Frigga, and Freya

I feel compelled to write about my beliefs on the Goddess(es) Frigga and/or Freya.
There are many arguments in the heathen community about whether or not these two are the same goddess, or two independent beings. There are very good arguments for both sides, and I will try to display both in an equal manner (despite my own opinions).

One Goddess arguments:
Freya and Frigga are two names for the same goddess. The spelling and pronunciation varies by region, but she is the same woman. She is married to the Wanderer Od or Odin. She is a Goddess of Love, fertility and general femininity. She is well versed in Magic and is a strong warrior. She is associated with magic, fertility, childbirth, love, femininity, and matriarchy. The split came from a simple miscommunication.

Two Goddesses arguments:
The personalities of these two are too varied to be the same Goddess. Freya is a sensual woman, and a warrior. She is associated with cats, and the Valkyries. She represents an important point in a young woman's life where she defines herself, and sets herself up for future success with or without a family. Frigga is past that point and is now a Mother. She is focused on her children's well being and future. Frigga is calm and refined, she is a seer and mother. Frigga is associated with storks, spinning, marriage, and children. There is also insufficient ancient linguistic evidence to support the idea that these are the same names, for the same being.

My views:
I should probably explain a bit how I view the Gods in general. Our Gods are the consciousness of various aspects of life. The best examples are Thor and Odin. Thor is the name we have given the consciousness of our atmosphere (I'll post a-whole-nother blog about this theory). Odin is the name we have given to enlightenment. Keeping that in mind:
I'm honestly, still trying to figure it out. I believe it's clear that Freya is a Maiden, and Frigga is a Mother. That however doesn't mean that they are two separate beings. After all, every Mother was once a Maiden. And as Matt Smith's Doctor pointed out:

I believe the Feminine Goddess of the Norse is a growing and changing Goddess. When she was young, she was Freya, then she became Frigga, and she might be someone else entirely now. Invoking Freya will still call her presence to you. Also, at the same time you could invoke Frigga and receive a different presence. They are incarnations of the same Goddess. They live independently of each other. They can have a conversation with one another, go out for coffee together, but they are the same being. They are the consciousness of femininity. Femininity is complex and layered, we are mothers, but we were also maidens, and we're becoming crones.

TLDR? Frigga and Freya are the same timelord named Femininity.... maybe....

Flat Lined

As an Army wife (or oil field wife because you girls have it just as bad) your hopes are always on a roller coaster. He's coming home, he's leaving, you're going on vacation, plans have changed. To ride these emotions, not just every month or so, but every day is exhausting. Many wives, myself included, go numb. We flat line ourselves at no hope so that anything good that happens is a pleasant surprise, and all the bad is what we expected. Usually we believe this only applies to our husband's job, but in my experience, that' snot the case. It spreads into other aspects of your life, and clouds your mind with storms. This, is no way to live. There is no joy in this, it's a coping/ defense mechanism, and I feel like we really should break out of it. So my dears, what lights fires in your soul? What wakes your heart's drummer? What sparks your eyes and ignites your brain? I know what mine is. Please comment with your own.

I sort of lament that I found archery after Brave and Hunger Games came out. They weren't my reasons, or driving forces for getting into it, but every shop I've been to expects that from me. I can't say that I blame them for it either. No, my driving force is my soul. The first time I shot a bow...I was at girl's camp and there was no way 12 year old me was going to get that 30lbs compound bow to work for me, but my 2nd time shooting; I felt amazing, like I had been stumbling around in a dark room my whole life, and only just now had found the switch. I once told my husband that when I shoot, I am truly happy, the numbness that I've wrapped around my soul is lifted, and I can breathe again. When I shoot, I am strong, I am beautiful, I am precise, and unlike most things, if I fail and miss my target, I don't beat myself up, I correct and shoot again. I don't waist my time at the range wishing I did better, like I used to do after work every night at the theater. I leave the range with my head held high, proud of the progress I've made. My biggest downfall when I shoot is how excited I am to shoot. I get overexcited and forget to lower my elbow, or relax my wrists, or turn my hips. This will likely be my biggest hurdle throughout my archery career.

