Freya (Norse)
Freya (Old Norse Freyja, “Lady”) is one of the preeminent goddesses in Norse mythology. She’s a member of the Vanir tribe of deities but became an honorary member of the Aesir gods after the Aesir-Vanir War. Her father is Njörðr/Njord. Her mother is unknown, but could be Nerthus. Freyr is her brother. With her husband Odin/Óðr, she is the mother of two daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi. Her famiy are members of the Vanir. Modern forms of the name include Freya, Freyia, and Freja.
Freya is famous for her fondness of love, fertility, beauty, and fine material possessions – and, because of these predilections, she’s considered to be something of the “party girl” of the Aesir. In one of the Eddic poems, Loki accuses Freya of having slept with all of the gods and elves, including her brother.
Freya rules over her heavenly field, Fólkvangr, where she receives half of those who die in battle. The other half go to the god Odin’s hall, Valhalla. This role of female battlefield choosers of the slain connects her to the Valkyries. Within Fólkvangr lies her hall, Sessrúmnir. Freya assists other deities by allowing them to use her feathered cloak, is invoked in matters of fertility and love, and is frequently sought after by powerful jötnar who wish to make her their wife. Freyja’s husband is frequently absent. She cries tears of red gold for him, and searches for him under assumed names. Freyja/Freya has numerous names, including Gefn, Hörn, Mardöll, Sýr, Vanadís, and Valfreyja.
Freya the Völva
Freya is the archetype of the völva, a professional or semiprofessional practitioner of seidr, the most organized form of Norse magic. It was she who first brought this art to the gods, and, by extension, to humans as well. Given her expertise in controlling and manipulating the desires, health, and prosperity of others, she’s a being whose knowledge and power are almost without equal.
Seidr is a form of pre-Christian Norse magic and shamanism that involved discerning the course of fate and working within its structure to bring about change, often by symbolically weaving new events into being. This power could potentially be put to any use imaginable, and examples that cover virtually the entire range of the human condition can be found in Old Norse literature.
In the Viking Age, the völva was an itinerant seeress and sorceress who traveled from town to town performing commissioned acts of seidr in exchange for lodging, food, and often other forms of compensation as well. Like other northern Eurasian shamans, her social status was highly ambiguous – she was by turns exalted, feared, longed for, propitiated, celebrated, and scorned.
Freya’s occupying this role amongst the gods is stated directly in the Ynglinga Saga, and indirect hints are dropped elsewhere in the Eddas and sagas. For example, in one tale, we’re informed that Freya possesses falcon plumes that allow their bearer to shift his or her shape into that of a falcon.
Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, is accompanied by the boar Hildisvíni, and possesses a cloak of falcon feathers to allow her to shift into falcon hamr.
In Scandinavia, Freyja’s name frequently appears in the names of plants, especially in southern Sweden. Various plants in Scandinavia once bore her name to honor her, such as Freyja’s tears and Freyja’s hair but they were renamed to honor Virgin Mary during the process of Christianization.
If you were a goddess, which
special powers would you like to possess?
Sources:
wikipedia
Norse-mythology.org
Tao-Talk 
One where I clicked my fingers and the children were shrouded in safety and well fed. Thanks for asking. Bless you. And you?
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A wonderful power to have, Selma! My power would disarm every weapon of war (including personal weapons like words and fists) permanently. If people have disagreements they’d have to find non-violent, non-exploitive ways to resolve them.
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I like your beautiful artwork, Lisa,:>)
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Dwight, thank you! I’ve been reading about each goddess before coloring them so they suit their attributes/geography (and don’t all look alike.)
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Very nicely done!
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This is such an intriguing post with lots of info I had no idea about. I have no idea what power I’d like to have if I were a goddess.
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Astrid, I learn as I go with the posts.
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❤️
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I too would render all weapons inoperable forever including any new ones. Let the leaders go punch each other with their fists in a boxing ring and leave the rest of us alone!
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YES!!!!!!
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Ultimate power and a ‘party girl’ – now THAT is a combo! As for special powers, I like the idea of healing the sick and feeding/clothing/housing the disadvantaged, and at the same time, I like Paula’s idea of making all weapons useless.
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Steve, that is funny how you described the combo. I love the special powers you would choose. Between you and Paula, you’d make the planet so much better.
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Ha, thanks, Lisa! This is such an interesting series; I know very little about the Norse mythology you focused on here.
Aw, thank you, that’s kind. If only….
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You’re very welcome.
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I have a growing interest in all things Viking, so that particular tidbit was interesting.
Tony (Danab Cycle)
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Tony have you seen the series Vikings? I learned a lot from watching it.
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I like the idea of changing fate by weaving new events into being.
As to powers…I like your idea, and Selma’s too. I’d protect the earth from humans, which I guess would eliminate a lot of their weapons, not to mention exploitation and industrial “development”. We would lead vastly different lives, that’s for sure. (K)
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ooh! You could do so much with that skill.
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Though mere mortals, we need to keep trying…
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<3
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I like the name Freya! I’d love to possess the power of making myself invisible!
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CA, I like that name also. You could have a lot of fun with that power :)
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This is interesting. Never knew about her. Thanks for this information.
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Glad you found it interesint, Balaka. Thanks and you’re welcome.
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Interesting overview—Freya’s mix of love, magic, and warrior associations makes her such a multifaceted figure in Norse mythology.
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Yes, she is, Tamara. I knew about Valhalla but not that she took everyone else.
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I have love Freya and like how, and to learn more about her is so very heartening. A big hug to you, Li for bringing the Norse Goddess closer to us.
It makes me happy to have pulled her card from my Oracle deck.
Meanwhile, if I was a Goddess, my powers would lie in protecting every species of this planet; enveloped in a bubble of protective light. Where none is ever never harmed or hurt, by humans. And that humans learn to use love as a language to spread peace. And find ways to have meaningful dialogues and co-exist harmoniously. I would create an utopian world.
Sorry got carried away by it all. ;-)
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Natasha, so awesome Freya is in your Oracle deck. Does it say anything else about her?
I love your benevolent powers and the world they can create <3 No need to apologize, such a world would be so wonderful.
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Freya sounds familiar. Definitely a party girl.
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:)
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I am working my way through the Magnus Chase series by Rick Riordan and Freya plays a role there, so see talk about her hall, her power, and her party capabilities makes me remember certain scenes.
As to the power, keeping on theme. Gloves that prevent all power cuts, glasses which prevent all eye strain, a shelf that hover the book in a perfect position for reading so it never falls on your face, and a cushion chair that lets you read in any position in perfect comfort and able to get out of it easily. Oh, that isn’t exactly a power – although she had a long list of stuff too. Hmm power, ability to pronounce aloud any word I have read correctly, ability to understand any word written by context clues without having to look anything up.
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This is Erin Penn again.
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<3
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Happy Freya caught your notice. I like the thought you put into your powers. They all sound wonderful.
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Hi, Li, I wrote about Vanadium in the A to Z 2024, which is named for what I understood to be Freya’s alternative name Vanir, but that seems also to be the name of her tribe…
https://how-would-you-know.com/vanadium-and-a-verbless-poem/
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Thanks for the extra info on Freya/Vanir. I remember reading about the Vanir with Asatru (iirc) but that was awhile ago.
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