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Frigg's Sorrow
By Mark Ludwig Stinson. The beginning of this story is that God
Balder the Good had some terrible dreams that threatened his life. When he told the Aesir these dreams, they took
counsel together and it was decided to seek protection for Balder from every
kind of peril. Goddess Frigg
exacted an oath from fire and water, iron and all kinds of metals,
stones, earth, trees, ailments, beasts, birds, poison and serpents, that they
would not harm Balder. And when this had
been done and put to the test, Balder and the Aesir used to amuse themselves by
making him stand up at their assemblies for some of them to throw darts at,
others to strike and the rest to throw stones at. No matter what was done he was never hurt and
everyone thought that a fine thing. When
Loki
saw that however, he was annoyed that Balder was not hurt and he
went, disguised as a woman, to visit Frigg. Frigg asked this 'woman' if she knew what the
Aesir were doing at the assembly. She
answered that they were all throwing things at Balder, moreover that he was not
being hurt.
Frigg
remarked: "Neither weapons nor trees will injure Balder; I have taken an
oath from them all."
The
'woman' asked: "Has everything sworn you an oath to spare Balder?"
Frigg
replied: "West of Valhalla grows a little bush called mistletoe, I did not
exact an oath from it; I thought it too young." Thereupon the 'woman' disappeared.
Loki
took hold of the mistletoe, pulled it up and went to the assembly. Now God Hod was standing on the outer edge of
the circle of men because he was blind. Loki
asked him: "Why aren't you throwing darts at Balder?"
He
replied: "Because I can't see where Balder is, and, another thing, I have
no weapon."
Then Loki said: "You go
and do as the others are doing and show Balder honor like other men. I will show you where he is standing: throw
this twig at him." Hod took the mistletoe and aimed at
Balder as directed by Loki.
The
dart went right through him and he fell dead to the ground. This was the greatest misfortune ever to
befall Gods and men.
---------
So
worried was Frigg for her son's life, that she elicited oaths from everything
not to harm her son, but tragically underestimated Mistletoe. This story underlines the lengths to which
parents will go to safeguard their children, and the lengths to which we all go
to safeguard our loved ones, among other lessons.
Today, there are a number of ways to protect a child. Do you have a safety plan in case of
fire? Do they know your real name
(besides mom) and home phone number? Do
they have a safe person to go to if they want to talk? Of course there are also magical ways, mothers
who want to protect their children can call on Frigg. Holda is also said to be the
keeper of the souls of young children.
Things
like stewardship of the Earth, respect for nature, reverence of the ancestors,
tolerance for diversity, a hope towards peace are all things that many Wiccan
and Pagan parents would like to see instilled in their kids. Many Pagan Parents want their
children to find a Spiritual Path that is most meaningful to them. But how do you protect them from harm? The school bully? Religious extremists? Facebook and the internet? Other beings?
Just something to consider now and again.
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