#Lokabrennir

[hof-lokabrenna-official]

Lokabrenna - An Introduction

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Code of Conduct For Readers of This Blog:

Respect and consent are key, in all things. Trolls, right-wing/maga/etc, Christians, Racists, Sexists and Fascists will be blocked on-sight. This is your warning not to bring that shit here- You've invaded every other format of this religion, and you are not welcome in mine.

If you follow that rule, I accept:

Private Messages - So long as you remain respectful.

Questions and Submissions - Anonymous or otherwise, regarding any topic I post about on this blog, your own UPG, or the like.

I will try to respond to each to the best of my ability.

However: This blog is strictly relegated to the presentation and teaching of Lokabrenna, so please:

If you wish to inquire about my art or Commissions, please send your message to either the Ash Something Art Blog or via the Commission Request form on my website.

If you wish to connect about clown, fire performance, alt lifestyle, etc, send your submissions to The Ubiquitous Dr Strangelove.

I am always happy to receive comments and discussion, as well as re-posts and likes.

Disclaimer: Before you get into this blog, be advised that everything here is me: My own ritual, my own structures, my own process, my own understanding, my own UPG, my own study, both independent and guided, that I have put together over the last (nearly) 20 years to be my own form of Norther European Paganism; I originally practiced this all independently, as my own personal path; And I am currently taking large steps in my journey that have made me comfortable with opening up and sharing it with others. All content presented here is content of my own creation, or taken directly from historic sources, and includes my own interpretations of Scandinavian/Norse History, Lore and Mythology. These views may stand counter to the teachings of any other Heathen organization, kindred, or format of the religion, because it is not them. While attempting to be as historically accurate as possible, and having studied as many sources, in depth, as I can, it is still just one interpretation, and it eschews the opinions of some historians who have been involved in this studied for much longer than I have- because quite frankly since this is my own format of the religion those peoples' opinions hold no sway over it, or how I practice, or what I teach. Lore and history are important, but so is taking into account the changes and advancements of the world in the last 800 years, and as such I cannot agree any more with revivalist traditions, any more than I can with the tradition of wanton cultural appropriation enacted by many New Age/Neopagan branches. Both myself and Lokabrenna are wholly independent. It is presented here by me with no outside support or affiliation. I am not an authority on, or representative of, any other Heathen organization. I am similarly not involved with or a representative of any kindred. This blog and the content herein is not mean to cause harm or admonish any individual, or organization, nor will it attempt to. Lokabrenna, the religion outlined in this blog, is my sole creation and presented here as a way for others to learn and possibly grow from it; that is it. Lokabrenna is a modernist, Lokean format of Northern European Paganism, as the name suggest. It contains themes of both Thurs Worship, and Rokkr worship, as well as themes of "black magic," blood magic, ritual, sacrifice, and political action, that stand counter to other forms of the religion, especially those which are active in the US. As the creator of Lokabrenna, I am the only person authorized to teach it or stand as a Priest/Guide/Authority on the subject. Lokabrenna is not Asatru. It is not Odinism. It is not Folkish Heathenry. It is not the traditional Scaninavion religion. It is not a format of Lokean Heathenry taught or upheld by any other organization. I am not here to make demands, give orders, or dictate how one lives their life. If you read and speak with me, and decide you wish to adhere to the teachings/religion I offer through Lokabrenna, you do so of your own volition and I am not responsible for any actions taken inspired by that adherence/worship, as I will never tell a person that they must do something they normally wouldn't.

If you do not like the content here for any reason, please block, and don’t report.

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Who am I?

My name is Ash Vindhler-Lokasson. Aside from this, I am an artist, and I work on a personal and freelance basis as Ash Something Art. I am also a Clown and Alt Lifestyle blogger, and you can find any info pertaining to that portion of my life at The Ubiquitous Dr Strangelove.

But this blog isn't for those things.

High Priest of Loki:

At the age of 18, I picked up Asatru. I came across the religion by chance, and as I studied it I found that it seemed to agree with many of my own thoughts/ideas regarding the creation of the universe (which is predominantly based in Science).

Continuing the study, I read all of the historic texts, studied many of the different viking hordes and archaeological discoveries, and wrote breakdown after breakdown (for my own pleasure) of my understanding of the lore as I learned.

I joined an organization and continued my study through their lore program, and spent nearly a decade embroiled in every level of the religion.

At the time, and for most of that time, I was not aware that other formats of Northern European Paganism existed aside from Asatru, as the major organizations I became aware of all represented it.

Eventually, however, I realized that there were dialectical differences between my moral beliefs and the teachings of Asatru, as well as many of the other Northern European Pagan communities and organizations that exist. Because of this, around ten years after I started, I separated from the Heathen community to pursue the religion on my own terms; following my own rule that "The religion of no two people are alike, even if they have the same holy book" I decided that I should build my own format of the religion to practice independently.

And that was the start of Lokabrenna.

But what are my qualifications?

Well, just because I left the heathen community as a whole, and I never completed the lore program I was a part of, doesn't mean I stopped everything outright. I was not forced out, and I'm sure most people in the community enjoyed the debate and insights that I had to offer. I stepped away, more or less unprompted, when I realized it wasn't a good fit: Religion should be a personal thing, and resonate with you- and while the texts and the lore, and mythology did, I found myself surrounded by many people I would never have surrounded myself with in any other circumstance.

When I left, I continued my study just as vigorously as before, finding every source I could, and researching any new sources I happened to come across. I eventually found my own niche, my own guidelines, and my own way of doing things that resonated with me; and my intent here is to share those things with others.

