Loki and Freya, the Union of Fire andGold
Loki and Freya, inks by Sam Flegal
A few months back I was approached by my friend, and often patron, George Peyton to design a tattoo. I said in the past this is not my favorite thing to do, but George is a good friend and the concept was right up my alley. You see George wanted to get a tattoo to commemorate his two dogs Loki and Freya. For the tattoo he wanted me to focus on a design that dealt with the stories of the two Norse Gods his dogs had been named after.
Norse Mythology… sure I’ll do it!
Loki is of course the trickster God of the Northmen, and Freya is Goddess of feminine sexuality. The challenging thing is that the two Gods have few interactions throughout the lore. In one legend Freya lets Loki borrow her magic falcon cloak so Loki can shape shift into a falcon. In another tale, the Lokasenna, Loki barges into a party he was not invited to and proceeds to insult all the Gods and Goddesses present. Loki insults Freya by saying she had slept with all the Gods and Elves present. Now there’s a lot more on both Loki and Freya, but that is about it for their direct interactions.
This is one of those moments where you need to let the stories inspire you to find a solution in art. I knew I wanted to show the moment that Loki gets Freya’s cloak, but I got to thinking. If Freya had relations with all the Gods and Elves, that included Loki. And that was the hook, Loki and Freya sharing a cloak, but also sharing a secret (or not so secret) love affair.
And so we see the two temporary lovers wrapped in a falcons cloak. He reaches for her hand, and she pretends to pull away, but her hand reaches up and her eyes look back. Other symbols include the fire above Loki’s hand, and gold above Freya’s head. Loki is god of fire and Freya of gold. I also like the idea of the union of Fire and Gold is used to mold gold into more beautiful forms. I also included the cat, one of Freya’s animals, and the spider on Loki’s shoulder. The Spider is a modern symbol associated with Loki, but I really like it. The spider is a devious menacing creature, on that spins a web to ensnare it’s victims, but also a creature that is good for the environment.
It was also fun for me to continue my journey with inks. I produced this drawing with Brush and Quill. I’m really enjoying working in ink, and learning a lot with each new piece.
So there you are… Loki and Freya, the union of Fire and Gold.
Here’s how George’s first tattoo session went with the talented Shannon Shaw!
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Tags: Art, Artist, cat, cloak, Drawing, elves, falcon, fire, freya, god, goddess, gold, heathen, ink, lokasenna, Loki, myth, norse, norse mythology, northmen, pagan, Sam Flegal, spider, strange, tattoo
