Can anyone help me find information on the norse goddess named Freyja?

Question

I am doing some research on the Norse goddess Freyja that i could really use, some of the things that i have found has not really gave me what i wanted to know about her. To me it seems that some of the information is chopped up. So i was wondering could somone who know or have any knowledge of about the Norse goddess, would you be kind and help me, please?

Answer 1

Why is it everyone thinks Freya is simply about beauty, "love"...more on that in a minute..., fertility, and such?

Freya was a goddess of death...they pretty much ALL were in one way or another... as well, had one HEL of a temper and got FIRST dibs on the battle slain. She is also the one who taught Odin seiðr, everyone has this pigeon holed view of her of "love,flowers,peace" and I can pretty much bet she ain't too happy 'bout it.

Anyone can cut and paste articles too people, how about doing a little research on your own, you might learn a little about her just like Josette is trying to do, yes Chad, Im looking at you............

If you want to see how pissed she could get read ThrymskviÞa, here is the particular excerpt:

They went the fair
Freyja to find;
and he those words
first of all said:
“Bind thee, Freyja,
in bridal raiment,
we two must drive
to Jötunheim.”

Wroth then was Freyja,
and with anger chafed,
all the Æsir’s hall
beneath her trembled:
in shivers flew the famed
Brisinga necklace.
“Know me to be
of women lewdest,
if with thee I drive
to Jötunheim.”

She also pitched a monster fit in the story of the Rebuilding of the Asgard Wall when as payment, the "laborer"...a giant in disguise...demanded Freya as payment. In other myths...including the Wall rebuilding, she was known for crying tears of gold and "Freya's tears" is a popular skaldic kenning for gold, Amber is also associated with her though I think this is more modern.

She is mentioned in Ynglinga Saga, Egils Saga, Kormaks Saga and Viglunds Saga. One could write a paper on her association with battle and death alone. You just have to know where to look and what to look for.

"She loves music, spring and flowers, and is particularly fond of the elves (fairies)."

Where in the lore can you find this to back it up? other than the fact that she slept with the 4 DWARVES, not elves, to get Bringsamen. It was her brother Freyr who had a closer association to the elves, one of his names "god of the mound", and "god of the alfs(elves)"

The songs she WAS fond of were"love songs" (mannsongr) which funny enough were actually outlawed in Iceland BEFORE the conversion


Josette: See if you can find the book "Freya,Lady,Vanadis" by Patricia Lafayllve...she is a very good friend of mine and the book is excellent...it should be on Amazon. I also suggest you look at source material before asking opinions, a lot of stuff you will hear has unfortunately been "wiccanized", "fluffed up hogwash", or is strictly someones UPG (unsubstantiated personal gnosis) and has no basis in the lore whatsoever.


As far as source material goes, try Northvegr.org and do a search, stay far away from user edited sources such as Wikipedia...not that they are not good, just not totally reliable.


If you need help, contact me and I would be more than happy to assist you.

EDIT: Some of the other by-names she was known by were:Mardoll (commonly translated to 'sea-bright'), Freya itself translates to 'Lady', Vanadis which can simply mean 'Woman of the Vanir',Syr,Gefn, Horn, Skjalf( also Skialf), Thrung, Menglad. She is also tied to Gullveig, Heid and even the goddess Gefion.

Read the Poetic Edda on the northvegr.org site, paying close attention to Hyndlulioð, ThrymskviÞa eðr Hamarsheimt, and Lokasenna, here is the link: http://www.northvegr.org/lore/poetic2/index.php

EDIT2: I almost forgot, there is one Hel of a discussion going on over on the Northeast Asatru weblist, not directly involving her but some really good points about her are being discussed, let me know.



Good Luck and Hail the Gods

Answer 2

In Norse mythology, Freya is a goddess of love and fertility, and the most beautiful and propitious of the goddesses. She is the patron goddess of crops and birth, the symbol of sensuality and was called upon in matters of love. She loves music, spring and flowers, and is particularly fond of the elves (fairies). Freya is one of the foremost goddesses of the Vanir.

She is the daughter of the god Njord, and the sister of Freyr. Later she married the mysterious god Od (probably another form of Odin), who disappeared. When she mourned for her lost husband, her tears changed into gold.

Her attributes are the precious necklace of the Brisings, which she obtained by sleeping with four dwarfs, a cloak (or skin) of bird feathers, which allows its wearer to change into a falcon, and a chariot pulled by two cats. She owns Hildesvini ("battle boar") which is actually her human lover Ottar in disguise. Her chambermaid is Fulla. Freya lives in the beautiful palace Folkvang ("field of folk"), a place where love songs are always played, and her hall is Sessrumnir. She divides the slain warriors with Odin: one half goes to her palace, while the other half goes to Valhalla. Women also go to her hall.

Old Norse: Freyja, Friia

Answer 3

In Norse mythology, Freya (Freyja) is the goddess of love, fertility, war, and wealth. Originally one of the Vanir. She was the daughter of Njord, and the sister of Frey. She lived in Folkvang and each day chose half of the slain warriors to split with Odin.

Answer 4

What he said. Hehe

edit: By the way, Freyja is not a warm and fuzzy Aphrodite. She is life and death, war and love, and just about everything in between. Drop dead gorgous and deadly as hel. She so totally rocks.
Hail Freyja!

Answer 5

Interesting question - did you know that Freya was also the codeword the Germans used during the second world war to cov er one of the radio direction finding systems?

here is your answer
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/f/freya.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freyja

Answer 6

Try this site: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freyja

Answer 7

Wow! You picked a cute one to study. Check these links out!