PaganSquare


PaganSquare is a community blog space where Pagans can discuss topics relevant to the life and spiritual practice of all Pagans.

  • Home
    Home This is where you can find all the blog posts throughout the site.
  • Tags
    Tags Displays a list of tags that have been used in the blog.
  • Bloggers
    Bloggers Search for your favorite blogger from this site.
  • Login
    Login Login form
Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in loki
The Pagan Experience: Deity - Loki

(Image of Loki by Astral Eventide, commissioned by me in 2011)

The prompt for Week 3 of the Pagan Experience is to blog about Deity - Those Who guide you. Considering the fact that this blog is pretty much The Loki Show, it's probably redundant to introduce Him here; if you read my blog, you're familiar with His work.

...
Last modified on

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Love and Deity

Language shapes our perception of reality, and multiple words for a concept reflect the nuances of that concept. The typical example that most people have heard is that Inuit people have multiple words for snow, because their lives depend on it; its presence in different forms affects their lives in different ways. In English, we just have snow.

And this is not the only word that we only have one word for that another culture has multiple words to express, which brings me to love. English has one word for love, and while I love Loki, I love my child, and I love tacos, each one of those loves is a very different type of love. Ancient Greek had multiple variations on love; bhakti has different types:

...
Last modified on
Recent comment in this post - Show all comments
  • Linette
    Linette says #
    In my trad...or maybe in my UPG...love is cooperation. Period. Different styles of "love" exist because cooperation takes differe

Posted by on in Paths Blogs
Sympathy for the Devil

Sure, I love bad boys. They’re sexy, rebellious, often funny, deliciously scary.  But why I really love them? Because they’re honest. Because they know how to suffer. On those days when Facebook is filled with “humble brags” and Pollyanna affirmations, I find myself on the side of those who aren’t afraid to complain. 

 

...
Last modified on

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Another Girl's Paradise

I live in Paradise. Or at least, some people’s version of Paradise. I’m also a long-time Tori Amos fan, as I’m sure some of you gentle readers have already divined by the amount of her work on my blog. I love her for many reasons, among them that she’s unapologetic about her spirituality, her beauty, and her sexuality. And like me, she is also a rape survivor. In many ways, that in particular fascinates me because she seems less hindered by her assault than I am in terms of being willing or able to express desire. I had a lover ask me once what I wanted, and I was at a loss to express anything in particular, in no small part because asking for it seems Dangerous with a capital D.

And I’m not the only One aware of this problem – recently, Loki specifically asked me to tell Him what I wanted. Again, I don’t know. I’m always happy to try things, but I don’t ask or initiate, because I’ve been shamed into not wanting to express any sort of desire. Again, asking for it is, well, asking for it. Given the fact that I write romance, I’m sure that sound strange, but in essence, it’s Not Me enough to be Another Girl’s Paradise, and I can enjoy it, express myself.

...
Last modified on
Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Erin Lale
    Erin Lale says #
    I so relate to this! I've never heard this song (I mostly listen to filk and old folk music) but I find myself nodding at all thes
  • Julie Landa
    Julie Landa says #
    I, too, am a huge Tori fan and have a difficult time asking for what I want. Thanks for the reminder that I can, and the inspiring

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

Below is the tale of Baldr as it came to me while I conducted my research.  The purpose of this post is to continue to honor all the gods wrongly placed in the atheist’s graveyard.  I do not pretend that this is what the Eddas or any other ancient writings say.  This is my tale written to fulfill my promise.  No more, no less.  

b2ap3_thumbnail_mistletoe.JPG

Last modified on

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
What's In a Name?

So I’ve been mulling over the power of names, as of late, spurred in part by Feoh’s thoughtful post on titles and namedropping, and also on this one on July for Loki by Reading Heathenism. Naming, titles, and trads: what’s in a name, anyway? I agree with Feoh’s assessment that some people like to drop all their names and titles for bragging rights, which is silly, because even if it's not bragging, I think some people only need so much information at a time. I do a lot of local work, and many of the people who interact with me don’t know that I am a godspouse, and that’s because it’s too much information about me for what they need of me at the time. If I’m giving pastoral counseling to someone locally who is having food insufficiency issues, “godspouse” is not relevant to their interests – where they can find food for their next meal is far more important than all the background things on me. To me, that’s not being secretive or the like – that’s focusing on the task at hand.

And yet, perhaps giving the Work a name is akin to accepting that Work, for some people? In some ways our blog web handles are craft names of a sort, particularly if it’s a spiritually-oriented blog. And then there’s how you name your trad or practice: Are you a Heathen? A Hellenic? A Norse Pagan? Eclectic Pagan? A witch? Because I’m not really interested in the label per se – to me a label is more for others than for me – when I tell someone I’m a Norse Pagan, it’s usually someone who isn’t that familiar with the Norse Pantheon, and usually they’re Pagan or Paganish, and that’s descriptive enough for them. Someone who’s not Pagan at all gets a different name, and usually that’s just “Pagan.” Witch is probably more specific, but non-Pagans often think witch means something that it doesn’t, because of monotheistic bullshit misinformation. And again, if I’m giving pastoral counseling to someone whose teenager is on suicide watch, I’m not interested in teaching them what “witch” really means – I want to connect them with the local crisis unit so that the teen can be stabilized and the family can receive more comprehensive counseling and services. If at some point those people come back and realize that a Pagan/Norse Witch/Lokean helped them, awesome, but it’s not my primary concern.

...
Last modified on
Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Catherine Miles
    Catherine Miles says #
    EPIC! Preach it Girl! This post really made my day, week, month, Year! This is so true too! Thank you!
  • Lizann Bassham
    Lizann Bassham says #
    Great post, thank you!
  • Aislinn
    Aislinn says #
    Thank you, for writing down what I needed to read. Blessings to you!

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Podcast: What is a Godspouse?

Wanna hear what my voice sounds like? I am now hosting a podcast for the Raven Faerie, called Raven About Metaphysics. The inaugural episode is on Godspousery, and Seren Lebannen of Bonfire at Midnightis my guest, so there's some Trickster talk in general along with an overview of our experiences.

I would like to reiterate that most Lokispeople are notgodspouses, because I feel like in joking about how many wives He has, that I don't want to give the impression that anyone *has* to have that type of relationship with Him. There is something about His wives being vocal though, myself included. I don't have a scientific reason for it, but certainly He lights a fire in the head and in the heart, and that is why I talk about Him.

...
Last modified on

Additional information