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Episode 198: Norse Deities
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Welcome back, Witches! This week we’re continuing our Deities series with a deep dive into two powerful figures from Norse mythology: Freyja and Gullveig. We explore their stories, symbolism, and the roles they play in Norse mythology—from magic and transformation to gold, power, and the origins of the first war among the gods. Along the way, we talk about their connections to seiðr, mystery, and what their legends can teach us about working with powerful feminine forces in magical practice. So get in, Loser, because this week we’re stepping into the world of the Norse gods.
We would be forever thankful if you left our podcast a 5-Star review. If you really loved the show and want more Get in Loser content, check out our Patreon, Supercast, & Buy Me a Coffee links below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GetinWitches, on TikTok @weredoingwitchcraft, or email us at weredoingwitchcraft@gmail.com. You can support our show through our links below.
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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
Resources
- Norse Mythology for Smart People (n.d.). Freya. Norse Mythology for Smart People. https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-vanir-gods-and-goddesses/freya/
- Molly Dowdeswell (2022). The Story, Symbols, and Powers of Freya, the Norse Goddess of Love. Ancient Origins. https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/freya-norse-goddess-0017280
- Emma Groeneveld. (2018). Freyja. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Freyja/
- Francisco Huanaco (2021). Freyja: Goddess Symbols, Correspondences, Myth and Offerings. Spells8. https://spells8.com/lessons/freyja-goddess-worship/
- Fatica, Jacqueline. Who Was Gullveig? Reconstructing One of the Most Mysterious Figures in Norse Mythology. (2025) The Wicked Griffin. https://thewickedgriffin.com/who-was-gullveig/?srsltid=AfmBOoohVVYwuTTuSGrqC7vN8CZRbLIzmw4G7jJSoqeU-0CIxD8XePYq
- McCoy, Daniel. Gullveig. Norse-Mythology. https://norse-mythology.org/gullveig/
- Megas, Vasilis. Gullveig: The Goddess of Magic and Gold. (2023). Vikingr. https://vikingr.org/norse-gods-goddesses/gullveig?srsltid=AfmBOor0MFDJnWYobkYLy2tK210kjcEWCfsHNtOfUUtKSXhzkgS4p69M
- Fern. Gullveig. Fernflower Witchery. https://fernflowerwitchery.wordpress.com/gleaming-grove/gullveig/
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Transcript
Introduction to Witchcraft
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult, but feel lost on where to start? Then welcome to Get In Loser Where Do In Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey.
00:00:12
Speaker
Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we've learned about
Exploring Norse Deities: Freya and Gullveig
00:00:16
Speaker
the craft. So get in witches as we spend some time getting to know more about the deities Freya and Gullveig.
Casual Chat: Fitness and Mobile Gaming
00:00:44
Speaker
I need two i meant to, went to work out yesterday with Mike. He was like, oh yeah, you want to work out? But by the time you asked me, I was like, I am playing my bug game. So no.
00:00:55
Speaker
What said bug game? It's that, do you remember like years ago, all of the podcasts were like, oh yeah, play Best Fiends. I downloaded this game Christmas of 2019 when we were in Germany visiting Mike's parents. And so I've played this game since 2019. And I feel like such a loser saying that. but it is fun. Like it's like a little kind of candy crush-ish in a way where you're like getting different little, i don't know, fruits and stuff like that are the same fruit, like strawberries or flowers, which is not a fruit and things like that. And then i'm explaining this terribly, but each color is aligned with a specific like bug or critter or something. So there's like, like a bee, there's like a little gecko looking There's a crab, shit like that. And then each time you match the colors that correspond with that particular little critter, you can like level them up too. then they defeat these slugs that are like in the game or whatever. it's I'm explaining it terribly, but it is really fun. And I've been playing it since 2019. So i don't even know what level I'm on, but it is like really high up there.
00:02:10
Speaker
So, and I'll go like months without playing it. And this isn't sponsored, you guys. Like Best Fiends has not sponsored this podcast. No, they haven't. Shame on them. But I have just been playing this game since 2019 ever since. Their biggest fan is on this podcast and they don't sponsor Literally, yeah. If you need something to pass the time, just download that game because it is fun.
