Associated with mischief and mayhem, change, and the gaining and losing of valuable things. His is a complex and ambivalent nature.

Name(s): The origin of Loki’s name has been discussed at length but as of yet no definitive answer has been found.

Parents: Loki’s father is the jotun/giant Farbauti and his mother is Laufey; it is uncertain whether Laufey is a jotun or a goddess, although since Loki is most often referred to with the matronymic form “Loki Laufeyson” rather than “Loki Farbautison” it may be that he used her name because as a goddess her status was considered greater.

Spouse: Sigyn.

Children: Loki’s sons (with Sigyn) are Narfi and Vali (not to be confused with Odin’s son of the same name).

Loki’s children (with the jotun Angrboda) are Hel/Hella, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jormundgangr.

While taking the form of a mare, Loki is impregnated by the horse Svaðilfari and eventually gives birth to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir.

Affiliations: In Gylfaginning Loki is counted among the Aesir.

Tales: In Þrymskviða the jotun/giant Thrym steals Thor’s hammer, and Freyja lets him and Loki borrow her feathered cloak to help with the recovery. When Thrym refuses to return the hammer unless he is given Freyja as wife, she also allows them to take her necklace Brisingamen so that Thor can disguise himself to look like her and complete the mission, while Loki takes the role of “Freyja’s” handmaid.

In Grimnismal the Aesir hire a builder to construct a great wall around Asgard; the fee asked by the builder is the sun, the moon, and the goddess Freyja. The Aesir agree to this but say the project must be completed by a certain time; the builder also agrees but asks that his horse Svaðilfari be permitted to help. When it turns out that the horse can do a tremendous amount of work, the Aesir insist that Loki devise some way to keep him from finishing on time. Loki then transforms into a mare and is able to distract Svaðilfari, and the builder does not make the deadline.

Loki’s good relations with the Aesir end following the events of Lokasenna, when during a lengthy session of insults from Loki to the gods at a feast of Aegir it is revealed that he bears responsibility for the death of Baldr. He is then bound to a stone by the entrails of his son while Skadhi ties a venomous serpent over his face; Sigyn stays by his side, catching the venom in a bowl, but when she has to step aside to empty it the earth shakes with Loki’s pain.

Other details: According to Gylfaginning, Loki’s brothers are Býleistr and Helblindi.