As the oceans rage and roar. Thunder shakes the skies and lightning flashes over the waves. Underneath the depths unknown to man, a secret rage builds. A great and mighty Serpent stirs the waves. He thrashes under the darkened sea, Creating wave after wave of black terror. They crash together with thunderous roars. Tearing asunder any ship that has the unfortunate fate, Of being caught adrift in the Serpent’s fury. The Serpent’s body begins to break the surface. His scales shine like steel. His eyes glow like fiery embers. Searching for His vengeance. For He was cast away like unsightly vermin. Hunted for no other reason than game and fame. Anxious for the final days. Where He will clash with Thunder itself, And take revenge on the one who hunted Him. Even if victory is fleeting, His fangs will reign supreme. As He will have had the last laugh. For the Thunder God lays dead.
Lokean
Prayer to Hel
Hail to Hel. Ruler of the Underworld. Caretaker of Souls. Queen of Twilight. I hail You today. Help me accept that all must fade. Humans, animals, even Gods. All must feel the touch of eternal sleep. That none are immune to the caress of death. Not even Baldr, Who is now in Your care. Hail to You, Queen of Eternal Slumber. Hail to You, Goddess of Death. I hail You, Hel, Goddess of Her Hall. May our meeting be far in the future.
Little Black Wolf
Little black wolf with eyes like the sun. You who are seated with a sad fate. Restrained to a mountain. For the crime of existence. For a crime that You have no control over. The punishment handed out unfairly. Little black wolf with fur as soft as down. You who are seated with a sad fate. Restrained to a mountain. Your mother mourns Her son. Yet He is not dead, but confined, Confined, to His prison for no other reason but fear. Little black wolf with fangs as white as pearls. You who are seated with a sad fate. Restrained to a mountain. Your cries torture Your father. The sword that pierces You, wounds His heart deeply too. For He knows that there is nothing He can do to save You. Little black wolf with the a sad fate. You will one day have Your day. And break free from these ribbons and have Your justice. You will feast on those who've hurt You. On the bloody playground that is Ragnarök.
Old Friend
You stand at the window, gazing out at the stars. They twinkle and shine brightly but not as brightly as you once remembered. The shiny silver moon hangs waxing in the dark blue sea. You wonder where everyone has gone. You hear a door open and a voice call to you “are you still up?” You turn and start to head back to your bed. A nurse walks in, hands on their hips “now come on. What did I tell you about getting out of bed!” they put you to bed and scold you again before leaving.
You lay there for a moment before getting out of bed again. You go over to the small sink and mirror in a corner of your lonely room. As you gaze into the reflection you see that you are no longer that young person you once knew. Your youthful features are replaced by aged skin and grey locks. You run your hand over your face, hoping to smooth those wrinkles and lines away, but they still remain. Your eyes are tired and dark, your memory faulty. What color hair did you have? Was it brown or red? Maybe you dyed it different colors, you no longer remembered, and you honestly did not care. You turn to head back to bed. As you do your legs become weak and give way causing you to fall. But the impact never comes.
Someone is holding you tightly. “Wow, still kind of a klutz, eh?” You know that voice but who does it belong to? Did you have a spouse or partner? You can’t quite remember. Who was it that was speaking? You look up and catch the face of a familiar old friend. Their eyes were bright and full of mischief, a smile brimming with snark and flaming locks fall all around Them. You squint then exclaim happily, trying to hug your savior. They chuckle and hug you back. “You know, you’re not supposed to be out of bed.” They say teasing you.
You laugh as They lead you back to your bed. They help you get settled in and sit on the side of the bed. You both talk of the past, They tease you about embarrassing things that happened to you and praise all your accomplishments, big and small. After the reminiscing is finished, They caress your cheek gently. “You’re still the same, you know. Just older. To Me you’re still that same kind and loving soul.” You smile and start to cry. There are days you can’t remember Them and it breaks your heart. After all the things They have helped you with. All the days They had helped you out the darkness that had entered your life, They were that sliver of light when everything was engulfed in the blackness.
You apologize for not having a proper altar as the place you live would not allow it nor would they allow you to leave offerings of Their favorite treats and drinks. “Hey, hey it’s ok. I understand.” They say gently. You try to get up out of bed as you remembered that there was something you wanted to give Them. “Hey, what’s the hurry?” They ask. You tell Them that there was something that you wanted to give them. “Ok, I’ll get it, you just stay there. Don’t need you breaking a hip, you old fart.” They say teasingly. You tell Them that the item is in the drawer where the sink is.
They go over and open the drawer and take out the item and bring it over to you. It is a smooth rock, about as big as your palm and on it was a painting of a snake. You painted that for Them and have been wanting to give it to Them for so long. “Wow, you did this for me? Heh, I love it!” They observe the painted rock “you know it kind of looks like Jorms!” They say chuckling. They put the gift in a pouch for safe keeping. They sit back down on the bed and pat your leg “came by to check on you. Been awhile since I’ve heard from you.”
