Disclaimer. I am no leader of a temple or coven. I am not initiated into a tradition. I've worked with different teachers and workshops over the years. This is purely based on my study and experiences. There is a variety to magic and this is what I recommend that others may disagree with.
This is going to be a long one even when it covers basics and tips, but I felt like I can't split this up due to the overlap.
Chapters:
Why do spirits like Loki communicate with us?
This isn’t a question with a simple answer. When you’re starting out it's okay to ask this question over and over again. Poking different possibilities on how it can be answered. Seeing over time the changes you've gone through by how you answer it. Let yourself become a mini philosopher and develop your own experiences and cosmology. Don't be a complete reflection of something you read in a book or on the internet, especially when looking for your true self or your true Queer self. Gather different viewpoints from the living and the spirits. Accepting a different variety of answers can be both right and wrong for you.
If I was to share mine. I think it's simple that gods are not Omnipresent or Omniscient and have needs as we do. They also seek to help us enjoy life as they seek to enjoy theirs.
Life is infinite possibilities, development, and change. Gods experience it and ask around as we do. If life never stays the same, they cannot gather a set amount of knowledge and call it a day. If life is full of variety they can’t claim to know it all. So they continue to be open and seek shared discussions with everything.
There’s also the concept I play with philosophically. If gods are not all-knowing or all-powerful beings. What happens if they hit a hardship or a ‘bad winter’ in a seasonal spiritual sense? For me, there’s a mutual aid element. Gods do appear to have emotions like we do (from story and upg) so what happens if they get depressed, lonely, grieve, or need some emotional support? Like in life kindness helps. Kind words, a gift, a homely meal, needed social care, and sharing a laugh can help a god as it does for us to lift us out of melancholy. Loki helps us to find joy in life and in exchange we help Loki find joy in their existence. If a god lives for millennia, why wouldn’t they want companionship and shared joys? If a person is a child or a grown adult we still seek friendship or community to survive, so why not the gods?
To dig deeper into this it can be fun to ask via divination what gods think about community or what they need. Sometimes you discover they did want to share a life joy or even a small mundane cozy moment. Sometimes you discover you were the one in need and they heard you.
Of course, there are moments when people get distressed that they don't come to all their needs. I wonder if they do and despite the remaining hardship, it's less bad than it could have been. Sometimes maybe you are underestimating your own ability to take care. I don't think worshipping a god or being super close to them means zero hardship in life. It can mean better guides to help you through it, if you’re open and if they are giving good advice. If you absorb their good advice maybe you can give that to someone else in need. A mutual aid network echoes good support across communities that makes all of our hard times less sharp at cutting us. Sometimes you need to remember to keep your focus on the living world. Yearning or being drawn too much to the spirit side too much isn't good for you. So its good when a spirit like Loki gives you space and steps back so you can experience life again.
So let's get to the bit where I talk about how to talk to Loki in the first place.
Divination via spirit and mind
The most common method and the messiest is talking in your head to Loki. Hearing what you hope is them responding and not yourself. While I do this myself at times. It's not one I rely on. It's not one I would recommend to beginners to rely on. There are a few things I wish I did differently early on with this. While I’d argue to be very critical of all divination, this one needs extra care and caution. Since, you're not using cards or books you're using your mind that can be very fragile.
In my opinion, this is how it works:
On one side you got Loki saying hello.
In the middle are your thoughts and memories. It's not only everything you know about ‘Loki’ stored in there. Its everything you've ever seen or experienced good and bad.
On the other side is the translation. What you see in your mind's eye. The Loki you perceive. It might end up looking or talking like what you saw in a film, a piece of Lokean art, what you imagine from reading sagas, or what Loki selects or crafts from what's buried in your head etc
The Cons:
Its harder to discern the difference between your own imagination and them
As it filters through your mind, thoughts, memory etc so can all your bias, and internalized negative thoughts about yourself or the world. Or any big ego weaknesses can warp what was said to something that wasn’t said. Which is where miscommunication and things going wrong can start.
