1. Loki, the Trickster God (Norse Mythology)

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Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Welcome, my spooky friends, toMythos According to Yours Truly.
I'm your host, Wendy Morrow.
On this podcast, we dive intomyths and folklore from all over
the world.
These stories have shapedcultures and stirred
imaginations, and kept uscaptivated for centuries.
Together, we'll explore theorigins, meanings, and mysteries

(00:22):
behind these tales with a freshperspective and a little bit of
fun.
So grab your favorite drink andgather around my campfire for a
tale you won't forget.
In the golden land of Asgard,there lived Loki, the trickster
god.
He was clever and charming andunpredictable, always hovering
between loyalty and deceit.

(00:44):
The gods of Asgard knew himwell, as a companion and at
times an enemy, for Loki'sactions rarely stayed within the
bounds of ordinary.
He was as quick witted as he wasdangerous, his antics ranging
from playful to treacherous.
One night, after a great feast,Loki stopped by the roaring fire

(01:05):
in Odin's Grand Hall.
His eyes sparkled with mischiefas he regaled the gods with
stories of his clever tricks andclose calls he's had with
danger.
Thor, seated across from him,scowled.
Loki, he said, his voice a lowrumble.
I wonder if there's a singletale you can tell that doesn't

(01:25):
end in mischief or trickery, hesaid almost in a mocking tone.
Loki grinned, leaning back.
Where would the fun be in that,Thor?
Besides, my tricks bring as muchfortune to Asgard as they do
trouble.
Thor's hand uncautiouslytightened on his hammer.

(01:46):
Mjolnir.
Perhaps, but I've yet to see oneof your schemes end well for
anyone but you.
Loki shrugged, his grin unfazed.
We all have our roles to play,brother.
Mine just happens to be, well,more entertaining.
One evening, while Asgard slept,Loki found himself restless, his

(02:08):
mind always turning, sought somenew amusement.
He found himself wandering intoThor's halls, as one should not
be doing at this time.
He strolled past the chambers,he noticed one door open, wide,
with a beautiful woman inside,sleeping on the sofa.
As he strolled closer, henoticed she was none other than

(02:30):
a Sith.
Through his wife, her longgolden hair gleamed in the
moonlight.
An idea bloomed in Loki's mind.
Sif didn't even stir as he madehis advance.
Without a second thought, hegrabbed her hair, and with his
sword in the other hand, hechopped it off, leaving uneven
ends and unmatted hair behind.

(02:52):
The next morning, when Sifdiscovered her loss, her wails
echoed throughout the halls ofAsgard, bringing a furious Thor
to Loki's door.
Loki, Thor bellowed, storminginto Loki's chambers.
What did you do to my wife?
Loki put his hands up in mocksurrender, a smirk playing on

(03:14):
his lips.
Oh, come on now, Thor, it wasonly a bit of fun.
I'll make it right.
You had better, Thor growled, orI will use Mjolnir to make sure
this is the last trick you everplay.
Inwardly amused, but aware ofthe consequences, Loki traveled
to the dwarves, the skilledblacksmiths of the Nine Realms.

(03:36):
He promised them riches and fameif they crafted a golden
hairpiece for Sif that would notonly be beautiful, but would
grow as if it was her own hair.
The dwarves agreed, and Lokireturned to Asgard with Sif's
new hair, more radiant thanbefore.
But Loki never wanted to letopportunity pass.

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Asked the dwarves to forge othertreasures for the gods as well.
From the fires emerged Gungnir,Odin's unbreakable spear, and
Mjolnir, Thor's mighty hammer.
For a while, Loki's actionsseemed to bring good fortune,
but these gifts would soonreveal themselves to be part of
a larger, darker destiny.

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The Binding of Finrair In time,Loki's meddling led to more
serious consequences.
He fathered three strange andpowerful children.
Finr, the monstrous wolf.
Jor, or Jormungandr, the worldcircling serpent.
And Hel, a ruler of the dead.

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These children, born of Loki'swild nature, were prophesied to
bring great suffering to Asgard.
Odin, fearful of the prophecy,decreed that Finwër should be
bound.
The gods crafted chains of ironand presented them to Finwër
under the guise of a game.
But Finwër, weary of theirintentions, refused to be bound

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unless one of the gods placed ahand on his mouth as a pledge of
trust.
Only Tyr, the brave god of war,stepped forward, as Fenrir
snapped the chains, the godsfashioned stronger binding,
until finally, they called uponthe dwarves to forge an
unbreakable ribbon calledGlypnir.
It looked like silk, but wasmade of impossible things.

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The sound of cats footfalls, andthe roots of mountains, also the
breath of a fish.
When they brought Glypnir toFinrair, he grew suspicious.
If this binding is so thin, hegrowled, why do you fear to
place it on me?
To appease him, Tyr placed hishand on Finrair's mouth.

