What lead you to this blog? If you’re looking for methods to reconstruct norse or teutonic pagan religious practices from the sagas or what other people have written, you won’t find much of that here. The way I understand it from Freya herself is that she wants to teach people how to reach deep into their souls and find their own way to her. I know how hard that is for most people to accept. We’d all rather have somebody else tell us because we’ve been told that if it can’t be verified by an expert, it’s worthless. Well, Freya and I say phooey on that! You can find what you need right inside your imagination.
With that in mind, I’m going to ask again…
Why are you here?
Are you looking for help with love? Do you want to practice magick? Are you feeling a pull from somewhere deep inside to connect with your northern European roots?
Freya, through me, wants to give you an exercise to help with all three. It’s the first in a series that will gradually get you where you want to go.
So, again…
Why are you here?
I’m not talking about the meaning of life with this question. Why you are here is pretty simple, really. Your mother gave birth to you, and her mother to her, and so on…back in time to your Germanic or Nordic ancestors. Your interest in Freya is directly related to your bloodlines, whether you are conscious of it or not. Therefore, your first exercise is to spend some time looking at where your ancestry makes itself known in your life. How you do this can be as simple or as elaborate as suits you. Just noticing items you have in your home as you go throughout your day, or beliefs you have that you realize may come from your ancestry, is enough. On the other end of the scale you could create a scrapbook or shrine celebrating your heritage. Keep things on the light side, focusing on what you love and delight in. I’ll talk about what to do with the negative aspects later.
This exercise works on many levels, the first of which is accepting who you are. A goddess (or anybody, for that matter) has an easier time connecting with you the more you are connected with different aspects of yourself. Also, Freya is deeply entwined in the consciousness of German and Scandinavian culture, although she is mostly forgotten. Finally, you may be here at this blog looking for love. It was the love of your ancestors that got you here and honoring it is a first step in getting the love you seek.
This is not the kind of exercise that has an end date, nor will there be a quiz at the end. Paying attention to the culture of the goddess you wish to connect with is part of building a relationship with her. Freya is not the drive-through love life fixer upper. Western culture seems to be rapidly forgetting this, especially online, but a little respect goes a long, long ways.
Just a tip about what to look for…for many of us, the last bit of our European heritage can be found in our Christmas trees. There is a Freya link to Christmas, but that will have to wait.
As if often the case with writers, I’m learning as I write here. This is my journey as well as yours. About the time I hit puberty, being German-American (my name is Gretchen) was no longer cool, especially since at that time I started reading about Hitler’s holocaust and I was ashamed that I had any ties to it. Although my great-grandparents came to this country several decades before Hitler’s regime, I know the Holocaust had its roots in centuries of German culture and I’m not sure I really want to go digging around in all that. But, apparently, healing those cultural wounds is part of what Freya is here to do.
So dig, I must. That’s what happens when you work for a Goddess.
