Frigga, the Allmother

While I've never fully agreed with the idea that I should be more Goddess-centered just by virtue of being biologically female, back when I was a Norse Wiccan I did the Maiden-Mother-Crone thing by the moon phases, and Frigga as the Mother got the Full Moon (Freyja got the New Moon, and Holda got the Waning Moon).  I have of course learned since then that not all Goddesses neatly fit into the role of either Maiden, Mother, or Crone, never mind the Moon stuff, but that being said They seemed to bear with me and I had a unique opportunity to connect with Frigga.

These days I call Angrboda my Mother, and Frigga is about as different from Angrboda as it gets.  Angrboda does not foster just anyone, and generally those outside of Her sphere of influence can be fed to the wolves for all She cares.  (Which isn't very PC, but that's the way it is in the wild.  Deal with it.) Conversely, Frigga in the role of Allmother (as I and many call Her) is mothering in both a personal and impersonal way.  Frigga as personal-mother went out of Her way to protect Baldur, travelling the Nine Worlds and taking oaths from every living thing (but forgetting the mistletoe), and She will give much the same protection to those She patrons or those She is very fond of.  She as impersonal-mother may not go out of Her way to protect others, but still does not want to see anyone get hurt, and at the very least will lend a sympathetic ear or a hug if you have nobody else to turn to.

I do deal with Frigga in something of a personal-mother context, as that was how I first came to Her as a teenager who felt alienated and even abandoned in my own dysfunctional family, and just needed to be loved.  Angrboda has taught me about building a backbone and not being anybody's victim, but Frigga was the one who taught me that we were at all one time children, and She sees the child in each of us, and consequently the vulnerability.  Frigga has never been nagging and fussing with useless advice in my dealings with Her, She is very good at listening.  She will give advice and/or intervene if a situation calls for it, but just as often She encourages me to heed my own inner wisdom about what is best for me and my needs.

I often see Frigga spinning, and have had visionary experiences of Frigga weaving the clouds themselves, and the pictures in the clouds being messages from Frigga.  (In fact it could be said that receiving messages from Frigga by watching the clouds is an Aesic form of divination that is not runic.)  This picture was taken during a particularly intense experience when I had a lot of pain and confusion over long-standing family issues, and saw this in the sky and felt pure acceptance from Frigga -- I am not perfect, but I do not need to be, I just need to be myself.  This cloud looks very much to me like a female form, slightly lit up and ethereal, much like a Goddess should be.

Frigga is not just a loving mother but the ideal hostess in all ways.  While Holda and Frigga both value a clean home, Holda values a clean home as being the sanctuary of the Witch, and Frigga values a clean home as being a place to give others comfort.  Frigga makes sure Her home is clean but also comfortable -- not museum-spotless, but liveable.  Frigga also makes sure the atmosphere of the home is right, and She can definitely be called upon after an accident or incident in your own home to make things *feel* right again.

Frigga's role of wife, mother, and hausfrau  is not degrading in the least, but rather by holding the keys, She holds the power of Her home, and through Her knowledge of homemaking skills, She controls the quality of life of the people who live with Her and visit Her.  She prefers to make things cozy and pleasant, but do not make the mistake of assuming that if you visit Her in Asgard and treat Her badly, that you will not find yourself noticeably uncomfortable in short form.  It may be Odin who visibly wields the power of Asgard, but Frigga is definitely the one behind the scenes.  Odin is powerful in His own right, but Frigga never lets Him forget that much of His power is built on diplomacy, and when being professionally diplomatic, it is better to be known as a good host than a bad one.  Certainly much of the Havamal  discusses this.  Frigga also has ways of keeping Odin in check, note Her favorite's son "winning" via his namesake in Grimnirsmal  (which was essentially a competition between the foster sons of Odin and Frigga), and the legend of how the Langobards got their name.

Frigga is of course well-skilled in magick: She'd have to be to travel the Nine Worlds.  Most of Frigga's magick is through spinning, and it's been the UPG of several people that Frigga spins the threads that the Norns weave into Wyrd.  Frigga is also said to have twelve handmaidens, who thus would function as a coven of thirteen women, each specializing in a different area of things "womenfolk" are said to be naturally good at, and thus can be seen as Goddesses of women's mysteries.  Frigga spins, and so the threads of Wyrd is made, the clouds are formed, and the Aesir are clothed in glorious raiment (often magickally reinforced).  In modern times She would be seen as having domain over knitting, sewing, and embroidery, besides the aforementioned arts of homemaking and hospitality.

Since Frigga seems to be the ultimate feminine Goddess, I have sometimes felt intimidated with honoring Her, being nothing remotely resembling the stereotypical female and with no desire to have children.  That being said, She is always warmly welcoming of me, and has been a great help in teaching me efficient ways of caring for a home that is neat but still liveable.  I also see Frigga as being a potential patron for men who are put in non-traditionally masculine roles, such as stay-at-home fatherhood.  She appreciates this, and will give support rather than unnecessary snark.

While it could be said that many women within the Northern Tradition tend to either have Freyja or Frigga as a patron Goddess, I still think Frigga needs more love.  She deserves love from the macho and misogynistic asshole warrior-wannabes who forgot that they had mothers once upon a time, and She deserves love from radical feminists who would find Her to be irrelevant and possibly degrading.  She deserves love from everyone because She is love, and She does not stop loving you just because you're allied with the wrong Deity or do not fit neatly into some box of strict gender roles or personality.  She does not stop loving you just because you cannot or will not give Her honor.  She loves us all, seeing the children within us all.  She is Allmother, mother of all, and She has well deserved that role.

(C) 2008 Sigrun Freyskona.