Freyja and the necklace
Dec. 29th, 2010 04:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hearthstoneI was thinking about how to use readings in ritual--bits of the lore, stories from mythology that underline the ritual purpose, or emphasize something in particular about the god or gods being honored.
For example, at May Day I really like the story of Freyja and the winning of Brisingamen. But just try to find a retelling that doesn't totally miss the point! They're all about the slut-shaming. Unsurprising considering that they were mostly written down post-conversion. (Although a lot of heathens do seem to embrace that--I've heard folks assume that the reason Freyja's husband Od left to wander was because of the dwarf incident, but I've not seen anything in the lore that supports that, and I have looked.)
The story of Freyja and Brisingamen is, I think, almost directly comparable with Odin's bedding of Gunnlod to win the mead of inspiration. Both used sex to gain something of great value, and while neither is exactly proud of the action (as Odin says in Havamal, "Gunnlod sat me in the golden seat, Poured me precious mead: Ill reward she had from me for that"), neither regrets it.
Brisingamen isn't just a pretty bauble. And Freyja doesn't just wear it, she wields it. The necklace is a symbol of her might, but also a tool--just as Thor's hammer is both symbol and tool. Both are items of great power.
Traditional interpretation of the myth says that Freyja slept with icky dwarves so they'd give her a pretty necklace--vain, shallow, promiscuous. What I see is that in order to gain something of incomparable value and power, she traded the only thing that could begin to compare in value and power.
For example, at May Day I really like the story of Freyja and the winning of Brisingamen. But just try to find a retelling that doesn't totally miss the point! They're all about the slut-shaming. Unsurprising considering that they were mostly written down post-conversion. (Although a lot of heathens do seem to embrace that--I've heard folks assume that the reason Freyja's husband Od left to wander was because of the dwarf incident, but I've not seen anything in the lore that supports that, and I have looked.)
The story of Freyja and Brisingamen is, I think, almost directly comparable with Odin's bedding of Gunnlod to win the mead of inspiration. Both used sex to gain something of great value, and while neither is exactly proud of the action (as Odin says in Havamal, "Gunnlod sat me in the golden seat, Poured me precious mead: Ill reward she had from me for that"), neither regrets it.
Brisingamen isn't just a pretty bauble. And Freyja doesn't just wear it, she wields it. The necklace is a symbol of her might, but also a tool--just as Thor's hammer is both symbol and tool. Both are items of great power.
Traditional interpretation of the myth says that Freyja slept with icky dwarves so they'd give her a pretty necklace--vain, shallow, promiscuous. What I see is that in order to gain something of incomparable value and power, she traded the only thing that could begin to compare in value and power.
