Freyja's Jewel

   Laeviss tells his UPG regarding the history of Freyja's jewel, and how it is of great significance: In very ancient times, the Goddess wore this jewel to indicate her representation of the Earth, and the powers that are encircled therein. It was her divine authority to designate the sacred king, and to honour him with the wearing of this jewel. He would wear the jewel for a time, spreading its energies throughout the land, then he would return it to the powers of the Earth as a sacrifice, to ensure the fruitfulness and prosperity of the people. A new king would then be chosen.

   Now, Laeviss says that the Vanir continued in this long tradition. Their king would be chosen by the Goddess, and that king would be her consort. As a symbol of this, he wore a braided cord around his neck, or a representation of one. (This sort of idea of a divinely bestowed kingly jewel has survived for a very long time. Even now, we would recognize it as a king's circlet or crown.) After a period of time, he would be sacrificed and a new king chosen.

   The Aesir had abandoned this system ages before. Tyr had been king for a time, then Odin had been declared king, though Tyr didn't die like the sacrificial kings of old. He hung around to give his counsel and to help maintain order. The Aesir were at war with the Vanir, and Odin needed all the help he could get.

   Odin liked being king. He was well-suited for it, being both crafty and wise. There was no better to take his place.

   Freyja had foresight, and could see the fine character that Odin possessed, and what a fine king he was. She saw with her foresight that the world was changing, and what would be the best way to determine that the world changed in a way best suited to her desires. So she sent a messenger, one of the priests or "dogs of the Goddess,"  to Odin to tell him that she was willing to call a truce and end the war. She was willing to join her people with the Aesir and declare Odin king if he would take her as his wife, and that he would not be bound by the fate of the Vanic kings, but that he would be king as long as he liked.

   Odin was already married to a very fine Goddess, indeed, with all of the attributes of an excellent wife. But Odin knew a good thing when he saw one (and he saw a lot of good things about Freyja.) Odin was attracted to strong, confident women, who could give wise counsel when it was called for. There should be no objection to him having a second wife. This war had been dragging on far too long, with no signs of either side gaining ground.

   "Well, this sounds like a good idea. I will agree to it if I get the final say in all matters," Odin sent back. "Oh, and I get to keep your errand boy, too. I can see he has many uses."

   Laeviss says that although he has given vows to serve the Goddess, her order to him has been "Stand your ground in support of the King." He has done this quite happily, he says, ever since. It's what he was made for.

The Laeviss Loki Defense

   Laeviss has been, in turns, amused by and annoyed by the continued debate in certain circles regarding the acceptance or not of Loki as a god among the Aesir, and whether or not he is a being worthy of hailing at sumbel, or anywhere else.

   First of all, Laeviss would like to point out that it is entirely bad form to, on the one hand, state that "Snorri is right" in painting Loki in an evil hue, and then, on the other hand, denying that Loki is a god among the Aesir.  Really? You're telling me that you believe Snorri's view that Loki is evil, yet deny Snorri's statement that Loki counts among the Aesir? Tsk, tsk.

   Most reasonable people, when presented with facts that disprove one's personal beliefs, can move beyond their beliefs and form new opinions. Apparently, most people do not qualify as reasonable. Even when presented with factual, well-researched information on how our ancestors viewed Loki, and how Loki is presented in historic context, many Heathens cling to their personal prejudices. And when the subject of the worship of Loki comes up, a whole lot of Heathens respond like the Vatican when Galileo published a book that suggested that the facts show that the Sun does not revolve around the Earth.

   It's offensive to read responses to the discussion which amount to, "I haven't read that dang-blamed document that's all scholarly and shit, and oh, by the way, I'm going to prove I haven't read it by continuing to use the argument that Loki killed Balder, and he's the enemy of the gods. I'm so invested in my own belief that I avoid anything which might challenge it, or cause me to think and actually form an educated opinion. So there!"

   One thing that Laeviss has learned in his many years on the Earth is how to read between the lines of a document (or listen to the tone of voice and watch body language in a speaker) in order to discover biases that the author (or speaker) may have. Usually, if people are taking the time to write something, they have an agenda, a point of view that they are trying to get across or to push on people. Textbooks do this all the time. They emphasize certain details, and omit others entirely. (Anyone read, "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James W. Loewen? Definitely worth a look.)

