Freya, the Lady, from Mythology of Scandinavia

The illustration above is by Johannes Gehrts (1901).

Freya stands beside her dragon-headed chariot with her hand to her heart, in the grave stance of the Oath-Maker, cats at her feet.

She holds the Great Wheel and her weapons are close to hand.

In the old days before the forcible and bloody Christianisation of the North, she was the highest ranking amongst the Asynjur, the Goddesses of the Norse Mythology.

Many are the stories of Freya, of her wild adventures, of her Battle Maidens, the Valkyries and of her valiant efforts to protect her son, but Freya is always just herself, the epitome of steadfastness. She loves life, and loyalty.

Freya is best known in popular imagination as a beautiful and seductive Goddess, a well-proportioned strawberry blonde with a taste for Love. She is this, but there's a lot more to Freya than the spinning woman portrayed in the image above.

She is Goddess of Love, of prophesy, and of magic while at the same time, a Warrior Goddess ruling over the Valkyries and claiming her portion of the battle-slain, These are the aspects of the Great Mother Goddess, the ruler of Life and Death. Without death, there is no life.

Whatever name is used, it matters little. She is called always, and simply, The Lady.

Some scholars question if she is one Goddess or two. More likely she represents two aspects of the original Great Goddess, the Mother.

Does it matter? In Germany and Anglo Saxon England there was no such division and the names Freya, Frigga, Ostara and Hulde referred to a single divinity. In German folklore she has survived in her crone aspect as Frau Holda, the original Mother Goose.

The star constellation Orion is named Friggajar Rockr, Freya's spindle. The spindle is a powerful symbol of female wisdom, virtue and industry.

Viking Age housewives spun and wove all the cloth, and, in the hands of Freya and the Norns, the spindle becomes a symbol of strong magic.

Spinning is essentially female and in English 'spinster' still means an unmarried woman. Older legal terms are tied up with spinning, such as the 'spear side' and the 'distaff side' to distinguish the inheritance of male from that of female children. Descendants from the Spear Side were, by law, the legitimate heirs.

The distaff became a synonym for Woman herself, as in the French proverb. 'The crown of France never falls to the distaff.'

The Great Wheel

At Winter Solstice, the sun dies and time stops. Then, as Freya spins the Great Wheel, in its original name - the Jul (Yule), once again the sun is reborn.

Her hand holds the spindle, she takes a handful of wool to her wheel, winds it about her distaff, and spins the web of fate for all of us, for Gods and Men.

Freya is a loving Mother. Her ability to see the future in her weaving caused her great pain and sorrow - as she foresaw the death of her dearly loved son, Baldur the Beautiful.

Even though Freya knew that Destiny could not be changed, the sorrowing Lady made all things promise that they would never harm Baldur. Sadly she overlooked one. The insignificant mistletoe.

Although she is known as a Fertility Goddess, the riddle poetry of the Skalds show her to be more a Goddess of Riches, who can weep tears of gold. Her daughters, Hnossa and Gersemi, are Treasure and Gold.

Freya certainly has a taste for gold and jewels and gained her beautiful necklace, Brisangemen, by sleeping with four dwarves. But that's a story for another day.

Buy at AllPosters.com

When you see a Valkyrie before battle, know then, that you will die, for their primary duty is to choose the bravest of those who have been slain, gathering the souls of dying heroes.

Valkyries! They gallop across the skies over bloody battles, bright armour gleaming in the sun, distributing death lots among the warriors.

On great white steeds you see them, urging on the Champions, their cries weaving with the clash of weapons and the screams of the dying. They wheel through the ranks of the fallen and judge the bravery of each man.

For Valkyries conduct the souls of slain heroes to Valhalla, the great hall of Odin All-Father.

Valkyries choose carefully amongst the slain warriors, allowing only the souls of the bravest to enter heaven. If a Viking warrior falters in his fight, if he is struck down while fleeing, he is not worthy.

There is no joyous welcome into the Great Hall of Valhalla for the coward, instead the cold underground awaits him, a desolate afterlife presided over by the goddess Hel.

Valkyries ride forth on their errands with their shining armour glistening and sparkling in the night sky. You can see this eerie flickering light today in the Aurora Borealis.

Next time you look up at the Northern Lights give a greeting to the Battle Maidens. Raise your glass as they gallop past attired in scarlet corselets and gleaming helmets, with shields and spears held aloft.

The Valkyries will stop their wild rides at Ragnorak, when the world ends.

A fun quiz

Which Goddess/God of the North Are You?

(I come out as Freya, followed closely by Bragi. Oh my!)

Freya, the Lady of the Battlefield, leads the spirits of not only those who die in battle, but those who have lived with purpose and devotion. Those who have loved and have been true and loyal.

Freya teaches us that we can still fight, even when all the odds are against us. She knew she couldn't save her son but that didn't stop her from trying.

She will reward you if you are loyal to your principles.

Freya teaches us about not breaking faith. She tells us again and again to be faithful. Not necessarily marital fidelity, as these small matters are of no concern to her as long as you are faithful to yourself.

The virtue of Freya is the willingness to be true to your beliefs, your principles, your family, friends and community. This is the concept of not breaking faith.

All textual content, unless otherwise stated, is copyright Susanna Duffy.

This content is an excerpt from a book published by Susanna Duffy, 1999. Any duplication of content is easily found. To avoid legal complications arising from copies of this text, any copied content must be attributed to Susanna Duffy. www.susannaduffy.com
It's simple enough to just make a clearly visible link to my site. Thanks :)