It’s hard to describe everything Freyja is. To me – and I’ve done a lot of research to come to this conclusion – she is the sun, the Great Goddess of northern Europe that appears in so many guises. A goddess of life itself, of death and fate and witchcraft.
When my husband and I arrived in Iceland last month for our 30th anniversary trip, it was windy, overcast and rainy. So when the sun finally appeared on our 2nd morning, I posted a picture to Facebook with the caption, “Hail Freyja!”
Hail Freyja!
Freyja’s connection to the sun, to me, makes the aurora a manifestation of her power. Beyond that, Nordic folklore has interpreted the lights as Valkyries carrying the chosen dead to Valhalla, and Freyja is of course the Queen of the Valkyries. So I feel on pretty solid ground with my interpretation.
Neither me or my husband had ever seen the lights before, so it was a top goal for our trip – we even scheduled it for the month before our anniversary to increase our chances. And I made offerings and promises of more offerings to both Freyja and Freyr (as a controller of weather) asking for clear skies and a good show. They did not disappoint.
Finally, a Solar Storm
We dutifully monitored the Icelandic Met Office’s aurora predictions for whatever area we were in, but it was the 2nd half of our trip before a good solar storm hit. On March 24, at about 3pm the KP levels were at an 8, which I’d never seen before! But we had 5 more hours till sunset, nearly 6 till full dark – and it was a full moon. I was anxious!
We got settled into camp at Skaftafell in the southeast corner of the island beside Skaftafell glacier. It was super cold and windy, with some clouds that were clearing. We couldn’t stay out for too long at a time even bundled up, so we took turns going out to check the sky. At around 11PM, Hubs came excitedly back into the campervan and said, “I think they’re out!” And sure enough, what looked like white wisps of cloud in the sky, showed their colors through a camera lense.
And they kept getting stronger. Before long, they were visible to the naked eye. Freyja had arrived!
She Moves Through the Sky Like a Bird in Flight…
Yeah, I know Stevie was talking about a different goddess. It still fits. The lights began in the west, moved directly overhead and finally disappeared behind the glacier (and the full moon) in the east. They changed shape, and more than once it seemed that a face appeared.
This one, to me, looks like the helmet from the Sutton Hoo burial. It reminds me of the passage in Grímnismál 14:
“Folkvang is the ninth, and there Freyja fixes
allocation of seats in the hall;
half the slain she chooses every day,
and half Oðin owns.”
In ch. 24 of Gylfaginning, Snorri relates High (Oðin), telling Gangleri (King Gylfi in disguise): “whenever she rides to battle she gets half of the slain, and the other half Oðin.” Note the “ride to battle” part.
Freyja’s Falcon Form
One of the things Freyja’s known for is her falcon-feather cloak, which allows her to take the shape of the bird and fly. She loans it to Loki many times to allow him to travel quickly between realms, such as when Thor’s hammer is stolen and when the goddess Iðunn is kidnapped.
In The Seed of Yggdrasil, Maria Kvilhaug calls this a metaphor for shamanic soul-retrieval. It’s very interesting to me that Freyja empowers Loki to make these shamanic journeys by loaning him her cloak. Of course, as the goddess who brought the art of Seiðr to the Æsir, teaching it to Oðin, it makes sense that she would be the one to empower such a journey.
A Magical Night
It was, without a doubt, a magical night. Even in the freezing cold I felt Freyja’s presence, and it was powerful.
Hail Freyja, Great Goddess of the North!
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