   Laeviss had the opportunity to review many different Heathen books over the years before becoming Heathen himself, or indeed, before having read any of the lore itself. One thing he noticed immediately was that Heathenism was rife with racism and homophobia both, which did not do much to recommend this faith as a personal devotion to Laeviss. (In fact, Laeviss most assuredly avoided it until Odin himself came to personally collect him.)

   One of the crafty Heathen authors that Laeviss read was so clever that he carefully scripted his writings so as to avoid any actual obvious reference to racism, while still subtly turning his readers' minds in that general direction. Others were openly scathing in their condemnation of both homosexuality and "mixing" of the races. These were the same authors who scathingly denounced Loki, and refused to count him among the Aesir. Laeviss can here make an educated guess, due to years of unpleasant personal experience, just what exactly it is about Loki that disturbs some Heathens so much.

   I daresay that in their own circles, those Asatru who are vehemently against Loki probably voice their real objections to Odin's brother fairly clearly. But in a public setting where political correctness is enforced, they must come up with a smoke screen that everyone will endorse as a "good reason" to ban Loki worship. Because they can't mention their real thoughts on the matter.

   So, let's discuss some of these other "reasons,"shall we? How about this one: "Loki is a murderer. He's responsible for Balder's death!" One would have to be a really *bad* lawyer indeed to base a murder case entirely on the testimony of one guy who not only didn't witness the event but had a known reputation for elaborating on details, and ignore the testimony of others who claimed that Loki wasn't involved. (And, even if you *were* going to insist that Snorri's account is the truthful one, even Snorri admits that Loki didn't actually throw the fatal twig. Hod did.) But, based on the most factual evidence the defense has presented, no jury is going to convict Loki of Balder's death.

   So, okay...they can't cry "Balder!" anymore. But, wait! Loki's still a murderer! He killed Fimafeng at the feast of Aegir! Except that we are given no details at all about Fimafeng's death, we are supposed to take the word of the author that Loki killed Aegir's servant out of mere spite or jealousy. And, on this word, we are supposed to brand Loki as unworthy of honor. "See, everybody," they say. "Loki *deserves* to be banned from our worship!"

   Hold on there, little buddy. This is very selective "reasoning" on your part. You are actually saying that I'm to ban all murderous gods from my personal devotions? Well, take off your Thor's hammer, big guy, because Thor is a murderer, too. He murdered the giant that built the wall of Asgard. In cold blood! All because (according to the lore, anyway) the guy rightfully complained that the Aesir were cheating him.

   "Well, that doesn't count, because giants are evil and against the gods and humankind. So, Thor gets a free pass on that murder!" is the usual response when I bring this up. "Really?" I say. "The Aesir seem really keen to accept the assistance of giants when it benefits them, and very keen again to throw them under the wagon when their assistance is no longer useful."

   So, say, we let Thor pass on that. Well, how about dear old murderous Frey? He sent his servant off with a magic sword, and told him to win the fair maiden for him whatever the cost. Apparently, part of the cost was Gerd's brother's death. Now, perhaps Frey didn't wield that sword personally, but he directed the hand who did. So anyone who has ever claimed, "Loki killed Balder, and that's why he is unworthy of worship!" had better be taking their down their godpoles to Frey, because he's a murderer, too.

   And how about Bragi? If we're in the habit of taking everything in the lore as the gospel truth (no cherry picking allowed) we simply must take Loki's word for it that, quite possibly, Bragi is the guy he meant when he accused Idunn of sleeping with her brother's killer. That potentially makes Bragi a murderer, too.

   "Oh, well," you say. "Maybe I won't use the murder argument against Loki anymore. But, instead of voicing my *real* objection to Thor's Traveling Buddy, I'll make up some other, equally-politically-correct-besides-murder, way of excluding him. Oh, yeah...he's a liar! That's the ticket!"

    Laeviss will merely say, at this point, that excluding known liars and oathbreakers from the list of worshipful deities in the Norse pantheon would leave a very vacant throne and both Odin and Tyr trudging off into exile, probably bickering all the while. However, Laeviss has never known of anyone in Asatru even remotely suggesting that Heathens stop worshiping either Odin or Tyr. So, again, this argument against Loki is merely a smokescreen put up to disguise the real reason some people just can't stand the Hound of Freyja.

