Freya

Freya

Appeal:  Love, Dating Service, Beauty, Death, Hand Fasting, Runes, Jewelry, War, Health

Note:  Scholars have theorized about whether or not Freya and the Goddess Frigg ultimately stem from a single Goddess common among the Germanic peoples; about her connection to the valkyries, female battlefield choosers of the slain; and her relation to other Goddesses and figures in Germanic mythology.  Freya's name appears in numerous place names in Scandinavia, with a high concentration in southern Sweden.  Various plants in Scandinavia once bore her name, but it was replaced with the name of the Virgin Mary during the process of Christianization.  Rural Scandinavians continued to acknowledge Freya as a supernatural figure into the 19th century and Freya has inspired various works of art.  See Frigg, in January, for more information on her.  This post is more about some of the common Freya mythology. 

In Norse mythology, Freya (f, Freyja, Freia, Freja or Lady) is a Goddess associated with love, sexuality, woman, beauty, fertility, gold and death.  Freya is the owner of the necklace Brisingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, owns the boar Hildisvini and possesses a cloak of falcon feathers.  Freya’s home is in Asgard, called Folkvang, “Field of the Folk”, and her hall is called Sessrumnir, “a space with many seats”.  Along with her twin brother Freyr and her father Njord, she is a member of the Vanir.

Freya and Od were wed, but soon after their wedding Od disappeared and many feared that he was dead or lost at sea.  Freya's husband, the God Od, was frequently absent.  She cries tears of red gold for him and searches for him under assumed names.  Her tears become gold and amber when they fall to Earth, therefore called "Freya's tears".

Freya had many other lovers, although she deeply loved her consort Od. (remember, monogamy had not been invented yet and infidelity was the social norm) Aphrodite's amorous escapades pale by comparison with those of Freya, whose unbridled sexuality was legendary.  She liked romantic love songs and bunches of flowers.  Usually depicted as a strawberry blonde with stunning blue eyes, none could resist her.  The Goddess Freya's passions were abundant, vigorous and unrestrained.  Clothed or not, she is usually shown in sensual poses.

As leader of the Valkyries, she had considerable power.  She had the right to claim half the souls of the bravest warriors who died in battle. Actually going onto the battlefield, she would gather them up and take them back with her to spend the after-life in her home in perpetual rest and recreation.  When Freya and the Valkyries rode forth on their missions, their armor caused the eerily beautiful flickering light that we know as the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights.  A sweet and generous woman, she always invited their wives or lovers to come and live with them. 

Odin, the Norse High God of the Aesir, hung from the world tree, Yggdrasil, impaled on his own spear, for nine days and nights in order to gain the knowledge of runes.  When the runes appeared below him, he reached down and took them up, and the runic knowledge gave him power.  He later passed on this knowledge to the Vanir Goddess Freya. She, in turn, taught him the magic of seidr.  Heimdall, the God who guarded the Rainbow Bridge, taught the runes to mankind.

Freya's form of magic was shamanistic in nature, as represented by her falcon-skin dress or cloak which enabled her to shape-shift into a bird, travel to any of the worlds and return with prophecies.  Among the Norse people, this magical ability, given by Freya, was called seidr.  Seidr is a form of magic, trance or divination that was primarily a feminine craft (modern day it is practiced by both male and female)  Freya is also the ruling Goddess of the female ancestral beings known as the Disir that can be called upon for guidance and to see into the future.

In final battle of Ragnarok, Odin, Njord and Freyr all will die.  Freya alone will remain among the Gods and she continues the sacrifices.

Frejya appears as a compound element with a variety of words for geographic features such as fields, meadows, lakes and natural objects such as rocks.   The 19th century German composer Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen opera cycle features Freia, the Goddess Freya combined with the apple-bearing Goddess Idunn.   Vanadís, one of Freya's names, is the source of the name of the chemical element vanadium, so named because of its many colored compounds. 

The Fehu f rune is often associated with fertility and wealth. It is the rune of potential and fulfillment. It symbolizes solid foundations, rewards reaped and ambitions satisfied. Fehu is the promise of nourishment, prosperity, growth and stability.  To our ancestors, as with us in today’s society, the accumulation of wealth, when gained honorably, is a positive thing.

Great Goddess, Mistress of cats,
Lady of love, beautiful Vana-Goddess,
Fulfill my greatest needs, O glorious one.

Teach me the magic I need.
Give me a glimpse of your deep wisdom.

Teach me in dreams. Enrich my life.

O Lady, you are Golden-Tears of Asgard
Lady of love, beautiful Vana-Goddess,
You are the Shape-shifter, the Sayer,
The Independent One.

Give me the strength and the magic I need.

Divine Friends

Divine Tree

Freya

Freyr's and Freya's Day

Love

Rite of Passage: Death

Sexuality

Valkyries

Who Are Your Divine Friends?