Goddess Freya

 

Freya (also Freyja or Freia) is the Norse Goddess of Love and Beauty and is one of the major Goddesses of Norse Mythology, equal to Thor and nearly the equal of Odin, the Allfather. She has a twin brother called Frey.  Freya is leader of the Valkyrie, the Choosers of the Slain, warrior maidens who ride over battlefields on winged horses, taking the souls of warriors killed in battle to feast in Valhalla, Odin’s Hall. Freya claims half of the warriors for her own hall in Folkvang.   

Freya is one of the most beautiful Goddesses, with long flowing blond hair, blue eyes and a gorgeous figure which she doesn't mind flaunting, as she often appears naked to her worshipers.

 Freya is also a helpful deity to women in labour and hopeful lovers. She is a healer, a nurturer, a source of love and peace.  She listens to the prayers of people seeking love and will help them if she can. In keeping with the Norse acceptance of infidelity, Freya is a Goddess of lust and enjoys sexual freedom.   She is a patron of young lovers and is viewed as a source of goodness in the world.

 Freya also has the power to grant magick;  a helpful Deity to invoke during spell crafting.   Freya's magick is called Seidr, trance magick which includes shapeshifting and astral projection.  Freya herself has a falcon cloak which allows any who wear it to become a bird and fly!  

Freya travels in either in a chariot pulled by two blue cats or on the golden boar, Hildeswin.
After serving Freya for 7 years, the cats were rewarded by being turned into witches, disguised as black cats. As a sign of her domesticity, She is often portrayed with cats playing around her ankles.

The runes on Her sword signify power, fertility, and birth.

 This is one of the myths surrounding Freya, the Brisingamen Necklace and the origins of Amber.

 

Freya, beautiful, blue-eyed, blond goddess of love, beauty, and fertility had a weakness for beautiful jewels. She was wed to handsome Odur, the sunshine, and bore him two lovely daughters. They lived in her palace, Folkvanger, in the land of Asgard. 

One day Freya was out for a walk along the border of her kingdom. This was the boundary of the kingdom of the Black Dwarfs. As she walked she noticed some of the dwarfs making a beautiful necklace. It glistened as golden as the bright sun and caused Freya to stop to admire it. Freya was told this treasure was the Brisingamen, or the Brising necklace and of great value to the dwarfs.

"Oh, you must sell me the necklace. I will give a treasure of silver for I cannot live without it. I have never seen one as beautiful." 

The dwarfs told her that all the silver in the world could not purchase the Brisingamen. Believing she could not endure without owning the necklace, she asked:

"Is there any treasure in the world for which you would sell me the necklace?"

"Yes, you must buy it from each of us." answered the dwarfs, "for it is the treasure of your love. If you are wed to each of us for a day and a night, Brisingamen shall be yours."

Bewitched by the sparkle of the beautiful necklace, Freya was overcome with madness. She forgot Odur, she forgot her two lovely daughters, she even forgot she was the Queen of the Aesir. In her madness, she agreed to the pact. No one in Aesir knew about the weddings of barter except the mischief-maker Loki, who seemed to always be around when evil was brewing.

After four days and nights of these unholy unions, Freya returned to her palace to live in shame. She hid the necklace she had given her honour for. But Loki came to Odur to inform him of what had taken place in the land of the dwarfs. Odur demanded proof of these scandalous tales. To provide evidence, Loki set out to steal the necklace. Turning himself into a flea, he flew into Freya's chambers and bit her on the cheek while she slept. The bite caused Freya to turn so he was able to remove the necklace.

Loki went to Odur and showed him the evidence of her infidelity. Odur tossed the necklace aside, left the kingdom of Asgard, a travelled to far distant lands. Freya woke the next morning to find both her necklace and husband gone. 

Weeping, she went to Valhalla to confess to the father god Odin whose palace was near the amber valley of Glaesisvellir. At the entrance to Valhalla was an amber grove called Glaeser, with trees that dripped beads of amber. The kindly Odin forgave Freya for her evil but demanded a penance. Taking the Brisingamen from Loki, he commanded Freya to wear the necklace for eternity and wander the world in search of her lost love, Odur. 

As she wanders the world she continues weeping. The teardrops which land on soil turn to gold in the rocks, those which fall in the sea are turned to amber.

   

Element - Air or Fire
Colours - Red, Green, Gold
Incense - Rose, Sandalwood, Mint, All Floral Scents
Runes - Kaunaz, Fehu, Uruz, Tiwaz
Animals - Hawk, Cat, Boar
Stones - Red Amber, Red Agate, Fire Agate, Tourmaline, Hawkseye
Trees - Redwood, Birch, Elm,  Elder, Apple
Herbs - Alder,  Bramble, Cowslip, Feverfew, Mint, Mugwort, Rose, Tansy, Thyme, Vervain, Yarrow,  Valerian
Day - Friday (Freya's Day)
Magikal Attributes - Magick, Divination, Healing, Love, Beauty, Peace

 

  

INVOCATION TO FREYA

"Freya, Of the many names, Join us.