Community Shoutouts and Platform Updates
00:02:31
Speaker
So we keep forgetting to do this, and so I made sure that I put it in the notes today because we are so far ahead in our recording that these shoutouts are coming so late to you guys.
00:02:46
Speaker
But... We wanted to give a shout out Kate, Megan, and Natalie, who recently subscribed on Patreon, you know, recently being now in February. It was like January and February timeframe that you guys subscribed. When is this episode coming out?
00:03:01
Speaker
In April. So you're listening, we are so sorry. We are just really ahead of the game right now, so which is rare for us. But we are really happy to have you guys here.
00:03:13
Speaker
Make sure to spend some time exploring your dashboard if you haven't already. And feel free to use the chat feature as you know we respond to messages on there as our schedules allow us to. I also use the chat for major updates or occasional check-ins for the podcast. And for our Supercast subscribers, the feature is still in beta testing, but we are using a similar feature called Community on there. So if you have not looked at it yet, be sure to check it out.
00:03:41
Speaker
Community is actually going to be replacing the post section, and it functions more like a threaded conversation rather than individual posts. So we'd love to hear what you guys think about it, and please be sure to share any feedback directly with Supercast about features that you like and that you don't like. because we don't have any control over how the feed appears on that platform. I feel like Patreon is more like functional on our end as creators. So maybe, you know, as a user, your dashboard might look a little bit different and you might like it. But I know from a creator end, I think the functionality of the dashboard on Supercast isn't as great. So if you guys hate it, please tell them because there's only so much of the feedback from us that they listen to so but yeah shout out Kate Megan and Natalie we are so happy that you guys are here and we're sorry that this is super late yes oh and Christina oh did I miss one I did k Christina sorry my bad your name was further down in the sentence it was it was I saw Supercast and I was like oh yeah I wanted to talk about this about Supercast and skipped right over you so my bad
00:04:54
Speaker
Yeah, well, we're not talking about bug games or Patreon and Supercast on this episode, though, are we? We definitely are not. are we talking about
Freya: Goddess of Love and Magic
00:05:03
Speaker
today? We are talking about some Norse deities, um specifically Freya and Gouvegg. And for Freya, so this was a request from Aaron White ah a while ago. i'm so sorry we're just now getting to it. But we did all of the, because you requested, Aaron, a few separate things for the podcast. And we have them sprinkled throughout this season. So just be on the lookout because there's going to be other things based on your requests that are going to be coming up in the near future. so just wise
00:05:38
Speaker
But I'm going to kick things off with Freya. I know a couple of episodes ago, I think you talked about Freya in something we were discussing, like briefly. i want to say it was the Alters episode, wasn't it? I think it might have been. Because I talked about – well, I know I talked about Freya. actually don't know if I talked about Freya. I don't remember. Okay. Well, maybe I just made that up. Okay. We have talked about Freya briefly on the podcast before, like just sprinkled throughout, but this is the first time we've actually done more of a deeper dive on Freya. So Freya, whose name means Lady in Old Norse, is one of the most important beloved goddesses in Norse mythology. She belongs to the Veneer, a group of deities associated with fertility, prosperity, and magic. But after the Aesir-Veneer War, she lived among the Aesir gods in Asgard.
00:06:28
Speaker
Just letting y'all know, This might be a difficult episode for us to get through as far as the translations go of things or just like how the pronunciation of things, because it is difficult. And even like some things that I would look up, it didn't really have a clear pronunciation of how to say it. yeah And then I was looking when I was merging our notes, there are some pronunciations that I have that are different than the ones that you have.
00:06:54
Speaker
And I'm just like, I don't know. Oh, well, who knows what's right? Who knows? We're doing our best. We are. She's also known by four other nicknames as well.
00:07:04
Speaker
Mardal, Horn, Geffen, and Sear. The name Sear is sometimes translated as sow or as to shield or to protect. And Horn most likely comes from the Old Norse word whore, which translates to linen or flax. There's an important link to these nicknames, because in Scandinavian culture, linen was believed to prevent evil and help aid in fertility. And the manufacturing of linen was a woman's role and was largely associated with weddings because linen was used in creating bridal dresses. And Geffen also translates to giver in Old Norse. And I'm sure, okay, let me just preface this I could not find actual like pronunciations for those nicknames. And what I did find didn't seem like those were the pronunciations for those. So I just did my best there. So. As for her familial relationships, her father was Njord, the Vanir god of the sea, wind, and wealth, and we aren't sure exactly who her mother is. It's suggested by some sources that her mother was possibly the fertility goddess Nerthus, who was Mother Earth personified, but we don't have any definitive documentation of this. Her brother was Frere, who is a major fertility and prosperity god in Norse mythology.
