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Freya

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I seem to be on a Norse Mythology kick. This time I decided to depict the symbol of Freya, goddess of magic.
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© 2011 - 2024 Wittman80
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wanderingmage's avatar
It's nicely rendered.

But that's a symbol normally understood to be Odin's, not Freya's. (Although we're not 100% sure).

The symbol is often times referred to as the Triple Horn of Odin, or the Odhroerir, and is understood to be similar to the valknut. [link]

We have a few examples of it from the archaelogical record, the Snoldelev Stone, and the Larbro Stone [link] The Larbo Stone has it appearing next to the valknut, and a male figure on horseback. This is similar in composition to another stone found nearby known as the Tanglegarda Stone [link] which also features the valknut image, and an 8 legged horse with a male rider. Many make the assumption of the similar theme, that the other horse and rider on the Larbro stone which depicts the triple horn, as either Odin on Sleipnir, or some suggest it may be a warrior in Odin's cultus.

According to the Gylfaginning, there was a god named Kvasir who was created from the saliva of all the other gods, which gave him great power indeed. He was murdered by a pair of dwarvse, who then mixed his blood with honey to create a magical brew, the Odhroerir. Anyone who drank this potion would impart Kvasir's wisdom, and other magical skills, particularly in poetry. The brew, or mead, was kept in a magical cave in a far-away mountain, guarded by a giant named Suttung, who wanted to keep it all for himself. Odin, however, learned of the mead, and immediately decided he had to have it. He disguised himself as a farmhand called Bolverk, and went to work plowing fields for Suttung's brother in exchange for a drink of the mead.

For three nights, Odin managed to take a drink of the magical brew Odhroerir, and the three horns in the symbol represent these three drinks. In the prose eddas of Snorri Sturlson, it is indicated that at some point, one of the dwarf brothers offered the mead to men, rather than to the gods.