The ninth is Folkvangr, where Freyja decrees
Who shall have seats in the hall
The half of the dead each day does she choose
And half does Odin have
- Poetic Edda
Freya, the lady
Freya is said to be the most beautiful of all the Norse goddesses. No men could resist her. But she is more than just beautiful, she is also the ruler of Folkvangr, her own hall, where she takes half of the fallen warriors. And she got first pick! After she chose who she wants to take to her hall (I imagine it being the most handsome and fierce warriors available) Odin can take the rest to Valhalla. Freya belongs to the Vanir, a group of the Norse gods that are associated with nature, animals, and unseen realms.
Freya is just fierce and strong-willed, she gets what she wants and is even willing to do quite a lot for it. She has power in multiple ways: power of beauty, power of magic, power of her knowledge, and a strong willpower.
To acquire Brisingamen (a necklace of exceptional beauty) she slept with four hideous dwarves. Freya is a strong combination of beauty, willpower, and power. She can seduce everyone, but she can also fight in battle. While Odin was the official leader of the Valkyries, she was said to be the commander of them. Strong-willed, beautiful, and proud, and no less than any of the male gods! She is seen as a goddess of fertility, magic, love, beauty, war, death, and divination and is connected to the full moon. The many aspects of this goddess drew me from the first moment I heard about her. What I didn’t know then is that I saw her magic in a ritual in Germany already. (see working with Freya)
Goddess of magic
She rides in a chariot pulled by forest cats. These cats are not only her pets but also symbolize the magic, which Freya is the goddess of. Christianity banned Freya and with that banning the cats of Freya were said to be evil. It is said that this is the base of the black cat being a symbol for a witch and magic. Freya is connected to a type of magic that is called Seidr. Seidr revolves around fate. It gives you insight into the future and by changing a small thing / pulling a thread in the web of events, you can change the structure to bring change. Seidr can be described as connected to shaman techniques (working with trance / meditation) to look into the web of fate to see within a situation or yourself. There is always a debate if Freya is indeed the goddess of the magic of Seidr, but the legends told she trained Odin in Seidr in exchange for his knowledge of the runes. Because of that, she was seen by some people as more powerful than him.
Connection with Birds
Besides cats, Freya is also connected to birds. She had a cloak made of hawk feathers or, in other legends, raven feathers, that could turn her into a bird or anything else any time she wanted to. In this form, she could travel anywhere and be literally as free as a bird.
Working with All Aspects of Freya
Freya is not a goddess of a single aspect in life, and if you work with her, it is wise to embrace all of her aspects, or at least be aware of them. Freya is a very passionate goddess. And with passion and strong will comes the reminder of the dark sides of all things.
The Warrior
Physical strength. Freya fights for her rights and those of others! The dark side of this can be that in her, there is a need to win at all costs. Beware of your ethics! You don't always have to be the best! Being humble and surrendering in a fight gives you the ability to live another day, get stronger and wiser instead of fighting till you are dead.
Lover / Seducer
Passion, seduction, and devotion to forms of art that can make us happy like music, art, and nature. Freya uses her beauty and sex to accomplish her goals. The shadow of this can be an obsession that can take over and have a negative effect on yourself.
Adapt as Freya
By understanding the nuances of different groups and environments, she can strategically position herself to influence (positive) change. As a shape shifter, though Freya could only shapeshift with her cloak, there is the ability to change your appearances, but there is also the ability that makes you able to adapt easily to different environments and different groups of people. You can think about the good and the bad things about practicing politics considering this aspect of Freya. Do you constantly reinvent yourself, where do you belong, what is your belief? Freya can guide you more to where you belong in the aspect of groups and environments and her guidance can guide you in this.
Magic / Seidr
Seidr gives you insight into a situation, it shows you the pattern of a situation and the possible ways to pull it. Seidr grants the ability to see and influence the ongoing event. Ask yourself why you should want to do that. Do you want to change it for your own benefit? See the bigger picture, the whole pattern, and decide if you indeed want to change it. Interfering might not always bring you what you think it will, maybe just watch and learn.
How Freya stopped the war between the Vanir & Aesir
The Aesir-Vanir War was a conflict that unfolded between two groups of gods: the Aesir and the Vanir. The Aesir fought with weapons and brute force, while the Vanir used magic, the war went on without one side clearly winning or being stronger then the other. The Aesir-Vanir War was marked by a series of battles, with neither side gaining a decisive advantage. Recognizing the destructive nature of the conflict and the toll it took on both groups, the gods eventually sought a resolution.
Freya, played a crucial role in mediating the peace. She, facilitated negotiations that led to a truce between the Aesir and Vanir. As a gesture of goodwill, hostages were exchanged between the two groups.
This exchange and her mediating helped to make peace between the Aesir and Vanir, ending the war. The Aesir-Vanir War was a significant event in Norse mythology, highlighting themes of conflict, diplomacy, and the importance of finding common ground even among powerful and divine beings.
Working with Freya
During an Asatru camp in Germany, I was part of a Seidr ritual. A seer was appointed and the group sang until the seer reached a state of trance. People were allowed to ask questions and afterward, I heard it was very accurate later from more than a few persons. I didn't dare to ask a question myself then, because it was very public. I was very impressed by the state the seer got in, was a combination of being impressed and scared, the seer gave everything. His body was taken over and you could feel and see the change in him.
During a full moon, I traveled in meditation to Freya, in the meditation I traveled to her hall to talk with her about a situation that I was involved in. She showed me connections and possible outcomes. In my meditation, I talked with her, but I didn't get a specific answer. For me, Freya gives you insight and support to pull threads in the web of events. And the outcome might not be what you had in mind, but it might be the outcome that is the best for you. In meditation with her, I noticed that Freya is a goddess that shows you ways. For me, she does not direct you in the exact way you need to go. All things that happen give you life lessons, if you control a situation completely you might miss out on something you need to learn in this life.
