I was told by a friend that I can worship Loki but he can't be my patron god. Is that true? Maybe I don't have a full understanding of what a patron god is.
The concept of “patron gods” as most modern Pagans use it is actually a modern one. In the past, some historical heathens would focus on a certain god because that’s who their family worshiped or claimed descent from, or because that god was tied to the place they lived. And other cultures, like Greece and Rome, had patrons you were supposed to pray to based on your profession. But at least as far as the evidence we have today suggests, it appears that a lot of people just worshiped the gods collectively without having any one particular patron at all, and the majority of those who did have one main individual relationship didn’t necessarily choose them like we do.
Because of that, some people do argue that patrons shouldn’t even be a thing in Heathenry. But if you are one of the people who believes in the patron thing, then there’s just no solid reason to exclude Loki specifically based on the lore. In fact, there’s even a King Gorm in the Gesta Danorum who appears to have a devotional relationship with Utgarda-Loki! While the relationship between Loki and Utgarda-Loki is unclear, the latter is still clearly a jotun and from Utgard.
So either your friend was arguing that Heathens shouldn’t have patrons at all, or they’re under the false impression that Loki is evil or too chaotic to be trusted or something. Check our nokeans tag for discussion on how to refute claims that Loki is out to screw us over.
- Mod E
