The medieval Faroese ballad, Loka Táttur (Loki's Tale), is an insightful look into the help provided to a farmer and his son by Óðinn, Hœnir and Loki. The ballad is particularly helpful concerning its ability to look at the multifaceted nature of Óðinn and the other Gods featured in the tale.

The translation referenced in this post on Óðinn comes from A Contemporary English Translation of Loka Táttur (Loki's Tale) Part II by Jon White, who some of you may know as the man behind the popular YouTube channel Crecganford, focusing on interesting yet speculative theories surrounding various world mythologies.

It is also noteworthy that Loka Táttur maintains traditional mytheme characteristics associated with Loki seen in earlier source literature such as Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda and Poetic Edda. For example, in Loka Táttur, Loki uses trickery against the giant in order to assist the farmer's son.

Yesterday at a tavern with a friend of mine three hours out in the countryside, I noticed a group of older folks standing by the fire having a beer. One of them had the word 'PAGAN' tattood on his brow ridge and another had the Othala rune in the middle of his forehead.

They were old timers that had that stereotypical biker look to them and so the tattoos fit that 'brohalla' theme that isn't necessarily historical or grounded in traditional Germanic Pagan culture, but it was still a surprise to see nonetheless.

I walked up to the older man that had a grey beard and introduced myself and said that I noticed he was wearing a Mjǫllnir pendant (based on the Viking Age find near Ödeshög in Östergötland, Sweden). I showed him my Anglo-Saxon version based on the find from Gilton, Kent, and asked him if he was a Pagan. He said yes, and we then shook hands firmly as I said 'Hail Wōden and hail Þunor.' The man's wife seemed pleasantly surprised (given that it's not very likely that she or her husband had met Pagans from a younger generation) and said 'Wow, that's cool!'

It's wyrd moments like this that make life all the more curious. It was also a good moment (even if they were not aware of any kind of deeper traditions that are practicable today) because they just happened to be there on the day I wandered into an old timey tavern all the way out in the countryside.

According to Aristotle, a quarter of the state's land should be dedicated to religious use:

"The expense of religious worship should likewise be a public charge. The land must therefore be divided into two parts, one public and the other private, and each part should be subdivided, part of the public land being appropriated to the service of the Gods ..."

Aristotle, Politics 1330a