Loki is a jotun, a giant in Norse mythology, but he lives among the gods of Asgard thanks to a blood brotherhood oath he has made with Odin. While he is the cause of many of the problems that the gods face in the stories of mythology, he also usually helps them solve their problems. In the end, Loki’s role in the death of Balder leads to a break between Loki and the gods, and this is what sets Ragnarok into motion.
Loki the Jotun
While there are many supernatural beings in the Norse cosmos, the main dichotomy is between the gods and the giants, with the gods representing forces of order, and the giants, called jotun, representing chaos. While the gods and giants often interact and often interbreed, they are represented as ancient enemies.
Loki is a jotun, the son of Fárbauti and Laufey. But from a very early time in the Norse mythology timeline, Loki lived in Asgard among the gods. This is due to a blood brotherhood pact between Odin, the All-Father, and Loki to always break bread together.
Another way that Loki is different from the gods is that he does not seem to have an “area of responsibility”. Odin is a god of war and wisdom, Thor is a god of thunder and fertility, and Freyja is a goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. While Loki is known as a trickster god, he mostly causes mischief for the gods. There is no evidence that the Vikings believed that Loki caused problems in human affairs.
In Old Norse, the word ‘loki’ means knot or tangle. Loki’s symbol was the snake, and today he is represented by two snakes circling each other forming an S symbol, and biting the tail of the other. Intertwining snakes are a common symbol in Norse art, and may represent chaos.
In terms of ‘powers’, Loki’s main ability seems to have been to shapeshift, and he often uses this to wriggle out of difficult situations, or trick someone into telling a secret.
Loki’s Bloodlines
Loki is the progenitor of several important beings in Norse mythology, and some of its most important monsters.
First, Loki had three children with the giantess Angrboda, the great wolf Fenrir, the mightly serpent Jormungandr, and the terrifying giantess Hel. The gods were so concerned about the children of this monstrous union that they decided to place each somewhere in the world where they could do the east harm.
They tricked the wolf Fenrir in allowing himself to be chained up by a magical, unbreakable chain on a deserted island. The god Tyr had to sacrifice his hand to make this happen. They threw Jormungandr into the waters surrounding Midgard. There the serpent grew to such an enormous size that it can encircle the entire world and hold his own tail in his mouth. Hel was terrifying because she was born half living and half dead. She was sent to Niflheim to rule over the underworld there, which became known as Helheim.
Loki also took an Aesir wife, Sigyn. They had two sons Vali and Narfi, who also ended up suffering a cruel fate at the hands of the gods, as will be seen below.
Loki was also the mother of Sleipnir, Odin’s eight-legged horse. This unusual outcome happened as a result of the building of the fortified walls of Asgard. One day, a builder passed by Asgard and offered to build it fortified walls, but in exchange, he wanted the sun and the moon and the hand of the goddess Freyja in marriage. The gods were ready to refuse, because they would never pay such an outrageous price. But Loki had another idea.
He suggested that they agreed to the price, but to make the task impossible so that they could get the walls mostly done and pay nothing. So, the gods said that the builder could build the walls, but had just one season and could have the help of no man. The builder agreed as long as he could have the help of his stallion Svadilfari. A deal was struck and work began.
It turned out that Svadilfari was an incredible horse, and with his horse, it looked like he was going to be able to finish the work. The gods became upset that they might need to pay the price and blamed Loki. He resolved the situation by turning himself into a beautiful mare and distracting the stallion. While he successfully stopped the builder from completing the work, Loki also ended up pregnant.
In the end, the gods did not pay the builder, and when they learned that he was in fact a giant, they also had Thor kill him.
Norse Mythology Stories About Loki
Loki is a prominent character in many stories from Norse mythology. He usually creates problems for the gods, and then helps the gods solve them. Below are some examples.
Loki and Sif’s Hair
One day, Loki decided to cut off the beautiful hair of Thor’s wife Sif while she was sleeping. He removed it in such a way that it would never grow back. Enraged, Thor demanded that Loki replace the hair with something as fine, or suffer the consequences.
To get Sif’s a golden headpiece that would be enchanted to grow on her head, Loki traveled to Svartalheim, the land of the dwarves, to consult with the master craftsmen there. He spoke with the brothers Ivaldi, great dwarven craftsmen, who agreed to make a headpiece of Sif, as well as two other treasures to help Loki appease the wrath of the gods. In the end, as well as a headpiece of fine gold that was enchanted to grow on Sif’s head, the dwarven brothers made Gungnir, the spear of Odin, and Gullinbursti, the golden boar of the god Freyr.