Freya, Of the golden tears, Join us.

Freya, Daughter of Njord, Join us.

Freyja, Wife of Od, Join us.

Freyja, Sister of Freyr, Join us.

Freya, Mother of Hnoss, Join us.

Freya, Claimed by Thrym, Join us.

Freya Driver of cats, Join us.

Freya, Goddess of Fertility, Join us.

Freya Who shares the slain with Odin, Join us.

Freya, Who taught the Aesir Magick, Join us.

Freya, Lender of Falcons' Flight, Join us.

Freya, Mistress of Brisingamen, Join us.

Freyja, Mistress of Folkvang, Join us.

Freya, Mistress of nature, Join us.

Freya Your servant _______ calls you! Come to us NOW!"

     Russ Anderson

 

 

The Tale of Cat Bayun or the Chariot of the Goddess Freya.
(the tale is based on the mythology of Vikings)

 

The Goddess of Love and Beauty Freya woke up early that morning. The terrible rumble awoke her. Since her brother, Freyr had been taken hostage and stayed in Asgard (the celestial land of gods), and she had married the powerful god Odin, nobody could dare to wake her so early.

"Thor the Thunderer must be hurrying somewhere! Who else can dare to awake citizens of the celestial land?" thought Freya and went out to the balcony. Women are always curious and it doesn't matter if they are commoners or goddesses. It was really Thor. He was riding the chariot pulled by two gigantic, long-haired goats. In the evening one of the goats had to be killed and eaten up, and so it faintly pulled the chariot and looked gloomy. In spite of the fact that all animals, killed in the celestial land, were raised from the dead afterwards, they didn't like this procedure.

"Where are you going?" asked Freya

"I am going fishing. I want to catch the Midgard Dragon," was the answer.

Saying these words, Thor immediately went away in the direction of the Rainbow Bridge. Sometime later, he was sitting on the bank of the Buyan Island. Having thrown a seine in the sea, he was patiently waiting for a catch. Suddenly, he heard a bloodcurdling noise that soon changed into a tender lullaby. The strange singer was singing so skilfully and touchingly that Thor began dozing. In a minute the repulsive sounds resumed and Thor was awakened again. The Thunderer was very irritated. Who dared to make him sleep! Who uttered these nasty sounds?

So, he decided to find his offender and rushed to the forest from whence the noise was heard.

Having passed through the dense forest, Thor the Thunderer came to a clearing. In the middle of the clearing, a big old oak was growing. On the thickest and firm branch of that oak a huge, fluffy, striped cat was sitting. Under the oak, two charming, blue kittens were sleeping, rolled up in a ball. The cat was mewing sweetly lulling his little kittens. The legendary magic Cat Bauyn was sitting on the oak branch.

"Are these charming, little kittens your children?" roared Thor.

Cat Bauyn nodded and smiled but didn't stop singing. Then the cat changed his colour and became blue like its kittens.

"Have you tried to lull me and make me sleep?" asked Thor threateningly.

"Yes, it was I!" answered the impudent animal, demonstrating its sharp claws.

Thor tightened his Belt of Strength and looked at the cat with confidence. Suddenly the kittens awoke again and began to ask for food.

"Do you see? I am a single father," said the cat. "In the spring I met a pretty cat and acquired these kittens. Then their mother left me and now I have to take care of these little ones alone. Do you know how difficult is it to nurture children? By the way, could you help me to arrange their destinies?"

"Maybe!" replied Thor the Thunderer thoughtfully. He remembered Freya and thought that it would be quite good to present her these charming, blue kittens. Unexpectedly the conversation was interrupted by the squeak of the kittens.

"Sleep, sleep, my dear little children!" purred Cat Bauyn. "But remember, you, powerful Thor the Thunderer! These little ones aren't ordinary street cats, they are my children! If anything bad happens with them I will..."

"How can you dare to threaten me? Even snowy giants tremble with fear when they hear my name!"

Just as Thor was about to seize Cat Bauyn, the cat struck the ground, turned into the magic bird Gamayun and flew away. Thor stamped his foot in his vexation. Then he grasped the kittens and went in search of his chariot.  

Everybody knows that Vikings worshipped Freya, the goddess of Love and Beauty. They prayed to her for rain and good harvest. Even now, peasants in Scandinavian countries leave jugs filled with milk to propitiate Freya. According to the legend, Freya travels in the heavens in the chariot pulled by two giant, blue cats. These cats are the children of the magic Cat Bauyn that have been presented to Freya by Thor the Thunderer.