30 Days of Frigga Day 10 Offerings

Offerings – historical and UPG

I am not certain that I know of any lore that is associated as an offering to Frigga. If you wanted to draw on the lore for ideas however, offering ideas could include a golden necklace/girdle inspired by the gold she stole from Odin to have made into a piece by the dwarves; tears shed in honor of her grief for Baldr and as a promise to weep for him to return; fiber than can be spun such as flax or nettle fibers or wool; a vow of silence regarding divination work...
The following offering suggestions are mostly based on UPG:

Scarlet Flax flowers in altar flower box between 3 birch trees

Flax is a sacred plant to Frigga in her aspect as a Goddess of Spinning. Forms of flax that might be considered for offerings are items made from linen (flax fabric), flax flowers grown in a place designated to Frigga or put on her altar, and flax seeds (alone or in food).

Birch is Frigga's tree. Birch bark can be made into jewelry, leaves and bark can be used as medicinal tea or in cleansing incense, and birch sap or water can be used as a libation. Any of these items or sacred pieces carved from birch wood can be used as offering. Consider a birch offering bowl, cup, or plate for Frigga.
I have commissioned my husband to turn one of the cut trees from our land into a statue of Frigga for me to carve and decorate for her altar (images to come).

I often bake and try and give Frigga the prettiest piece of my work. Slices of gingerbread dusted with snowy confectioner sugar, barley and flax seed pancakes topped with birch syrup, warm yeast roll with real butter, etc.

Fiber items - any fiber arts piece created for the Goddess can be an offering. On my altar I have a small skein of white wool dedicated to her that I will spin (once my skills at the spindle are a little better) and turn into something for the Lady. I am also making a devotional shawl dedicated to Frigga with crocheted squares each depicting a symbol or story that is part of her lore and teachings (more on that to come).

Art as offering

Offerings of course do not have to be "things." Actions or charitable donations given in Frigga's name can also be a form of offering.
Charities honoring mothers and their children are great places to give money, gifts, or time to in her honor.
Helping out women in the community who have lost a child would be very appropriate.
Knitting or crocheting caps and blankets for babies in NICU is a common act of offering among fiber artist devotees.
Learning to spin, weave, or any other fiber work can be done to honor Frigga as this is an act that she presides over. Taking this a step further and participating or starting a spinning group, guild, etc could also be done in Her name.
Writing devotional pieces such as songs, prayers, poems, stories, etc as well as creating art pieces for her is a fantastic act of devotion.

I am sure there are other ideas out there.

What sort of offerings do you give your Gods?

30 Days of Frigga Day 9 Common Mistakes

Common Mistakes Regarding Frigga

1. Frigga is the mother of Thor and Loki

No. No no no no no. Just no.
This misconception is based on the comic and movies Thor and is a mistake that never ceases to irritate me.
As you can read in Day 5's genealogical layout, Frigga's children are Baldr and Hodr (some say that Hermond and Bragi might be there sons too). Thor is her husband's son with Jord. Loki is the son of Frost Giants.
The most irritating part of this is relating Loki to Frigga as her son while he is actually the one who plotted the death of her favorite son Baldr - who wouldn't be offended by that? It would be similar to saying Judas was the son of Mary.

2. Frigga and Freya are the same Goddess

This misconception arises from modern Heathens and scholars studying ancient language and the lore.
The words Frigga and Freya not only sound similar but have similar meanings of Love, Lady-ship, and Beauty. Both are also wives of Odinn (Odr is believed to be an epithet of Woden) and both are seers, work with pregnancy, and are daughters of Earth goddesses according to lore.
There the commonality stops.
When I asked Frigga about her and Freya she said "that elfin creature?"

Meeting Ullr

My son is running a fever. I believe its in connection to teething as he might be getting one of his eye teeth (K9 teeth) earlier than expected and they "stomach teeth" as my family calls them, tend to be the most problematic with teething symptoms such as fevers and diarrhea. I share this because I am stressed out about it. My son, other than the little bit of colic during his first weeks, hasn't been sick and I'm always wondering if this is a bad thing for his immune system. Now that he has a fever I'm blending my natural remedies with allopathic medicines my relatives press upon me along with prayer and energy healing.
I've asked Frigga for aid as she is not only My Lady but also the Goddess of mothers and children. I go to her for this sort of thing rather than Eir who I see more as the healer of wounds and the nurse at the battle field.
When I went to Frigga she gave me comfort and my son but also said that I should not worry, that he was protected. I assumed she meant by her.
When I came back down from Fensalir, I meditated while nursing my son and allowed myself to journey to my own astral spaces where I can keep calm, tether myself when journeying, etc. In one of these spaces in an anchor I created when I was pregnant for a shield for my son. Here I can tend to his shielding and care and it is usually a smallish, dark space dominated by the egg that is my son and his shield for his energy body.
I was stunned when I entered this space to find my darling egg was not alone. I do not even allow my husband here. This place is sacred and, to me, like a womb. To find someone within was startling and put me in a predatory, protective mind-set I don't know that I've felt before.

There, beside my son was a man kneeling. He held onto a pole like a staff only thin, and was dressed in furs. Over his long, wind-swept, dark hair he wore a cap and I could not readily make out a face through his dark beard.
I know I said something along the lines of "how dare you be here" and demanded he tell me who he is and what he wanted while at the same time determined to make him leave. When he looked up I knew he wasn't human. I wondered a moment if he was Odin, my husband's Patron deity, who I would have understood somewhat being present as my husband too is worried about our son.
I knew, as soon as I had the thought, however, that I was wrong.
The God grew and grew. His hands were massive and he stood so tall I had to crane my head back to see him. I asked again, frightened this time, who he was.
Ullr
He then turned and left.
Shaken I tended to my son and wondered where I had heard the name before.

