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Author Topic: Why is Loki so active recently?  (Read 8035 times)

wadjet

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Why is Loki so active recently?
« on: July 24, 2012, 01:55:30 am »
There's been a lot of discussion and inspiration concerning Loki, and not just among people following Norse-based traditions. Although I'm certain that some of it is certainly just "trending", these things always seem like more than just a coincidence to me, when so many people are reporting their own sudden experiences.

Why now? Why would Loki be suddenly so interested in touching the lives of so many people?  Does anyone have any speculation?

(I do NOT mean this question as "why is Loki suddenly so popular" because I've got some strong opinions on that and I'm sure everyone else does too, so let's not go there.)

(Inspired by this thread, and others.)

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Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2012, 02:32:08 am »
Quote from: wadjet;65759
There's been a lot of discussion and inspiration concerning Loki, and not just among people following Norse-based traditions. Although I'm certain that some of it is certainly just "trending", these things always seem like more than just a coincidence to me, when so many people are reporting their own sudden experiences.

Why now? Why would Loki be suddenly so interested in touching the lives of so many people?  Does anyone have any speculation?

(I do NOT mean this question as "why is Loki suddenly so popular" because I've got some strong opinions on that and I'm sure everyone else does too, so let's not go there.)

(Inspired by this thread, and others.)

I know you don't want to go here but I still have to say it; the movies Thor and The Avengers might have a LOT to do with it. People are calling His name, fangirling over Him and otherwise drawing attention to Midgard. I think it's only logical that a God like Loki would come to have a look...
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wadjet

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Re: Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2012, 03:08:47 am »
Quote from: Elani Temperance;65763
I know you don't want to go here but I still have to say it; the movies Thor and The Avengers might have a LOT to do with it. People are calling His name, fangirling over Him and otherwise drawing attention to Midgard. I think it's only logical that a God like Loki would come to have a look...

 
Dammit, I said don't go there. :p

But facepalming aside, I do believe the energy we create as humans shapes and "fuels" the Gods, and so with all these people generating so much Loki related energy, it makes sense that he would start showing up. (It seems to me he started showing up before the movies, but I might be wrong? I don't ever see movies.)

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Re: Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2012, 06:14:49 am »
Quote from: wadjet;65759


Why now? Why would Loki be suddenly so interested in touching the lives of so many people?  Does anyone have any speculation?



Loki in domestic folklore is a bit different than Loki in the mythology (and I'm going to say there's more evidence for folk Loki than mythic Loki). Folk Loki is more of a wight than a Great God, and he tends to relate more to the "common people". In folk tales he's the type that shirks his duties and doesn't conform but uses his intelligence to get the princess and take part of the kingdom. Which is a good story for the low man on the totem pole. But if you're the king than Loki is a disruptive force and an annoyance...and naturally the mythology is from the king's point of view.

So you can see where this is heading. The world has been dealing with the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, rewriting civil rights, anti-one percent, etc etc. Social upheaval right now is all about disturbing the reign of the elite, and allowing the common man to have a voice. I know you don't want to go there, but the question of whether Loki is leading the people or the people are simply identifying with Loki will always be there.

In the end, Loki is never the type to rule, folk or mythic. But he does produce change.

(Folk Loki is also an annoyance to the common people at times, I should add. His irreverent nature makes him less of an honoured spirit and more of the precocious spirit.)
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Re: Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2012, 06:52:39 am »
Quote from: wadjet;65759
There's been a lot of discussion and inspiration concerning Loki, and not just among people following Norse-based traditions. Although I'm certain that some of it is certainly just "trending", these things always seem like more than just a coincidence to me, when so many people are reporting their own sudden experiences.

Why now? Why would Loki be suddenly so interested in touching the lives of so many people?  Does anyone have any speculation?

(I do NOT mean this question as "why is Loki suddenly so popular" because I've got some strong opinions on that and I'm sure everyone else does too, so let's not go there.)

(Inspired by this thread, and others.)

 
I think, its because he has got attention now (partly also because of the movies). More people are thinking of him, and not just seeing him as a Norse Satan that should be avoided. He's got many new potential followers - in particulary, the ones that are ready to offer *themselves* to him, to do anything he asks in order to have the most intimal relationship with him, to become his "godspouse" - frankly, as a Trickster he would probably love to mess with some of these followers.

Also, there's a popularity of dark, chaotic characters in our modern culture - especially among such non-conformist public as the Neopagans - but that has been present for a long time already.

