When was freya the goddess born

Unfortunately, no one really knows. Looking for more great information on Norse mythology and religion? While this site provides the ultimate online introduction to the topic, my book The Viking Spirit provides the ultimate introduction to Norse mythology and religion period.

Ynglinga Saga 4. Ynglinga Saga 3. Teutonic Mythology, Volume 1. Translated by James Steven Stallybrass. Freya and Frigg While the late Old Norse literary sources that form the basis of our current knowledge of pre-Christian Germanic religion present Freya and Frigg as being at least nominally distinct goddesses, the similarities between them run deep. References: [1] The Poetic Edda. Lokasenna, stanzas 30, She remains among the most beloved and widely venerated Pagan goddesses today.

No spirit annoyed Christian authorities more than Freya. Ironically, the result was that Freya survives more vividly than virtually any other female European spirit. Constant condemnation kept Freya from fading into obscurity.

This does not come as much of a surprise: even though some pagan traditions relied heavily on heteronormative and patriarchal gender roles, there were outliers. Since Freyja oversaw battles and ruled over magic, she owned her own sense of power and ability to change fate. By being able to bestow and control magic, divination, fertility, love, war, and death, she held a great deal of power in her hands. Freyja and her family are part of the Vanir, and less is known about them than their counterparts.

What we do know about the Vanir is that they were shapeshifters associated associated with magic, creative energy, the sea, prophecy, eroticism, fertility, and shamanism. Our current view of elves is not so different from the Vanir, and it was believed that every rock, tree, and natural site had a Vanir spirit attached to it.

After nine days and nine nights of staring into the well, the Runes appeared to him, and he knew their meaning. Runes are the individual letters of the Norse alphabet, and were used for magical, divination, and fortune telling purposes. When translated into Old Norse the two names actually derive from the same word, meaning 'motivation', 'enthusiasm' or 'inspiration'.

There are also other similarities in the stories of the two goddesses, including their infamous promiscuity and extra-marital affairs and their practice of weaving and the aforementioned ancient norse magical art of Seidr.

Check out some of our Viking Drinking Horns. March 24, Who was Freya? Filed in: freja , freya , freyja , norse goddess , norse mythology. Previous article Asgard. Next article Valkyries. Leave a comment Comments must be approved before appearing. She continues to express her worries for Atreus and the fact that Kratos keeps him ignorant of his true nature, but Kratos sternly states that it is not her concern.

After the boar is healed, Freya gives thanks to Kratos and Atreus by placing marks on them that will hide them from the Norse gods. Before they leave, Atreus asks Freya if they will meet again, to which she smiles and kindly responds "as much or as little as you like". Freya catches up to Kratos and Atreus as they begin scaling the mountain, offering to help them overcome the roadblock in front of the two.

However, she is unable to follow as the curse Odin placed on her quickly drags her back to Midgard. Freya is once again encountered when Kratos brings her Mimir's severed head to resurrect, much to her shock. Before she resurrects Mimir, she notices that Atreus is equipped with mistletoe arrows. Knowing that mistletoe is the only thing that can break the invincibility spell placed on her son, she quickly replaces Atreus's arrows with her own and destroys the mistletoe ones in her fireplace.

Upon Mimir's revival, it immediately becomes apparent to Kratos that Freya greatly dislikes Mimir, and Mimir accidentally reveals Freya's identity to Kratos and Atreus while apologizing, as he would not have asked to be brought to her had he known she was 'the witch'. This deepens Kratos' distrust of Freya.

However, Kratos is forced to seek Freya's help when Atreus falls ill after a battle with Magni and Modi. Freya is initially reluctant to help Kratos due to his open hatred of gods and only agrees to help when she realizes Atreus's plight. She scolds Kratos for keeping Atreus unaware of his divine heritage, as Atreus's current situation was a result of the conflict between Atreus's divine nature and his belief that he is a simple mortal.

She tells Kratos that she needs a rare ingredient from Helheim to cure Atreus and that Kratos would need a non-ice based weapon in order to fight the beasts living in that realm. When Kratos attempts to apologize for his previous reaction to the truth, she says that he is right to distrust the words of gods, and it's something she definitely needs no explanation for, a hint to her past experiences.

After retrieving the ingredient, Kratos brings it to Freya who uses it to create a cure for Atreus. She then tells Kratos that she too has a son whom the runes, on the day of his birth, foretold of his needless death and she swore to do anything to protect him, no matter the sacrifice.

She laments her decisions that had led to her son's resentment of her and implores Kratos to avoid making the same mistake and to have faith in his son.

At this point, Freya begins to warm up to Kratos, while the Ghost of Sparta hesitantly lets his guard down around her. After Kratos and Atreus end up in the realm of Helheim after another encounter with Baldur, Kratos and Atreus watch as an illusion plays in front of Baldur.

They learn that Freya is Baldur's mother, whom he despises due to the spell she cast on him that took away his ability to physically feel anything. This also reveals that at some unknown point, Freya cursed Mimir to keep him from revealing Baldur's invincibility weakness. Just before the final encounter with Baldur, Freya appears before a cautious Kratos and Atreus to look for Baldur, claiming that the fields and woods speak his name, leading her to believe that he is in Midgard.

She notices that Kratos and Atreus are more distant towards her, but before she could figure out the reason, Baldur appears. Freya is happy to see Baldur and tries to reach out to him and atone for his suffering only to be met with scorn.

Baldur attempts to kill Freya but Kratos intervenes and it soon escalates into a fight. When Atreus stood before Kratos to protect him, Baldur punches him square in the chest, inadvertently causing the mistletoe arrow that was tied to Atreus's quiver strap to slice right through his fist which, much to Freya's shock and horror, breaks the invulnerability spell on him.

With Baldur vulnerable, a desperate Freya uses her magic to reanimate the corpse of the frost giant Thamur to try to separate Kratos and Atreus from Baldur, pleading for them to stay out of her affairs.

When Kratos retorts that Baldur cannot be reasoned with and means to kill her, she proclaims that she doesn't care and that she will protect him at all costs. Baldur soon reappears and the battle continues. Throughout the brawl, Freya begs them to stop fighting, believing that she can still reason with Baldur.

After the battle dies down, she begs Kratos not to hurt Baldur, to which Kratos agrees. Baldur continues to berate Freya, condemning her for always interfering in his life. Freya admits she was wrong and tries to help Baldur find it in himself to give up his resentment of her, hoping to repair their relationship, but Baldur refuses to forgive her.

Freya finally gives up trying to reason with Baldur and decides to let him kill her since it is the one thing that would bring him peace. As Baldur strangles her, she tells him she loves him.