Have you ever been the victim of a collaboration of women? Social isolation, victimisation, humiliation, systematic bullying – any of those ring a bell? I know too many women who, later in life, say that they trust men far more than they do women. BUT, I also know that women can create incredibly deep friendships, social change, economic impact, political evolution and environmental healing through the power of collaboration.
Last week I was looking at the faces of an extraordinary group of women who have gathered to support me in my dreams and I was thinking, here they are, my living Disir. Now, you may not know what the Disir are, and that’s not your fault – they are not nearly as well-vaunted as their winged cousins the Valkyrie. I turned to the Northern pantheons out of instinct more than anything else; their characters are so large, so extraordinary. In the company of Loki, Thor and Odin it can be easy to miss some of the subtleties that make them just as compelling, distinctive and vital at this time. One of those subtle features being the presence of so many groups of powerful, collaborative women in their midst: Valkyrie, Nornir, Asyniur and, of course, Disir.
Yet, arguably, the two most famous goddesses in the pantheon: Frigg and Freyja are never described as being close – despite possibly originating from one single deity. Frigg is the Queen of Heaven who also happens to be the leader of the Asyniur. Freyja who is also known as Vanadis, the lady of the Vanir, and is known amongst other things as a warrioress, sorceress, earth goddess and keeper of the mysteries of sex and death. Two stories hint at why these two mightly goddesses aren’t bosom buddies. Firstly Frigg is the consort of Óðinn (Odin) and, in one legend, Freyja’s long lost lover is named as Óðr (Od). Which might lead us to believe that two of the most powerful goddesses in a pantheon known for its wisdom fell out over a man…
Even if we assume Od and Odin are one and the same being (which isn’t by any means verifiable) and we assume that the laws of marriage and fidelity apply to the gods in the same way as we see them today. Even then, it seems highly unlikely that Frigg and Freyja would respond in any other way than to raise their eyebrows in disbelief that we could cast them as so lacking in maturity. Oh, come on, Odin is powerful, cunning and hot but he’s not the be all and end all of everything (sorry Odin).
My take on this is that Frigg and Freyja have been entangled in the nets of Greek and Romen myth – as if they are no more than mirrors of Juno/Venus and Hera/ Aphrodite. Hera the jealous wife and Aphrodite the seductress. Juno the comfortable, maternal matriarch and Venus the tempting, desirable other woman. I just don’t buy it – to be honest I’m not sure Juno, Hera, Venus or Aphrodite are that impressed by the two dimensional, male-centric portrayals of them either. Is it possible, just possible, that some of these stories served the purpose of dividing the power base of the collaborative feminine? It has always struck me when reading the myths of the muses, fates, gorgons or even the lone female figures like Circe and Pandora that their being revolves around the masculine in a way that the Northern goddesses simply do not. Yes Odin consults with Saga and the Nornir every day, but note he consults and he does so by visiting them on their own turf. The divine feminine is autonomous.
The Venus of Willendorf is really, really NOT Venus as she pre-dates the Roman goddess by thousands of years. She was found in Austria but was brought from elsewhere and is one of a number of figurines found of this type. One theory is that they are actually self-representations created by women (LeRoy,1996)
So let’s look at our second tale of Frigg and Freyja. In this Freyja is part of a hostage exchange. She leaves her home of Vanaheim and moves, with her father and brother, to Asgard – the sky-realm ruled by Odin and Frigg. This act ceases a war between the sky and earth gods that has lasted generations. That’s pretty much all way know but, if we paint in the matriarch and the seductress we start to read a conflict between the lines. We might snigger a little behind our hands as Frigg, with narrowed eyes, watches Freyja sway around the table and take her place as an honoured guest beside Odin.
So here we’re going to need to make a diversion but, don’t worry, just like a planet we’ll circle back.
Many years ago now I was discussing the association between Freyja/ Frigg and the planet Venus with a priestess of Freyja. The reason most frequently cited for this association is that Friday is sacred to Venus and Friday is named after Frigg. Now, the difference between naming and ‘being sacred to’ is important here. Just to be annoying I’m going to point out now that the naming of the planet we call Venus is actually relatively recent in human history, thought to be 13th century. Here are some of the names we know it was called by previously:
Greek: Phosphoros (light bringer) and Hesperus (evening star) are both sons of Eos the goddess of the dawn.
Roman: Lucifer (light bringer) and Vesper (evening star or supper-star) are also sons of the dawn. It was, however, considered sacred to Venus
Old English: morgensteorra (morning star) and æfensteorra
What is perhaps more interesting, if we are thinking about myth and energetics more than linguistics is that goddesses including Innana, Isthar, Hathor and Aphrodite were linked to the planet drawing out shared themes of love, war and, of course – power. The name of the planet is really only a very small part of its sphere of influence.
Across ancient cultures, Venus was sometimes known to be a single planet and sometimes considered to be two separate entities. Some linguists have argued that Frigg and Freyja may have come from an original, single root: Frijjō It is only a hypothesis but interesting to note when we remember their consort’s names Odin and Od and shared traits such as weaving. Indeed, the constellation, Orion’s Belt is known as Friggjar rockr, “Frigg’s distaff” in some parts of Scandinavia.
The reason for seeing Venus as two entities is because of the way we see its orbit around the Sun. For approximately 263 days it appears as the morning star before becoming hidden for approximately 50 days due to its proximity to the Sun; it then appears for a further 263 days as the evening star before disappearing for a further 8 days.
