freyja

Freyja, in Old Norse Freyja, meaning "lady," is a major goddess in Norse mythology. She presides over love, beauty, fertility, and sexuality, and is also strongly associated with war, death, and magic. A prominent figure among the Vanir, she is described as the daughter of Njord and the sister of Freyr.

Her cult center is Sessrúmnir, her hall located in Fólkvangr, where she receives half of the warriors slain in battle; the other half goes to Odin at Valhalla. Freyja is also closely linked to seiðr, a form of magic or witchcraft, and is often described as a practitioner and teacher of the craft.

Freyja is frequently depicted with her distinctive necklace Brísingamen, created by dwarves; in various tales she travels in a chariot drawn by two cats and is said to have an ability to change form or appearances through magical means. Her influence extends across many poems in the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, including Hyndluljóð, Lokasenna, and Skáldskaparmál, where she is invoked or described in relation to love, war, and magic.

Her figure embodies the dual aspects of erotic love and martial death, and she remains a central and enduring character in the study of Norse mythology.