Freyja
Freyja in Wagner's operas
Freyja, the sister of Freyr and the daughter of Niord, is usually seen as the fertility goddess of Norse mythology. While there are no sources suggesting that she was called on to bring fruitfulness to fields or wombs, rather she was a goddess of riches whose tears are gold. She was also goddess of love, sex and attraction, and correspondingly became one of the most popular goddesses. She may have been the same goddess as Frigg.
She was also thought to be the most desirable of all goddesses, owner of the attractive piece of jewellery: Brisingamen, which she bought from four dwarves at the price of four nights of her love. This necklace is sometimes seen today as embodying her power over the material world; the necklace has been the emblem of the earth-goddess since the earliest times.
She was once married to Odr, but he disappeared for some time. She cried golden tears afterwards. Odr was one of Odin's names and she does not seem to have been clearly distinguished from Frigg, the wife of Odin. They seem to have evolved from the same goddess. This seems to be contradicted by the description of Freyja as a Vanir instead of an Aesir. However, the Vanir Freyja would have become an Aesir by marrying Odin. Moreover, Gefyon, who some claim was a synonym for Freyja was both an Aesir and a Vanir.
Freyja is wild: free with her sexual favours and furious when an attempt is made to marry her off against her will; the mistress of Odin and several other gods, and, and according to Loki, in Lokasenna, she even let her brother Freyr into her bed.
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2 Freyja as Battle goddess 3 Freyja's slain 4 Freyja as witch 5 Alternative spellings 6 Other names by which Freyja is known 7 Sources |
She was the driver of a wagon drawn by two cats. Freyja was associated with elves. Her chambermaids were Fulla, Hlin and Gna. Her palace was in Folkvang and her hall was Sessrumnir.
Along with the necklace, she owned a cloak of feathers which gave her the ability to change into a falcon, and Hildesvini ("battle-boar" see below).
As a battle-goddess, she rides a boar called Hildisvini the Battle-Swine. In the poem Hyndluljoð we are told that in order to conceal her protegé Ottar the Simple, 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. 7th century Swedish helmet plates depict warriors with large boars as their crests, and a boar-crested helmet has survived from Anglo-Saxon time and was retrieved from a tumulus at Benty Grange in Derbyshire. In Beowulf, it is said that a boar on the helmet was there to guard the life of the warrior wearing it.
Freyja is a chooser of half the slain on the battlefield whilst Odin gets the other half, according to Grimnismál:
She was a skilled völva (shaman) practicing the seidhr. However, unlikely, it can be speculated that Gullveig was an aspect of Freyja. If so she was stabbed and burnt three times, but arose from the flame each time and transformed herself into Heith ("the Glorious"), mistress of magic, in a shamanic initiation (see mystery religion). This also started the war between the Aesir and the Vanir.
The giants are always trying to take her away from the gods, and it is clear that this would be a great disaster. She was obviously the embodiment of the holy life-force.
Freyja's possessions
Freyja as Battle goddess
Freyja's slain
This association of Freyja with death is underlined in Egil's saga when his daughter, ÃÂorgerðr, threatens to commit suicide in the wake of her brother's death: "I shall not eat until I sup with Freyja".Freyja as witch
Alternative spellings
Other names by which Freyja is known
Sources