The Goddess Freyja

Freyja by John Bauer

The road to Freyja’s mysteries has been long, winding, and more than a little difficult to navigate. In my first encounter with her, she appeared as a wild woman with fire in her pale blue eyes, covered in animal skins and furs. Her hair was braided, twisted, and knotted in various places, however it was clear that it was just how she liked it. All she did was stare at me with those crazy eyes and a little smirk on her face. She was silent and so was I as I attempted to make sense of the whole encounter. I remember thinking then that she was different than I had imagined she would be. For some reason, I had expected a more…domestic figure. Passionate and free yes but still more tame than the being that greeted me in that vision. Simply put, when I first began to work with Freyja, I had no clue what to do with her. She seemed so different from me. I could not fathom a beginning place for our Work together. Frankly she scared me.

My relationship with my body and my self-image was tumultuous at the time of our first encounter, so obviously working with a sensual goddess put me at a loss. Freyja’s mysteries are rooted in flesh, in tactile and sensory experiences that shape our inner relationship with the outer world. Freyja is sensuality wild, rugged, and free in addition to sensuality as it is acceptably expressed within socially normed spaces, but the impression I have consistently gotten from Freyja is that she is closer to the edge of social norms in this arena than she is to the heart of them. Freyja can teach us to understand and wield both the power of our sensuality and sexuality as well as the sex act itself. The might, the ecstatic power of sexuality and sensuality – properly intentioned and Worked – can be used in psychotransformative work and to fuel other magics. She can and will teach these mysteries as she sees fit. Freyja whispers of the connection between the fully awake Sexual Self and Witch Might.

Freyja can be who and what she pleases exactly when and how she pleases. She can be the wild free woman on the edges of Asgard or the cool, collected mistress of Sessrumnir in Folkvang. She can be the sultry maker and breaker of hearts or the irate goddess violently rejecting attempts by the (male) gods to sell her off into a marriage that she has no interest in. First Chooser of the Slain. Wyrd Worker. Seeress. Vanadis (Lady of the Vanir). Mardoll (“Sea Bright”). Syr (“The Sow”). Gefn (“The Giver”). Her faces are many and she owns them all fully. And so I say hail to Freyja – powerful, skilled, and wise!