image
image
image

Freya

Norse Fertility Goddess, Patron Goddess of Love

In Norse mythology, Freya is considered the patron goddess of love, beauty, sex, attraction, fertility, crops and birth, and the consummate symbol of sensuality.  The most beautiful of the goddesses,  she was also a goddess of war, death, magic, prophecies and wealth. She loves music, spring and flowers, and is particularly fond of the fairies. Freya is one of the foremost goddesses of the Vanir,   Freyja means "lady" in Old Norse.

In Norse myth, the Vanir are originally a group of wild nature and fertility gods and goddesses, the sworn enemies of the warrior gods of the Aesir. They were considered to be the bringers of health, youth, fertility, luck and wealth, and masters of magic. The Vanir live in Vanaheim.Freya

She is the daughter of the god Njord, and the sister of Freyr. Later she married the mysterious god Od (probably another form of Odin), who disappeared. When she mourned for her lost husband, her tears changed into gold.

Freya is depicted as wearing a cloak (or skin) of bird feathers, which allows its wearer to change into a falcon, and a chariot pulled by two cats. She owns Hildesvini ("battle boar") which is actually her human lover Ottar in disguise. Her chambermaid is Fulla. Freya lives in the beautiful palace Folkvang ("field of folk"), a place where love songs are always played, and her hall is Sessrumnir. She divides the slain warriors with Odin: one half goes to her palace, while the other half goes to Valhalla. Women also go to her hall.

This photograph is Freyja and the apple tree at the end of the world as depicted in an illustration by Arthur Rackham.


Cloak

Freya owned a cloak of robin feathers, which gave her the ability to change into any bird. She lends this garment to Loki in Þrymskviða.


Hildisvini

Freyja rides a boar called Hildisvín, the Battle-Swine. In the poem Hyndluljóð, we are told that in order to conceal Ottar,Freya Freyja transformed him into the guise of a boar. The boar has special associations within Norse Mythology, both relative to the notion of fertility and also as a protective talisman in war.

Other sources show that Freyja rode a chariot drawn by a pair of cats.

The photo is a depiction of Freyja riding a cat-driven chariot and flanked by Italian Renaissance-inspired putti by Swedish painter Nils Blommér.


Jewelry

One of Freya's attributes is the precious necklace of the Brisingamen, which is said to be an  amber necklace. When she wore it no man or god could withstand her charms, which was obviously a matter of great concern to the other goddesses during springtime when she reputedly wore it. The necklace also gave support to any army which she favored on the battlefield. She reportedly obtained the necklace by  sleeping with four persistent and demanding dwarves named Davlin, Alfrik, Berling, and Grer. Some time later, Loki stole the necklace at the insistence of Odin. Odin then attempted to bed Freya using the same persistent and demanding strategy as the dwarves, though he was unsuccessful. Freya loved jewelry so much that she actually named her daughter "Hnoss" ("Jewel").

 

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freyja



Viking Magic Chants

image