norsevvitch:Freyja: Norse goddess of beauty, femininity, and deathAlso known as: Valfreya; Freya; Sh
norsevvitch:Freyja: Norse goddess of beauty, femininity, and deathAlso known as: Valfreya; Freya; She Who Shines over the Sea“Freya, most beautiful of the Norse spirits, has dominion over love, sex, fertility, magic, witchcraft, death, pleasure, and glory. Freya literally means “Lady” and may be a title, not a name. (Her twin brother is Freyr, or “Lord.”) She is simultaneously a spirit of fertility and death, beauty and war.Freya, daughter of Njord and Herta (Nerthus), Sea and Earth, is among the Vanir hostages who joined the Aesir to maintain spiritual peace. Freya, however, quickly became a dominant force over her new realm. When she first arrived in Asgard, she taught the Aesir how to craft charms and potions. She inducted Odin into the world of magic. Freya is invoked for love, romance, and fertility, but she is a goddess of death, too. Under the name Valfreya, she leads the Valkyries to the battlefield where she lays claim to half the dead who are brought to dwell in her beautiful palace, Folkvang, where love songs play continuously.Freya was no obscure goddess but beloved and worshipped over a vast European territory including Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland, the Germanic lands, Holland, and Anglo-Saxon Britain. She remains among the most beloved and widely venerated Pagan goddesses today. No spirit annoyed the Christian authorities more than Freya. Ironically, the result was that Freya survives more vividly than virtually any other female European spirit. Constant condemnation kept Freya from fading into obscurity. Freya was denounced as a Queen of the Witches. Women who venerated her were automatically branded “witches”. And, of course, Freya’s rites and traditions did encourage magical practice, mediumship, shamanism, and female autonomy with Freya herself as the role model, behavior the new regime considered abhorrent and sinful.”- Freya weeps tears of amber.- Honey contains her essence.- Freya knows the power of the runes; they can be used to communicate with herManifestations: Usually as a golden, beautiful, charismatic woman, but she is a shapeshifter and can take any formAttributes: Magical falcon feather cloak enabling her to fly; Brisingamen, the glowing necklace forged by dwarves; a golden chariot pulled by two catsMetal: GoldPlanet: MoonDay: Friday is named after Freya; “Freya’s Day”Number: 13 (the number of months in a lunar year)Sacred date: Any Friday the 13thFlowers: Primroses, mugwort, holly, flax, hempAnimals: cats, raptor birds, ladybugs, cuckoos, swallowsOfferings: honey, mead, flowers; sing love songs for her or compose poetry; Freya will accept all offerings, but she has fine taste and will gladly accept lavish offerings of jewelry and perfume. Freya’s devotees held dinners in her honor, offering her ale, apples, barley, and pork. It is traditional to feed stray or feral cats as an offering to Freya. Adopting some cats may get you into good graces, too, provided you treat them well. [Source: “The Encyclopedia of Spirits” by Judika Illes][All images from Unsplash] -- source link