~Introducing Freya~

For those of you that are not aware, Freya is the Goddess of Love & Fertility. I choose her because throughout this course we have been researching tricksters, culture gender differences and the unconscious mind; something about Frey's beauty made me choose her. She is the sister of Frey, God of sunshine and the elves, and the daughter of Njord, the God of the winds and the seas. Freya is a Goddess of the Norse and is said to be the most beautiful of all goddesses. My wish for my blog is that everyone will post their own stories about Freya, God's or Goddesses or other mythology characters you may have enjoyed learning about. Also your personal thoughts about their actions or why you feel drawn to them.  

Warrior Maiden & Loki

Freya was chosen by Odin to be the leader of the Valkyrs, warrior maidens. She would lead the warrior maidens into battle. The Valkyries would chose the most worthy bodies of the fallen and take their souls to Asgard. The souls were then split between Freya's palace, Sessrumnir and Valhalla. We do everything in our power to live as long as we can but the ancient Norsemen believed it was cowardly to do just that. They believed that the noblest way to die was at an early age in battle. Those chosen for Valhalla would feast and fight until the time of the apocalypse. The Norsemen must have been very fierce and strong. If I had been one of the Norseman, I can only imagine the thought of beautiful Freya chosing me from all the other bodies on the battle field.

 

I came across Freya when we were researching tricksters. One of the tricksters that I had found interesting was Loki. Loki was a key figure in assisting Freya on two occasions. The first was when a giant was to receive Freya for payment for rebuilding the walls of Asgard in just 6 months. Loki disguised himself as a beautiful mare to lure away the giant's steed so that he was unable to complete the walls. Go Loki! The second occasion was when a giant named Thrym stole Thor's hammer. Thrym said he would return it if Freya would be his wife. Thor dressed up as Freya and Loki went with him. Loki was covering up the fact that Thor (being Freya) ate an entire ox and had red, evil eyes. Loki's trickster's ways allowed Thor the chance to steal back his hammer and destroyed all the giants. Although Loki is known as a trickster, he seems to have a soft side for a beautiful Goddess!

 



Freya had a necklace called the Brisingamen that she had discovered while visiting the land of the dwarves. To obtain the necklace, Freya had to offer her body as payment. This would definitely speak to the unconscious mind in regards to sexual desire. The thought of dwarves ravaging a Goddess is an odd one. I guess her vanity for the need of the necklace was stronger. Ironically Loki, who had saved Freya from the giants, did attempt to steal her necklace from her one night. The guardian of Asgard, Heimdall, stopped him. In true trickster nature, Loki seems to have a unpredictable behavior! Ultimately Heimdall and Loki would kill one another.

I really enjoyed this assignment because it allowed me to further research Freya and revisit Loki. I have no idea why I like Loki. I guess it is because he does have some likeable traits. Freya is fascinating because it seems many wanted her. Freya's duty was to make sure that libido never falters. The Goddess of love & fertility makes certain that couples maintain their love and reproduce. It is obvious to me why I like Freya!