Introduction
Lets take a moment to appreciate and get to know the norse god of trickery and mischief, Loki Laufeyson. I personally work very closely and am a godspouse of Loki so lets dig into his story a bit. He's genderfluid, species-fluid, a giant, an aesir god, a brother, a father, a mother, and so much more. He's a master of pranks and a very fun energy to have around, as long as you don't mind your life being turned upside down, flipped inside out and rearranged before being put back together for the sake of chaos and growth.
Origins
Where did Loki get his start from? His mother is Laufey or Nal, his father is Fárbauti and his two brothers are Helblindi and Býleistr. He took his mother's name which was uncommon in the time, which there's debate on the reasoning. His father was a giant while his mother's origins are unknown but many speculate that she may have been a higher status than Fárbauti such as a goddess, earning Loki his godhood as well as his giant status. His parents names roughly translate to "fierce strike" and "leaves" which when combined, creates fire (Loki). Other suggest that Loki may have taken his mother's name in order to be included with the aesir while leaving behind the other half of his culture, returning when he starts a family with Angerboda who was with the giant clan.
There are some other sources indicating Loki may have started out being worshipped as a hearth god, a god of fire and protection. There aren't many records of Loki being worshipped like other gods such as Odin or Thor due to how chaotic he is; people may have prayed to Loki to get his help keeping order within the chaos and protect them from wrongdoings. Loki's name also suggest a link between fire ("Logi"), and to lock ("Lokka/Loka") which can hint at when he was tied up prior to ragnarok or even to his chaotic nature where he can get explosive. Oftentimes, fire can be a symbol of chaos, destruction and rebuilding from the ashes, which perfectly describes Loki. With his fire aspect, there are rumours that Loki was worshipped during the winter solstice to ward off spirits, bring in warmth, stability and happiness.
Now, Loki is heavily worshipped by today's pagans and witches to the point where many joke about him "collecting" people like what happened to prepare for ragnarok. Nowadays, many consider him a patron for those who are considered an outcast. People work with and pray to Loki for help with LGBTQ related issues, sickness, disabilities, foreigners, and people who don't identify with their assigned gender at birth. After all, Loki himself changed his gender and shapeshifted; he didn't believe in following a set standard. I myself, am a trans man with a non-binary partner so Loki plays a huge role in our house.
Svaðilfari and Sleipnir
The aesir gods wanted to build fortifications around asgard so they hired a worker to complete it, though he had some harsh demands for his work. He asked the gods for Freyja's hand in marriage plus both the sun and the moon in exchange for finishing his work in only three seasons. He also asked that his very large stallion, Svaðilfari, help him as he had been requested not to enlist the help of anyone else. Loki insisted that the gods accept the builder's negotiations and reduced the required time to complete his work, down to only one season as there was a slim chance of him completing his work. The builder and Svaðilfari got to work and with the stallion's help, the work quickly neared completion ahead of schedule. Growing nervous, the gods looked to Loki and threatened him with death unless he came up with a plan. After all, it was his idea who got them into this mess.
Loki quickly came up with a plan to halt the builder's work and snuck out at nighttime to complete his mission. He had turned into a mare (female horse) and distracted the stallion Svaðilfari. Svaðilfari broke out of his reigns and chased after Loki with the builder hot on their trail. Loki and Svaðilfari ran all night and upon seducing the stallion, Loki mated with the horse as a mare before returning to asgard with an eightlegged horse named Sleipnir, whom Loki had birthed. This caused the builder to finish his work late and forfeited his list of demands. When the builder finds out about the trickery, he stormed asgard and was stopped immediately by Thor. Protecting asgard, Thor killed the builder. As for Sleipnir, he grew to become the fastest horse and Odin's prized steed.
Þrymskviða (Thrymskvida)
During this time, Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, was with Þrymr (Thrym), the jötnar king, and the gods needed to retrieve it. Loki had borrowed Freyja's falcon feather cloak and located the hammer in Jötunheim, returning to Asgard empty handed. The gods came up with a plan to retrieve the hammer, Thor and Loki traveling instead of Freyja as Þrymr would only release it if the goddess would marry him. Freyja grew angry upon hearing the news, storming the halls and in the process, losing her necklace. Seeing the enraged goddess, Heimdall suggested that Thor disguise himself as Freyja to go in her stead, Loki accompanying as "Freyja's" handmaid. Thor agreed and borrows Freyja's necklace before traveling with Loki to "wed" Thrym. When the two gods arrive at Jötunheimr, they were greeted by a feast, the giants gifting them the hammer and placed it in front of the thunder god. As soon as Thor saw the hammer, the two of them battled and won against the giants before heading home.
