My name online is Abriel Lokiskona. I am a Northern Tradition Pagan of 4 years, Pagan/Occultist of about 12.
I am a follower and devotee of Loki. That's right, Loki. He is a God...get over it.
I worship the Jotun alongside the Aesir and Vanir. Yes I am one of those bad NT Pagans who recognize three tribes of Gods among the Norse.
I am not a Heathen or Asatru. Nothing against the spirituality but it's not what I am. I am not nor have I ever been a member of a Heathen org or kindred. I am not a member of any group now.
I am not a "Kalderan". While Raven's writings have helped me a great deal, I won't deny it, I had started worshipping the Jotun long before I even heard of Raven Kaldera. I am not even a member of the Kingdom of Asphodel. I am not even a member of Ironwood Kindred. I have great respect for both groups though and have friends in both. But I'm a solo agent. I have a mind of my own.
I am opinionated and some of the things here will piss you off. However I will not answer hatemail. Hatemail will be ignored, possibly after being posted on my LJ as a friends-locked post so my friends and I can snicker at it before I toss it.
I am a writer, the author of one devotional to Loki and a book of erotic love poems. I am in the process of writing three more devotionals.
Anything else you want to know will be given on a need-to-know basis.
Cheers.
Why Abriel?
Abriel is the name given to me by the Archangels whom I had started working with even before Paganism was a glint in my teenaged eye. I keep it now as a tribute to them.
Why Lokiskona?
Lokiskona means roughly Loki's woman. That's what I am.
Why don't you call yourself a Heathen? You follow the Norse Gods. Isn't that what a Heathen does?
The answer to that is very complicated but to sum up, I can no longer in good conscience call myself something that means something completely different to most Heathens in the United States than it would to me in my mind. I don't feel that anyone should have to give up the label if they don't want to. However, it doesn't fit me, at least not the way Heathen is thought of in the United States. My personal beliefs in fact mesh a lot more with Neopaganism than they do with American Heathenry, thus I call myself a Nordic Pagan. I also got so sick of all the more conservative Heathens giving me grief over whether I had the "right" to call myself a Heathen that I finally gave up and dropped the title.
Why would they give me grief? Let's see...I'm a Lokean. I'm Rokkrtru. I worship and recognize three tribes of Gods instead of two. I'm not Folkish. I'm a Witch. I have no problem with my path being considered Earth-based. You get the idea. Calling myself Heathen was more trouble than it was worth.
(For more of my Heathen Heresy, check out this post I made on my LJ)
So do you hate the Aesir?
Actually I have a very good working relationship with the Old Man and I adore His Son, Thor, with whom I also have a good relationship. True my main focus is on the Rokkr/Jotnar, and then after Them the Vanir, but I still respect the Aesir and what They stand for. Just because the Aesir are not my primary focus doesn't mean I hate Them.
The fact that Loki is an Aesir too kind of makes it hard to be anti-Aesir. Yes Loki is an Aesir...see The Eddas. Even Snorri recognizes Him as an As. It's something that a lot of people tend to forget, including some Lokeans. Lokeans who Aesir-bash really piss me off. If you really know Loki you know that His family is very important to Him and the Aesir are His family just as the clans of the Iron Wood and the Fire Giants are. When you bash the Aesir, you bash His family, and that ain't cool with Him. Aesir bashing doesn't win you points with Loki, it doesn't make you cool, it doesn't mean you are emulating Him. Instead you are exposing your ignorance and your hubris. It is the ultimate in arrogance to think you are in a position to disrespect a God.
So are you trying to bring about the Ragnarok?
If I were powerful enough to bring about Ragnarok I wouldn't waste my time doing that. I would put my fantastic abilities to good use and create myself an island where I would retire for the rest of eternity.
I've heard this accusation a lot from some people expressing horror and outrage at Jotnar-worship, and it really shows their ignorance. Jotnar-worship isn't about bringing about the Ragnarok. Just the opposite in fact.
The worship of the Jotnar is the recognition of the awesome powers of nature which mankind in his arrogance does his best to control and hold back. It is the restoration of the balance which the rise of civilization has thrown completely ka-ka. It is frith-weaving.
No one wants Ragnarok to happen, not even the Jotnar. They have just as much to lose as anyone else if it does happen. And besides throwing Them a bone now and then isn't going to end the world...giving us Rokkrtru a lot of credit there, ain't cha?
Okay, well cool. Anything else we can find out about you?
It'll be given on a need-to-know basis. Or you can buy my books. If you're really, really nice and have a Livejournal account I might friend you there.
That's it for now though. If you have any questions you are just dying to ask though and absolutely can't stand to wait for me to volunteer my info or for my next book to come out feel free to contact me.
Email Abriel with your comments and/or questions
I also keep a Livejournal but be warned that it is mostly friends-only and I don't friend back random people. I'm quite picky about who I friend actually.