It's only as expansive as your mind is. If you have a limited world view it will be limited.
Some people have neurodiverse or mental health conditions that make this harder to do or stay in balance with.
When it's all internal chatter, it's hard to know how much inner thought privacy you have from Loki
Pros:
It can be easy and convenient for any setting
When it passes through so much of yourself. You can see yourself more in the answers as a guide on who your are as a person. When you open up more to life it expands too and you notice the progress.
It's cheap
Tips on how to make it easier
Some of the below will overlap with the divination tools
Ask questions you know the answer to
This goes for all forms of divination. If you're starting out and you are 98% sure you made contact. You may struggle early on to understand how the answers will manifest for you. So at first give Loki some easy questions you know the answer to. Then check how it appears when you're practicing a divination technique for the first time. 'What does a chili taste like?', 'What animal is Fenrir known as?' etc. To note this is another way to discern the spirit you're talking to. What is their attitude, how do they think, do you agree with their thoughts?
Talk out loud
It helps to keep your side of the conversation outside of your head. It does limit the time and place to talk, but it gives you some inner privacy. Less confusion between when your communicating and want a response vs when you’re letting your thoughts wander.
Create a symbolic language or alphabet with Loki
Look and consider the range of answers you can get. Create a symbol, a selection of words, sigils/runes, or images for those answers. Tell Loki to use these codes when you meditate, during scrying or when dreaming. If you’re starting out it can help to pick a pre-established cartomancy booklet or similar since it has a good range. If you’re more confident already in communication, but looking for improvements. You can collaborate with Loki on forming these symbols by asking them via divination. The more personal they are the more they act like a passcode between you and Loki. Overall it will be easy to know it's Loki and not another spirit.
A Guided meditation
You or another person can recite a pathway you’ll imagine you are walking. Some clever sound mixers add sound fx and music. Have a clear starting point where you unlock or open a gate. A walking point with obstacles you pass. A place where you’ll meet Loki and can talk or exchange something. Then walk back and close the gateway behind you. This is one way to focus your mind meditation divination to get a set answer and limit issues of mind wandering off. A classic starts at a safe house. Put the question in your pocket. You unlock the door and follow a path. The path goes through the woods. You see a river to pass across. You pass over a bridge. You meet Loki at the world tree at the heart of the forest with your question. You talk or exchange a gift. Then after the meeting, you walk back over the river, through the woods, and back into the house where you lock the door. Then you wake up.
Ask for surprises
I know I said it can help to have a set language code. Yet, sometimes for discernment you need a curveball. Ask Loki to sometimes use images you’d never use, use words you hardly say/think or know the meaning. For example, a word from a language you don't know but can find out. I’ve had Loki speak French to me where I had a friend translate it and it turned out to be an actual short sentence. I've had Loki use words I had to look up in the dictionary because my own thoughts were unsure of what they meant. It helped the discernment sometimes.
Keep your eyes open
You can miss so much in rituals with your eyes closed. Try to keep your eyes open and look for changes in the room. What draws your focus? I find a spider sometimes appears when I do this for Loki. Then you can ask it questions and see how it reacts (Tip: add a yes-no answer for the direction the spider moves for bonus divination).
Don’t take it so seriously or 100% truth to follow.
If you do anything Loki says to do. They’ll find a way to teach you its a bad idea to follow anyone without question (you better hope it's a lesson and not someone else taking advantage).
This isn’t only for them not wanting to be your babysitter but for your own good too. You can’t walk through life always doing what other people say or believing what your random thoughts tell you (aha don't trust me too). You got to weigh things up, think critically, learn to develop trust over time, and learn to say no to people. Otherwise you'll always be walking on eggshells or be in danger of people taking advantage of your lack of boundaries.