Sif
Loki cut off Sif's hair while she was sleeping as a prank. This earned the wrath of Thor who was Sif's husband. Thor wasted no time in confronting Loki, whom upon recognizing the seriousness of the situation he was in, promised to replace Sif's golden locks by giving the dwarves of Svartalfheim a visit. To convince Thor to let him go, Loki promised the hair would be of real gold and more beautiful than before. After Thor agreed, Loki traveled to Svartalfheim and approached the sons of Ivaldi with his order request. They crafted the headpiece for Sif but made other gifts for the gods such as Odin's spear Gungnir, and Freyr’s ship Skidbladnir. He bet Brokk and Sindri (or Eitri according to some sources) Loki's own head that their work wouldn't be as good as Ivaldi's sons. Loki upon fearing his life yet again, transformed into that of a fly to distract Brokk and Sindri, biting Sindri's hand as he got to work and completing Freyr's Gullinbursti (golden boar). Upon seeing Brokk start his work, Loki as a fly, bit Brokk's neck but despite the distractions, he completed Draupnir, Odin's magical gold ring. Lastly, Brokk started to make Thor's hammer, Mjölnir. To delay and distract Brokk more, Loki bit Brokk's eyelid, thus blinding him and resulting in a handle too short to be perfect as it would require one hand to wield instead of two. This made Loki win his bet with the brothers.
Freyja's Brísingamen
One night, Freya slipped away and found a cave full of dwarves where she watched them make a beautiful necklace to which she desired. The goddess tried to buy it but they would only part with it if she spent one night with each of them and desiring the necklace, she agreed. After she completed her side of the bargain and obtained the necklace from the dwarves, Loki discovered her actions and rushed to tell Odin to which the allfather demanded the jewelry as proof. Loki then turned himself into a flying insect such as a flea or fly, and snuck into Freyja's chambers, biting the sleeping goddess' cheek in order to steal the necklace. When she woke, she confronted Odin to which he advised her of his knowledge of her affair, telling her that he would return the jewelry if she could manipulate two kings into fighting in a never ending war.
Hreidmar
Odin, Loki, and Hoenir were traveling together one time when they got hungry. An otter ran by carrying a salmon when Loki picked up a stone and launched it at the otter, effectively killing it in one blow. He then picked up both the otter and the salmon and the trio went on their way, impatient for their meal. They soon came across a hut belonging to the farmer Hreidmar and requested to stay the night, offering to share their food in exchange. They soon discovered that the farmer Hreidmar was a sorcerer; the otter his son whom had transformed from man to animal. The sorcerer tied the gods down using magic and craved revenge for the death of his son. It was Odin who talked the gods out of their impending deaths by asking for a chance to pay for their forgiveness. They were tasked with filling and burying the otter's body with red gold and it was up to Loki to acquire it. He made the journey to talk to Aegir and Ran, gods of the sea, and asked to borrow Ran's net. Next, he visited the lyre of Andvari, placing Ran's net in the pool of water and catching a pike. Upon closer inspection of the fish, Loki realized that it was no fish but instead it was Andvari, a dwarf whom Loki forces to reveal the location of the gold. Loki takes all the gold as well as a hidden ring, leaving the dwarf frustrated. As Loki leaves, Andvari curses the gold and ring to destroy anyone who ends up owning the objects. Unbothered, Loki returned to fill and cover the otter with the gold, using the cursed ring to finish covering the body which left Hreidmar satisfied. On their way out, Loki smiles and in a low voice, mutters the same curse's words, transferring the curse to Hreidmar.
Fáfnir
Fáfnir was a dwarf who had been transformed into a dragon after stealing Andvari's cursed gold and later protected his hoard. There was a human hero named Sigurd who killed Fáfnir. Loki helped Sigurd by tricking Fáfnir into revealing his weak spot, allowing the hero to pierce the flesh with a magical sword.
The Jötunn Thiazi
Loki, Odin, and Honir traveled in the mountains, earning quite the appetite. After killing an ox, the group built a fire to cook their meal. After a long wait, the meat was still raw and would not cook, no matter how hard they tried. The jötunn Thiazi revealed himself in a nearby tree, disguised as a large eagle. Thiazi announced that he was the reason for the still raw meat and that it would remain that way unless he was allowed first dibs. The gods aggreed for they were hungry but to their dismay, Thiazi continued to scarf down the ox meat, the carcass quickly disappearing before the gods' very eyes. Witnessing his dinner disappearing, Loki grew angry and struck Thiazi with his spear. With the weapon stuck in Thiazi's side, he opened his large wings and began to fly away with Loki dangling behind. The more Loki collided into trees and boulders, he begged the giant for freedom, Thiazi agreeing after making Loki swear an oath to him.
Honouring his oath to Thiazi, Loki set out to trick Idun to leave asgard and into a nearby forest. Loki told the goddess of other apples in the forest, that they needed to be compared to her very own golden apples. Idun followed Loki with her apples, unaware of the plot folding around her. As soon as she left the protection of asgard, Thiazi swooped down in eagle form and stole the goddess away, along with her apples. He took her away to his home, Thrymheimr in Jötunheimr, as the gods began to grow old and weak due to the missing apples as they were the source of their immortality.