SkySamuelle

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Re: Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #5 on: July 24, 2012, 08:08:25 am »
Quote from: wadjet;65759
There's been a lot of discussion and inspiration concerning Loki, and not just among people following Norse-based traditions. Although I'm certain that some of it is certainly just "trending", these things always seem like more than just a coincidence to me, when so many people are reporting their own sudden experiences.

Why now? Why would Loki be suddenly so interested in touching the lives of so many people?  Does anyone have any speculation?

(I do NOT mean this question as "why is Loki suddenly so popular" because I've got some strong opinions on that and I'm sure everyone else does too, so let's not go there.)

(Inspired by this thread, and others.)

 
Sincerely as hard polytheist, I don't think that the human folk has so much power to shape the chracter of a deity according use or convenience and I consider more likely that, given opportunity, a god can simply want to try a new thing/aquire a new taste over time.

I would imagine that traditional norse paganism wasn't inclined to leave much space to Loki 's interaction with pagans. Today's apprecciation for chaotic characters lowered the threshold of diffidence toward him in some circles and modern paganism maybe opened the way to interact with deities and spirits in different ways.

It may be that he's not necessarily more active, but that we are more open to recognize his influence and he used thst chance to entertain himself.

And... I remember talk of Loki's relationship with his devotees from the old board and that was definitely pre-movie times.:p
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Re: Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #6 on: July 24, 2012, 08:14:39 am »
Quote from: wadjet;65759
Why now? Why would Loki be suddenly so interested in touching the lives of so many people?  Does anyone have any speculation?

(I do NOT mean this question as "why is Loki suddenly so popular" because I've got some strong opinions on that and I'm sure everyone else does too, so let's not go there.)


I know that you've said here that you'd rather not, but I do think that we need to "go there" to properly discuss Loki's recent activity. In what follows, I am assuming that every potential new follower is sincere in intention - it's not my place to make that judgement call - so I promise isn't going to be a "Hiddlestoooooon" thing.

I've always thought of Loki as a bit of a twat, in a good way. If we assume that a lot of Loki's new followers and a lot of the people noticing Loki at the moment are fans of Marvel or have involved themselves, in one way or another, with Avengers fandom (even just by seeing the movie), then I would personally also assume that Loki might be really into this new-found popularity.
 
If you're always painted as the jerk of the pantheon, it's probably a refreshing (or entertaining) change to have a sudden increase in followers - and, applying mortal values to a god (which I know is silly, but entertain me for the time being) - why wouldn't he take advantage of that? People are becoming exposed to Loki's mythos, primarily through pop culture.

Loki is a god who can keep up with the times, so I'd personally think that he knows how to take advantage of that and use it for his own gain. If pop culture encourages people to come to Loki - and I do believe that it is - then maybe Loki's enjoying some new play things. Or, maybe I should stop applying mortal convictions to a god. :ange:

Faemon

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Re: Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2012, 08:40:11 am »
Quote from: Juniperberry;65775
Loki in domestic folklore is a bit different than Loki in the mythology (and I'm going to say there's more evidence for folk Loki than mythic Loki). Folk Loki is more of a wight than a Great God, and he tends to relate more to the "common people". In folk tales he's the type that shirks his duties and doesn't conform but uses his intelligence to get the princess and take part of the kingdom. Which is a good story for the low man on the totem pole. But if you're the king than Loki is a disruptive force and an annoyance...and naturally the mythology is from the king's point of view.

So you can see where this is heading. The world has been dealing with the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, rewriting civil rights, anti-one percent, etc etc. Social upheaval right now is all about disturbing the reign of the elite, and allowing the common man to have a voice. I know you don't want to go there, but the question of whether Loki is leading the people or the people are simply identifying with Loki will always be there.

In the end, Loki is never the type to rule, folk or mythic. But he does produce change.

(Folk Loki is also an annoyance to the common people at times, I should add. His irreverent nature makes him less of an honoured spirit and more of the precocious spirit.)

I like that angle!

I was also thinking, as others have said, that because of Loki's popularity, he can be more active. Because he gets more attention, and even if that attention doesn't come from self-identified worshippers, it still lends a little emotional energy-- a little multiplied by millions. So he'd how have the energy to pretty much do whatever catches his interest.

But it is a good question: is Loki active because he's popular, or is he popular... because he's active? In which case, he'd probably have been so active recently for a simpler reason, such as that it's not exactly his nature to rest...
« Last Edit: July 24, 2012, 08:41:24 am by Faemon »
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Re: Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #8 on: July 24, 2012, 10:26:58 am »
Quote from: wadjet;65759

Why now? Why would Loki be suddenly so interested in touching the lives of so many people?  Does anyone have any speculation?


