A nice homage both to the deity and to the movie: one of my favorite Kevin Smith flicks!
By: jamie on July 17, 2012
at 7:10 am
Indeed, I’ve always thought Mr. Damon was pretty damned hot…So, appropriate for Loki, in many different respects, from what I understand!
By: aediculaantinoi on July 17, 2012
at 6:46 pm
[...] And, a while back, the Oracle of Polydeukion mentioned to me that in the first week of July, my dreams would be particularly important to pay attention to, and during that time, the only divine presence that seemed to be at all involved was–yep, you guessed it–Loki! He never appeared directly, but I suspect that he may have been manipulating some things from behind the scenes, and I very clearly could feel someone that seemed to be him “off-stage” during much of it. I mentioned this a bit earlier this month. [...]
By: In Praise of Loki (and kin/friends), Day One « Aedicula Antinoi: A Small Shrine of Antinous on July 25, 2012
at 6:24 pm