Freya's Shrine: Who is Freya? (2024)

Who is Freya?

by Ember Cooke

Freyja is most often summarizedas the Northern goddess of Love and Beauty, and that she is - but she is far,far more than that. Freyja is one of the few Northern gods who may actuallyhave unbroken worship, although modern Northern Paganism is not directly basedon whatever folk traditions may have survived to honor her.

Freyja is the Vanadis - the Ladyof the Vanir. Her twin brother Freyr is the current Lord of Vanaheim andAlfheim both. Their parents, also twins, are Njordh, Lord of the Sea and hissister, most likely the Earth goddess Nerthus. The lore implies that Freyja wasoriginally married to Freyr before the first war was fought between the Vanirand Aesir. At the end of the war when Freyja, Freyr and Njordh were fostered tothe Aesir as hostages in exchange for Honir and Mimir, the Aesir declared thesibling marriages of the Vanir unlawful in Asgard, and arranged new marriagesfor each of them over time. Freyja's husband among the Aesir is Odr, who hassince been lost, his identity and provenance is a true mystery, although one ofthe most common UPGs is that Odr is or became Odin. Freyja's daughters with Odrare the treasures, Hnoss and Gersemi. In modern practice, we have found thatthe Vanir recognise both marriages, and Freyja often acts loverly towardsFreyr, regarding Gerd not only as sister-in-law, but also as sister-wife. Gerdis the lady of Alfheim, as Freyr's consort, leaving Freyja as the primary rulerin Vanaheim, although she still shares those duties with her brother andparents.

Freyja is indeed a goddess oflove and beauty, of sex and fertility. In my experience, love is her primarymotivation, and a deep, abiding sense of the beauty of all things is the coreof her nature. She encourages self-awareness and self-worth regarding our ownbeauty and sexuality, and may be anything from achingly gentle to forcefullydominant in showing people what they are worth. I have known her to requirepeople to stand naked in front of a mirror, repeating compliments they canbarely stand to say or hear, as she guides them word by word in the act oflearning to admire themselves.

She can be called upon to helpwith fertility in humans and animals especially, as well as the fecundity ofthe land. Fertility is not a metaphor to Freyja - if you ask for her help withfertility, be very clear what you do and do not want. While human sexuality maybe used to empower the land, to drive artistic creativity, to bring those wholove each other closer together, or even just for sensual enjoyment, if youstart heterosexual fertility magic with Freyja, be quite clear what your boundariesare with regards to pregnancy, and do not be surprised if she is disappointedat the need for barriers. She will respect any boundaries you set for your ownbody.

Freyja is associated with allfemale animals, especially domestic animals in heat or giving birth. She hasseveral specific animal associations, as well, each of which illuminate someaspect of her power:

* Her falcon-feathered cloakallows the wearer to fly, usually in the form of a falcon, demonstratingFreyja's connection with shape-shifting magic - an aspect of Seidhr trancemagic. Loki often borrows her cloak when he needs to solve a problem for theAesir.

* A pair of cats work together todraw her cart, proving her sovereignty as a goddess. Diana Paxson suggested thenames Bygul and Trjegul - "Bee-gold" and "Tree-Gold" - forFreyja's cats, to honor her connections with honey and amber.

* One of Freyja's titles is"Mare of the Vanir", giving her a connection with horses, andemphasizing her role as a fertility goddess.

* The Vanir in general areconnected with swine, and Freyja is no exception; one of her kennings is"Syr", meaning "sow", and she is sometimes depicted ridinga boar named Hildisvíni. Swine are also strong fertility symbols.

Freyja's power and beauty aresymbolized most strongly by the necklace Brisingamen. The four dwarven smiths,the Brising brothers, forged a golden necklace of unsurpassed beauty, whichFreyja could not bear to let pass from her grasp. She offered them every objctof value she could think of in exchange, but they wanted only service - a nightin her bed for each of them. Post-Christian interpretations describe heracceptance of these terms as compelled by temptation despite the dwarves beinghideous creatures. They describe it as infidelity to Odr, and many surmise thatthis infidelity is why he went away, leaving Freyja to wander the worldsweeping tears that turned to gold when they touched the land, and amber whenthey touched water.

I do not believe Odr left in ajealous fit over Freyja's sexuality, nor do I believe Freyja scoffed at theBrisings' request. I believe Freyja accepted their terms with aplomb and showedthe dwarves their own beauty, and that doing so was well within her rights, asher husband Odr must have known. She traded for her beautiful golden necklaceof power fairly, and in doing so gave us a model for appreciating the value ofour own abilities and attributes.

