Throwback Thursday: The Norse Goddess Freya

One of my favorite goddesses has got to be Freya. She was a warrior goddess whose consort was the Norse god Od. She was also the goddess of sensual love and is usually depicted as a beautiful red-head who is known for her appreciation of romantic music and stunning flowers.

But this was only part of who she was. She was also the leader of Valkyrie and had the right to claim half the souls of the bravest warriors slain in battle (the other half belonged to Odin). As such, she would gather them all on the battlefield and take them back with her to spend the afterlife in her home in eternal rest and recreation. 

Freya was also called upon to comfort the dying and to help make the transition into the otherworld (known as Valhalla) easier by serving as their guide and comforting companion on their journey.

It is said that when Freya and the Valkyries rode forth on their missions, their armor caused the beautiful flickering light that we know as the Aurora Borealis ~ also called the Northern Lights.

While fishing one day, Od heard a lovely song coming from a nest of cats which seemed to be lulling him to sleep. It was a tom cat singing to his kittens to "sleep, sleep, my dear little ones." When Od very strongly suggested that the male cat stop his singing, the cat replied, "You have no idea how difficult it is to rear children as a single parent" and asked Od if he knew of any women who would be willing to take in his very special kittens as they were blue and deserved the life of royalty.

Od immediately thought of Freya, and brought the kittens back home with him to present to her as a gift. Freya was so enchanted with them that she did the kittens honor by allowing them to accompany her on her daily rounds in her golden chariot across the sky.

(image credits)