Which brings me back to the hostage situation. Let’s assume for one moment that Frigg and Freyja are far more interested in collaboration than they are in fighting over a boy. That they embody the full potential of the divine feminine which sees power in the other not as a threat but as a possibility. I’m moving out of linguistic, historical and mythological speculation here into direct revelation – in this case gifted to my by Frigg who is the patron of my runic astrology work:
As Freyja’s Chariot crossed the great Bifrost bridge a fanfare rang out across the plains of Asgard. From her great throne Frigg directed her own Chariot to complete the first half of its circuit across the realm of the sky. As it marked its path her standard fluttered in the breeze, illuminated by its bright light which slowly merged with the golden glow of the Sun as it approached the throne. It drew up beside her and, in full view of all the Gods, she stepped from her throne and removed her standard. Her trust women, the Asynuir, then stepped forward carrying between them a new standard spun and woven by Frigg herself. Slowly they unfurled it, to reveal the standard of Freyja. A gift of one Queen to another. This standard they placed upon the Chariot so it might complete its course, in honour of Freyja. “Thus is will be,” declared Frigga, that my Chariot will bear my standard for half its cycle and Freyja’s for half. Thus our power will be woven together to form something even greater than we can wield individually.
This, to me, is the true gift of Venus as she rises and falls with the Sun (also feminine in the northern tradition by the way). Frigg’s Chariot extends its influence over all relationships, building the social fabric that binds society, assisting us in overcoming our fears of otherness and building rituals of harmony founded, of course, in love.
- Superior conjunction (directly behind the Sun) – 24th June 2024 emerging as Morning Star
- Inferior conjunction (directly in front of the Sun) – 23rd March 2025 emerging as Evening Star
- Superior conjunction (directly behind the Sun – 6th January 2026 emerging as Morning Star
In case you haven’t noticed it, 263 days is just over 9 lunar months with an additional window of 8 days/ 50 days when the planet cannot be seen due to the glare of the Sun. A human pregnancy is approximately 10 lunar months. Venus also, like the Moon, has phases which cannot be seen with the naked eye but can with a telescope; its full cycle takes 584 days. And just because I can’t help being blown away by the beauty of astronomy here is a video is the orbit of Venus as seen from Earth: Astronomy with MicroStation Orbit of Venus Dance of Planets
As we follow the cycles of Frigg’s Chariot we open up to an expanded iteration of the divine feminine working through each of us. The elongations (when the planet is furthest from the Sun at the middle of the 263 day cycle) we open to initiation by the voice of the divine feminine moving through us at that point. As the Chariot moves back towards the Sun we integrate and move towards its opposite, its complementary power. There is no rejection, no isolation.
Did I say we would circle back? The dance of Frigg’s Chariot isn’t perfect which means the planet never actually repeats the same orbit – and I think that’s a good thing. What have the gods being doing all this time if not evolving themselves? Shedding old skins, old stories to make way for the new ones we need down here on Earth.
The jealous matriarch is tired of the role. The seductress grows bored with her imposed velveteen prison. Frigg and Freyja are back on the scene and they are here not to whisper of ages past where humans walked beneath a sky that spoke and a land that loved. They are here to whisper of ages future. Because collaboration is the only road to healing, peace prosperity and harmony. Collaboration that does not turn away from conflict, that understands it intimately, knows how to embrace its thorns and shape something better.
In the northern tradition each of us (whatever our gender) has a personal Disir circle. This circle is made up of ancestral spirits and guides resonating with the energy of the divine feminine and gathered to support you on your own life path. Your Disir circle can include your own ancestors but also the guides , goddesses (and in my experience sometimes even gods) who gather to support you. They are not goddesses existing in some far away Heaven, they are immanent, walking beside you, witnessing your journey and experiencing life through you. Don’t forget, Frigg and Freyja know exactly how much effort it takes to change the world – which is why they are mistresses of delegation and collaboration. My Disir circle has offered me some of the deepest, most profound healing – especially of the wounds I have received from women and the stories I have internalised about what it means to be a woman.
If you are lucky, and I really hope you are, then your Disir are also here with you, in the flesh. And don’t forget – every Disir was once someone just like you, in fact, it’s highly likely you are already a member of someone else’s Disir circle. If you’re waiting to meet those special people then call on your spiritual Disir circle to aid you in the search – that’s what they are here to do after all. Make an altar to them, sing to them, spin, dance, create, cook, love and live in their honour. AND, when you see Frigg’s Chariot in the sky – don’t forget to listen for the voices of the Disir and open to receive their love.
In the northern tradition each of us (no matter our gender) has a personal Disir circle.
If you want to take that relationship deeper, you can do so by ascertaining which rune the Disir gifted you as your Frigg’s Chariot birth rune. Mine is Othala which makes hearth, legacy, spiritual and ancestral connection the foundation stone of my most loving, collaborative relationships. Your rune acts as an energetic field through which the energy of the planet operates. You can find out more using the links below.
Disir: the nurturers, a circle of protective, guiding ‘feminine’ spirits gathered around each of us and often tended to and ‘seen’ by the female members of a household
Nornir: the mistresses of fate. In case you didn’t know the 3 Nornir have a whole bunch of ‘lesser’ nornir working with them
Valkyrie: the makers of heroes, often seen as winged or riding on winged horses and said to carry the spirits of those who died in battle to the halls of either Odin or Freyja
Asynuir: the hand-maidens of Frigg
McDermott, LeRoy (1996). “Self-Representation in Upper Paleolithic Female Figurines”. Current Anthropology. 37 (2): 227–275
https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/planets/venus/
https://www.cabinet.ox.ac.uk/phases-venus-1610-23
https://skymarvels.com/infopages/vids/Venus%20-%20Current%20001.htm
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In case you are interested Juno had an asteroid named after her in 1804 and Hera had an asteroid belt named after her in 1868. I haven’t done the same level of enquiry with them into the role they would want to take in our night sky today but I bet you they would have something to say about that!
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