MYTHOLOGY: FREYJA

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I'm sorry I forgot again. You can blame my brothr, it was because his birthday party u-u

 Freja (Freyja, Freya) - Freya is one of the major Goddesses of Norse Mythology.
 Equal in prowess to Thor, Freya is nearly the equal of Odin, the Allfather. The northern Europeans called their lusty Goddess Freya (pronounced fray'ya), which means, "mistress", and gave her name to the sixth day of the week, Friday. Freya – also Freyja or Freia – is the daughter of Niord and sister of Frey. She is one of the Vanir but came out of Vanaheim to live with the Aesir along with her father and brother. Her hall, Sessrumnir, is built in the field of Folkvang in Asgard, the realm of the Gods. She is the Goddess of Love and Beauty, one of the original fertility goddesses of the region. Patron of young lovers, Freya is viewed as a force for good in the world – protector of the weak, healer, granter of magic and source of love and peace. She listens to the prayers of men and women seeking love and helps them when she can.
 Beautiful, blue-eyed, golden-haired – Freya generally appears as the most desirable woman in the Nine Realms. She always wears Brisingamen, a wonderful necklace made from gold and amber that she received from dwarves. Often appearing unclothed to her followers, she is always described as the most beautiful of women.
 The goddess Freya's passions were abundant, vigorous, and unrestrained. Clothed or not, she is usually shown in sensual poses.
 Freya didn't discriminate in her choice of lovers: All Gods were fair game. When Freya appeared draped in her feathered cloak and wearing nothing but her magic amber necklace, none could resist her.
 She is often depicted riding her golden chariot through the skies, the chariot pulled by two large blue cats who were a gift from the Norse god Thor.
 Freya was a spectacular beauty known for her appreciation of romantic music and stunning floral arrangements. That was her softer side; she was also known as the goddess of war and death.
 Freya leads the Valkyrie, the Choosers of the Slain. These warrior maidens ride over battlefields on winged horses, taking the souls of noble warriors killed in battle to feast in Valhalla, Odin’s Hall. Freya claims half of the warriors for her own hall in Folkvang. This martial province makes Freya a more fully dimensioned goddess than most fertility deities.
 Freya taught magic to the Aesir, Odin in particular. Freya's magic is termed Seidr - a type of trance magic whose fully realized forms include shape shifting and astral projection. Freya herself has a falcon cloak which allows any who wears it to become a bird.
 Cats are particularly sacred to Freya. In addition to the two large cats who pull her chariot, other cats are generally associated with this kind and loving Goddess. Whether it's their grace, their beauty or their fierce nature when provoked, cats are the special darlings of Freya, often carrying messages for her. (Of course, sometimes they take a nap while enroute...)
 The goddess Freya reminds us to explore and acknowledge all of our emotions, longings, and traits, even those we wish we didn't possess.
If you feel awed by the wonder of veins in leaves in the lush green trees and feel your knees go weak at the joy of being alive, the passionate goddess of love is working in you. Freja's gifts are those that make us overjoyed to be alive! Freja loves all things that give pleasure, she indulges in love, romance and lovemaking - always walking in harmony and beauty. Her power brings men and women together to create new life, and she is the gentle goddess who ends life in order to perpetuate the circle of life with love and trust. According to Nordic myth she was also the Warrior Goddess who was hostess to fallen war heroes in her great hall.

Source: http://www.everygoddess.com/goddesses/freja-goddess.htm

That's it. See you next week :)

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MYTHOLOGY: RUNES

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 More fortune telling-related shit today because it's awesome and I want to learn how to read this so hard. <3 font="font">

