(© 2013. All original material in this Project is under copyright protection and is the intellectual property of the author.)
Mistress of Magic - by Riversong
Freyja is the Norse Goddess of magick and love, beauty and light, sexual expression and matters of the heart. Her name simply means, "Lady." She is sister to the fertility god, Freyr, and is often shown riding across the countryside in a wagon drawn by two cats. She is stunningly beautiful and wears a shining necklace1 which points to her association with the sun.
"Freyr is the fertile earth to Freyja's energizing presence.
He is the seed and she is the sun, warming the soil and coaxing the seed to be reborn. She is the raging fire to his calming earth, the spark that kindles his divinity."2
Freyja is a mistress of magic and witchcraft. She owned a cloak of falcon feathers which "enabled her spirit to take the form of a bird, travel to the underworld, and come back with prophecies and knowledge of destinies."3 She is associated with the practice of seidr, and is said to have taught this wisdom to Odin in exchange for his knowledge of the runes.
She left her home in Vanaheim to follow her father and brother to Asgard. Because of this, peace was made between the agricultural Vanir and the warlike Aesir.4 Freyja was given a hall named Sessrumnir ("The Roomy-Seat") located in Folkvangr ("Folk-Gathering").5
There are many who honor Freyja as a goddess of war and place her as leader of the Valkaries. However, there are no instances of lore before the 14th century that link Freyja with war, and she never herself wields a weapon.6 Snorri Sturlson, author of source material including the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, was a Christian writing in the 1200's. This was approximately two hundred years after the Viking age and after heathen worship had ended.7 Although we need to be grateful to Snorri for preserving so much of the lore of the Norse people, we must also understand that every storyteller is a product of his own time and beliefs. We cannot be sure exactly how Freyja was worshipped in Viking and pre-Viking times, yet considering the overwhelming associations of Freyja with fertility, romance, passion, and sexuality, I tend to agree with those who believe this link with battle is a later addition, and that Freyja, more than anything else, is the Bright Lady who may be called upon to coax one's passion (or one's crops!) into action.
Freyja is described as having pure white skin and hair of red-gold.8 She sheds tears that turn to gold when they strike the earth and amber when they strike the ocean.9 In this way she blesses the land with wealth and beauty. To this day, she is associated with gold and amber, and one may wear jewelry made of either material to strengthen a personal connection with her.
She is said to enjoy love songs. In the early medieval period, she was the patroness of a genre of love songs called mansongr or minnegesang.10 These songs "were so prone to enflame sexuality that [...] it was grounds for legal punishment if a man were to write one of these to a woman."11
She is a Goddess of Passion and is known to have had many lovers.
Freyja is at the same time married to Odr. They have two children named Hnoss ("Treasure") and Gersemi ("Precious Jewel"). One day, Odr leaves under unknown circumstances, and Freyja searches the world for him, crying tears of gold.
Searching for Odr - by Riversong
A Meditation with Freyja by Riversong
The name of Freyja's husband is Odr, which translates to "spiritual arousal,"13 or "Passion."14
As Freyja searches the countryside for her Odr, she is searching for her passion, her inspiration, her spiritual connection.
As we live out our lives, day to day, it becomes easy to lose our focus. How many of us have wondered, at one time or another, what it is all for? Perhaps we, too, have lost our inspiration. Any time you feel disconnected or uninspired, you can try this meditation.
Find yourself a quiet, comfortable space. Get into a relaxed position, sitting or lying down, and take a moment to ground. Breathe deeply to relax your body and mind.
In your imagination (the place where spiritual meetings occur), picture yourself in a favorite place in nature. The sun is shining. As you look to the horizon you notice a flash of light. It comes closer and you see that it is Freyja in her chariot pulled by two large cats. Her golden hair falls around her shoulders and she is wearing the most beautiful necklace that you have ever seen. She shines brightly like the sun and wears a cloak of white falcon feathers.
You feel no fear as you approach her chariot. She opens her arms wide and you melt into her embrace. She invites you to recline with her. You lay back, bodies entwined, in the comfortable pillows of her chariot. The cats curl up next to you both and begin to purr softly.
Freyja lovingly strokes your hair. At some point she stops and places a hand on your heart. With this gesture she awakens the source of your passion. Next, she touches your third eye. With this she awakens the source of your creativity and inspiration.
She whispers in your ear... "I will now show you that which you desire. I will show you what motivates you, gives you a sense of purpose. I will show you that which brings you into wholeness."
She shows you a vision. Notice every detail. You may ask her any questions you like. You may ask her how to make this vision become reality. She will answer all of your questions.
Stay in her embrace as long as you wish. Remember to thank her and perhaps offer her a gift.
Come back into your body. Wiggle your toes. Move around. Say this chant three times to honor your connection with the Goddess:
Freyja, Bright Lady
Adorned with gold
You share your love freely
May I be so bold
Help me soar through my life
With arms open wide.
My love is my strength!
My love is my guide!
Bright Lady - by Riversong
Making Brisingamen Beads by Riversong
In Kevin Crossley-Holland's retelling of "The Necklace of the Brisings", Freyja travels to the cave of four dwarves: Alfrigg, Dvalin, Berling, Grerr, and spies
"...a necklace, a choker of gold incised with wondrous patterns, a marvel of fluid metal twisting and weaving and writhing."15
She feels a great longing for it but the dwarves will take no money.