You apologize and try to explain that you’ve been ill and very tired all the time. They understand “No, don’t apologize. I know you’ve been sick. Illness always takes humans down, especially the older ones.” He gets up from the bed “don’t worry too much, I’ll see you on the flip side. Maybe we’ll prank Thor or mess with Skadi.” They say winking. You both say your goodbyes and They vanish in a puff of smoke. You lay back down and now a heavy tiredness overtakes you. You’ve never felt this before. Your body feels as if it is floating, and you start to close your eyes. The last thing you see is the concerned and frantic faces of people you don’t remember. You smile and drift off to sleep.
Darling Scarlip
How Your eyes shine with emerald light. They even glow under the starlight, Your eyes shame even the darkest night Your locks look like dancing flame, Fallen around You, they look like waves of heat. So smooth, so beautiful, I only wish to run my fingers through. Your skin glistens under moonlight. So soft, so smooth, I can’t help, But let my hands glide across Your chest. The soft caress of Your gentle hands, Sends tingles of joy all through my heart. Never have I felt anything so grand. Your lips soft and warm. From them fall the sweetest words. All my worries fade away. Darling Scarlip. Even when all is hopeless, And everything seems senseless And silence is all that permeates. Your voice brings sweet relief, And all my griefs are burned away.
Goddess of Twilight
You, Ruler of the Dead. How many times have I seen Your visage? Was it once, twice, or thrice? Your beautiful, graceful form standing over me. Waiting, watching; will this be the time? Many a time, have I come to Your door. I have felt Your icy touch glide across my chest. In its coldness, was a warmth, a comfort. I was not fearful nor sad but curious. Curious as why You have not yet taken me. A gentle caress of my cheek, Your whispers, sounding of soft chimes. “Not now, not yet, but one day.” You return me to the healers and tell me to go home. They lead me from Your door and back to my family. Your presence, now ever present. Reminds me just how fleeting this life is. So now I cherish these days that I live. Goddess of Twilight, may we meet again, when I am old and grey
Prayer to Angrboda
Angrboda, Mistress of the Ironwood. I call out to You. Mother of three great and powerful children. Queen of the wolves of the wood. Lover to the Trickster. Please guide me in Your wise ways, Please guide me through this chaotic river that is life, Please guide me through all the misfortune a human can bear. Angrboda, Mother of the powerful three. Hel, ruler of the Twilight. Fenrir, The great wolfen Chain Breaker. And Jormungandr, great barrier of Midgard’s Sea. I call upon You and Your power Aid me and assist me in becoming stronger, In becoming grounded, In becoming more in tuned with my spirit. Angrboda, great Sorceress of Jotunheim. I hail You and Your woods and family. Hail the Mistress of the Ironwoods.
Call to Fenrir – Severing Bonds Invocation
Fenrir, Great Wolf Chain Breaker and Bond Severer Son of Loki Adversary to the One-Eyed I call to You now For I am in need of aid Aid in severing a bond That binds me in place I call on Your aid in severing this bond For this bond no longer serves me Great Chain Breaker I ask for the strength To rid myself of these bindings So that I may move freely forward
More than Mischief
Chaos and change, that is what You bring. Change to those who remain. Chaos to those who are complacent. You bring forth both when You visit. For it is necessary, as I have a habit of becoming comfortably stagnant. You force me forward when I refuse to do so. Flicking Your flames at my feet; to keep me moving. You force my hand, whenever I hesitate. You urge confrontation when I willingly avoid it. You keep me from becoming too grim or too lofty. Tugging me down from pedestal or a gentle lightening of my darkened clouds. You encourage me to accept this chaotic channel. Teaching me how to move with its flows. That this is how life will always be. I value the chaos You bring; for it keeps me on my toes. I value the change You bring; for it keeps me ever moving. How I love and cherish You so. For You are so much more than mischief, so much more than trickster.
Pop Culture + Paganism
So, I want to just voice my thoughts on how paganism, well the Norse Gods and their myths are portrayed in pop culture and how some people might find their way to the Gods through said media.
First, I want to state I am a Norse Pagan and a Lokean, I enjoy video games, anime, manga, and T.V and I get so happy when I see something or someone from the Norse Myths end up in the media somehow, especially in video games and anime.
I see nothing wrong in enjoying something that has the Gods and their myths in it, it is meant for entertainment and of course things will be changed slightly or completely or even exaggerated from the original source. My reaction is “ok, this is for the entertainment” and I either indulge or not, depends on what it is. Then there are times I will find myself saying “Hey! That is not cool! Why are people treating my faith as a source of entertainment!?” Here is where I must take a step back and approach things from other’s perspectives.
- What I am watching/playing/reading is something NOT pagan related.
- The creator(s) are not pagan and are creating something using imagery/Gods/Norse Lore to entertain.
- The Norse Lore and Myths are seen as “Fantasy” rather than a people’s religion/faith. After all the old Gods are supposed have been replaced by Abrahamic God or other major religion, therefore do not exist as Gods but a “theme” for the fantasy genre.