 What we now know as the runic alphabet seems to have developed from two distinct sources - one magical, one literate. Pre-runic symbols, or hällristningar, have been found in various Bronze Age rock carvings, primarily in Sweden. Some of these symbols are readily identifiable in the later alphabets, while others represent ideas and concepts which were incorporated into the names of the runes (sun, horse, etc.). The exact meanings of these sigils are now lost to us, as is their original purpose, but they are believed to have been used for divination or lot-casting, and it is fairly certain that they contributed to the magical function of the later runic alphabets.
 There is some debate over the origin of the "alphabet" aspect of the runes. Cases have been made for both Latin and Greek derivation, and several scholars are once again arguing in favor of both these theories. However, the strongest evidence still seems to point to a North Italic origin. The parallels between the two alphabets are too close to be ignored, particularly in the forms of the letters, as well as in the variable direction of the writing, and certain structural and even symbolic characteristics. This would also explain why so many of the runes resemble Roman letters, since both Italic and Latin scripts are derived from the Etruscan alphabet (itself a branch of the Western Greek family of alphabets). This theory would place the original creation of the futhark sometime before the 1st. century, when the Italic scripts were absorbed and replaced by the Latin alphabet. Linguistic and phonetic analysis points to an even earlier inception date, perhaps as far back as 200 B.C..
 When the northern tribes began integrating the Italic alphabets into their own symbolic system, they gave the letters names relating to all aspects of their secular and religious lives, thus transforming their simple pictographs into a magical alphabet which could be used for talismans, magical inscriptions and divination.

 The Elder Futhark
 The name "futhark", like the word "alphabet", is derived from the first few letters in the runic sequence, which differs considerably from the order of the Latin alphabet and is unique amongst alphabetic scripts. The futhark originally consisted of 24 letters, beginning with F and ending with O, and was used by the northern Germanic tribes of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Northern Germany. This form of the runes is known as the Elder, or Germanic Futhark.

 The Anglo-Saxon Futharc
 Sometime around the fifth century AD, changes occurred in the runes in Frisia (the area around the northern Netherlands and north-western Germany). This period coincided with the Anglo-Saxon invasions from this area and the appearance of similar runes in the British Isles. The forms of several of the runes changed. Also, changes in the language led to between five and nine runes being added to the alphabet to compensate for the extra sounds, and several runes were given different corresponding letters. This alphabet has become known as the Anglo-Saxon Futharc.

 The Younger Futhark
 In Scandinavia, the Elder Futhark remained in use until some time around the eighth century (the time of the Eddas), when drastic changes in the Old Norse language occurred, and corresponding changes in the runic alphabet were made to accommodate the new sounds. However, unlike the Anglo-Saxon Futharc, the Younger Futhark (as it is now called) reduced the number of runes from 24 to 16, and several runes came to represent multiple sounds. The forms of the runes were also changed and simplified. There are several variations of this futhark - Danish, long branch, Norwegian, dotted, etc.
 This form of the runic alphabet spread from Denmark north into Sweden and Norway, and was carried into Iceland and Greenland by the Vikings. It is possible that they were also brought to North America with the Vinland expeditions, but so far no authenticated inscriptions have been found.

 The Runic Revival
 The runes, primarily in their Younger form, remained in common use until well into the 17th. century. Up until this time, they were found on everything from coins to coffins, and in some places their use was actually sanctioned by the Church. Even the common people knew simple runic spells, and the runes were frequently consulted on matters of both public and private interest. Unfortunately, as with most of the magical arts, they were officially banned in 1639 as part of the Church's efforts to "drive the devil out of Europe". The rune masters were either executed or went underground, and the knowledge of the runes may well have died with them. Some say that the knowledge was passed on in secret, but it is almost impossible to separate ancient traditions from more modern esoteric philosophies in such cases.
 Perhaps the darkest period in the history of runic studies was their revival by German scholars connected with the Nazi movement in the 20's and 30's. What began as a legitimate folkloric resurgence unfortunately became so tainted by Nazi ideology and racism that the research from this period was rendered all but useless to any serious student of runic lore.
 After the Second World War, the runes fell into disfavor as a result of their association with Nazism, and very little was written about them until the fifties and sixties. It was not until the mid-eighties, with the widespread appeal of the "New Age" movement and the revival of Pagan religions that the runes regained their popularity as both a divinatory system and a tool for self-awareness.

