GUEST CONTRIBUTION: A Prayer to Sigyn
By E. Laufeyson
Hail Sigyn, full of grace,
The Lord is with You.
Victorious are You among women
and blessed is the work of Your hands.
Holy Sigyn, Mother of Gods,
protect us now with Your grace
and shield us with Your love.
Let us not fall into temptation
but deliver us from all evil.
Incantation Fetter,
bind our enemies
and fill our hearts with redeeming love.
Hail Goddess of Victory!
Hail Goddess of Love!
(Yes, the inspiration for this prayer was the Hail Mary. It works though. It has a resonance that those who converted from Catholicism can’t help but respond to. It works. –GK)
(by G. Krasskova)
We praise the best-born Son of Jotunheim,
Sigyn’s Secret Sweetness.
We praise this God who gnaws on courage,
spitting forth truth though some may call Him Father of Lies.
We praise the Flame-haired Sky-Treader,
with His brilliant mind and cunning tongue,
and that wit – most wondrous of weapons.
We praise His tenderness, and His kindness,
He who turned female to bear Svadilfari’s son.
We praise His passion, His love, His commitment.
Most of all we praise Him, Loki, for Himself alone.
May You be hailed in all Your magnificence, with all of our joy,
on this day and each day forward.
A kenning is a type of descriptive, metaphorical word-puzzle used in place of the proper name of a person, place, or thing. For instance, Odin may be called “The Gallow’s God;” warfare may be called ‘weather of weapons’ and a warrior ‘feeder of ravens.’ They were literary allusions commonly used by Anglo-Saxon and Norse skalds in their poetry. Like many of our other Gods and Goddesses, Loki had a number of recognized skaldic kennings and contemporary Heathens and Pagans who honor and love Him have added to that list.
Below, is a list of those kennings, some drawn from lore, some sent to me by contemporary folks for Loki. I have not separated them save alphabetically. Feel free to email me krasskova at gmail.com if you have a by-name for Him that you would like to see added to this list.
Benchmate of Odin
Blood Brother to Odin
Bound God
Breaker of Worlds
Bringer of Gifts
Brother of Byleistr
Brother to Helblindi
Burden of Sigyn’s Arms
Cargo of Sigyn’s arms
Clever Guy
Companion of Odin
Deep-minded retaining God of Plunder
Dwarf-Trickster
Father of Hel
Father of Monsters
Father of Narvi and Vali
Father of the Sea-Thread
Father of Strife
Flame-Hair
Giant’s Son
God of a Thousand Masks
Harmer of Sif’s Hair
Hawk’s child
He Who lays out the life-nets of the Gods
Heimdall's Bane
Heimfall’s Foe
Himself
Hoenir’s Friend
Hot Stuff
the hound of the roaring sea of corpses of the ale-Gefn
Husband of Sigyn
Laufeyson
Lie-Smith
Loður (some people consider Loður and Loki to be the same God, though this is not a common view nor a commonly accepted one)
Lopt
Loyal Friend of Hoenir
The Man with the Tattered Smile
Most-Cunning
Mother of Sleipnir
Mother of Witches
Odin’s Friend
The Raven-God’s Friend
Scar-Lip
Sin Sly
Sky-treader
Sky-walker
Sleipnir’s Dam
Sly One
Son of Farbauti
(with Odin and Hoenir): the stratagem-sparing defenders of the gods
Thief of Brisingamen
Thief of Giants
Thief of Idunna’s Apples
Thor’s Confidant
Thor’s Friend
Thought-trier of Hoenir
Tree (aka ‘man’) of deceits
Trickster
The Unquiet Thought
Visitor and Chest-trapping of Geirrödr
Wolf-sire
(and a big thank you to everyone who emailed me their favorite kennings).
