The Lady of Love, Sex, Beauty, and Gold

Freyja is one of the most renowned and revered goddesses in the Northern tradition. Her name means Lady, and she embodies the essence of love, beauty, prosperity, and sexuality. She is one of the Vanir, a powerful and ancient race of gods, and is attested in the Poetic and Prose Eddas, Sörla þáttr, skaldic poetry, and surviving folklore.

But her role extends far beyond love.

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Freyja is a goddess of witchcraft known for her mastery of seiðr, the sacred art of trance, magic, and divination. It is she who teaches Óðinn this craft, an act some called scandalous, but which reveals her place as a threshold-keeper between worlds. She moves between life and death with equal grace. As leader of the Valkyries, she chooses half of those who die in battle, bringing them to her field Fólkvangr, where her hall Sessrúmnir stands among the blooming grasses of Ásgard.

She is the daughter of Njörðr and sister of Freyr. Her husband is Óðr—sometimes seen as an aspect of Óðinn himself and their daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi, carry names that mean treasure. She drives a chariot pulled by great northern cats, wild and beautiful. In her honor, cats were gifted to brides on their wedding day, a blessing for fertility and strength.

The Jötnar long for her. Again and again, Freyja is offered as a bride in exchange for power, land, or stolen treasure. Þrymr demands her when he takes Thor’s hammer. Another builder asks for her hand along with the Sun and Moon to construct Ásgard’s walls. But Freyja is never handed over. Never truly bartered. Her beauty may be sought, but her will is her own.

Her sexuality has been the source of scandal in the old stories. Loki accuses her of taking lovers among gods and elves alike. And yes, she once gave herself to the Dwarves to gain Brísingamen—the glowing necklace said to reflect the Northern Lights. But Freyja holds no shame. She walks in freedom. Her passion is not weakness. It is power.

She wears a cloak of falcon feathers and flies across the sky in search of her beloved Óðr. When she weeps, her tears fall as golden amber. In this way, she holds both the ache of love and the wealth of the earth. Her grief is a treasure. Her longing, a light.

Some once tried to merge her with Frigg, but they are not the same. Freyja is the fierce sister, the lover of magic, battle, and desire. Frigg rules the hearth and fate’s quiet spinning. Both are queens. Both are whole. Together, they reflect the full shape of womanhood in the Norse world.

Freyja does not bow. She seduces, she fights, she leads. She teaches that to be fully oneself in pleasure, in sorrow, in strength—is not just acceptable.

It is divine.

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Signs and Symbols
Gold, amber, riches, and abundance
Sun showers, cats, and pigs
Honey, feminine eroticism, and the sacred art of seiðr
Falcons, the Northern Lights (Brísingamen), and rainbows
The rune Fé (wealth, prosperity, abundance)

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Associated Names
Freija, Frejya, Freyia, Fröja, Frøya, Frøjya, Freia, Freja, Frua, Freiya
Vanadis, Horn, Mardoll, Syr, Valfreyja, Gefn