Spirits can also say things to help that will inflate an ego too far. If you hang out in enough spiritual places you’ll meet so many people who are ‘sky high’ or full of ego. They will claim to be the next big prophet. A YA novel hero super exorcist. The reincarnation of a god or famous person. Sometimes spirits too can give out a high degree of comfort from life's pain that can become an addictive yearning to stay with them. Ground yourself back to living and keep it ordinary. Don’t take yourself too seriously but be kind to yourself. Know to set boundaries and when to say no or make a counterargument for your wellbeing. Make sure you're working with a spirit who backs off if you hit bad yearnings. Learning these lessons will help you not get taken advance of spiritually and live in our world better too. Stand up for yourself and don’t knock yourself too hard also. Aim to remain somewhat balanced and wise. I was burnt on this one by asking the Odin for rune charms, they gave me one but it wasn’t the one I asked for when I felt the results on myself. The response after was ‘next time check what we gave you before trying it. You could get yourself in trouble if you don't learn this.’ So when they give you wisdom weigh it up, and sense how it feels. Does it sit right with who you are or want to be? Do the actions match the words?
Cleanse before and after
If people do this for their divination tools you need to do this for your mind. Blessed washes, creams, songs, and dances are common. Shake it off. Many say to eat after a ritual to ground yourself back to the living world.
Via divination tools. Types of divination that are fun with Loki
For me, every Lokean looking into direct communication should have a variety of divination tools in their Loki box. Imagine you have a serious question to ask, it can help better translate the answer by asking it more than once and in different ways. Then weighing up the answers.
Pros of using divination tools over your own mind
Many come with pre-determined meanings so they can be beginner friendly
Easy to discern. Though you still need to sharpen how to interpret.
You don't have to use your spirit or body as a channel. So better spiritual hygiene
There is a huge variety of types of divination to choose from. So find ones that work for you and Loki
Cons
Loki might decide to not follow the pre-determined meanings that can throw off beginners and cause misinterpretations. Why would Loki do this? To play a game, to push your abilities, to see how cunning you are, to show off how cunning Loki is, etc
You’re limited to how many answers the divination method can have. Some will be yes and no answer limitations. Others are a small set of keywords or poetry open to interpretation. Some can be more complicated than this.
Your biases or microagressions can still come into play for interpretations of what it means.
It can take time to develop skills with some methods. Even if you have some core skills already, you still need to sharpen them.
Some require finding a good teacher or a group session to learn.
I’ll cover three common types that are easy for beginners and good for even experienced people to sharpen their perception and discernment on. Cartomancy, Scrying, Bibliomancy.
Cartomancy with Loki
A card deck shuffled and used to divine answers from card postion and the card selected.
Pro
They come with booklets and guides that beginners can start off with
There are so many different types to choose from. With Loki any toy card game can become a divination tool.
Endless amount of people who teach and run tutorials.
Con
Some decks do have cultural appropriation or orientalism issues. Many from within the community will let you know better than me how to be respectful and not overstep here. They will inform you what issues they want you to support. Google time since already too many Gadje (for when its GRT communities) talk over and control the discourse.
There are and were laws that persecute people from practicing cartomancy. Read the history and the issues.
There are an endless amount of decks out there. However, if using them to communicate with Loki I’d recommend the following
Find a deck where the pictures on the card vibe with Loki (they may nudge one they like). Maybe it has old norse symbols. Maybe it's bright and colourful. Maybe its a fun game deck. Maybe it has a shapeshifting animal theme that matches Lokis forms. Maybe some of the card figures look like how we perceive Loki. Find a deck where the symbols are a language you can both ‘get’ and communicate with.
Don’t forget Loki likes to be cunning and play games. You’ll want to look up the traditional meaning but also focus on the images and think ‘why did Loki pick this image for this card?'. To often in Cartomancy we forget to look at the cards themselves more closely.
Don’t forget the card positions are as important to the answer too. I see so often people make the error to pick three random cards to answer a question and getting lost. They never set what each position means for the card that sits there. Is it ‘past, present, future’? Are they related to questions where the answer will be ‘me, Loki, and what connects us’ etc?