As he was waiting, as usual, Loki got himself into mischief. He also visited the dwarven brothers Brokkr and Sindri, saying that everyone knew that they could not produce treasures as fine as the Ivaldi, and challenging them to prove him wrong. The brothers agreed, but were sensibly suspicious of Loki, if they won, the dwarves wanted his head. Loki, always sure that he could outwit anyone, agreed, and then went about sabotaging the work of the dwarves. The brothers made Odin’s ring Draupnir and Freyr’s ship Skidbladnir, but it was when they started making their final treasure, a mighty hammer called Mjolnir, that Loki began to worry.
As Sindri put the iron for Mjolnir in the forge, he sent his brother Brokkr to pump the bellows. In order to sabotage their work, Loki turned himself into a fly, and bit Brokkr on the eyelid hard enough to draw blood. As the blood ran into his eyes, Brokkr was forced to stop working the bellows for a few seconds in order to wipe his face, but the damage is done. As Sindri drew the hammer from the forge, the handle was much shorter than originally planned, making a hammer that would need to be wielded by one hand, rather than a more traditional Viking two-handed hammer.
As both sets of treasures are taken to Asgard to be judged by the gods, they agree unanimously (with the exception of Loki) that the hammer, Mjolnir, despite its short handle, was the finest object ever made.
As the dwarven brothers sought to claim their prize, Loki tried to wriggle out of the consequences by pointing out that he promised them his head, but not his neck, and that they could not very well claim one without the other. With the consent of the gods, the brothers had to be satisfied with sewing Loki’s mouth shut (though this seems to have been temporary).
Loki and Idun’s Apples
The story starts with Odin, Hoenir (who helped Odin create human beings), and Loki hiking through a mountainous region of Asgard. On their way, they come across some Oxen and decide to slay one to eat. But when they try and light a fire to cook the meat, they find that they are unable to do so.
An eagle sitting far above them in a tree laughs at them and tells them that they will be unable to light the fire unless they agree to give it a fair portion of the food. Presumably, it is the eagle that is preventing them from being able to light the fire. So, the group agrees and the eagle flies down.
But it seems that they had no intention of sharing the food, as when the eagle descends Loki tries to hit it with a stick. But the eagle is too fast, and it takes the stick in its talons and flies off, with Loki still hanging on to the stick and begging to be let down.
After a time, the eagle reveals to Loki that it is in fact that giant Thjazi who, like Loki himself, is a shapeshifter. He agrees to let Loki down only in return for a favor. He wants Loki to bring him Idun and her golden apples of youth.
To fulfill his promise, Loki lures Idun away from her orchard and into the dark forest by telling her that he has encountered amazing fruits there even more impressive than her magical apples. She decides to take her box with her as well, either to protect her golden apples or to collect a sample of this fantastic fruit.
But once in the forest, Idun is delivered to Thjazi, again in eagle form. He takes he in his talons and flies away with her to his home in Jotunheim, the land of the giants.
It is unclear how much time passes before Idun is missed, but when the other gods start to feel the pains of old age and do not have access to the golden apples to rejuvenate themselves, they start to wonder what has happened to Idun. As Loki was the last person seen with her, the other gods questioned him.
Under duress, Loki reveals what happened and says that he will retrieve Idun if only the Norse gods will lend him the use of Freya’s falcon cloak to fly there. This is an interesting addition considering that in many other stories, Loki is described as a shapeshifter. He turns himself into a woman and a horse, so surely he could also become a bird.
Nevertheless, Loki flies to Thjazi’s hall in Jotunheim where he finds Idun. He is then able to turn her into a nut so that she is small enough for him to carry back to Asgard. But the escape is soon discovered, and Thjazi chases Loki back to Asgard in eagle form.
Seeing Loki approaching, the gods create a giant fire over the walls of Asgard that reaches up to the heavens. Loki, presumably aware of the plan, turns at the last minute to avoid the fire. But Thjazi flies right into it. His brunt body falls to the ground, and he is killed by the Aesir gods.
Idun is restored to her normal form and is again able to provide the gods with her special golden apples to maintain their eternal youth.
Loki and the Cursed Ring
According to this story, a dwarf named Andari could shapeshift into a fish. One day he swam to the home of the water nymphs to see their fabled treasure. But when the nymphs saw his strange appearance, they laughed at him. Andvari became enraged and stole their treasure for himself.