- Having to accept that not everyone is going to see my faith as “legitimate” and will be used as a theme for something within the entertainment industry.
These are some of the things that I check off before I get angry at something I see in pop culture. I think I’ll use Marvel’s Loki and Thor as an example. Now I am not by any means a fan, but I will admit I do enjoy the Thor movies and enjoy Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston as Thor and Loki respectively. I know the comics were here before the movies and Loki’s show, but this would also apply to them as well. Stan Lee from my understanding wanted to delve into Old Norse lore so he decided that Thor would be the one he would use. After some Googling I found out that Jack Kirby was quite familiar with Thor and His stories and even knew about Odin, Heimdallr, and Baldr and wanted to modernize them for comics. Ok, so you have two people who obviously had to either enjoy the lore and stories enough to want to bring these Gods to people’s attention albeit through comics but still it places the spotlight on them and the stories. If we can overlook the creative liberties taken, I see this as the Gods and their stories reaching wider audiences.
“But people are going to get the wrong idea!” Well sure, but the ones that get their interest piqued are going to do their research and find out the original and not exaggerated stories and some might even delve into the historic part too I.E Viking age Scandinavia. I think it solely depends on the individual and what and how they see things. We can’t force people into seeing our faith as anything other than a “fantasy” I hate to admit it, but the damage is done, all we can do is educate the ones who are willing to listen.
Finding Norse Paganism through the popular media.
Ok so this is something else I wanted to address. I have seen lots of other pagans get so angry at newbies over how they made their way to paganism in the first place, especially if it was through pop culture. So, I have to say this; why does it matter how they found (insert deity here)? “They’re going to get the wrong idea about ____” or “That’s not how that deity is!” or my favorite “they are going to treat it as a phase!” Ok, so instead of getting angry why not offer help and advice? Why not encourage them to do their research? Why are more experienced Pagans so obsessed with gatekeeping? I have met fellow Lokeans that became interested in Loki after watching the Marvel movies, I mean deity Loki. They obviously have interest and want to learn more about deity Loki. Why not help them and of course remind them that Tom’s Loki is nothing like deity Loki. In fact, the Lokeans I’ve meet already knew that deity Loki was vastly different from Tom’s Loki. Now, yes some say that Loki did present as Tom’s Loki, but it changed over time, but then for some it did not and guess what? They are still Lokean and worship deity Loki. I just do not understand the anger towards newbies that found their way to paganism through the popular media. I was one of those people too, just not Marvel, but through a video game. Koei’s Warriors Orochi 4. I had become unusually obsessed with the Odin character in that game which I had done some reading about deity Odin and it just clicked for me. The experience that followed was so incredibly bizarre, that I don’t even believe it happened (will write about that later) anyways after I started honoring Odin I did get to “meet” Him just in a very, very vivid dream and He did appear as He was portrayed in that video game. Now yes that could have been me, but I also think it might have been a way to “break the ice” so to speak and grab my attention. That was almost two years ago. I take Odin very seriously, I even thought I was going through a phase myself but, nope here I am still honoring Odin now, but He does not present as that video game Odin anymore. When I first started working with Odin, I already knew that deity Odin and the video game portrayal were very different from one another, and I separate the two. Separating the pop culture and deity versions are important and I think we as pagans/Heathens/Lokeans should try to encourage and help them to separate the pop culture from the deity instead of going off on them and gatekeep.
Enjoying Popular culture as a Pagan
This is another thing that I also see a lot in pagan circles. That somehow you are not allowed to enjoy the pop culture or entertainment that portrays the Gods and the lore. Like its against the rules or something. I mean I get that some might find the portrayals offensive or disrespectful, or that they feel that the lore was not researched enough, and things get left out or changed, or that the faith was portrayed poorly. This goes back to my previous mention about how most of the people create these things are not pagan and do not see this faith as legitimate and as much as it hurts, must accept that there are people out there that see this as fantasy. I do not think it is fair to force people to drop their interest in what they enjoy just because you are offended by it. Let them enjoy their movies, comics, T.V shows, video games and anime by the end of the day those people are still pagan and know how to separate the pop from the actual lore and faith. This world already has so much anger in it already why not just let people be happy. So, if you enjoy the Marvel movies, love the show Vikings and play God of War and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and are pagan too then enjoy away! Do not let people bully you into dropping what you enjoy just because something was portrayed incorrectly, and they got mad over it.
This is just an opinion and my take on the pop culture thing. I see both sides of the argument, I get why people get mad but me personally, I choose not to get too angry over it. I have my moments but I go through my little checklist and try not to waste too much energy over it, I’m pretty laid back honestly. All I ask is that if you are one of those people who get angry over pop culture or people that enjoy it or found their way to paganism through, don’t bully or force the ones that do to stop enjoying what they love, either offer advice or just ignore them. Why waste energy by being angry at happy people? Stay Wyrd, my friends.
The Midgard Wyrdo 