Ask a clear question. So many cartomancy questions are misread because the question was messy or the reader forgot exactly what they asked (write it down). When you get the answer review again the exact wording of the question you asked. Did you get what you were really asking for? Or did you get a generic answer to a generic question? For example, I used to ask ‘what is the path to success?’, and sometimes I got the basic answer ‘keep working’. Yet what I really should ask was ‘What can I do that would lead to personal success in my life?’ Overall are you asking a personal question or a general question? Did you get a personal answer or a general answer?
All of this is optional but this is extra optional: Throw away the concept of reversed cards with spirits. Most cartomancy decks have a range of outcome answers where revered is not needed. With Loki, they can reverse all the cards because you summoned them and they are seated opposite you. Loki may make the deck face them. It’s freaky how this has happened to most readings with Loki.
Summon Loki for divination. Skip down to the summoning section below on the ways to summon Loki or grab their attention. Basics really, want to try divination of spirit communication you better call them in first and treat them like any house guest. The way I recommend the most for short readings is to call out the runes that spell Lokis name.
Scrying with Loki
I will likely do a dedicated post at some point. But here are the basics.
Pros
The answers can manifest in a number of ways.
You can scry off many objects.
Cons
Takes time and practice to find out the best technique that works for you
Some objects like mirrors can be expensive
Some crystals are from industrial mining and are bad for the environment
Some scrying tools are hard to cleanse after (phone screen)
Takes a mix of a clear head and focus
You lose focus of what's around you
A sampler of Types of objects to use
Coffee (for Loki sprinkle in cinnamon, chili or lots of sugar)
Phone screen
A convex glass painted black on one side (you scry off the glossy side)
A Bowl of water. Bonus with a hagstone or objects inside. Liquids are good as you can pour them away from the house or into a river. Great for when the scrying goes wrong.
A key with a hole through it in the handle. A hole peeped through is a very old-school way of divining. Hagstones are another classic
Tips to improve scrying
Practice first with Cartomancy.
Throw away the booklet and look over the images of the card you picked. See what stands out the most ‘the sword? the water? the animal? Divine what this means to your question. Don't overthink it or over-research it. Keep it simple.
Ask a clear question with intent.
Like with the sections above on cartomancy questions. Write it down. When you get an answer review the exact wording of your question. Make sure you ask what you wanted to ask. Did you get a personal answer or a general one?
Adjust focus gently.
When scrying, let your focus drift through or on the surface of the object. What catches your eye? If you start thinking after asking a question ‘big fish' make a note of that or anything else that comes up. Don't try to analyze the meaning until after the scrying session.
Ask questions you know the answer to
This is a good beginner's step sometimes. After asking your simple question, how does the answer appear? Were there real shapes on the object you focused on that looked like something? Did your mind's eye think of words or images? This way you work out what method of scrying comes through stronger for you. Also if the answer will be symbolic or literal.
Maybe record a guide for yourself,
Let it guide you on how to focus and when. Include some breathing exercises in it to help clear your mind if needed.
Cleaning mirrors.
It's a good habit to keep your tools clean.
Saltwater, Moon water, Thors water (collected on thundery Thursdays), water with protective herbs soaked in, the water you bless with words, water from a sacred spring etc.
Wipe with a cloth or soak the object in this before and after each scrying session.
If you used a liquid you can mix it with the blessed or salted water and toss it out far away from your home or in a river. In old ways, throwing it over your left shoulder northwards was the way. Walk away without looking back.
Bibliomancy with Loki
An old one and a simple one. You ask a question. Pick a page at random. Pick a section at random (your eyes closed helps). You got your answer.
Pro
While the tradition is to use books of psalms or the family bible. You can use any book with Loki.
This is hilarious to play this with Loki with some books and questions. (Tip ask what Loki thinks about other gods)
Con
You are limited by what's in the books. Answers can take a deep thought to interpret
If you ask Loki what they think about other gods and you laugh too hard you might get into trouble ;)
Other books to try can be: poem books, kids books, sagas, myths, cartomancy booklets, self help books, joke books etc
Tips:
Pick a book
If you have several books to try put three in front of you. After you ask your question use a pendulum or let your hand be guided to one of the books.
