http://www.germanicmythology.com/original/IMAGES2/1_FINALCOLORMAP.jpg

The book

I've recently encountered a book, Odin's Wife,: Mother Earth in Germanic Mythology by William P Reaves. It completely revolutionised my view of the goddess Frigg.

The book itself isn't perfect, this hasn't been professionally edited and it takes a very meandering path but William P Reaves' research is extremely thorough and leaves no stones unturned.

Frigg is typically portrayed mainly as a passive goddess, sitting by Odin's side, so much about her has been lost to time or corrupted by christianization.

Here the author makes a very convincing case around Frigg having had many names (Jord, Nerthus, Frau Holle, Frau Perchta, Saga etc) being Mother Earth in her union with the Sky Father (Odin) and Sea Father (Njord), thus being the Mother. Her myth probably has been scrubbed clean by christian authors or otherwise perverted but it survives in European folklore ; goddess figure that leads the wild hunt, a Yule figure, in many cases traditionally seen as the protector of babies and children especially those who died before baptism. Her role seems far more active in the world now.

Frigg is the cycle of life. As another reviewer puts it: "She convincingly becomes the powerful Earth-Mother and Mother of Gods, including not only Baldur and Thor, but also Freyr and Freyja, whom she had with her brother, Njörd. As Reaves concludes, “She is Odin’s equal in all respects, surpassing him in practical power”(p. 285). That Frigg sits beside Odin on his throne Hliðskjálf, watching (and meddling in) all the Nine Worlds, “should not come as a surprise,” he adds: “The sons of Borr bestowed senses, wit, and spirit on Ask and Embla alike. Women are not subordinate to men. The sources, both religious and historical, are rife with strong, independent women. Both men and women appear on the battlefield, as mythological, historical, and archaeological evidence affirms. Equality of the sexes was a Germanic reality, long before modern times” (p. 285)."

Reaves argues that Frigg “is the Germanic Earth-Mother, who like all other Germanic deities was known by a number of names. An unbroken chain of evidence demonstrates that Odin and Frigg are the Germanic analogs of the ancient Indo-European Sky-Father and Earth-Mother.”.

Wonderful, wonderful book. The pacing is probably not for everyone, Reaves essentially is inviting you into his research.

I am sorry if my review is a little bit messy, I am still processing all of these ideas.