Freyja (meaning "Lady"), also known as Freya, is the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, and witchcraft in Norse mythology. She is the sister of Freyr. She is similarly placed in the Norse pantheon as Frigg. Lagertha is generally seen as the embodiment of Freyja.
Biography
Freyja and Frigg are part of the Vanir, but they reside with the Æsir.
She is the primal völva and the one that taught Odin the art of seidr, and is also the leader of the valkyries. Half of the dead taken by the valkyries belong to her and she receives the dead noble women and shield-maidens. She has many ways of traveling. Sometimes she rides a cart driven by her two cats or rides her great boar. She also takes the shape of a falcon, a shape she may lend to any one. Freyja is the most beautiful of the goddesses and desired by both gods, giants and dwarfs.
Description
Freyja also has the domains of sex, gold, magic, war, death, pleasure, and glory.
- Symbols: cats, falcons, Brisingamen (her magic necklace)
- Animal: a boar named Hildsvini (meaning "battle swine")
- Colors: gold, ocean blue, red, black, green, rose, peal white, deep purple-gray, sand
- Runes: Fehu, Berkanan, Eihwaz
- Offerings: gold, chocolate, amber, honey, flowers, love songs, poetry, jewelry, perfume, feeding stray cats
- Time to Honor: Litha (Midsummer), when looking for love, for self-acceptance, after a loved one's death, Friday the 13th.
In Vikings
Lagertha invokes her when she tries to cleanse Ragnar's wound after the attack on their farm. She says, "I dedicate this blade to the goddess, to Freya. Wisdom might you give us, Freya, and healing hands while we live." Gyda also invokes her, asking her to please heal her father.
Lagertha speaks of Freya when training her shield-maidens.
When Porunn despairs, Aslaug tells her to turn to Freyja for guidance.
In Vikings: Valhalla
Freydis Eriksdotter leads a sacrifice ceremony at the forest temple in Jomsborg for the safe return of the missing Jomsvikings. There are carvings of various gods, including Freya, whom Freydis invokes as the one to worship as the bringer of fertility.