Freya's Myths and Cultural Influence
00:08:16
Speaker
She was married to Uv and later Norse sources, whose legends state was often away on long journeys, and actually one of the most resonant personal myths associated with Freya has her searching for him and weeping tears of gold.
00:08:30
Speaker
and As far as children go, she is the mother of two daughters, Nos and Gersemi, both of whose names mean treasure and whose pronunciations I could not find online. So there's another bit up there. A little note here though,
00:08:45
Speaker
As with a lot of ancient mythology, regardless of what pantheon, there is always some debate on who was married to who, who was a child of who, etc., etc. And this also is reflected in Freya's myths as well. There are some sources who state that she is basically the same as Frigg, the wife of Odin, that she was actually married to her brother Frere, and that Uv was just made up.
00:09:08
Speaker
However, the most complete record of Norse mythology was compiled by Snorri Sturluson, who we've mentioned before on the podcast back in episodes 40 and 73. But as a very short recap, he wrote the Prose Edda, which is an old Norse literary source that goes into the most detail of any other sources on Norse deities. And what I've mentioned about her...
00:09:30
Speaker
And her parentage and who she was married to comes specifically from him. So I imagine his is probably the most accurate. So as far as domains and powers, Freya's influence and associations are multifaceted. She is foremost a goddess of love, sexuality, beauty, and fertility, and involved in matters of romantic and physical desire. But although she's a goddess of fertility, she is not that a goddess associated with like childbearing and childrearing.
00:10:00
Speaker
that is something that is commonly linked in a lot of other pantheons, but it is specifically out all of the resources I found said like she is, while she is the goddess of fertility, she is not the goddess associated of like childbirth and childbearing. And I thought that was interesting because it's like, she just,
00:10:17
Speaker
Likes to have fun. She is also connected to gold and legends report that she adores fine things, especially jewelry. Her name also appears in medieval poetry as a metaphor for gold, reflecting her beauty, wealth, and emotional power.
00:10:31
Speaker
Freya is also associated with Siv or Seer. And I think in your... pronunciations. You have it as Seir. Seider. Seider, yeah. Yeah, the There's so many different yeah pronunciations for this, so I'm not sure which is right. so I have no idea. Seir, Seider.
00:10:52
Speaker
Seider, yeah. Yeah, so who knows? But this is a Norse form of magic relating to prophecy and fate. She's also credited as the one who brought this type of magic to the gods and even taught it to Odin. And although she's most likely involved in terms of love, she's also associated with battle lore and she receives half of all warrior slain into her realm, Folkwanger, which is translated to the field of people.
00:11:21
Speaker
With the other half going to Odin and Valhalla. So if you're wondering how they would choose who would go to Odin and who would come to Freya, research suggests it was completely dependent on your social status, which makes me kind of sad because it's like, what? Like, I don't like that. Like, why can't it be based off of like something within you, not just your social status, but...
00:11:41
Speaker
Whatever. As far as symbols and iconic items, the Brisingaman was her most well-known treasure, and it was a necklace. This is a glowing, jewel-laden necklace that she is said to have acquired from dwarves, and it symbolizes her power, beauty, and allure.
00:11:57
Speaker
She also travels by a chariot pulled by two great cats, which I thought was really fucking cool. And she's also accompanied by a boar, sometimes depicted as her companion or her mount, called Hildesfinny. Pigs, just in general, were also deemed sacred to her. And so like you would sometimes see that in different depictions of Freyja.
00:12:19
Speaker
You would see her with pigs, with cats, and then also with like horses as well. And then she wears a cloak of falcon feathers that helps her to transform and travel between worlds. So you would also see her in a feathered cloak. And then runes are also associated with her, especially the Elder Futhark spells like the one for wealth and others that reflect growth, love, and personal power.