When I was 26, after leaving the major Heathen organization I was a part of, I went about the process of getting myself ordained independently as a Goði, or Priest. As an ordained priest, I have the freedom to teach my views as well as perform marriage ceremonies and the like. However, priesthood aside, what has always mattered most to me was the study, and learning, and being an active part of my religion, worship and rituals. Because of this, for the last 10 years while holding onto that priesthood, I have continued to keep my head down, study, and practice independently, I worked on breaking down everything I was learning, processing it, and implementing it into my journey.

It has now been 17 years (as of Feb 2025) since I started my journey and in that time, I have read, studied, written about, and processed every source I could; Multiple translations of the Eddas, the Codex Regius, The Gesta Danorum, The Heimskringla and the Sagas of the Icelanders, as well as all of the independent Sagas, many different source-books for the various Northern European Pagan organizations that already exist, and more or less any book, movie or show that I could find that pertained to these things from documentaries to pop culture works.

I thoroughly studied and am a practitioner of both Seiðr and Rune Magic.

I entered every aspect of this study with a critical eye, and intent to break down the beliefs, separated out christian influence (as much of what we know about the Norse comes from the conversion-age, just after the end of viking age, and much of the work writing either demonizes or re-contextualizes the beliefs to fit more Digestible-by-Christianity version of the history- as in any such case, the victors write the history books) and to balance my understanding of the lore and religion with my modern life.

But I digress: In short, I am an ordained priest of Loki who felt misaligned with the status quo in the modern formats of the religion, and set to work creating a version of it for myself, after spending nearly two decades studying everything I could regarding the religion. In the past, despite having the priesthood and study under my belt, I limited my teaching to only those who asked me after finding out that I am a Lokean or that I practice Northern European Paganism/Heathenry and actively asked me.

However, after lengthy consideration, and a few fairly large projects that I've taken on in my capacity as an artist, (and a weird dream I had: I may post about that for my readers' entertainment at a later date), I have finally decided to step into my shoes as a High Priest of Loki, and teach those who wish to learn, about Lokabrenna.

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Lokabrenna: A Brief Introduction

As I stated above, the path of Lokabrenna is an original, modernist take on Northern European Paganism, and as I will go into detail about below, is named after an Old Norse term for the North Star.

At this time, while Lokabrenna established as a religious path for myself, not yet official, publicly. I hope to grow and get participants, and really step into my role as an independent priest, but at the moment it is not registered as a religion, nor as a nonprofit (I also do not make money from it, or intend to aside from the creation of art and potentially selling books and card decks at a later date). I will also be releasing it in pieces as I work on my other projects and my job.

For the time being, it is a minor cult even among minor cults. It is safe to say that while I have taught others and spread my ideals to a degree, (only to those who have approached me about learning Lokean and Northern European Paganism), that I am currently the sole practitioner.

The Beginnings of Lokabrenna:

The term Lokabrenna, as most Lokean Heathens and other Northern European Pagans will recognize as a term used in most Lokean circles. It can be found in only one place in historical record: The Gesta Danorum, written by Saxo Grammaticus in the 12th century (around the same time period that Snorri was writing his Prose Edda). I will get into both of these figures, along with others, in later posts. In his writing, Saxo refers to Lokabrenna as a Norse name for the North Star; Translated it means Loki's Torch or Loki's Brand.

One theological difference between myself/Lokabrenna and the various organizations who practice/teach Northern European Paganism lies in this piece of information- often, I was taught that there there was no proof of a "cult of Loki" among the Old Norse, because they have found no archeological evidence or place names pertaining to him. However, Lokabrenna, the North Star, has been known as a primary guide point in almost every culture in the world since antiquity. There is no record of WHICH North Star the term referred to, Polaris or it's predecessor Kochab (which was the Pole Star up until around 500-1000 BCE), however with the various Scandinavian cultures first putting roots into the area in the latter stone age, around 12,000BCE, it is safe to say that it could be either star, or both. But that point matters less than the implication behind the term Lokabrenna existing-

Because it is not only a place name, but the name of one of the most important celestial guides to an originally nomadic, then agrarian, then seafaring group of people, from whom this religion and every other modern form of Northern European Paganism are derived; One which represents Loki, and has become a representation of how he has guided me on my journey.

And while what the existence of this term implies- a term found in only a single source, written by a Danish scholar traveling through Norway a century after the Viking Age- is a highly debated topic: my view is that even if the term Lokabrenna didn't imply a cult of Loki, or that he was worshiped, or whether he was viewed as a "god," or it doesn't count as a place name, etc (all of which are arguments I have heard, posed to discredit my own choice to worship Loki), the fact of the matter is that you worship and honor the gods you are drawn to, and Loki was that for me. And no one has a right to dictate or deny your ability to do so (aside from as it pertains to closed cultural religions, which is an important topic for a later time). And so, regardless of whether he was or as not worshiped, or did or did not have place names, or any of that- he is worshiped today. By myself and many others: and many of us have come to view the term Lokabrenna and it's relation to Loki as one of the more important bits of symbolism in our own practice.

And for these reasons, Lokabrenna is the term I have chosen as the name to represent the path I will be teaching here.

For followers of this path, they are free to use what terms they deem fit to refer to themselves, but to distinguish this path from others I will refer to its followers as Lokabrennar or Lokebrennir- a loose derivative of Lokabrenna with the -ar/-ir plural form used in Old Norse (similar to Asatruar, Jotnar, Aesir, Vanir etc).