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Carved cats on the Oseberg Wagon – Viking Ship Museum, Oslo, Norway
(click on the images to enlarge)

In Norse mythology Freyja is the goddess associated with love, fertility, sex, beauty, gold and the magic of Seiðr. Her name means “lady, mistress” in Old Norse and stems from Proto-Germanic *frawjōn (“lady, mistress”) and is cognate with modern German Frau.

Freyja is a member of the Vanir. She travelled in a chariot pulled by two cats and was accompanied by the boar Hildisvíni. She has her hall, Sessrúmnir, in the field Fólkvangr, where she receives half of the warriors who die in battle. (The other half go to Odin’s hall, Valhalla.)

Freyja is the owner of the torc or necklace, Brísingamen, is married to Óðr and has two daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi. Her twin brother is Freyr.

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Alternative names for Freyja

Name (ON) Meaning Occurences
Gefn "the giver" Gylfaginning,
Nafnaþulur
Hörn "flaxen"(?) Gylfaginning,
Nafnaþulur
Mardöll "sea brightener"(?) or "one who makes the sea swell"(?) Gylfaginning,
Nafnaþulur
Skjálf "shaker" Nafnaþulur
Sýr "sow" Gylfaginning,
Nafnaþulur,
Skáldskaparmál,
Thröng "throng" Skáldskaparmál
Thrungva "throng" Nafnaþulur
Valfreyja "Freyja of the slain" or "lady of the slain"
Vanadís "the dis (deity or spirit) of the Vanir"

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‘Freyja and the Necklace’ by James Doyle Penrose, 1890
Image: Wikimedia

Silver pendant from a woman’s grave in Hagebyhöga in Östergötland. c.1000.
The prominent torc or necklace suggests that this represents Freyja