00:12:42
Speaker
So looking at legends associated with Freya, One of the most poignant legends is the one I mentioned at the start of this segment on Freya, the search for Ove, her husband, while he is away. Freya is said to have wandered the worlds in search for him, crying tears that become gold and amber. And this image highlights her immortal beauty and her longing for her husband. And I thought it was interesting too, that she didn't just wonder the world, she wonders worlds in search for him. So another legend that I mentioned was that she switched from the Aesir tribe to the Vanir tribe of gods. And this happened because of the Aesir-Vanir war, which broke out due to hostility and fundamental differences between the Aesir and Vanir cultures.
00:13:25
Speaker
Freya and her brother Freyr and their father were sent to the Aesir as a sort of collateral when the two sides came to an agreement. And over time, the three of them were accepted by the Aesir as one of their own. And Freya taught the Aesir gods, especially Odin, the art of the magic of the Siv or the Seer or the Seder or however the hell whatever you to pronounce that. However you say it. also states that Freya was known as Vulva with an O, not a U. which means seeress or someone who is part of the group of female seers or shamans.
00:14:02
Speaker
And a quick note here, the art of the seer or satyr involved using magic to understand fate and then bring change to that fate by attempting to weave new events into life. The swarm of magic could be used for positive reasons to cure illnesses, bring good luck, find something hidden or lost, or to help win battles, but it can also be used to bring about illnesses, bad luck, or even to inflict pain or injury.
00:14:30
Speaker
Another well-known myth involving Freya also involves Loki accusing Freya of sleeping with not one god, but all of the gods and elves. own family. And I'm just like, were you just jealous she didn't sleep with you, Loki? Because what the fuck? He also features in a not-so-well-documented myth involving Freya's necklace. We don't know exactly what happened here, just that he is referred to as a thief of the Breezingamon.
00:14:59
Speaker
In some stories, Loki disguises himself as a fly and is able to enter Freya's bedroom, stinks her, so she moves her hand off the necklace and then takes it. And there is another source that sees Heimdall and Loki fighting for the necklace while in the guise of seals out of all animals. Why that?
00:15:16
Speaker
There is also yet another source that states that Heimdall is the bringer of the necklace. And yet another one that states that in order to get her necklace back, Freya had to sleep with four dwarves, which sounds awful.
00:15:31
Speaker
Freya is often cited in myths as not only an object of lust, but frequently as a price to be paid and bartered, which I think is really infuriating and sad. She is frequently used as a bargaining chip to use as a payment. So for example, there is a myth that the giant th Thrym steals Thor's hammer and will only return it if Freya is given to him. In this myth, Freya obviously refuses to go and lets Thor use her necklace to disguise himself as her. And he almost gives himself away though, because in this myth, like they like Thrym wants to marry Freya. And so they're at like this wedding banquet and Thor is
00:16:10
Speaker
disguised as Freya, absolutely gorging himself at the feast. And that's what kind of gives it away is like, this is not Freya. This is not her ladylike. Yeah. um But apparently Loki was there and he was able to smooth out some talks and get them out of their situation. And then Thor is able to kill Thrym and they all return safely back to Asgard.
00:16:36
Speaker
And another myth involves another giant who offered to build walls around Asgard only if he receives Freya as well as the sun and the moon. So, you know, just ah just a short payment of the sun and the moon and a goddess. Like, that's all I want. I'll totally build this wall. That's all I need. yeah While Freya would have taken up a central role in the Scandinavian region, old Norse resources don't specify any existence of a cult
Invoking Freya: Rituals and Offerings
00:17:02
Speaker
to Freya. However, there are a lot of names within Sweden and Norway that are related to her name specifically, and this shows a clear history of worship, which has continued even through the rise of Christianity within the region.
00:17:14
Speaker
And this has been documented in history, but there is a supporter of Christianity that was reportedly outlawed for blasphemy, for calling Freya a bitch and referring to her as a whore at the all thing parliament. And so I think that really showed, yeah, good. And I think that shows like, even though there isn't any documented historical, like,
00:17:35
Speaker
documented cults or anything associated with Freya. like Clearly, she meant a lot to the Scandinavian people throughout history. And even with the rise of Christianity, it couldn't stop that. So if you're wondering how to work with Freya, as far as correspondences go, her themes and energies are love, sexuality, beauty, fertility, prosperity,
00:17:55
Speaker
magic, death, independence, and transformation. The colors associated with Freya are black, silver, white, red, gold, and green. As far as animals go, this would obviously be cats, falcons, and boars, but also horses.