Oh yes, you read right, career. It has occurred to Kelson and I that he, being an introvert, and I , being an extrovert, would both be happier if I were to bring home the bacon. I rather like this idea, but I was really concerned over what on earth I could do to support my family, when we were finally done with the military. Admittedly, I had a very hard time thinking up anything that I could do to bring in enough money to support my family.When I pictured wealthy bread winning women, I always pictured someone well dressed walking around an office of some sort in a skyscraper.... That is not me. So I looked at my interests: Theater? No money to be had there. Designing? Yeah, that could work. In fact fashion design was my goal for awhile, then I picked up my bow again. The last time I had gone shooting was 10 months ago. My husband, probably sensing how numb I had become to everything around me, decided that we would go to the range on the weekend. Just holding my bow again made me giddy, and let's not get into what running my fingers down the fletching does to me. I was happy, really happy. Some time after I was thinking again about careers, and thought of that old saying. "find what you love, then find someone to pay you for it". I love Archery, now I just needed to find a way to get paid for it.

There's always tournaments, but they aren't really "supporting a family" income. My brother suggested big game hunting, sell 90% of the meat, keep some for my freezer, that way I literally bring home the bacon, and get money too. This is great, but I feel it depends too heavily on hunting seasons, and my ability to hunt down, not only an animal, but a buyer too. I could very easily do the first two ideas in conjunction with a day job, but how much time would I have with my family afterwards? Then, I looked into coaching. Turns out, that, maybe coupled with maybe a part-time job until I get a good amount of students, coaching could very likely support my family. I am currently looking into my own archery coach, and one day I will be able to not only do what I love, but get paid for it.

The key to avoiding the emotional flat line, is find something that you love (we all love our husbands, but let's face it, they aren't really dependable thanks to their jobs), and set a high, but obtainable goal for it. Yes, it's a distraction, yes, it's a coping/defense mechanism, but it's a much healthier one than the flat line, and you know it. So, revisit what you love to do, maybe find a new something, because, you don't deserve to be numb, you deserve to be happy. No,not happy, you deserve to set your soul on fire with joy. :-) 

Talking to the Runes

I was able to squeeze in a rune casting session while Rayne was taking a nap the other day, I feel inclined to tell you all about it.
First off, I should explain how I use the runes. When I cast runes I use an Elder Futhark set. I usually sit on the floor with a cloth in front of me. I gather all the tiles into my hands and cast them much like throwing dice. I then observe the runes that land face up starting with the ones closest to me. Whether or not the Gods talk to me through these means is irrelevant. I like to think that they do, but if not, it makes for a very good meditation practice. I feel like this should be a regular post topic for this blog.

Elder Futhark  alphabet with their Arabic alphabet counterparts

I had four questions, four castings. Because of the shear number of runes that I read, I figure I'll only focus on one of my questions. "Should I focus on becoming a Vitki?" To explain, a Vitki is an expert on the runes, especially their healing and other magical aspects. I believe the bindrunes I made for Rayne's birth worked out very well, and ever since have wanted to do more. This is the runes that landed right-side up.
Isa- Calm controlled
Thurisaz- Strategy, risk
Sowelo-energy, self-control
Jera-benefit, healing
Mannaz-meditation, influence
Eihwaz- secret magic, intuition
Pertho- control the situation
Ansuz-wisdom, study, useful, counsel
Uruz-freedom, power
Hagalaz- caution, sacrifice
Laguz- medicine spirituality
Dagaz-New cycle

This is the message that I got-
Be careful, the runes are very powerful. They can heal, they can hurt. So, know your craft well before you try to help anyone. You will do well in this role.


Anyone get other impressions from this? Other Rune meanings? Other interpretations?

If you use the runes, how? If not, What are your thoughts on them?