Freyja

Freyja ( Freya or Vanadis ). Goddess of fertility , love, and sex in Norse mythology .

Summary

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  • 1 Etymology
    • 1 Other names
  • 2 Mythology
    • 1 Origin
    • 2 Powers
    • 3 Representation
      • 3.1 First Valkyrie
      • 3.2 Saddle
      • 3.3 Carriage
      • 3.4 Association
    • 4 Worship
  • 3 Brisingamen
  • 4 Reference
  • 5 Sources

Etymology

The names Frey and Freyja are derived from Germanic words whose meanings are “the lord” and “the lady” respectively (Germanic cognates include: Gothic Fráuja “sir, master”, Fráujo “mistress, mistress”, Old Norse Frú “mistress, mistress , woman “, Danish Frue, Swedish Fru, German Frau” miss, woman, wife “, Old High German Frouwa, Anglo-Saxon Freo, Frea). Like the French word dame (from the Latin domina ), whose masculine form (dominus) has perished, the meaning for “lord” is no longer used, but the title “Frau” still exists in the Germanic languages.

Her name is also potentially related to the name Frigg (which derives from fri “to love”), because “woman” and “love” are ultimately related, just as Freyja and Frigg are often thought to be avatars one of the other. [1]

Other names

It is also called Mardöll (light of the sea ), Gersimi ( jewel ) and Menglödh (“merry with his necklace”).

Mythology

Origin

Unlike most of the deities of Asgard it does not belong to the lineage of the Aces, but to that of the Vanes. He came from far away Vanaheim with his father Niord and his brother Freyr , in an exchange that ended the war between the two families of gods. [2]

Attributions

In the Poetic Eddas, Freyja is described as a goddess of love, beauty, and fertility.

Freyja was also associated with war, death , magic , prophecy, and wealth. The Eddas mention that he received half of those killed in combat in his palace called Fólkvangr, while Odin received the other half in Valhalla . The origin of the Seidr [3] and his teaching to the Æsir was attributed to her. [4]

The colors green, gold, blue and pink are attributed to it. Its metals are the gold the silver and bronze . The sacred trees : the birch , the maple and the apple tree .

Their animals are cats of all sizes, wild and domestic, along with wild boars and hawks. Her favorite gemstones are emerald , pearl , aventurine , rose quartz, and tiger’s eye (to represent Freyja’s Brisingamen necklace), and amber , which also represents the tears she shed for her late husband Od (another possible name for Odin).

Representation

She is represented as a beautiful, voluptuous and lustful young woman.

First Valkyrie

Although Freyja was the goddess of love, she was not gentle and lover of pleasures, as the ancient Norse races believed that she had very martial tastes and that under the name of Valfreya she often led the Valkyries on the battlefield. So she was represented with a corselet and a helmet, shield and spear, being only the lower half of her body dressed in the usual loose attire of women.

 

Freyja riding on the Hildisvíni boar

Saddle

Like her brother Freyr, Freya owns a sow or javelin, a symbol of fertility as well as strength in combat, although in this last aspect it is more remarkable that Freyja also rides a golden-bristled boar called Hildisvíni (“Battle pig” ) that appears only in the poem Hyndluljóð . (Then it is related in this work that this boar is his protégé or his human lover Óttar temporarily disguised as Hildisvini or transformed into a boar with the magical arts of the Seidr).

 

Freyja in her chariot pulled by Gatos-Gir

Carriage

Freyja frequently drives a war chariot pulled by a pair of big cats. The Gylfaginning relates that he drove this car to Balder’s funeral . It is believed that the cats that pulled his cart were the Skogkatt or Norwegian forest cat, it has also been suggested that they could be boreal lynxes .

Association

Its name corresponds to Friday , for the association to the Roman Venus (Friday in English , Freitag in German).

Worship

She was the female deity who most received prayers for love and one of the longest-lasting in pagan worship, despite Christianization . The Nordic peoples invoked her to obtain happiness in love, to assist in childbirth and to have good seasons.

 

Brisingamen – Representation of Freyja’s Necklace

Brisingamen

-The necklace of Freyja ( Brisingamen ) is very famous. The legend tells that:

“Not far from Freya’s palace there is a grotto inhabited by four dwarves, very skilled goldsmiths (Dvalin, Alfrik, Berling and Grer). One day he observed among the dwarves a gold necklace (the Brísingamen) that inspired him with a strong desire, and offered a large quantity of gold to pay for it; but the dwarves, lords of all metals, did not desire gold. To obtain the necklace, the goddess had to pay another kind of price: spend one night with each of them. She accepted and obtained the necklace; but LokiHe found out everything and informed Odin: he ordered him to take the necklace thus acquired from the goddess. He did, transforming into various animals. But Freya guessed who had stolen it and ended up getting the necklace back from Odin; but not without Odin requesting from Freya the same thing he had offered the dwarves in exchange. Finally Odin delivered the necklace without the request being fulfilled. ”

 

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