Get an object to point
A pin, a coin, a key, etc to mark out the page and section on the page.
Dice play
If pointing out sections doesn't vibe with you. Roll a die to pick a book, Pick a page, pick a sentence or paragraph. DnD dice have high numbers and Loki loves dice.
Summoning Loki for Divination or Offerings
If you're doing divination for a chat with Loki or you want to gift them an offering only. You'll want to grab Loki's attention. Yet many people fear imposters. However, I think you should worry a little less about imposters when you've done a full ritual. If you still fear imposters after a summoning, here's a tip: Don't do everything you think Loki says, set boundaries spiritually (two circles) and in general.
Pros of doing a ritual
You’re dialing the right number using their symbols, words, names etc safety and confidence
It focuses your attention and spirit using movements, words, and repetitive motion
You’re inviting Loki in as a guest some of the prep work will make the atmosphere more welcoming and less prone to interruption from others.
Cons
Needs time and space and privacy
You usually incorporate ritual objects as a booster and that can be costly or take up storage
Prep work
Consider a summoning like inviting a guest round for a private conversation. You want to make sure the house is tidy, there are no other unwanted guests who’ll talk over or interrupt. Most people won’t have a sacred grove that any local spirit knows is a ritual space for gods. So we end up summoning at home which can be home to spirits of the dead, who are easily startled when Loki turns up all big. It can really clutter up communication or cause hostility from a scared spirit. So you’ll want to cleanse. A cleanse that is not in an eviction since the spirit of the dead deserves their haunt (and in old ways are vital to the wellbeing of a home in some cases). You can find ways to warn them you're about to do a ritual via telling them, speaking chants out loud, smells, objects, and ritual movements. I don't want to go into too much detail in this post on methods of cleaning space to make it sacred. I’ll save this for another post. Yet, I hope you've got a sense of how this is done. In some rituals you might want some spirits to hang around for protection. If you develop a good bond with Loki they can do this if you meet with other spirits or they can recommend a spirit who can stand guard.
Ways to get Lokis attention
So you cleaned the room and made sure its private for your summoning. You made it inviting but how to invite?
I once went to a talk by Dan Harms where he talked of the formulas in old grimoires that featured the summoning of angels, demons, and the good folk. There are a number of ways but one common formula was pretty basic and was something along the lines of:
You declare who you are (sometimes a magic code name)
You declare any spirits you already know for protection or any allyships you have,
You call in the specific spirit by talking about their names and deeds.
It's like a formal letter or phone call. ‘Hi, this is X I was recommended or know Y. I’d like to speak Loki Laufeyjarson with the eyes like starlight*, who helped Thor return Mojnir and shapeshifted into a horse in the old stories.’
*flattering Loki will definitely get their attention. In one story Loki in hawk form gets caught due to their eyes and upg I find Loki's eyes do sparkle in an endless way and imo they’re very proud of it.
Still nervous for protection? Set up two circles one for Loki and one for yourself within the larger circle. Some say two circles are for protection. Others say it gives focus to where the spirit needs to sit and appear (this can help to where to direct offerings). String, a round rug, objects marking the edges, salt, chalk, tip of a sacred stick etc can mark a circle.
If you have offerings or ritual items, you can weave these into the words you chant or say out loud for Lokis attention.
Objects or symbols recognized for Loki can be:
Anything with cinnamon in it.
Dandelions,
Birch
Mistletoe (careful some can be toxic, a drawing may do)
Sweet or spicey flabours
Coffee
Snapton stone
The carvings at st stephens church
Fishing net
The animals they shapeshift into or gave birth to, or kids (wolves, hawks, serpents, horses salmon etc,)
Runes, some people claim individual ones are for loki but i highly recommend spelling Lokis name out loud with runes: Laguz Loki, Ōþala Loki, Kaunan Loki,*īsaz Loki
Kenning and names from myth, Loki isn't always referred to as Loki there are many kennings (even one that calls Loki Queer) to use or invent your own.
and much more
There more that comes from old sources or shared experiences between Lokeans that become Loki symbols. The Lokean welcoming committee on tumblr has some great pages of herbs, animals, symbols etc associated with Loki you can use. Some objects could be used as ‘hey this ritual is for Loki' and others used as an offering.
