The Wiccan Lord and Lady?

Question

Are they based on the Heathen Lord and Lady: Frey and Freya both fertility gods?

Menon, obviously you don't know the myths of which I speak.

First off, word meanings often change over time. Heathen, akin to Pagan, once ment un-Christian. Now, it is also used to describe people of the Asatru faith.

Second, "Freyr and Freyja come from Germanic words meaning "lord" and "lady" respectively (cf. German Frau "woman, wife", Gothic Frauja "the Lord", Old Norse Frue "lady, woman"). " - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freyja

And lastly, I did NOT say that Heathens worshipped only the Lord and Lady! I was only asking if Wiccan gods and goddesses are based on the Germanic Lord and Lady - literaly!

Menon, thanks for showing me that I should have pointed all this out before.

Answer 1

The Wiccan lord and Lady are far more related to Roman gods than any other gods. Google the Villa of the Mysteries for a better understanding. Wicca is much more influenced by the Brythonic Celts than anything Germanic. The Brytonic Celts, as you may know from Arthurian Mythology, greatly benefited from trade with the Romans (and Roman protection from other Celts.)

For the record, Nightwind is ABSOLUTELY right in that the terms lord and lady refer to SPECIFIC, OATHBOUND gods in traditional Wicca.

Also, Wicca is traditionally polytheistic. While the primal initiatrix has many names, the belief is NOT that all gods are aspects of one god and all goddesses are aspects of one goddess.

The primal initiatrix is a title held by multiple goddesses, some with many names, not a singular goddess with many names.

Answer 2

Two part answer.
Wiccans believe that all Gods and Goddesses are aspects of one God and Goddess. That is Wiccan approach to the Divine's.
There are those of us who believe that the Gods are individual and separate. They are not parts of another, or part of one. Astaru and Heathenism are Reconstructive traditions and very much take this approach.
The Heathen Gods Frey and Freya are not only fertility gods. The Heathen gods do not come in pairs either, though in this case they are twins.
Freya is also a goddess of war. She receives half those fallen in battle, Odin the other half. She is is also a goddess of love.
Frey and Freya do literally translate into Lord and Lady, these are not what Wicca is referring to. It is a "generic" term for God and Goddess. Wicca was also based on Celtic and druid,not really Norse.
I don't know if that answered it or not lol

Answer 3

In Traditional Wiccan covens, Lord and Lady are the outer court terms for their deities, since one learns their names only after innitiation. I've seen no evidence to suggest that Frey and Freya are the gods in question, particularly since the Traditional Lady is apparently also a moon goddess.

As Wicca branched out and included people who had no initiated lineage tracing back to the original covens, various groups and individuals found their own identities of the Lord and Lady. Among Eclectics, its possible some follow Frey and Freya, although in my experience most people interested in Norse mythology prefer Asatru over Wicca. Wiccans tend toward Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Celtic deities (along with occasional middle eastern ones.)

Answer 4

Not really, the Wiccan Lord and Lady, and Wicca in general, takes little influence from Norse beliefs. Wicca takes some of its belief in divintiy from Hermeticism and some of Charles Leland works, along with other influences as well. The dualism take most of its origin from the qabalah, the three top sephiroth of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. Not traditionally hebrew Qabalah, but rather Western ceremonial magick ideals of it. Kether being unmanifested divinity, Binah and Chokmah being the first two manifestations of that divine energy, feminine and masculine, the two primarily forces of divinity.

Answer 5

Doesnt heathen simply mean un-christian? Didnt know ALL heathens believed in a Lord and a Lady. I think there is some terminology mix up going on here.

Answer 6

Lord and Lady, in Wicca, is generic. It can refer to whatever God or Goddess the person connects with.

Answer 7

Nightwind hit the nail squarely on the head.

Answer 8

Actually I believe it was Freya and Odin.

Answer 9

I'd go with Lady Dawn2 on this one.