Boksta Runestone

My research on Ullr came up successful in that he does exist and others work with him but scant as to why on hearth he would be watching over my son.
Ullr is the god most known for skiing and archery as well as winter.
Some believe, due to archaeological finds and traces, that Ullr might actually be older than the gods. It is likely that his "mask" or aspect that we know of now is one developed over time and he has evolved from something much more primal such as a god of winter, darkness, even death.
While lore says he is the son of Sif and could have connections to Thor, Egill, and Svipdag, others feel these might be the faint reachings of Christians trying to place a God they otherwise can't wrap around.
He is also a god of oaths and his oaths are ones made over rings.

None of the above explains a connection to my son who is Autumn-born and too young for winter activities much less hunting. I then wondered if he was there to speak to me as I am both a child of winter and an amateur archer married to an adept hunting archer and my protective instinct warded him off before we could connect.
I do intend to attempt a connection again when I have more energy. For now I am recuperating after little sleep and much stressing over my wee one.

Ullr's Shrine

Divine Sex: Intimacy with Gods

This is a topic that I've avoided, struggled with, and hid away for a while now. I kept quiet about it because I know full well the majority of the people I know, even the Pagans, Heathens, and Witches that I associate with, will think I am crazy or desperately seeking attention. I know this because I've seen how the community response to others who have said "I have/have had sex with a god." I've seen them called attention-seekers, drama queens, wanting to look special, and "crazy as shithouse rats" (that last one was the most recent statement within the local Heathen community regarding godspouses).

So here I am, dealing with my insecurities and writing despite being outright uncomfortable. Why am I putting myself through this?
As with most of what I write whether its on religion, parenting, or even my works of fiction - I write because this is what I have looked for in the past. I sought out information about those who have relations with the gods and, thanks to my dear friend Lee Harrington, was pointed in the right direction. I read voraciously but I didn't find any resources detailing exactly what I was going through. So I returned to the advice I was given in writing class - write what you want to read.

Cupid & Psyche by Rodin

My first intimate experience with a god was in 2012. I was in a phase of wanting to "collect" attunements. This sometimes happens with people after they receive their first attunement (for me it was in Reiki) and they become almost addicted to the feeling. I then got attuned to Sekhem, then Sekhmet Sekhem, etc. During this collection I was offered a free Anubis Energy Attunement. I accepted it without a moment's hesitation.
At the time I worked predominantly in the nude before a candle-lit altar (all mystical sounding of course...I was dramatic then). I had a very strong experience with the attunement in which I was sitting before Anpu who was holding me by the shoulders while Dehuti (Thoth) was behind me tattooing symbols into my back with a stylus. After the attunement was finished, I felt buzzy and tired at the same time but nothing was abnormal. I grounded, ate some dinner with my husband, and went to bed.
That night I was visited by Anpu who was forceful and intimate. While I wasn't asked for consent, I didn't feel violated, only overwhelmed by the whole experience. When I woke, I was dazed. I told my husband and searched online for other who had the experience - found nothing. The few people I asked about it assumed it was "just a dream" and probably meant to be taken symbolically. Others said that it probably meant that Anpu was my patron deity and meant to work with. Neither of these explanations felt true to me. I felt alone and a little crazy.

My path winded down the spiral and my beliefs shifted and transformed. I became a handmaiden of Frigga who I turn to when I have questions now. While my first experience wasn't forgotten, it became like many things that have happened to me in my religious life - an entry in my book of shadows to contemplate if/when I needed to.

Mani by V.E. Hardy

Then I asked Frigga about the moon. I wanted to write for a publication regarding the moon, specifically about how some cultures view the moon as masculine and others see it as feminine. Like many of the Norse gods, there wasn't much written on the moon god Mani and so I went to Frigga.
Frigga sat spinning the ancient runes and magic into the life of Midgard, smiling knowingly at me with a nod as I asked her. She then sent me, with few words, to Mani himself.

When I went to him, he was very gentle and very affectionate. This became my second encounter with a god that was sexual without any warning or intention on my part.
With Anpu I had been...for lack of better phrasing...rode hard and put up wet. I woke groggy and felt unnerved. With Mani it was completely different. I slept soundly and woke rested and could still feel his gentle caress on my neck and face.
However, after all was said and done, I felt both enlightened and confused.

My husband offered an explanation - that by being intimate with me, he was fully sharing himself so that I could have a better idea of who he was than any conversation or reading could give me - that this was a way the gods can convey information and teachings.
I think this makes sense but also find it strange that even though I am bisexual, I've only ever had these experiences with masculine deities.

I emailed modern polytheist expert Galina Krasskova about my questions. I was nervous about emailing someone I didn't know and look up to as a pagan and author but I felt like if I was going to ask someone, it was best to ask someone who knew what they were talking about.

My biggest question was about the fact that in both cases of this happening to me, I didn't get any sort of consent question before hand or really any warning. Was this just the gods taking what they wanted or felt they deserved as gods?
Galina answered very succinctly:
"Consent is given, imo, when you approach the Gods. it's not like you're going to a frat party after al where a higher, holy Power is expected to ask at each step if this is ok. It doesn't work that way. had you said "Stop" I suspect Mani would have done."
This felt very true and made sense to me. I was glad I asked.