Freyja is a goddess of war anddeath. She is the first chooser of the slain. She is sometimes described as theleader of the Valkyries, but this is misleading. The Valkyries choose the slainfor Odin, whereas Freyja keeps her half of the slain in her own hall,Sessrumnir, in Folkvangr. The lore is tantalizingly spare in details regardingwhat Freyja does with her half of the slain, or why she chooses them. Jokesabound that those called to her hall no doubt enjoy themselves tremendously.Given Freyja's hedonistic tendencies, this is a fair assessment, but I doubtit's her primary purpose in keeping the slain in her hall. I believe shechooses her half for their cunning skills in defense to be used in protectingAsgard and Vanaheim during Ragnarok, leaving the fierce berzerkers for Odin'soffensive front.

The lore tells us that Freyjasurvives Ragnarok, perhaps remaining behind to guide the next generation ofgods in the process of rebuilding. Snorri Sturluson's assertion is thatRagnarok had already happened (he was, after all, writing for a Christian royalcourt), and Freyja was nevertheless still worshipped in his own day by somewomen. There seem to be at least remnants of folk traditions honoring Freyja inSweden surviving today. Arguably the the Midsommerstangen, which is similar toa Maypole, but danced at the Summer Solstice, can be associated with thefertility traditions of the Vanir.

Freyja not only teaches magic -especially the Vanic art of Seidhr trance magic - it seems Freyja IS magic. Inthe experience of many in my local community, myself included, Freyja hasrepeatedly, through sepparate mediums, indicated an ability to sever the lineof flowing wyrd that allows the gods to ride human mediums. She has threatenedmore than once to bring seidhr rituals to an abrupt halt if necessary, and maybe one of the few gods with enough power or authority to pull Odin off of ahuman without his own cooperation, even if they belong to him outright.

Many people surmise that Gullveigis a kenning for Freyja. While this makes sense, it is not my experience.Gullveig is another of the Vanir, most famous for becoming a Heide (i.e. awitch) when the Aesir stabbed and burned her to death three times in a row intheir hall, only to watch her rise again. The arts that Gullveig used are Vanicarts associated with Seidhr, and Freyja knows them at least as well - as domany of the Vanir, certainly including Freyr. Seidhr is an entire study in itsown right, and anyone who wishes to undertake the study of Seidhr would do wellto cultivate a working relationship with Freyja.

Most portraits of Freyja depicther with golden hair and porceline skin. My experience is much more varied.Perhaps to demonstrate that beauty comes in countless forms, Freyja appears inthe widest variety of guises that I have ever perceived among the Northerngods. She generally appears fair-skinned to me, but her hair and eyes andclothing can vary across the full range of coloring found among the Northernpeople, and I would never put it past her to appear with darker skin if thatwas what best reached her audience.

* If you approach her as agoddess of love and beauty, you may associate her with the colors of gold andamber, with hints of warm reds. She may appear with warm eyes, and hair tomatch her amber and gold.

* As a goddess of fertility, shemay come dressed more in greens and other earth tones. Her hair the color offlax, or sometimes the rich mahogany of good soil, her eyes often the green ofspring shoots.

* If you seek the Seidhkona,expect darker colors - blacks and deep browns, some times with flecks of brightgold. Her hair may seem deep auburn, or even black at times, reflecting flashesof the fires on the brocken, her eyes unfathomably deep, almost dark.

* The chooser of the slain oftencomes in the bright crimson of freshly spilled blood, her hair pulled tightlyback, out of her way, often bright copper red, or so blonde it's almost white.

* As Mardoll, daughter of the sea,and the mistress of the hawk, her hair is often wispy, very straight, thegrey-brown color of hawk wings to match her cloak, and her eyes reflect thestormy blue of the Northern seas. She often seems very sad in this guise - Ibelieve this is the form she took when mourning for Odr.

Regardless of her appearance, sheis always breathtakingly beautiful. She is very much involved in introducingpeople to the ways of the Northern gods, and as such is often very forgiving ofour modern foibles. If you wish to approach her, simply do so with an open,honest heart. Offer her what you can, and be sincere. Mead, amber, poetry, andchocolate are all good places to start. Simply sit and speak to her. Over timeif you connect with her strongly, she may ask for specific things, and willexpect you to educate yourself to the best of your ability, but Freyja has avery high tolerance for honest beginners, and will generally be veryunderstanding that you are not already there. In this sense, I have also foundFreyja to be quite willing to engage with Wiccans and Eclectic Pagans on theirown terms (she is, after all, The Lady), at least initially. Freyja is a fiercegoddess, but you need not fear her if you are being honest with yourself andher in your approach.

Be Welcome.

And Hail the Vanadis!

--Ember--