I agree that Loki is associated with change and lots of that is going on now. He also does some of the gods 'dirty work' and as such calls them on it occasionally. Lots of that going on right now too.

There are some tale of Loki taking on female forms (birthing Sleipnir) and there is a lot of gay rights coming to the surface right now too. I wouldn't be surprised to find him interested in that issue. Not that he's gay just he would have a understanding of gender and sexuality issues.

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Re: Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #9 on: July 29, 2012, 10:56:47 pm »
Quote from: SkySamuelle;65785
And... I remember talk of Loki's relationship with his devotees from the old board and that was definitely pre-movie times.:p

 
Oh good. I just wanted to check about that. Honestly, for the movie thing, I really try to give people the benefit of the doubt (because frankly the majority of people getting into paganism because they love a movie probably don't stay in paganism; Practical Magic is still one of my favorites, but for every one of me, there's twenty girls that tried to cast spells in their teen years and then forgot about it).

I want to add a sidenote to everyone: I did a little digging into the background of "godspouse" and related concepts, and those people whom it originated with are individuals I consider "legit". (As in, they have been practicing their faith many many years and have made great sacrifices in their lives, and their definitions of "godspouse" is more in the monk/nun sense.) Personally, that makes me feel better overall.

A lot of you bring up awesome points too. I agree with the gay rights concept; I think most people agree Loki is not a "straight" God. But also the current modern Cynicism, the chaos, the protesting, the trolling - and all the people acting out selfishly and the serious need for them to learn the consequences of their actions, which I believe is the best lesson of the Eddas. It's all a very Loki-friendly atmosphere.

(Why isn't Eris popping up? I suppose she just keeps a lower profile.)

I still feel that the Gods need human worshipers to function, or else why would they bother with us. But that's a whole 'nother topic for polytheists.

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Re: Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2012, 10:02:43 am »
Quote from: wadjet;66583


(Why isn't Eris popping up? I suppose she just keeps a lower profile.)

 
(Or maybe She's the instigator behind the Flying Spaghetti Monster fad... :D: )
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wadjet

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Re: Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #11 on: August 01, 2012, 03:54:15 am »
Quote from: Stardancer;66784
(Or maybe She's the instigator behind the Flying Spaghetti Monster fad... :D: )

 
Aha! Knew she was sneaking around somewhere. Also the Invisible Pink Unicorn cult, I suspect....

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Re: Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #12 on: August 01, 2012, 05:59:02 am »
Quote from: wadjet;65759


Beyond my borderline sarcastic "Because He wants to" I wouldn't really add much to this discussion, as a lot of posts in this thread are many that I agree with. I do think the Avengers plays a part in it, and Loki being Loki, is probably enjoying this popularity and using it. I'm rather fond of the movies though. Loki kind of bugged me before I learned about them, so I'm just kind of sitting here watching this unfold...and dealing with the awkwardness of seeing a Loki RPer or a Sigyn RPer pop up in the Lokean tag I track on Tumblr.

With the Avengers, there's also the explanation or idea that Loki's activity might just have a lot to do with how society is now. Society is changing constantly. Things that were once taboo are being accepted as normal and embraced. There are some out there who can't accept this new society that is changing it's values, worldview and just...growing more nonconformist. Like the OP said, it's all a very Loki-friendly atmosphere and it would cause Loki to be more curios and thus more active.

While using the Avengers fandom as another means to gaining more followers.
Because you know he would do it.
« Last Edit: August 01, 2012, 05:59:42 am by Tay Redgrave »

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Re: Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #13 on: August 01, 2012, 09:25:54 pm »
Quote from: LuciaStar;66926
Beyond my borderline sarcastic "Because He wants to" I wouldn't really add much to this discussion, as a lot of posts in this thread are many that I agree with.

[...snip...]

While using the Avengers fandom as another means to gaining more followers.
Because you know he would do it.


I totally agree with this. I'm pretty sure he would think all of his depictions are hilarious. (And thank you for giving your opinion as a Lokean.)

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Why is Loki so active recently?
« Reply #14 on: August 12, 2012, 11:34:00 pm »
Quote from: Elani Temperance;65763
I know you don't want to go here but I still have to say it; the movies Thor and The Avengers might have a LOT to do with it. People are calling His name, fangirling over Him and otherwise drawing attention to Midgard. I think it's only logical that a God like Loki would come to have a look...

I've not liked Marvel's take on anything Norse even when I was little. The Loki from the recent movies wasn't too bad since he comes out looking like the good guy (in Thor).

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