00:18:09
Speaker
Crystals would be amber and of course gold, rose quartz, citrine, moonstone, and any other gems tied to love, beauty, and vitality. As far as plants and herbs go, these would be things like roses, strawberries, elderflower, and any other flowers and plants associated with beauty and growth.
00:18:27
Speaker
For offerings and ritual practices, traditional magical offerings included things like mead, honey, wine, and sweet drinks, which are all symbols of warmth, abundance, and indulgence. jewelry or any other beautiful objects, especially if they are gold or crystal pieces that mirror her love of adornment and beautiful things, perfumes, incense, candles, or flowers, which all honor her connection to beauty, pleasure, and sensory experiences, and figurines of cats as symbols of her protection or presence. And then for invocations and magical workings, some practitioners use specific invocations to call her presence or ask for her guidance. These often use invoking her names and titles, and she is usually invoked or worked with through magical workings to include things like love or beauty spells, candle magic on Fridays, which is the day historically associated with her, meditation, journaling, or runework centered on one of her themes, planting gardens, or tending to nature in her honor. And then regardless of which path you follow, whether you follow the Norse pantheon or are an eclectic witch, people often feel drawn to her when they're exploring themes related to their own inner confidence and personal sovereignty, creativity and self-expression, healing from loss, a longing, or the balance between self-love and assertion.
00:19:49
Speaker
So i hope you guys are ready for a little more Freya crossover. Yeah. Part two Freya, if you will. Essentially. You know, we have talked about this before. When Sam and i research like this without knowing anything, we somehow pick two things that are very similar. so
Gullveig: Magic, Wealth, and Rebirth
00:20:07
Speaker
Yeah. And we don't do this on purpose. Like literally, i had no clue who Tiffany was researching. i had never heard this name before.
00:20:15
Speaker
Yeah. And I went and found this huge list and I was like, this one. And then you guys are about to see. So I'm covering Gullvegg. So Gullvegg is the goddess of Seder, Seer, what was the other one? Seder.
00:20:30
Speaker
steve th I also heard someone in a video pronounce it Sayer, so I really don't know. One of these, I'm going to go with Seder because that was the one that I came across the most, or witchcraft, as well as the goddess of strength, female autonomy, divine sexuality, wealth, and the corruptive power surrounding wealth.
00:20:50
Speaker
She's often referred to as the maiden prophetess and was also considered a vulva, again with an Oh, not a you. Which means that she was a witch herself as well.
00:21:01
Speaker
She's known for her enchantments and divinations, and she was rejected by the Aesir for her ability to practice witchcraft, which I'm going to get into a bit later. But it's said that Gullvegg was who introduced magic to the Aesir within her mythology.
00:21:16
Speaker
Gulvang's name literally translates to gold strength or gold power, which not only ties her to gold, but to the intoxication or power often interpreted as madness and corruption that wealth can bring. And she's also called Haider, which is a name associated with brightness, fame, and prestige, again linking her to wealth and status. And Haider translates to the glebing one.
00:21:41
Speaker
Just like magic, wealth in Norse society had a double edge. It brought comfort and prestige, but it could also disrupt social balance if it wasn't shared in a way that maintained harmony.
00:21:54
Speaker
There were also a few mentions of her being tied to healing, steel and fire magic, rebirth, which again we're going to talk about that later, and the ability to see into the future and alter it. But much of her story is shrouded in mystery, so there's not much on a lot of this.
00:22:10
Speaker
In Norse mythology, a Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs, Professor John Lindau suggests that Gullveig may have been an embodiment of Freyja herself, noting that because Freyja introduced Seder to the Aesir, Gullveig's mistreatment can be read as symbolic of a deeper tension between magical knowledge and patriarchal control, a tension that may have sparked the First War of the Gods.
