Freya The Goddess of Fate and Destiny

Freya The Goddess of Fate and Destiny

Freya (Freyja in Old Norse, meaning ‘Lady’), though initially belonging to the Vanir tribe of Norse gods (like his twin brother Freyr), was also a loyal and honorary member of the Æsir, after the conclusion of their tribal war. Epitomizing the aspects of love, beauty, and even opulent objects, the goddess was often represented as the seeker of pleasure and the unknown. Focusing on the latter, Freya embodied the völva (or anglicized vala), the female seer of the Norse religion who had the ability to tinker with the seidr – magic pertaining to destiny and its ‘weaving’.
In essence, Freya had the ability to alter and manipulate one’s desire and fortune – and thus was often associated with the attitudes of cats. Freya was also regarded among the Norse goddesses as the ruler of the afterlife realm Folkvang, which allowed her to choose half of the warriors who were slain in battle (the other half were guided by the Valkyries to Valhalla – see the Bragi entry).
All of these characteristics of a potent völva mirror the historical scenario of the Germanic pantheon, especially during the Völkerwanderung or ‘Migration Period’ – circa 400-800 AD. In that regard, these tribal societies tended to favor two gods at the head of their pantheon symbolizing the chieftain warrior (who would lead them into battles and plunders) and his wife the prophetess (who would outline the future outcome of such military encounters by her magic) Many historians and scholars believe that these two figures eventually coalesced into what we know as the Norse entities of Odin and Frigg, with the latter being the same (or at least sharing similar qualities to the) deity who was regarded as Freya.
To that end, Freya’s husband is often identified as Óðr, roughly meaning – furor or ecstasy. And Óðinn – the Old Norse for Odin, is just the word óðr with the masculine definite article (-inn) added to the end.