A master craftsman, Andvari used some of their treasure to make a gold ring for himself, which became known as the Andvaranaut. As well as being incredibly fine, the ring was enchanted to ensure that his treasure hoard always grew. Andvari then spent his days as a fish, protecting his treasure.
One day Odin, Hoenir, and Loki were on their way to see King Hreidmar of the dwarves. On their journey, they stopped at the river where Andvari lived, and Loki spied his treasure hoard. But there they also encountered an otter with a fine pelt. Loki killed the otter and took his pelt as a gift for the dwarf king.
When the trio arrived at the hall of the dwarf king, he was suddenly angered by this gift as he saw that it belonged to his son Otr, who regularly shapeshifted into an otter. The gods agreed to pay a ransom for the death, as was customary, but the king demanded enough gold to cover the entire pelt and not leave a single hair visible.
Loki remembered Andvari’s hoard and went back for it. He captured Andvari in his fish form and forced him to hand over his gold hoard in exchange for his life. Andvari did this, but begged Loki to let him hold onto his ring. The Trickster refused and prized the ring from the dwarf. In his devastation, Andvari cursed the ring. While it could bring wealth to the owner, it would also bring devastation.
The gods returned to the dwarf king’s hall and covered the otter’s pelt. But Loki held onto the ring, considering it the most precious thing in the hoard. The gods thought that they had covered the whole pelt, but the king noticed that there was still a single whisker visible. Odin demanded that Loki complete the payment and hand over the ring.
The dwarf king accepted the payment and immediately became obsessed with the fine gold hoard, and especially the ring.
The king’s two other sons, Regin and Fafnir, also became enamored by the hoard and were upset when their father refused to share it with them. In the end, Fafnir killed his father and took the ring for itself. Under its influence, he permanently shapeshifted into a dragon and drove everyone else away from his father’s hall so that he could protect his precious hoard.
Regin was also driven away from his father’s hall and set himself up in a local human village. In this village, he met the young hero Sigurd, who brought his father’s broken sword Garm to the smith to be reforged.
Regin convinces Sigurd to kill Fafnir for him and bring him the ring. He also asks Sigurd to bring him Fafnir’s heart, which he intends to eat as it has magical properties. But Sigurd accidentally ingests some of the blood from Fafnir’s heart which allows him to understand the voices of birds, and they share with him the information that Regin was planning on killing him.
Sigurd kills Regin and keeps the ring from himself. But his life is also cut short, no doubt affected by the continuing curse of Andvari’s ring.
Loki also features in the story of Thor in drag and Thor’s adventures in Jotunheim, which you can read here.
Loki, Balder and Ragnarok
While Loki usually only causes minor problems that he helps to resolve, he is also at the center of Ragnarok, which is a prophecy about how the gods will die and the world will end. It happens in several steps.
The Death of Balder
According to Norse mythology, Balder, the son of Odin and Frigg, was invincible. The story recorded in the Prose Edda starts with Balder having prophetic dreams about his own death. His mother Frigg was known to be a seeress who saw everything but never told anyone what she saw, and he may have heard his mother’s abilities. He also confided in Frigg about the nature of his dreams.
Determined to protect her son, Frigg decided to go around to everything in existence and secure a promise that they would never hurt her son or participate in hurting him. Therefore, steel agreed not to cut him, stone agreed not to crush him, and fire agreed not to burn him. In the end, Balder was invincible.
Since nothing could hurt Balder, you could throw a spear at him and it would just bounce off harmlessly. The gods turned this into a game, and would often throw things at the young god and laugh at the effects.
Loki was determined to learn if Balder truly was invincible or if he had any weaknesses. To learn, he disguised himself as a woman and entered into Frigg’s circle of maids. He spent time building Frigg’s trust until she felt safe to confide in him in his guise as an older woman. Eventually, Loki asked Frigg if Balder truly was invincible, and Frigg admitted that she might have forgotten to garner the promise from the humble mistletoe plant, but she did not think it was a problem since it was such a young and harmless plant.
Loki took this information and fashioned a dart from a twig of mistletoe. He then joined the gods who were engaged in their game of throwing things at Balder. At the party, Loki approached Hodr, a blind god described as a brother of Balder. Loki asked Hodr why he wasn’t joining in the fun. Hodr explained that it was because he could not see. Loki seemed to want to help Hodr, so he gave him the dart and told him where to aim it. To the surprise of everyone, Balder died.