00:22:35
Speaker
Some believe that Golvek may actually be Freya under another name, especially since Freya is so closely tied to both gold and magic. And these similarities can be seen in where Freya is said to weep tears of gold, owns the legendary necklace Brisingamin, and is credited in the Inglinga saga with bringing Seder to the Aesir and teaching it to Odin. When you line that up with Golvig's strong association with wealth and powerful magic, it's easy to see why many draw a connection between the two.
00:23:07
Speaker
Professor John Lindau points out that even if Freya and Golvig aren't the same figure, they both represent this disruptive arrival of an outsider into an established people, along with the introduction of powerful sacred tools like Seder and even the mead of poetry. Through that lens, the Golvig myth came But...
00:23:43
Speaker
but there's also a theory from a Swedish researcher named Victor Rydberg that Gullveig could actually be in Graboda, the giantess associated with Loki and the mother of Fenrir, Hel, and Jormungandr.
00:23:59
Speaker
In his view, Gullveig isn't just a wandering sorceress stirring up trouble, but a primordial mother figure who brings forth the very forces that will one day unravel the cosmos. Through that lens,
00:24:12
Speaker
Her persecution by the Aesir feels less like a simple clash between gods and giants and more like a mythic struggle between established order and something older, wilder, and deeply primroidal.
00:24:24
Speaker
Another connection of Goldegg to Loki is in the poem Henlulia, Loki comes across the half-burnt heart of a wicked woman, and he eats it and becomes pregnant. The heart is thought to hold her essence, and from it springs the first ogresses, sometimes translated as the first witches, as wicked women, or even sometimes demons.
00:24:48
Speaker
It presents a striking image in that the burnt heart of a woman gives rise to evil women. The connection to Gullveig, where she is thrice burned and called a joy to evil women, is a bit hard to ignore here, and we're also going to get into that in a little bit. But in this light, the poem hints that by consuming her heart, Loki takes on the role of witch mother, inheriting the generative power of magic.
00:25:17
Speaker
So across the various interpretations, Goldwig really starts to stand out as a figure of disruption, transformation, and survival. Whether she's read as Freya in another form, as the mother of monsters, a liminal prophetess, or a direct threat to divine authority, she plays a foundational role in the mythic landscape.
00:25:36
Speaker
Her repeated burning and rebirth tap into those bigger mythic themes that we see again and again, the cycle of death and renewal and the tension between gods and the giants and the instability of divine order when magic and feminine power enter the room. So her story isn't just about violence, it's about resistance, and it's about the return. So she becomes the spark that ignites the first war of the gods, the carrier of the forbidden knowledge, and a mystery that still pushes scholars, readers, and spiritual leaders to wrestle with like what she really represents.
00:26:08
Speaker
So looking into her mythology, Golvig is mentioned in two stanzas in the Valespa of the Poetic Edda in a recounting of events by Assyris, which reads,
00:26:19
Speaker
now she remembers the war the first in the world when goldeig was studded with spears in the hall of the high one which was odin's hall she was burned thrice burned thrice reborn often many times and yet she lives she was called heider when she came to the house the witch who saw many things she enchanted wands she enchanted and divined what she could in a trance she practiced satder and brought delight to evil women.
00:26:46
Speaker
So as we know, within most ancient societies, magic tends to carry a bit of a double edge. And that was definitely true in Norse culture too. It could be incredibly valuable with practitioners offering guidance, healing, and insight. But at the same time, it made people uneasy because it gave the practitioner a kind of personal power that felt secretive, unpredictable, and sometimes even socially disruptive.
00:27:11
Speaker
The Aesir rejected Gullveig for her ability to practice witchcraft, and in that recounting, we learn that they pierced her with spears, and they burned her alive three times within Odin's Hall, but she continued to be reborn each time.
00:27:25
Speaker
It's believed that Gullveig wasn't even from Asgard at all, but likely came from Vanaheim, which is the Veneer. where Freya's from. so And this already sets up that like outsider tension. The kind of magic she practiced was seen as deeply antisocial and dangerous.
00:27:44
Speaker
So the Aesir responded in the most dramatic way possible and they burned her. And honestly, as extreme as that sounds, it tracks with the sagas where people accused of practicing harmful magic were sometimes executed because magic was so often associated with manipulation and malevolence.
