A Devotional for Frigga (call for submissions)

Frigga has asked for a devotional.

It makes sense. She is Queen of Asgard, wife of the All-Father Odin, Mistress of Fensalir and shares the throne of Hliðskjálf. She too bears a great gold necklace of lore and has a retinue of Goddess handmaidens who are all great and powerful in their own right. She is a Seeress and Goddess of Wyrd and Spinning. She is a hearth-keeper, a Goddess of domesticity, and business minded. She is a Goddess of Mothers - having had 2 sons and lost one. She is a Goddess of diplomacy and has chosen the winner of battles as well as stopped battles from being fought.
With all of this and more - Frigga is more than deserving of devotions...and yet...where is her devotional? I've looked for one. I've found so many to Odin, Her husband. His following is great. I've found devotionals to other Gods, including a few of Frigga's handmaidens, some of which have a following larger than the Queen Herself. While Her shrine is lovely, her prayers are many, and most Heathens acknowledge Her, I was saddened not to see Her books. Yet, I didn't think much of it until She told me it was what she wanted.
I cringed at the idea at first. It felt like a awefully big undertaking.
I did my research, I meditated and...I admit...I procrastinated with excuses - the holiday season is coming up, surely we should wait until after that. No.
When I went to Her in prayer for another recently, I asked if there was any work I could do to insure that this friend's need was met. Frigga was not pleased with me and sternly told me
"Do what YOU are SUPPOSED to be doing!"
I knew she meant the devotional. I slunk away and began my work on the Call for Submissions. '

Frigga Devotional CFS

Calling all who honor the Queen of Asgard. Seeking prayers, rituals, recipes, poetry, essays, tales of encounters, stories, and fiber craft tutorials created for or inspired by Frigga.
Submissions should be under 10,000 words and any photos should be visible in grey-scale. If submitting a fiber art tutorial, please include a picture of the finished product.  Previously published pieces are welcome so long as you have permissions and rights to them.

Please send submissions by April 1st, 2017 to my email address - ddfbryant (at) gmail.com with the name of the piece and your name (or pen name you want the piece published under) and the piece either in the body of the email or attached in .doc or .docx. After the book is published, I will contact you for your mailing info to send you a complimentary copy of the devotional.
Devotionals will be published through Asphodel Press.

I am thrilled to be working on this project for the beloved Queen is due for some attention I think.
Hail to the All-Mother!

Blessings,
December

Lesson in Frith-Keeping

I've recently had a problem bordering on a falling out with a friend due to my own misspoken words and thoughtlessness. I've asked forgiveness and the offering of healing between us has been made. We shall see where it goes. In the meantime, I am meditating on Frith and My Lady's hand in my life to teach me to be a frith-keeper and compassionate handmaiden.

Hail Frigga, Frith-Keeper,
You who welcome all to your hall, Fensalir,
Your hospitality and kindness turn foes to friends.
Weaver of Orlog, Spinner of Wyrd,
Keeper of Hearth and Home,
Keeper of the Keys,
You who sit in the high seat,
 Teach us to have compassion and open hearts,
To see beyond our prejudices
And our small-mindedness.
Lead us, Lady of the Hall,
To show all whom we meet respect and graciousness.
Beloved of Odin, may our words bind us
And our deeds strengthen us.
Hail Frigga, Queen of the Aesir.
(From the Northern Paganism Frith Ritual)

The Unseen Ordeal

The Unseen Ordeal - Another way Motherhood is like Shamanism

Sigyn and Loki

With ordeals like Odin’s, it’s nine days and then it’s over. It’s the plucking of an eye and then it’s over. I mean no disrespect, but Sigyn didn’t know when or even if Her ordeal would ever be over. Not to mention no mother ever gets over the ordeal of losing a child, something Odin also understood.  But there is no glamour: you do what’s right, and you do it again and again and again, and that’s very unpopular. There’s no glamour, no sweeping gestures, and no one to sing your praises. The heart is a terrible thing.
                                 -Fuensanta Arismendi, Who is Sigyn?

I love this so much. It can be said not only of Sigyn but also of Frigga who strove so hard to keep her son safe but to no end, Baldr's death still came to pass and she lost him.

Frigga and Baldr

As a mother of a miscarried child and a mother of a living son - I feel this pain in my heart as well and I mourn for the lost sons and I mourn for the mothers who carry their burdens without end. There is nothing glamorous about being a mother and carrying on with duty without fail. There is nothing shiny about seeing fate and having to accept it.

