Freya, the Wild Woman of the North
I have always loved the Lady.
I didn't know her name until I was 15, but she was with me before that. Perhaps all of us are born with a hard-wired impulse to hero-worship, a longing to believe in something greater than our mundane existence, an ability to suspend belief. All I know is that the day Freya fell out of a school text book, I knew her. I had found her name.
It wasn't the concept of divinity I found, but the abstraction of Freya, the reflection of steadfastness, a source of courage and self discipline in an intensely feminine form that was absent in the Mary of my Catholic childhood.
Be true to yourself, said Freya. I would have done better to remember her words.
Many are the stories of Freya
The highest ranking Goddess of the North
In the illustration above, by Johannes Gehrts (1901), she 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 - never anger her!
She is the Wild Woman of the North.
Who is Freya?
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.
Freya is of the Vanir, one of the two groups of gods in Norse mythology.
Some scholars question if she is Freyja or Frigga, 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.
Freya and the Norns Spin our Fate
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.
Her Family and Household
She 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.
Northern Magic
Northern Magic: Rune Mysteries and Shamanism (Llewellyn's World Magic Series)
A modern interpretation of the ways of the Northern past. Suitable for the general public
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 12/28/2009) 
Her Valkyries
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.
Gods of the North
Stirring music accompanies a slide show of the better known Northern deities.
Runtime 5.06
Goddess Group
For more on female divinities, visit the collection at the Goddess Group which brings together everything related to the Goddess, in all of her names, all of her faces and all of her aspects.
Which Norse Deity are you?
Which Goddess/God of the North Are You?
(I come out as Freya, followed closely by Bragi. Oh my!)
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Nordic Mythology : Best Books of Skandinavian Stories
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The Norse myths are peopled with all sorts of fantastic beings - gods and giants, elves, dwarves and dragons! Like all mythology, if we pay close attention to what the stories are saying, we learn a great deal about what our ancestors thought was im...
Her Message in Modern Times
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. Not necessarily marital fidelity as these small matters are of no concern to her as long as you are faithful in yourself.
The virtue of Freya is much more, it is the willingness to be true to your beliefs, your principles, your family, friends and community. This is the concept of not breaking faith.
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Feedback for Freya
Leave your thoughts on Freya ... especially if it's a Friday.
All comments are most welcome :)
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- Greekgeek Greekgeek Nov 26, 2009 @ 12:38 am
- Beautiful, beautiful lens. I am mesmerized by that photo of the rock with the knockwork carved in it.
I am not surprised that Freya is one of your goddesses.
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Reply
- jmsp206 jmsp206 May 4, 2009 @ 3:32 am
- I enjoyed your lens Susanna,love the story of Freya.
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Reply
- Ann Marie Taliercio Ann Marie Taliercio May 3, 2009 @ 11:45 am
- I have a street-rescued cat named Bonnie Louise who has all of the markings of a Norwegian Forest cat. In my research of the mythology of the breed I found out that this wise as she is beautiful, very old soul is linked to the Goddesss Freya. The Norwegian Forest Cats or the Blue Cats, pulled Freya's Chariot across the sky each morning. Bonnie Louise gallops, no not runs but gallops from one end of the house to the other each morning and certainly looks like the Wild Woman from the North if her Vet pokes or prods too much. Thank you for writing this artilcle and providing me with validation of the origin of Bonnie's personality and her true purpose in my life.
- Load More
10% of my income goes to continue the work of Fred Hollows in treating avoidable blindness and improving indigenous health.Photo : Khim Rath, who can now see after a successful cataract operation, Kampong Chhnang province, Cambodia.
Blindness is a significant public health issue in Cambodia. Over 160,000 people are blind and an additional 20,000 become blind each year. The main cause of blindness is cataract, which can be treated by a simple 15 minute operation at an average cost of $25 (AUD$35).
Thanks for dropping by ....
Thanks very much for dropping by to read about Freya, the Lady. You're more than welcome to leave a note in the guest book above and, if you're a member of Squidoo, you can also rate this lens :)It's all much appreciated, Susanna
For more pages like this, my lens collection is at Susanna's Lensography
Contents Copyright
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 link to my site. Thanks :)
The Feral Squid
Through a lens darkly
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Lensmaster susannaduffy has been a member since September 25 2006, has rated 4,141 lenses, favorited 164, and has created 213 lenses from scratch. This member's top-ranked page is "Christmas in Australia". See all my lenses
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