00:28:01
Speaker
So to really just put this into perspective, the Aesir are known to be proud, powerful group of gods ruled by Odin. And Odin is not exactly known for welcoming unexpected guests with like open arms. Gullveig shows up uninvited, starts speaking of gold, and suddenly there's this ripple of greed moving through the halls. Odin sees the shift, sees the disruption, and he's not about to let an outsider, especially one skilled in satyr, stir up chaos in his realm, so he makes the call to have her attacked.
00:28:34
Speaker
When it comes to the Aesir-Venir war, How it begins really depends on who you think Gullveig actually is. So in the mythology that believes Gullveig is her own person within the Veneer, the Veneer attack the Aesir since they attempted to torture and burn one of their own alive. In the mythology that believes Gullveig to be Freyja, it's Freyja's twin, Frere, that rallies the Veneer to declare a war against the Aesir for the treatment of his sister. Either way, the divine battles lasted many years, and in the end, peace was established by exchanging of essentially hostages by both the Aesir and the Vanir.
00:29:11
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The Vanir give Njord, Freyr, and Freyja, as Sam already mentioned, and the Aesir gave Honir and Mimir, who we covered Mimir in episode 73. So if you don't know who he is, go back and
Working with Gullveig: Myths and Symbols
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listen.
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And if working with Gullveig is something that you're interested in as with any deity, first and foremost, you need to learn about Gullveig before you begin to work with her.
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Do some research and learn her mythology, understand what she represents, where she came from, and where your focus should be in your practice should you choose to work with her. For correspondences, the colors are going to be gold, yellow, and black. Animals will be the wolf. snake, hawk, and phoenix.
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Crystals will be fire opal, gold pyrite, rudalized quartz, red tiger's eye, garnet, fire agate. Flowers and plants are going to be red roses, blackberries, red dahlias, and marigold.
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Food and drink are going to be peppers, spicy foods, mead, strong alcohols, heart, and honey. Moon phases would be the new moon and the full moon. Symbols and tools are going to be gold coins, jewelry, raw ores, metal shavings, wands, and items associated with snakes or wolves.
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Imagery would be representation of fire and the phoenix. Magic would be transformation, initiation, survival, releasing, healing, divination, necromancy, traditional Seder practices, developing psychic abilities, and all practices surrounding female empowerment.
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Symbols in nature would be bonfires, wildfires, the dark woods, comets, gold veins, and golden sunsets. For offerings, you could leave mead, beer, wine, water, and objects related to wealth. For active offerings, meditate on her stories, practice divination, study Seder-based techniques, or practice metallurgy.
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Ways to honor Golvig include wearing gold, learning new magics, learning traditional Seder, burning candles, or working with fire, learning the Elder Futhark,
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offerings of feminine rage, or even sharing a beverage with her. And just an ethical consideration that I came across for those considering to work with her, she's tied to the disruption of social order and raw, untamed power, And working with her often brings us face-to-face with the shadow side of magic and of ourselves. And that means reflecting on the parts of ourselves that we might try to usually avoid, our darker impulses and hidden patterns. If you've listened to the podcast for any length of time, You've probably heard Sam and me talk about shadow work, why it matters, and what to keep in mind. Only you know your own mental health. So if this feels like a challenging area for you, remember that we always say approach it with professional support. There are many therapists out there who can guide you safely through a shadow work journey. So prioritize your mental well-being along the way.
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But that is CoolVeg. Yay!
Conclusion and Upcoming Content
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That's a wrap on this episode of Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. We hope you had as much fun as we did. If you loved this episode, we'd be eternally grateful if you left us a five-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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It helps more witches, seekers, and magical misfits find our show. Want even more Get In Loser content? Join our Patreon or Supercast Coven. As a member, you'll get early access to episodes, a monthly newsletter, exclusive printable shadow work and grimoire pages, access to our witchy book club, promo codes for merch, and so much more. Just check the show notes for the link or search Get In Loser We're Doing Witchcraft on Supercast and Patreon.
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You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at GetInWitches or email us at We'reDoingWitchcraft at gmail.com. Join us next week for part three of our altar series, this time looking at Beltane.
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Until then, stay magical, stay curious, and as always, blessed be witches.