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As soon as the ribbons heldtight, Finrair realized he'd
been tricked.
In a rage, he bit down, severingTyr's hand.
Bound and furious, Finrair layin wait, vowing revenge upon the
gods.
Loki's mischiefs escalated overthe years until it took a dark
turn.
The gods loved Baldur, theshining god of light, who was

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beloved by all creatures andinvulnerable to harm, or so it
seemed.
His mother, Frigg, has securedpromises from everything in the
world not to harm him.
Everything, except mistletoe.
Loki, ever watchful for anopportunity, crafted a dart from

(06:36):
mistletoe, and approached Hod,Boulder's blind brother, during
a festival.
Hear, Hod, Loki whispered,placing the dart in his hand.
Let's join the fun, take aim,let Boulder show his
invincibility.
Blind and trusting, Hod threwthe dart, and it struck Boulder,
killing him instantly.

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The gods were stricken withgrief.
And once again, their eyes turnto Loki.
The Punishment of Loki.
For his many betrayals, the godsfinally captured Loki, binding
him to a rock in a dark cavern.
A venomous serpent was placedupon him, its poison dripping

(07:18):
onto his face.
His loyal wife held a bowl tocatch the venom, but whenever
she left to empty it, the venomburned Loki, causing him to
thrash and to wreathe in pain,shaking the earth with his fury.
Bound in agony, Loki waited,knowing that the day of his

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reckoning, Ragnarok, was coming.
In the dark, he dreamed of theend, a time when he would break
free, when Finrair would escapeand Jor would rise, bringing
chaos and fire upon Asgard.
The Prophecy of Ragnarok.
The seers spoke of Ragnarok, thedoom of the gods.

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The sky would darken, the worldwould tremble, and Loki would
stand among the giants, leadingthem to a battle against the
gods.
Thor would face, jaw, theserpent in a fight that would
end them both.
Odin would fall to FINRA's Jaws,and the flames would consume
Asgard.

(08:20):
In the end, Loki's tricks andbetrayal were more than mere
mischief.
They were threads woven into thefabric of fate.
His story is a cautionary tale,for cunning and consequences of
loyalty twisted into betrayal.
For all his cleverness, Lokicould not escape the destiny he

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crafted himself.
And as Ragnarok approached, thetrickster god awaited his final,
fateful act in the tale of thegods.
Okay friends, thank you forjoining me for the end of this
story.
I have a tradition that I willbe starting on my podcast where
I share a scripture that goesalong with the story and talk

(09:07):
about it and just share thelessons I've learned, throughout
this story because I think thebest thing we can do about with
stories like these is just takewhat we've learned and apply
them to our life.
Today, I chose Proverbs 26 verse24 through 26, and it says, He
th heath dissemble it with hislips and layeth up deceit within

(09:32):
him when he speaketh fairbelieve him not for.
There are seven abominations inhis heart whose hatred is
covered by deceit.
His wickedness shall be shooedbefore the whole congregation.
These verses reflect thedeceptive nature of low key.
Who uses trickery for bothpersonal gain and to manipulate

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others, often hiding his owntrue intentions.
I truly believe that unlikeHelloKey, we can all just have a
come to God moment or even cometo ourself moment.
If you're not spiritual, orreligious, if you're just
learning and growing I trulybelieve that.

(10:16):
Humans are good.
I think I'm an optimist, but I'ma realistic optimist.
And I think that, humans areborn with, good in their heart.
And so, when I see and hearstories like this one, I just
think about the special momentshe's missing out on.

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For example, I just think all ofhis stories and his tricks were
unnecessary.
He was just doing it for theplot.
I have a roommate that'sstudying criminal justice, and
she was saying how one of theattributes for a serial killer

(10:59):
is that they are constantlylooking for like an adrenaline
rush.
I think it's good to learn howto cope with the little things
in life, like brushing yourteeth, just the mundane.
I was like trying to say theword, the mundane things in
life.
The simple things, simple acts.

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I think one way we candefinitely find joy is by
serving other people.
I think, in the movies, thereason we really like Loki is
because he has this dark nature,but these good intentions.
And, it's weird because unlikethe movies, he just, he has no

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redemption arc.
Which really sucks, but that'sthe actual reality of this
story.
I love Loki, I love the movies,and I do love Tom Hiddleston, I
think he's a great guy, but.
Real low key, actual low key,it's just kind of a bully, to be

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honest.
So, don't be a bully.
Be kind.
Don't use other people for yourown benefit.
There's too many people out herealready doing that.
So be a light.
In a dark place.
And try to serve others becauseI think it'll bring you a lot
more joy and happiness than theopposite.

(12:27):
So don't be a low key, just be ahigh key.
That was a really bad, that wasa really bad joke, You've got to
admit that was a little funny.
It was funny.
It was a little funny.
Thank you guys for joining me onmy very first episode.
I'm so glad to have you.
I know it's kind of a struggle,but we got through it.

(12:50):
It was a good time, and I'll seeyou again, my spooky friends.