Litany for Sigyn
By G. Krasskova
Sigyn, Light in the Cave
Sigyn, Mother of Mourning
Sigyn, Lady of Comfort
Sigyn, Victory Woman
Sigyn, Northern Star
Sigyn, Loki’s Sanctuary
Sigyn, Indomitable Goddess
Sigyn, Holder of the Bowl
Sigyn, Goddess of Anguish
Sigyn, Who unbinds all fetters
Sigyn, delight of Her husband
Sigyn, Who does not yield
Sigyn, strength of the mountain
Sigyn, playful child
Sigyn, Lady of Joy
Sigyn, Lady of Unyielding Gentleness
Sigyn, Lady of Constancy
Sigyn, Lady of the Staying Power
Teach us the way of devotion.
(quoted from “Sigyn: Our Lady of the Staying Power” by Galina Krasskova. Available at: http://www.amazon.com/Sigyn-Staying-Power-Galina-Krasskova/dp/0578031051/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1308076227&sr=8-11)
Sigyn: Goddess of Grace and Victory
By Marcus
Sigyn, You answered my prayer.
I am forever grateful for Your answer.
I needed You to hold me together.
You did so as gentle as a feather.
Sigyn, I honor You now and evermore.
Gracious Goddess, You inspire spiritual ardor.
Your compassion is so healing.
Your strength is so inspiring.
Thank You for being so understanding.
Thank You for helping and teaching.
Your virtue is never-ending.
I am in awe of Your bearing.
You are the epitome of loyalty and integrity.
One of Your greatest lessons is piety.
Another one is the importance of consistency.
You continue to weave the sacred into mundanity.
It was You who transformed my self-pity.
It was You who gave me victory.
Mother of Narvi and Vali, You are meritorious.
I praise You and Your children so precious.
Please allow me be with You in Your grief so tedious.
Please allow me to help You with Your task so arduous.
Your dedication to Your husband Loki is tremendous.
Your sense of duty is continuous.
Goddess of Grace and Victory, please hear my request.
I will gladly help You hold the bowl so that You may rest.
Both You and Loki have held me during times of unrest.
It is my turn now to alleviate Loki’s pain in his face and chest.
He did what He felt He must, and You stayed with Him in His quest.
Now I prepare to hold the bowl for You at my own behest.
For Loki
By Jason Masse
Time's are hard . the hour's are dark
but you make me see the light.
you have feed my hunger and released
my soul and yet i have so very little to
give you in return. I strive to give you
all that i am oh Bright haired sky traveler of the north.
every smile, every laugh i know you bring.
I grow more confused each day i do not hear your voice.
I have felt your embrace and now all i wish to feel is your touch.
you have brought me many surprises and turned my life upside down and inside out.
but I know everything you do is with love and compassion.
I have never really known the love of a God
so i am truly lost as to return the love you give me
although I love you more then life.
I will find a way to show the love i have in return.
I have sponsored a new Sigyn shrine. It's gorgeous and available here: http://www.northernpaganism.org/shrines/sigyn/welcome.html. Go and light a candle to Her and Her sons! Hail Sigyn.
My adopted mom was a devotee of Sigyn and I think I probably learned more from her about loving this Goddess than anywhere else. For years, She would end her evenings by holding a bowl for ten or fifteen minutes as an offering to Sigyn. I was her way of trying to relieve Sigyn, for however few minutes she might, of Her ordeal of holding the bowl over Loki's head in the cave. I write about this and also share my mom's account in my book "Feeding the Flame."
Today I came across an article by a Canadian spiritworker who also honors Sigyn. It describes, from her own UPG, the time Sigyn spent in the cave. It's a deeply emotional read: http://www.hypnoticwishes.com/pagan/Sigyn-Ordeal.phpFor those who wish to honor Sigyn, consider this: in sacred time, in sacred space for every minute you commit to holding a bowl for Her in meditation, maybe, just maybe, She can lower Her burning, aching arms, step back adn rest. maybe, for every second you hold the bowl, She won't have to.
There is a new site to Sigyn (and Loki and several other Gods too) that just went up. It can be found here: www.templeoftheflea.weebly.com and I think it is a lovely offering to a very gracious Goddess. Check it out, folks.
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