Source: http://www.runestones.com/runes.htm

And that's it :3

See you next week

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MYTHOLOGY: NORNS

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I just got home LOL sorry


In Norse mythology, the Norns are the demi-goddesses of destiny. They control the destinies of both gods and men, as well as the unchanging laws of the cosmos. They are represented as three sisters: Urd ("fate"), Verdandi ("necessity") and Skuld ("being"). They live at the base of the World Tree Yggdrasil in the realm of Asgard.
Nothing lasts forever, and even the mighty Yggdrasil is subject to decay. The Norns try to stop this process, or at least slow it down, by pouring mud and water from the Well of Fate over its branches. This magical liquid stops the rotting process for the time being.
In other myths, the Norns were thought to give assistance at birth, and that each person has his own personal Norn.
Depicted: Urd is thought of as the old spinster, and is often depicted as old and withered. Verdandi is the most beautiful of the three and is always looking forward in life. Skuld is the most hidden of the three and is often pictured veiled or hidden.
Sources: here and here

That's it for today :3
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FANGIRL MODE ON: SEREMEDY'S NEW PV ヾ(* ∀ *)ノ

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So I was there doing nothing on Twitter and I saw this:

(Yeah, my Twitter is in Swedish, YOLO)
and I needed to post it here because there are so many feelings, I don't even have a gif to describe it jashjasajsaksjasa 

And yeah, that's it, I think I'm able to act normally again. Now I'm going to read something about Brazilian myths º3º
See you later 
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MYTHOLOGY : VALKYRIE

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 I should have posted this yesterday, but I forgot, sorry. m(><)m
Oh well, whatever. I'm almost tired of Greek myths, let's change it.