So you used the words and the items. What happens next?
1: You give the offering, thank Loki, and close the ritual with a clear goodbye. If Loki doesn't leave and you want them too. Ask Thor or Hel to kindly take them home.
2: You give the offering, You perform your divination with Loki, then close up the ritual with a clear goodbye.
3: You might do this ritual once or you might repeat it over several days until Loki arrives big.
I’d recommended again leaving your eyes open during parts of the ritual unless you’re doing some scrying with your eyes closed. Especially after inviting Loki in. For people not good at sensing changes in a space like energy or atmos, you can spot other changes. For example, Loki pranks. A spider may crawl on me during the ritual or a cat's eye glows out in the dark suddenly to freak me out. Best to catch these with your eyes open to get the ‘I'm Loki and I'm here’ sign. If you're scared of spiders you might want to set some boundaries with Loki and get on good terms with Thor or Hel if Loki breaks the rule.
Once this is over be clear to say ‘it's over’ with words and dismantle your ritual objects back to their altar or storage space.
Example of a ritual
Scenario: you have a small apartment or room
Clear the room. Ring a bell. Tell the house spirits you are inviting in Loki and this is a scary space they need to leave until the ritual is over. If you’re more skilled you can focus to check if they have gone.
Cleanse. Spray salt water around a room anti-clockwise or at entranceways
Smoke cleanse note: Burning incense can be bad for your health like smoking in small spaces not ventilated. If you do ventilate, be careful of pets. I’ve replaced mine with noises, salt water, sweeping a ritual broom, whipping the walls, etc
Candle safety note: if you use any candles, make sure to have a solid candle holder so it won't fall over and start a fire.
Make a circle or two. Lay a circle over the space by walking counter clockwise. Mark two circles for you and Loki to sit in (be mindful if your leg goes to sleep and you need to stretch or move). Take four symbols as four objects and place them by each wall of the room and say the following:
This bird feather for Lokis shapeshifting dress
This hot chili for Lokis fiery tongue
This Dandelion for to Loki spread across the land
This net for Lokis treasure fishing
Then make your call.
I am [your name or code name], I worship [if you worship any other gods mention them here] I am friend/student of [any Lokeans or teachers you already know? Mention them here], I am protected by this salt water cleanser with the power of the ocean [Any other protections?]. I call on Loki Laufeyjarson, cunning god whose eyes sparkle like starlight, farmr Sigvinjar arma (the cargo of the arms [lover] of Sigyn), vinr hrafnasar (friend of the raven god [Odin]), rescuer of Iðunn, travel friend of Thor, the god with the best taste in fashion, whose solves all the gods problems and gave birth to the fastest horse Sleipnir. I call on Loki to invite you into this sacred place and to sit opposite me for [an offering? A conversation? Loki's cunning advise? The truth only Loki can unlock?] for your time I offer you this [Coffee, Cake, Sausage, Whiskey, Refreshing water? To feed you. Poem/song to gift you joy? Coins for wealth? A comfy cushion to rest your spirit on? Etc]. Loki grant me the gift of your company to [repeat is this to say thanks? To answer some divination questions? To ask for any other ways to summon them only between the two of you]. show me a sign if you are here.
Wait a moment Do you sense or see any changes in the room?
Action: Even if you get nothing, make your offering or ask your questions.
Close up
Thank you Loki for your time may you travel safely back across the Bifrost back home. May the gods greet you kindly and your family be in good health. May your house full of joy and laughter.
This ritual is over this room is returned to the ordinary.
Dismantle: Take away the ritual objects, and blow out any candles if you used any, and take away the ritual objects. Clean any ritual objects
Do some grounding. Salt wash (bath or with a wet cloth), eat some food, light stretches, breathing exercises etc.
Tip: Don’t forget to write down everything that happened in a journal.
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