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𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒚𝒋𝒂 ; 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒚, 𝒘𝒂𝒓, 𝒔𝒆𝒊ð𝒓⚔️💛

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15 Days of Freyja Devotion

Day 9: Sacred Places

This is another area where there are frustratingly few concrete answers. As far as I know, there are no written records of any temples dedicated to Freyja and no archaeological finds believed to be her temples. This doesn't mean there were no temples dedicated to her -- it only means that we haven't found any temples we can say for sure are hers.

We do know what sacred sites dedicated to Freyja might have looked like. Sacred groves were commonly used as a site for worship in pre-Christian Scandinavia. Some groves were probably used as a sort of all-purpose sacred space, while others were dedicated to specific deities. Single trees could also serve as a place to connect with the gods. We know oak, birch, and evergreen trees were used for worship (although oak may have been exclusive to Thor). Other types of trees may also have been used.

We also know that the Old Norse did sometimes include statues of the gods in their temples. Old Norse people also carried small amulets depicting the gods, and archaeologists have found many amulets believed to show Freyja.

Norse (and more generally Germanic) agrarian goddesses were often worshiped in the form of life-size statues, which would be carried from place to place in carts. Written sources mention Freyja being worshiped this way. This may imply that Freyja was seen as being more mobile and less tied to a single place. Because this practice only seems to have been done for agricultural goddesses, I do wonder if the goddesses were seen as being present in the land itself, but that's a personal hunch and is not based on research.

In my personal practice, I honor Freyja on an altar with other Norse gods. I have a statue of her where I leave offerings. I'm renting right now, but I would love to someday have the space to dedicate a sacred grove to Freyja and the other gods.

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I made my own travel altar.

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Ruins with Obelisk in the Distance (1775) - Hubert Robert

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florence welch photographed by mariza kapsabeli 🖤🌕🖤

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Hail Freya

Hail to the delight of Od the wanderer Hail to she whose tears of laughter are golden bright Hail to the Lady Bless and walk with us this day

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Aphrodite 💕art print available!

uncensored version below

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e-offering to Lady Artemis

Lady Artemis, I offer this to you tonight as a thank you. I honor and praise you. thank you.

Honor to the Gods!!!

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Priestess of Hekate by jo freyr on Deviantart

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greek mythology | goddesses’ playlists

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I’m not a classicist, but I suspect one of the reasons so many of the Greek gods are portrayed so unflatteringly was less because they were seen as villains than because they represented their domains.  Of course Zeus sometimes misuses his power, that’s what a king does.  Of course Artemis’s wrath is wild and painful, that’s what nature can be.  Of course Hades snatched away a young girl from her mother’s arms, that’s what death does.  This is one of the reasons callout posts for some gods comparing them negatively to ‘nicer’ gods are kind of missing the point.

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Hera and her attendants - Herbert Olivier (detail)

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The Evermore Grimoire: Mythology

Freyja (meaning ‘the Lady’ in Old Norse) was the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, gold, war, sorcery and death in Norse mythology. She was also the leader of the Valkyrie, also known as the ‘Choosers of the Slain’ warrior maidens who rode over battlefields on winged horses, taking the souls of warriors killed in battle to feast in Valhalla. Freyja however claimed half of the warriors for her own hall in Folkvang. She also owned a necklace called Brísingamen, rode a chariot pulled by two cats and was accompanied by the boar Hildisvíni, and even possessed a cloak of falcon feathers.

artwork by Ina-Kristen Sunset

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Benjamin A. Vierling

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deipnon