The Valkyrie is an Old Norse Germanic Goddess whose name, “Valkyrja” literally means: "Chooser of the Slain"
     Valkyries (from the Old Norse Valkyrja, in Norse mythology, daughters of the principal god Odin, are often called Odin's maidens. At his bidding, they flew on their horses over the fields of every battle to choose the souls of the heroic dead. Belief in the existence of magic horsewomen from heaven was widespread in Germanic and Scandinavia cultures, though they were called by different names.
     The Valkyries carried out the will of Odin in determining the victors in battle and of course the war.  As each Valkyrie performed differing tasks according to Odin’s instruction, it was their prime duty to ride into the battlefield and choose the fallen heroes of the field. To be chosen by a Valkyrie and carried off on her white steed to Valhalla was considered an honor to the dying Viking warrior, for Valkyries only chose the bravest of the slain, gathering souls found deserving of an afterlife. They traveled far-and-wide searching for the dead in battlefields, oceans and seas for mortal men worthy of the grand hall. However, if the Viking warriors are deemed unworthy by the Valkyries, the goddess Hel in a cheerless underground world received them after their death.  
      The word for Valkyrie was used by Anglo-Saxon scholars to polish the names of the Greco-Roman goddesses of vengeance and retribution, the Furies or Erinyes, as well as for the Roman goddess of war, Bellona.  The Valkyrie goddess, in the oldest of beliefs, was a corpse goddess represented by the carrion-eating raven. They are related to the Celtic warrior-goddess, the Morrigan, who likewise may assume the form of the raven. The Irish “badb” is at one-and-the-same time a seeress foretelling the fate of men upon the battlefield and is also the carrion crow or raven.
     The Valkyries were depicted as young, beautiful, but fierce women who dressed splendidly in full armor and swords when riding their horses. The were also know to turn themselves into swans, wolves or ravens. In later historical periods, the Valkyries, as a Demi-goddess of death, had their legend replaced with the folklore motif of the swan maiden (young girls who are able to take on the form of a swan, sometimes as the result of a curse).  She frequently shape-shifted into a semblance of a swan as a means of camouflage. In her role as a swan maiden, the Valkyrie can travel “through air and through water.”
      A Valkyries horse was created from air, and when they traveled to Earth, frost and dewdrops would fall from their manes onto the ground. The Valkyrie was also Odins messengers and when they ride forth on their errands, their armor causes the strange flickering lights known as the “Aurora Borealis” or Northern Lights.
      Often the Valkyries would make personal visits upon the earth appearing as a swan searching for a stream to bathe in. This act was dangerous for the Valkyrie goddess, for if any man secured the swans plumage the Valkyrie could not return to Valhalla and if he so desired, she was destined to become his mate. If one could capture and hold a swan maiden, a feather or her feathered cloak, one could extract a wish. This is why Valkyries were sometimes also known as wish maidens.
      Midway between the third and eleventh centuries, the Valkyries began to assume a more benign roll. Small amulets or pictures on memorial stones begin to depict the figure of a beautiful woman welcoming the deceased hero with a horn of mead into the afterlife. The Valkyries were considered to be young and beautiful with each one possessing mystical attributes befitting their names. The Goddesses are usually bestowed with silky fair skin, long flowing golden hair beneath a silver winged helm or headdress of “spiritual light feathers” and having blue-eyes. A Valkyries armor may consist of a scarlet corselet, a shield known as the “shield-maiden of truth” and a spear. Modern artists’ renderings depict her in a silver metal fish-scaled breast and back-plate armor and sometimes a short sword at her side, however this has not been established by any historical writings or Viking artifacts.
      It’s often said, that if you see a Valkyrie before battle “you will die in that battle.” The Vikings believed that when a brave warrior was about to die in the midst of fighting, he would suddenly see the figure of a Valkyrie, there to take him into the sky and transport him to Valhalla. To all others in the fray she would remain invisible. Before battles, the name of Odin was invoked, so that he could send the Valkyries to choose the best of those fighters who would die.
      Although the sources consulted are not clear on this, the chief, or queen of the Valkyries, seems to have been the goddess Freyja. She is the Norse goddess of love, fertility, and beauty and sometimes identified as the goddess of battle and death.  Like Odin, she receives half of those slain in battle. Surveying the battlefields seeking valiant souls, in a chariot driven by two cats; in agreement with Odin, she was entitled to half of the dead heroes herself, bringing them not to Valhalla, but to her own banquet hall, Sessrumnir. 
     Freyja possessed a magical cloak of falcon feathers that allowed her to take the shape of a falcon if she wished, making the swan maidens similar to the goddess by having “feathered coats” or cloaks that enable their shape-shifting abilities and the power of flight. Freyja is said to be the first of the Valkyries called Valfreya, “Mistress of the Slain,” she pours ale at the feast of Aeir.
     When not gathering souls from the battlefields, Valkyries shed their garments of war and donned the white virginal robe of a goddess. They spend their time in Valhalla's huge golden hall, big enough to hold all of the warriors the Valkyries could ever bring there, serving mead (honey wine) to the fallen heroes who would feast and engage in sacred, raucous drinking bouts. The descriptions of the Valkyries, depicts them as foster-daughters, just as the Einherjar (the chosen warriors of Odin) are foster sons.
     Any maiden who becomes a Valkyrie remains immortal and invulnerable as long as they obey the Gods and remain virginal. The most famous of the Valkyries was Brynhild (also known as Brünnehild, Brunhild, or Brunhilda), who appears in a number of myths and legends. According to Icelandic "Volsunga Saga" she was the leader of the Valkyries. Although she was Odin's favorite, she once disobeyed his bidding as to who was to live and who was to die, and so incurred his wrath. He punished her by putting her in a magic sleep, surrounded by a ring of fire. Only a hero who was fearless enough to brave the flames would have the power to awaken her.
     The Valkyries often appear riding in troops of nine war-like women. The most common misconception about the Valkyries is that they were fighting women. This is not so, no where will one ever find an account of a Valkyrie actually in combat; and only rarely carrying a weapon. In fact, women warriors in the Viking Age are mostly myth, spurred on by folks such as Saxo Grammaticus, who as a Christian priest was aghast at the relative freedom and societal power of real-life Viking women.
      Therefore, he wrote many-many stories about women warriors that relied much more on his classical education’s references to the Greek Amazon legends than to any Viking practices. Saxo’s aim was to present a woman female warrior, then to create a virile hero who would defeat her with nothing but his aura of virility and manly good looks.
  Source: http://www.hillcountryroofing.net/VQ/myths.htm

I think I'll call my daughter "Valkyrie." Assuming I have a daughter. It is not my intention.
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