Susun Weed says mothers are invisible, a woman's work is invisible, so no great tales were told, no songs sung, of what is in a mother's heart, even when she is a Goddess.

My heart is broken for my Gods.

30 Days of Frigga Day 14 Worship

Has worship of this deity changed in modern times?

Actually I have no way of knowing. We don't have a lot of lore on the worship of Frigga so I cannot compare.

30 Days of Frigga Day 13 Modern Problems

What modern cultural issues are closest to this deity’s heart?

Galina Krasskova put forward a really good question of - Do the deities care about modern cultural issues? Should they? Is it really any of their problem the mess we create for ourselves down here?
Thats a good question for another time.

Mothers and children in need (of care, protection, food, medical aid, etc) in general.
I'm a particular fan of making crochet caps for premies in NICU as, I've read, many devotees of Frigga do.

30 Days of Frigga Day 7 Epithets

Names & Epithets

Frigga's name means "beloved", and it is cognate to several Indo-European words, variously meaning "to marry", "to love", "wife", and "beloved lady".

To read some of her better known names and epithets, please read my post:
35 Adorations to Frigga

Devotional Art: Frigga by Jenn McCarty

A devotional piece for Frigga by my friend Jennifer McCarty that I commissioned. Wanted to share as I love devotional art and wish I was more artistic. I crochet and am working on a devotional shawl for Frigga but love having this to hang and look at during prayers and meditations as well as traditional paintings of Frigga herself.

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

35 Adorations to Frigga

35 Adorations to Frigga

Frigga by Samantha Johnson

I adore you, All-Mother
I adore you, Queen of Asgard
I adore you, Lady of Fensalir
I adore you, Daughter of Fjorgynn
I adore you, Leader of Handmaidens
I adore you, Hlidskialf Enthroned
I adore you, Key-Bearer
I adore you, Heron-Crowned
I adore you, Gold-Girdled
I adore you, Beloved Lady of the Aesir
I adore you, Head of the Home
I adore you, Patroness of Marriage
I adore you, Grieving Mother
I adore you, Solicitor of Oaths
I adore you, Harrowed by Mistletoe
I adore you, Wielder of the Distaff
I adore you, Cloud-Spinner
I adore you, Wyrd-Weaver
I adore you, Divine Midwife
I adore you, Bearer of Berkana
I adore you, Lady of Silver Birches
I adore you, Frith-keeper
I adore you, Domestic Goddess
I adore you, Guardian of the Hearth
I adore you, Bearer of the Mead of Hospitality
I adore you, Protectress of families
I adore you, Comforter of children
I adore you, Keeper of Odin's secrets
I adore you, Silent Seer
I adore you, Patient Partner of a Wanderer
I adore you, She who soothes the wandering king
I adore you, cunning Wife and warrior in the battle of words.
I adore you, Lady of the Langobards
I adore you, One who smiles on the lowly
I adore you, Throne-Guardian alongside brothers

You can find this and more writings about and to Frigga at the Northern Pagan Tradition Shrine.

Prayer for Freya

Galina Krasskova is currently hosting a contest for a new Freya prayer card.

Freya by Halldora

If anyone is interested Galina will run this contest for one week. It will end 9pm EST on Monday, August 22. Check out the blog for entry requirements and contest winner awards.

My Entry:

Hail Freya, Vanadis

I ask for protection, under your falcon wings and war-maiden's shield

Help me to make peace among my enemies

Give me the courage to fight again for if I am battle-slain in truth

May my actions be ever-worthy of your choosing.

Hail Freya, Lady of Sessrúmnir

Help me to set boundaries for myself so I can honor the boundaries of others

For as your home when locked is protected by your will

Let me be also protected and closed against trespasses. 

Yet may my hospitality be true and help me act in frith.

Help me to pay fairly and to accept fairly what is my due

Show me your just ways.

Hail Seidhkona, Holder of Magic and Keeper of Mysteries

Teach me to see the magic in all things

Help me to move between the veil, allow me to walk among the worlds.

May I glimpse in your forge of dreams

By Seidhr rune-wise and true as words from your tongue.

Hail Goddess of Beauty, Amber laden Creatrix, Mistress of Brisingamen

Ignite within me the creative spark

Help me to bring beauty into my own deeds and all that I make

May the fierceness of your eyes lend me their keen awareness

that I might see none other than your face before my work

Let me be ignited with Need-Fire, your Will.