Freyja, Goddess of Yule
Yule starts December 19th and ends on the 31st. It is considered like the "Mother night" and ends twelve days later on "Yule night". Yule is
The shortest day of the year and, of course, the longest night. This is a solar festival and it is celebrated by fire and the use of the Yule
Log is much known to everybody that celebrates Yule. The colors of the season are red and green, and of original pagan descent. Food at this Sabbat is prepared specially for the after-dinner Yule celebration when the tree is lighted and the Yule log is burned. A portion of the Yule Log is saved to be used in lighting next year's log. This piece is kept throughout the year to protect the home. Bayberry candles are also burned to ensure wealth and happiness throughout the following year. The can be placed on the dining table at sunset and burned until they go out by themselves. Another pair can be set upon the mantle and lit at the beginning of the Yule ceremony. In this celebration of Yule, there are many things to consider and the Deities are one of them. In this article, I will be talking about one of them, the Goddess Freyja.
Freyja is the Goddess of Yule for many reasons. First, let's discover who Freyja is first and foremost. Freyja is a female Goddess from
Northern Europe. She is also known as Froya. Her father is Njord, her mother is Skadi. Her husband is Do and her lover, Odin. Scandinavian
Goddess of love and fertility, the most beautiful Goddess in the Norse pantheon. She is patron of birth and of the desires that lead to
Conception. She is said for a time to have been married to Do, which has led many folk to claim she was married to Odin, but that story seems to
be based on superficial associations. (Odin's wife better sited as Frigg/Frigga). Because she is the patron of birth and desires to lead to
conception, she is the perfect Goddess for Yule because Yule is the time of the year where our Goddess gives birth to our God who was conceived
at Beltane. But Freyja is also a Goddess whose message is to take risks and be daring, in order to get the rewards we seek.
She is also associated with different animals like the Cat, the Horse, Boar (Sow), Bear and Hare for many reasons. The cat is what defines best Freyja because she is known to race through the sky on a chariot pulled by two cats. The cat represents Guardianship, detachment, sensuality.
The cat brings us the ability to observe situations quietly without judgment, before making decisions. The bear (art) represents primal power, sovereignty, intuition married with instinct. The hare represents rebirth, intuition, balance. Geàrr, the hare, brings us the benefits of balance and intuition, or promise and fulfillment. It is also a creature
of the Goddess, the moon and the night, and yet it also represents the dawn, brightness and the east. It is the most adept of animals at
shape-shifting: we can never be sure exactly where the hare is -- in this or the Otherworld. It represents intuition, which makes things
appear suddenly in our consciousness, like the lapwig egg of Eostre that magically appears in the hare's form (nest). The Boar (sow) represents the Warrior spirit, Leadership, Direction. Helps us find direction in life. The Horse represents the Goddess, the land, Travel. This may manifest itself as a desire to travel in the physical world, or we may be drawn to voyaging in the inner realms with her well known chariot. The cow represents Nourishment, Motherhood and the Goddess. Opens us to an awareness of the Goddess. Her generosity, healing and nourishing power is present all around you --in your friends and children, in your food and drink, in your dreams, and particularly in the natural world that you are blessed to live in. Like these animals, Freya is Sensual, Intuitive, nurturing, adventurous, and daring; she is a great mother and a great leader. She is very generous and nourishing to her children.
Freyja has a simple, but effective message: "Don't play it safe right now. Instead, take bold action in the direction of your true heart's desire. Success comes not from timidity but from committing yourself fully to realizing your dream. Hold the clear intention of success and it shall come about. Enjoy the excitement of taking risks, of being bold, and of being daring. And be sure to celebrate your success with a party of by splurging on a wonderful indulgence!"
Fehu, The Possessions Rune, is perfect to represent Freyja because it is a Rune of fulfillment: ambition satisfied, love fulfilled, rewards received. It promises nourishment, from the most worldly to the sacred and divine. For if the ancient principle "As above so below" holds true, then we are also here to nourish the God and Goddess. Freyja is a good bond between our God and Goddess at this time of the wheel of the year. because our Goddess gives birth to our God, reuniting once more the earth (Goddess) and the sky (God). And since taking risks and fulfill our ambitions in order to get rewards, this rune is therefore perfect to represent her.
Fire is the element most associated with Freyja. As we know, Freya is a Goddess that tells us to take action now and to take bold actions also.
The personal quality of fire is will, and that represents exactly Freyja. Also, Fire represents the fertility of anything and everything. Only a fire can make an old forest reborn. It's a daring move yes, but it works, ever changing the scenery for ever. The fire is the element that some say is out of control, that it has its own life. Freyja represents well that side of life, daring and sometimes out of control in appearance. Fire can be a transformative force; in fire, the old is burned away and what comes out is utterly different. Transformation by
fire is sudden and total, as is Freyja when she has given birth to our God; she becomes transformed into a new person, she becomes a loving, caring mother that is not afraid to take risks in order to get for her and her God child what they both need to thrive.
