Tricksters as Human Condition
After reading Krause-Loner’s (2003) argument that the trickster represents the highest degree of humanity’s inherent traits, I have, based on my relationship with and personal practice involving Loki, come to the conclusion that I do not fully agree with Krause-Loner, although I do recognize several important points in his reasoning.
What resonates with me in the text is that, prior to Loki entering my life, human appetites, drives, and bodily experiences were not something I associated with spirituality. In the contexts where I had previously studied spirituality, the body and sexuality were instead presented as something to overcome or transcend. When I was called by Loki, however, I began – through my relationship with him – to encounter a different approach, in which these aspects were not only tolerated within spiritual practice but could also be integrated into it.
The body and its expressions thus became sacred to me in a way that had previously been entirely unfamiliar, and I experience this shift as something that was specifically introduced through Loki. At the time, I could not fully understand why but considering Krause-Loner’s argument that the trickster figure is associated with human drives and desires, it now seems less surprising that Loki was the one who introduced me to this perspective. In that sense, I find support for the idea that the trickster can be understood as an amplification of the human.
At the same time, there is an aspect of Krause-Loner’s argument that I find more difficult to agree with, namely the implied dualism. The trickster is presented as representing the human in contrast to the divine, which suggests an oppositional relationship between spiritual principles and human desires. It is precisely this division that my relationship with Loki has challenged. In my practice, the body and desire do not appear as something in conflict with the divine, but rather as part of it.
Based on this, I argue that while the trickster can be understood as a representation of human traits, this does not necessarily mean that the human stands in opposition to the spiritual. Rather, the spiritual can be expressed through the human, including those aspects that have traditionally been regarded as “lower” or “impure.”
The conclusions I have reached are not based solely on theoretical reflection, but primarily on repeated experiences within my own practice. Through engaging with themes such as the body, desire, and boundary-crossing, I have repeatedly encountered assumptions about what is considered worthy or unworthy within a spiritual context. In engaging with these assumptions, my understanding has gradually shifted. It is this ongoing movement between experience and reflection that makes this interpretation the most meaningful to me. It aligns not only with certain theoretical perspectives, but also with how my practice actually develops and functions in lived experience.
Sources
Krause-Loner, S.C. (2003) Scar-Lip, Sky-Walker, and Mischief-Monger, the Norse God Loki as Trickster. Miami University.