The similarity of Cybele’s and Freyja’s rides suggests some sort of influence, however it happened. As well as her chariot, Freya was also known for riding a boar called Hildisvini. The story tells of how Freya once found a group of dwarves making the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. Athena PN (below) suggests lynxs, which would be interesting.

Bears may be larger and more fitting animals for a Nordic deity, but the cat seemed more appropriate for a goddess who combined the Venusian and the witchy. This meant that whenever she put it on she would be able to fly just like a falcon! She had a special cloak that was made from falcon feathers. She was the Great Mother goddess of the peoples of Phrygia, now western Turkey, The lions were her cult animal, either pulling her chariot, or crouching beside her throne. If you think you might be interested in meeting me, please SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT TO VISIT BY CLICKING HERE. It’s an interesting idea, and yes, they do seem appropriate. The source seems to be a book called Tiivistelma, which mixes the story of how Thor fished up the Midgard Serpent with the Russian story of the Cat Bayun, who lies in wait for travellers and sings them to sleep before robbing them.

Skaldskaparmal says that Freyja could be called “possessor of tom-cats”, but the word for “tom-cat”, fress, could also mean a bear. One of the well-known symbols of Freya in Viking mythology was her golden chariot that was pulled by two blue cats! Cybele probably descends from an earlier goddess, the Hittite and Hurrian goddess Kubaba. The Cat Bayun appears in Russian folktales, but not in Norse myths, and it seems that the author, John Halsted, made up this tale. By calling her daughter of Niord, sister of Freyr, wife of Od, mother of Hnoss, possessor of the fallen slain and of Sessrumir and tom-cats… (Faulkes: 86). More on Cat Bayun, Thanks for summarizing this exciting riddle! This led to a dispute over whether Freyja travelled with bears or cats, but it resolved itself in favour of the cats. This is a full-screen carousel of images and or videos of this pet. “Seidr” is a type of sorcery that was practiced in Scandinavia during the Iron Age.

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However, some people believe that the god Odr and chief god Odin were the same person. The word for tom-cat, fress, caused a bit of controversy in the 19th century, as you will see below. Freyja’s choice was a little more unusual: she had two cats to pull her chariot. Freya and her siblings were born in April 2020 and named after characters in the King Arthur legend. The third and final breed that comes in only blue, the Russian Blue cat was beloved by czars and czarinas alike. - DogVills, Do Dogs Sense Death in a Loved One?

Freya really wanted the necklace and ended up using her beauty and charms to get her hands on it! Let’s watch a quick video about Freya, before we move on to our other interesting facts about her. So we can consider it as settled that Freyja had cats to draw her chariot, however hard that may be to imagine. To be entirely accurate, Freyja’s cats would have been the ancestors of this breed, black and white cats brought by Viking seafarers from Britain to Norway, longhairs brought back by Crusaders and traders in the Middle East, and local cats on farms. It is because of this that pigs were said to be sacred to Freya. The boar was said to have golden bristles and she cherished it as her faithful companion. However, these grey and white colour patterns are not from a single cat breed. Folkvangr was a beautiful meadow that Freya ruled over.

The first comes from the writer Diana Paxson, whose ingenious solution appeared in her fantasy novel Brisingamen: Freyja is associated… with the cat (the lore does not give us the names of the cats who draw her cart– in Brisingamen I assigned them the names “Tregul” (Tree-gold, or Amber) and “Bygul” (Bee-gold, or Honey)… (Paxson), Some people like to give them the names of her daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi (both names meaning “treasure”). This may or may not be related to Freyja, but it’s tempting to imagine the figure of the Great Goddess slowly moving north, taking her two giant cats with her. | For All Your Dog Needs. Freya and her siblings were born in April 2020 and named after characters in the King Arthur legend. (Although a chariot drawn by two goats (Thor) or a boar (Freyr) also seems unlikely.) In fact, one symbol of Freya is the “Brisingamen”, which means “glowing necklace”. - DogVills, Pingback: Do Dogs Sense Death in a Loved One? Cats, lions, lynxes or bears? Freya is a famous Viking goddess known for her beauty and femininity. These powerful predators with their courageous nature & fierce aspect seem natural contenders for the cats who drew the chariot of the Goddess of the fallen slain. She was also known by several nicknames including Hörn, Syr, Gefn and Mardöll. This meant that Freya had the power to control the fortune and desires of others, and she taught the god Odin how to predict the future just like her! Many of the Viking gods were known for practicing magic and sorcery. Viking gods were often associated with animals. However, Freya is said to have mastered a specific type of sorcery called “seidr”. This may be a little hard to imagine, but Snorri Sturluson mentions it twice in the Gylfaginning section of the Prose Edda, once when he is describing the goddess, and later when he tells how the deities came to Baldr’s funeral: Sessrumir, her hall, is large and beautiful. Forest cats are large, and powerfully built, for cats.