The gods immediately confronted Loki who once again found himself in hot water. He then devised a plan to return both Idun and her apples to asgard. First, he borrowed Freyja's magical cloak and transformed into a falcon to fly to Jötunheim. When he arrived, he found Idun alone so he transformed her into a nut for ease of flying her back home. It wasn't long until Thiazi realized what happened and chased after Loki until they neared Asgard where the gods witnessed the pursuit and took action. They worked quickly to light a fire, Loki escaping while Thiazi's wings burnt to a crisp and he fell to his death.
Skadi, Thiazi's daughter, arrived in Asgard unpon hearing news of her father's death and demanded for things to be made right. She wanted the gods to make her laugh, to which Loki tied a rope to the beard of a goat while the other end remained tied to his testicles. When the goat tried to pull away from Loki, the god yelped and squirmed and when Loki tried to pull away, the goat had a similar reaction; leaving both Loki and the animal squealing. After a while, Loki fell into Skadi's lap, earning a laugh from the giant.
Baldr
Baldr was very handsome and a ray of light, making him well loved. His mother, Frigg, made every objecct and planet but mistletoe, make an oath to never hurt her son. Loki, disguised as an old woman to trick Frigg, discovered that mistletoe was the only thing that hadn't taken the oath and he soon got to work on forging a magical spear made of mistletoe. He took the spear with him to where the gods were playing games of tossing weapons at Baldr and gifted the spear to Baldr's brother Höðr to hurl at the invincible god. The blind god Höðr threw the spear at Baldr with Loki's guidance, effectively killing him. Upon hearing the news of her son's death, Frigg sent Hermodr to the underworld to barter for Baldr's life. Hel accepted the negotiations under the condition that all living beings cry for Baldr. All cried except a giantess named Thokk whom was simply Loki in disguise, leaving Baldr to stay in the underworld.
Lokasenna
Lokasenna was Loki's truth telling; it was when he finally snapped and told all the gods how he truly felt. The sea god, Aegir (Gymir), invited the other gods to a feast in his hall and appointed his servants Fimafeng and Eldir to welcome the gods into his hall. The two servants gained much praise the more they welcomed the gods, making Loki jealous enough to kill Fimafeng. When the gods witnessed the fit of rage, they kicked Loki out of the hall, letting the gods drink and feast without worry. It wasn't long until Loki returned, demanding to join the feast, reminding Odin about their blood oath after Bragi wanted to kick him out yet again. Upon sitting down at the table, Loki questioned Bragi's courage, insulting the god of poetry. Idun, Bragi's wife, tried to calm Bragi to which she gained Loki's attention and he insulted her faithfullness. Loki then turned on Gefion and Odin, shooting insults at the all father. Frigg, Odin's wife, tried calming the gods, earning Loki's wrath, accusing her of being unfaithful. Freyja, Njord, Tyr, and Byggvir tried to confront Loki, earning more of Loki's wrath. Thor who was absent, arrived to warn Loki, advising him to drop the subject and calm down but this only spured on the trickster god more, questioning the thunder god and taunting him with what lies ahead in Ragnarok and more. This earned Thor to become angry and threaten Loki with his hammer. Satisfied with his words, Loki left the feast, complimenting Thor on the way out while at the same time, insulting the rest of the gods by announcing that only Thor can truly be threatening.
As soon as Loki left the feast, he realized that he was no longer safe and fled from Asgard, running to a mountaintop where he built a house with the abiity to see in every direction. During daylight hours, he took the form of a salmon to hide in the nearby river while at night, he fished. It wasn't long until the gods began their search for Loki to seek their punishment for his outburst and Odin soon found the trickster's location. Upon seeing the Aesir gods approaching, Loki burnt up his fishing net and fled to the water in salmon form. He evaded capture via the net the gods fashioned but was caught in midair by Thor who held him by his fins and carried him to a cavern where Loki would be tortured until ragnarok.
Loki's sons Vali and Nari were brought to the cavern where Vali was transformed into a wild wolf and killed his own brother, Nari. The Aesir gods picked up Nari's entrails from the ground and used them to magically bind Loki to a boulder. Once he was bound, Skadi placed a venomous snake above Loki which lived longer than average; dripping it's acidic venom down on the trickster. His wife, Sigyn, chose to stay with him, using a bowl to catch the venom and protect her dear husband. The bowl above Loki would quickly fill with venom to which Sigyn had to empty, leaving Loki to cry out in pain, his wailing causing earthquakes. The two stay until Ragnarok, when Loki breaks free of his bindings.
Ragnarok
Leading up to Ragnarok, Loki is bound to a boulder by the entrails of one of his sons, his wife by his side. When Ragnarok comes, he breaks free of his binds and travels to his daughter, Hel; bringing an army of the dead with him upon aquiring Naglfar, the ship of nails. From there, he travels to Jötunheimr, the land of the giants, and helps the jötnar travel to Asgard. During Ragnarok, he fights against Heimdall to which they kill each other.
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