Oh my gods! Deity spotlight: Freya or Frigg?
- spoiled bean dip
- Jan 2
- 4 min read
When asked to imagine Norse Paganism many turn to image of Odínn with his ravens alongside his mighty son Thor and the trickster Loki, but alongside these popular figures there also exists another fairly well known being in this pantheon- the goddess Freya.
Freya ( sometimes spelled Freyja) is the norse goddess of love, fertility, war, beauty, and the patroness of seiðr- a type of norse magic system that both told and influenced the future. Her name literally means "lady," in old norse and was likely meant to be a title rather than her actual name. Some other epithets or names for this goddess where also Gefn (the giver), Mardöll (which may have meant something on the lines of "she who makes the sea swell"), and Valfreya (Freya of the slain's staff). This last title of Valfreya highlights an important function of Freya as a guide for the dead or a psychopomp in the religion. Most of us are probably already aware of the norse version of heaven being Valhalla (or Valhöll if you want to be old norse about it) where it is said that when a warrior dies in battle they will be guided by a Valkyrie into Odínn's hall of Valhalla, but Freya also hosts a hall of her own known as Sessrúmnir. Not much is know about this hall other than it takes place in her realm of Fólkvangr as the Prose Edda describes and that it is "filled with many seats," as that is the literal translation of the name- but exactly what occurs here is not entirely known as with most pre-christian norse mythology its only fragmentary; however one can assume it serves a similar function to Odínn's hall. In her possession she keeps a cloak made out of falcon feathers to travel across the different realms and her enchanting necklace Brísingmen (both have been handled by Loki in some way or form). Freya is also known to ride a chariot pulled by two cats and is accompanied by Hildasvíni, the battle boar.
Okay now onto the real meat of the article in which the title references, so what is the deal with Freya and Frigg? Are they the same person or two separate goddesses? The general consensus on the matter is, kinda.
There is alot of evidence from the sources that we have available from this religion that the two may very well be connected as the similarities are too numerous. For example, Frigg is the wife of Odínn whilst Freya is the wife of another god named Óðr whose name means soul or mind. This god is said to frequently journey far away and in his absence the goddess cries tears of amber and tries to run after him. If doesn't sound like Odínn or isn't Odínn himself, I don't know what is! The two also own a falcon cloak that have also been borrowed by Loki and both are linked with magick with Frigg knowing the fates of all men; even the very name of the goddess means "beloved" which further links Frigg with sexuality and by extension the passion of Freya. So already one can naturally assume that the two are in fact the same being, and if Freya is indeed the spouse of Odínn then this could naturally explain why both have halls for the slain.
However most scholars argue that the two are distinct beings but share a common origin, with there existing some proto-Freya/Frigg deity initially until the two split off into different offshoots. Even fundamentally the two fill different roles with Freya being viewed as a more younger more flirtier woman who chases after her wandering lover versus Frigg being seen as the well mattered queen who patiently waits for Odínn's arrival. Perhaps it was also this aspect that favored Frigg over Freya when the Scandinavian countries became christianized, yet still the beloved Freya remained rooted in their folklore for centuries to come with many plants originally bearing her name before it was replaced by Mary the mother of Christ.
Before we finish this article I wanted to leave here a list of some associations and offerings to the goddess:
Colors: Gold, yellow, red, green, amber, orange, pink
Beasts: Cats, rabbits, oxen, boars, pigs, ladybugs
Plants and herbs: Primroses, mugwort, holly, hemp, daisies, milkwort (also known as Freya's hair), strawberries
Symbols: Amber stones, swans, swallows, falcons, the runes Berkano and Ehwaz, her necklace Brísingmen, love in all shapes and forms
Offerings: Honey, flowers, mead, apples, pork (I reckon some sort of pork loin with mint apple sauce would be a good one too!), apples, singing from a place of love, feeding stray cats, performing divination, donating/ helping out veterans or those in service, poetry, and making yourself looking good. She also does not have a specific day of worship but Fridays and Friday the 13th are said to be good times to honor her.
As you can see from this article that Freya is many things, but boring she is not! I would say overall that if you have have a strong affinity towards justice, divination, love, or even cats then I think she would be an excellent choice for you! If you want to open yourself up to her and perhaps even get a proper introduction to her then stop by at the shop and light a candle for her at the shop on Friday the 16th!
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