Because Balder did not die in battle, he did not earn a place in Valhalla, Odin’s hall for brave fallen warriors in Asgard. Instead, he was sent to Helheim, the underworld in Niflheim overseen by Hel, a daughter of Loki. Despite Odin being a god of death who chose the fallen warriors to dwell in Valhalla, he had no power over Helheim and could not retrieve his son.
The gods sent Hermod, often considered the Norse equivalent of Mercury, down to Helheim on Odin’s eight-legged steed Sleipnir. He tried to negotiate with Hel to release Balder, explaining that Balder was the most beloved being in existence, and therefore should be returned to the world. Hel said that she would return Balder, on the condition that they prove his beloved status. She wanted everything in existence to weep for Balder.
The world began to weep for the god, but one witch, called Thokk, refused to shed a single tear. While it is not specifically stated anywhere, it is assumed that the witch was Loki in disguise and that he actively ensured that Balder could not return from Helheim.
The aftermath of Balder’s death was a bloody time in Asgard. Odin fathered a son called Vali on a giantess called Rindr who grew to adulthood in a single day for the specific purpose of killing Hodr, despite the fact that he was an innocent patsy in the death of Balder. He joined Balder in Helheim.
Balder’s body was ceremonially burned on his ship Hringhorni, and the grieving gods participated in the funeral procession. His wife Nanna either died of grief and was burned with her husband, or she threw herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.
Odin was in so much grief that he ceased to bathe and comb his hair for a while. This was considered taboo among the Vikings and a source of great shame.
Loki continued to live in Asgard among the gods for a period after the death, but tensions between the giant and the gods grew.
The Lokasenna
The gods were upset with Loki and so they did not invite him to a feast that they had in the hall of the sea giant Aegir. But Loki learned that this was happening and turned up anyway. Initially the gods wanted to turn him away, but Loki reminded Odin of their blood oath and he was allowed to stay. But Loki then started to insult all of the gods.
This text reveals many tidbits of information about the gods not known from anywhere else. But it ends with Thor threatening to kill Loki. He left Asgard and made his way to a distant mountain where he built a house with four doors, so he could observe people approaching from every direction. During the day, he shapeshifted into a fish and hid under a nearby waterfall. At night, he sat by the fire and made fishing nets to catch food to eat.
Odin had a seat in Asgard from which he could look out over the Norse cosmos, so he saw Loki and the gods went after him. When Loki saw the gods approaching, he hid in the stream in the form of a salmon. The gods realized what had happened and made their own net to fish for Loki. After several failed attempts, they managed to catch the trickster.
The gods brought Loki to a cave, along with the two sons he shared with his Aesir wife Sigyn, despite not being involved in the events. Vali was turned into a wolf and, losing his senses, he tore his brother Narfi apart and then ran off to his own death. The Prose Edda says that they used Narfi’s intestines to tie Loki to three rocks in a deserted cave.
The gods then placed a poisonous snake over Loki’s head to drip venom onto his face for eternity. This causes him extreme pain and makes his entire body convulse. This is what causes earthquakes in the nine worlds.
Sigyn tries to protect her husband from the worst of this. She sits beside Loki in isolation catching the poison in a bowl. But every so often, she is forced to leave to empty the bowl, which is when earthquakes occur. This is why Loki is referred to in the Prose Edda as “the burden of Sigyn’s arms”.
Ragnarok
Loki will remain in his prison until Ragnarok, when earthquakes will rock the world. This will allow Loki to break his chains, and he will make his way to the underworld where he will unite with his daughter Hel and they will sail to Asgard with an army of the dead in ships made from their finger and toe nails.
The earthquakes will also allow Fenrir to break his chains, and chilling of the planet will make Jormungandr uncomfortable in his waters and he will emerge. They will join the attack on the gods in Asgard.
Fenrir will devour Odin himself before being killed by one of Odin’s sons. Jormungandr and Thor will fight to the death. Thor will kill Jormungandr, but the serpent will spew so much venom onto Thor in the process that he will also die. We do not know what happens to Hel, but her guard dod Garm will fight to the death with Tyr. Loki will fight with Heimdall, the watchman of Asgard. They will kill one another.
The fighting between these supernatural beings will cause so much destruction that the world will be destroyed and sink back into the waters of chaos.
While Loki is presented as the villain in the Ragnarok story, it is not clear cut. While Loki was responsible for the death of Balder, it seems likely that this was in response to how the gods treated his own children with Angrboda. The gods then killed his two sons with Sigyn in vengeance. It feel like the gods started this particular battle.
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