FREYA
Norse Goddess of Love
Every week, without realizing it, we honor the Norse Goddess of Love with "Freya's Day", the origin of the word "Friday". This may also be the ancient, and long forgotten, reason that fish was a traditional meal on Fridays.
"Love is one of those treasures where the gift and the reason for giving are one and the same. When love is given freely, its existence becomes self-fulfilled, needing neither acknowledgment or permission to live on. The people of the Norse peninsula and Iceland gave expression to this inexplicable force in their lives in the Goddess Freyja. Honored as the Goddess of love, Freyja was called on to assist those who needed to bring the magic of love back into their lives.
Freyja's inspiration led the way from one age to another, as new discoveries replaced old beliefs and methods. Freyja symbolized the shift form wood to iron, an inevitable transformation, that brought both happiness and pain. Imagine the people of the north singing her song while sharpening their swords and tending their iron cooking pots that fed their families. Through it all Freyja was the muse for transcendent love. She cherished and sometimes cried golden tears over the death of her husband, Od, one of the gods of ecstasy. You can still see Freyja in the night sky wearing her favorite necklace made of precious metals and gems. Only now she has become known as the Milky Way.
Calling on Freyja, you acknowledge the love that lives on, from age to age - from the very earth's beginning, beyond today, and into the infinite future. Asking for the strength to love, even when the outcome is uncertain, you draw on a power that illuminates and transcends this moment.
Bring to mind a situation you want to infuse with love's embrace. Ask Freyja to help you find the source of your heart's desire, for she embodies the enduring power of love in your life. Let the thoughts and feelings that arise be your guide."
Donna Peck, 2006
Freya was a member of the Vanir, one of the 2 branches into which the Germanic gods were divided. After a war, the Vanir seem to have been supplanted by the younger Aesir, who were led by Odin. When peace was agreed between the two sides, the Vanir Njord and Freyja went to Asgard, where they lived with the Aesir as a token of friendship. Freyjam the daughter of the sea god Njord, was, like Aphrodite and Mari, a goddess of fertility, which may account for her association with the ocean and fish.
Freyja could fly in a falcon's skin.Freyja flew over the earth, sprinkling morning dew and summer sunlight behind her. She shook spring flowers from her golden hair and wept tears which turned to gold or to amber at sea. Freyja's greatest treasure was the Brisings' necklace. Around Freyja's lovely neck it became an emblem of the fruits of the heavens and earth. Brising meant "fire", the fire of an enlightened mind. The winter constellation we today know as Orion was called "Freya's Gown" by the Norse and Teutons.
She is the patroness of women who attain wisdom, status, and power, the Valkyries - ordinary women who became priestesses. After becoming Valkyr they at last became Norns, the Goddesses who weave the fates and histories of people and of nations. As chief Valkyrie, Freya's origins may indeed be among the much earlier Goddess religions of Old Europe.
Norse Goddess of Love
Every week, without realizing it, we honor the Norse Goddess of Love with "Freya's Day", the origin of the word "Friday". This may also be the ancient, and long forgotten, reason that fish was a traditional meal on Fridays.
"Love is one of those treasures where the gift and the reason for giving are one and the same. When love is given freely, its existence becomes self-fulfilled, needing neither acknowledgment or permission to live on. The people of the Norse peninsula and Iceland gave expression to this inexplicable force in their lives in the Goddess Freyja. Honored as the Goddess of love, Freyja was called on to assist those who needed to bring the magic of love back into their lives.
Freyja's inspiration led the way from one age to another, as new discoveries replaced old beliefs and methods. Freyja symbolized the shift form wood to iron, an inevitable transformation, that brought both happiness and pain. Imagine the people of the north singing her song while sharpening their swords and tending their iron cooking pots that fed their families. Through it all Freyja was the muse for transcendent love. She cherished and sometimes cried golden tears over the death of her husband, Od, one of the gods of ecstasy. You can still see Freyja in the night sky wearing her favorite necklace made of precious metals and gems. Only now she has become known as the Milky Way.
Calling on Freyja, you acknowledge the love that lives on, from age to age - from the very earth's beginning, beyond today, and into the infinite future. Asking for the strength to love, even when the outcome is uncertain, you draw on a power that illuminates and transcends this moment.
Bring to mind a situation you want to infuse with love's embrace. Ask Freyja to help you find the source of your heart's desire, for she embodies the enduring power of love in your life. Let the thoughts and feelings that arise be your guide."
Donna Peck, 2006
Freya was a member of the Vanir, one of the 2 branches into which the Germanic gods were divided. After a war, the Vanir seem to have been supplanted by the younger Aesir, who were led by Odin. When peace was agreed between the two sides, the Vanir Njord and Freyja went to Asgard, where they lived with the Aesir as a token of friendship. Freyjam the daughter of the sea god Njord, was, like Aphrodite and Mari, a goddess of fertility, which may account for her association with the ocean and fish.
Freyja could fly in a falcon's skin.Freyja flew over the earth, sprinkling morning dew and summer sunlight behind her. She shook spring flowers from her golden hair and wept tears which turned to gold or to amber at sea. Freyja's greatest treasure was the Brisings' necklace. Around Freyja's lovely neck it became an emblem of the fruits of the heavens and earth. Brising meant "fire", the fire of an enlightened mind. The winter constellation we today know as Orion was called "Freya's Gown" by the Norse and Teutons.
She is the patroness of women who attain wisdom, status, and power, the Valkyries - ordinary women who became priestesses. After becoming Valkyr they at last became Norns, the Goddesses who weave the fates and histories of people and of nations. As chief Valkyrie, Freya's origins may indeed be among the much earlier Goddess religions of Old Europe.