   So, what is this reason? Basically put, it is homophobia and transphobia. The people who scream the loudest about Loki seem to have a definite issue with acceptance of the diversity of natural human states, such as the continuum of gender and varied sexual orientations. In fact, anything that blurs their rigidly dogmatic lines of what they consider proper gender or sexual orientation code is horribly suspect to them. It states in the lore that Loki has not only become female at times, but has taken the receptive role in sexual intercourse, and this just twists some people's knickers into a knot. This receptive role is never overtly suggested for any other Norse god, therefore it sets Loki apart from the others in terms of both his nature and purpose. The god Odin does admittedly share many attributes with Loki, not the least of which is his gender-bending ways. However, Odin is perceived by most Heathens as a manly god who has employed the guise of a woman *as a means to an end* (that end being the understanding of and ability to employ the magic of seidh.) Odin *had* to walk a mile in a woman's moccasins, so to speak, in order to add to his storehouse of wisdom. Hel, even Thor had to wear a dress in order to reclaim his magic hammer. But, again, this is perceived in Heathenry as a manly god using a woman's guise *as a means to an end.* Loki's so-called "crime" is that this state of being isn't a means to an end for him, it is simply part of his nature. And, to some people, this is more than enough to damn him to an eternity of banishment from "proper Heathenry."

 

Brokk's forge

   "So, you have come," says Brokk, and turns to me, rubbing his dark hands on his leather apron. "I thought you might. But your client had better be a good one. I have little time to spare for pretenders."

"He is a good one. The best." I assure him. I wouldn't be here if he wasn't. I am that certain. Brokk grunts, unconvinced.

   "It's what they all say. They want to make a great chieftain out of a mewling pup. Huh. We can't make a king out of nothing, you have to give us something to work with." His brows crease as he sees I am serious, and he sighs. "Show me, then. And be quick about it. I must mind the bellows. What's his name?"

   There is water trickling down the wall of the cave, into a small cistern. A light glow emanates from within the depths. But the furnace glows hotter.

   "Odin, son of Bor," I say. And I wait.

   Brokk stares silently into the water. Then he chuckles to himself. "Oh, yes. I see him. Well, well...you may have something, here, Earth-Wyrm. You may, indeed. He looks most promising, in fact. A regular strutting peacock. Well!" He turns to his bellows, still chuckling. "There is plenty going on in that skull of his. And already a fine warrior. Has some skill at wordsmithing, too, I see. Well, he'll need all that and more." Brokk faces me again and fixes me with a very hard stare, I am rooted in place like bedrock.

   "You know," he says, conversationally, "that the sort of Ring you are requesting comes with a heavy price."

   "Yes," I say. What else is there to say? If Odin wishes this Ring, it will be his if it is in my power to get it for him. Whatever the cost.

   Brokk turns away, back to his furnace. "It means a load of work for me, too. You can bet I won't take a commission like this without serious pay. Oh, my brother is good, his Rings are legendary. Always work exactly according to their design. But they take a long time to craft, you see. And you must be willing to put in the effort yourselves on your end, or it will be for naught." He works the bellows, sweat dripping down his dark face and into his red beard. His shaven upper lip glistens with it.

   "We'll do it," I say. I am sure, at least, about my own half of the equation. I am in two minds about Odin's desires in the matter. I can remember how he has looked at me, and then again how he has looked at me. He is seeming of two minds, or maybe a mind and a heart divided. I would bridge that gap. I stare down at my fingernails. It will be so, I will to myself.

   Brokk ceases work to look at me again. "Oh, yes-you've picked a fine one. With the favor of the Lady, even. That's good. And there is more than enough willingness on both sides. So you tell Odin, son of Bor that we will undertake this commission from you. And when you come back, be ready to give your vow." He wiped his forehead with a damp cloth. "Any questions, Earth-Wyrm?"

   There can be but one question, and I feel I know the answer. But I ask it anyway. I watch the water trickling down the wall of the cave, into the bowl of the cistern. Water of life, flowing from the heavens to the Earth, and back again, as a gift from one to the other. "The price, " I say. "I need to know what it will cost me."

   Brokk chuckles again, and his eyes light up like fireflies in the dark. He smiles, then, a great, wide grin that bares his double rows of sharp, pointy teeth. "There is but one price for that Ring, Earth-Wyrm. And it is blood. Yours. All of it, mind. You will pledge your head to this work, sorcerer. You come with that pledge, and Odin will get his Ring."