Also called Utgarda-Loki, Skrýmir, Utgarthilocus (Saxo).
Their story
Thor, Loki and Þjálfi travelled to the fortress of Útgarða-Loki, having spent a night in what turned out to be a giant's glove. There Loki lost an eating race to Fire, Þjálfi a footrace to Thought, and Thor could barely drain a horn, lift a cat, or wrestle an old woman. Next morning the giant revealed that the horn's end lay in the sea, the cat was Jörmungandr and the old woman was Old Age, and that all had been illusion. Thor raised his hammer, but the giant and his fortress vanished.
Best times to give to them
- when things are not what they seem
- when facing a trial of strength
What they like being given
- honesty with yourself about your limits
- a candle lit when you have been fooled, to mark the lesson learned
How to honour them
- Reflect on the tale's lesson: some contests cannot be won, not because we are weak but because we are wrestling old age or the sea.
- When you feel you have failed at something, ask whether the task was ever a fair one.
How they can help you
- seeing through illusion
- humility
- recognising true achievement
Symbols
- an enormous glove
- a drinking horn joined to the sea
- a grey cat
- an old woman called Elli
Sources
- Prose Edda, Gylfaginning 44–47
- Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum, Book 8