"Only if you will lie one night with each of us will this necklace ever lie round your throat."16
She stays the four nights and acquires the beautiful necklace. This is Brisingamen. In old Norse, brisingr means "fire" and men means "necklace" or "belt."17 It is said that when she wears only this, she becomes impossible to resist. It is a potent symbol of her sexual power.
In this tale:
Freyja descends to the underworld and integrates the magick of the four directions into herself. She emerges in full possession of her role as Goddess. She is the Goddess of Love. She has the power to awaken desire; to inspire creativity and to arouse passion. She is fully in touch with and in charge of her own sexuality.
Freyja teaches us that how we do sex is how we do life. When women have sex they physically open themselves up to their lovers. At its best the experience will be an opening on many levels: body, heart, and mind.
Freyja challenges us to live the whole of our lives this way. What if we could relax into our experiences and open up fully to what is before us? What if we came to each moment as the lover approaches her beloved? She notices every detail, she takes in each sensation and she cherishes it. What if we could live fully present to our lives... relaxed, open, and aware... body, heart, and mind?
In this ritual we will practice being in a state of open awareness, and craft a set of beads as a reminder to come back to this state as often as possible.
Needs:
The Work:
Brisingr Beads - by Riversong
Hearts and Dragonflies
Dragonflies and damselflies are sacred to Freyja. "The paired bodies of mating dragonflies form the shape of a heart, perhaps being the source for that modern symbol of love."18 Dragonflies and Freyja are both connected with magick. The dragonfly represents insight, transformation, and seeing through the illusion.
Mating Dragonflies - from stockvault.net
A Simple Rune Spread with Freyja by Riversong
Needs: Set of 24 Runes, White Casting Cloth, Yellow or Gold strand of Yarn or Ribbon
Freyja, Bright Lady, Bless my life,
Give me the strength to overcome strife
Illumine my path wherever it's dark
Inspire me with your creative spark
I am a strong wo/man, there's magick in me
I am beautiful. I am free.
Blessed Be.
Cherry Wood Runes - by Riversong
...A Gift To Her
My first experience with Freyja occurred in the fall of 2012. I had crafted a rune set from clay and wanted to bless it. I found this beautiful invocation in the book Nordic Runes by Paul Rhys Mountfort19:
"Hail to thee, Freya, Queen of the Aesir,
Queen of Vanir, fair Lady of Alfheim.
Mistress of magic, Mother of Midgard;
By the sovereign power of seithr
And strength of Brisingamen
Lend me your insight in this my rite.
Freya! Great Goddess! Thee I call, thee I invoke!
Surround me in your feathered cloak
That I may see through the nine worlds
From the roots to the trunk to the tips
Of the holy tree. Freya, Gift your secrets to me!
Freya! Thee I call, thee I invoke:
By wheel of wagon and cat's light paw,
On wings of falcon, from dark veins of soil,
By day's golden light and night's black toil.
Come Queen of All, into this circle
And bless the casting that is to be performed."
As I stood there in front of my altar, hands poised above the rune set in blessing, I felt a spirit hovering behind me. I then experienced a sensation as if the Lady took a step forward and filled my body with her presence. The energy started flowing through my hands as if someone had turned them on like a water faucet. Her energy felt very pure and light to me. I knew two things at this point: 1) I had just had an incredibly intimate experience with the Goddess Freyja. 2) I had no idea who she was.
I began to search the Internet and my favorite source was a site called, "Freyja First." The author's description of her association with the name Berchta, meaning "bright" immediately resonated with me and matched with my experience.
To honor her as I experience her: Berchta Freyja, Bright Lady, Mistress of Magick, I crafted a wand in her honor. It is made from a fallen piece of Birch (another association with Berchta) and is adorned with gold as the goddess herself is adorned with the gold necklace Brisingamen. I used a clear quartz to honor her quality of light and her solar aspect. I used gold-lined glass seed beads to make strands evocative of her golden hair. At the end of each strand is a tear shape - a nod to the legend that when she cries she sheds tears of gold. The wand was blessed and dedicated to her on February 14th, 2013.
Berchta Freyja Wand - by Riversong
1. Telesco, Patricia, 365 Goddess: A Daily Guide to the Magic and Inspiration of the Goddess, Harper Collins, New York, NY, 1998.
2. Skye, Michelle, Goddess Alive! Inviting Celtic & Norse Goddesses into Your Life, Llewellyn Publications, Woodbury, MN, 2007, p.76
3. Crossley-Holland, The Norse Myths, Pantheon Books, New York, NY. p.xxx
4. Waldherr, Kris, The Goddess Tarot, U.S. Games Systems, Inc., Stamford, CT. 1999. p25
5. Freyjafirst.com/lore.aspx
6. Lafayllve, Patricia M., Freyja, Lady, Vanadis: An Introduction to the Goddess, Outskirts Press, Denver, CO, 2006. p.13
7. freyjafirst.com/warrior.aspx
8. freyjafirst.com/lore.aspx
9. Ibid.
10. Aswynn, Freya, Northern Mysteries & Magick: Runes & Feminine Powers, Llewellyn Publications, Woodbury MN, 1990. p. 229
11. Ibid., fn 6, p.20
12. Ibid., fn 3, p.165
13. Ibid., fn 6, p.50
14. freyjafirst.com
15. Ibid., fn 3, p.65
16. Ibid., fn 3, p.66
17. Ibid., fn 3, p.203
18. www.crystalinks.com/dragonfly.html
19. Mountfort, Paul Rhys, Nordic Runes, Destiny Books, Rochester, VT, 2003. p. 229