Lewis Stead

The Ravenbook

connections to the family spirits known as the Disir. In many ways

she is like Odin in that she is a Goddess of many functions which are

not always obviously related. In modern Asatru, many groups have

placed Freya alongside Odin and Thor on the altar, in place of her

twin brother Frey.

Frigg is a most misunderstood Goddess. She is the wife of Odin and

many people are too willing to let her be known simply as that.

However, the old Norse had a much different idea of the place of women

and of marriage in general. While marriages for love were certainly

known, marriage was also a business and social arrangement and there

were important duties for a wife. These were symbolized by a set of

keys which hung at the belt of all goodwives. This symbolized that

the home was under the control of the woman of the house, who was

equal to her husband. Today we think these duties as very minor, but

a thousand years ago they were far from trivial. Up until this

century most of Europe lived in extended families. A house,

especially a hall of a warrior, was not a small building with a

nuclear family, but an entire settlement with outbuildings, servants,

slaves, and an entire clan. The wife of the house was in charge of

stores and trading with other clans. It was she that saw to the

upkeep of the farm, the balancing of the books, and even to the

farming itself if her husband was away trading or making war. It was

as much a job of managing a business as it was being a wife. For

these reasons Frigg is still very important and can easily be invoked

beyond the home. She would, for example, be a natural patron for

someone who owned a business. Frigg also shares a lot of

characteristics with her husband. She is the only other God who is

allowed to sit in Odins seat from which can be seen all that goes on

in the nine worlds. It is said that she knows the future, but remains

silent, which is entirely in keeping with the way women of the time

exercised their power: namely indirectly. While in a better world

this might not be necessary, it is still an important tool for women

who must exist in a world where men are sometimes threatened by them.

While Freya is a Goddess who acts independent of traditional roles,

Frigg is a Goddess who works within those roles, but still maintains

her power and independence.

Other Gods

There are of course many other Gods and Goddesses. Some of these have

important places in the myths, while some others are mentioned only

once along with their function.

Loki

The most perplexing God of Asgard is Loki. He was probably originally

a fire God, but he is best known as the troublemaker of Asgard. In

various minor scrapes Loki arranges to get the Gods into trouble,

usually by giving away their treasures and then arranging to return

them. This is very much in the traditional role of a trickster, who

keeps things interesting by causing trouble. However, its sometimes

difficult to see Loki merely as a trickster because his actions are

sometimes simply too evil to be ignored. Balder was the most

beautiful and beloved of the Gods and a pledge was extracted from all

the things in the world that they would not harm him. The sole

exception to this was the mistletoe which was deemed too tiny to be a

threat. Amused by his invulnerability, the Gods took turns throwing

objects at Balder, which of course had no effect on him. Loki took

the blind God Hod and put a spring of mistletoe in his hands and

guided him to throw it. The dart pierced Balders breast and he died.

Later a deal was arranged wherein Balder would be allowed to return to

life if all the creatures of the world would weep for him. Only one

refused, an ogress who said she cared not a whit for Balder when he

was alive and thought him just as well off dead. The ogress is

believed to have been Loki in disguise. For these actions Loki was

chained beneath the earth and it was arranged that venom would drip

upon him in punishment that would last until the end of the world.

With the death of Balder, Loki goes beyond the level of trickster and

becomes a truly evil figure. It is known that when Ragnarok comes,

Loki will lead the legions of chaos against the Aesir and bring about

the end of the world.