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04/08/2024 02:19 PM
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Who are the Vanir?
Who were the Vanir?
(This is a collection of thoughts about the Vanir that I have gathered and are not all my own).
As in so many cultures, ancient stories have survived through the centuries describing people who lived mysteriously close to the elements of the earth and were worshippers of nature. There are many examples of these and usually, they are labeled pagans. But in the case of Norse mythology, the Vanir, who …were gods of love, sex, wealth, and magic….truly adored the earth, skies, wind, and fire.
In the words of our own King of Gymirsgard, Russell Lamara EOA,
“As a warrior of Asgard, he was accustomed to the company of gods and goddesses, but there was something about Vanaheim, the realm of the Vanir, that stirred a different kind of excitement within him. It was a place where nature and magic intertwined seamlessly, and where the gods and goddesses radiated an ethereal beauty that was captivating and irresistible.”
I wanted to write a resource for myself and others, gathering as many ideas about these interesting people. (I would appreciate and welcome any additional beliefs. This piece is heavy on the viewpoint according to Myth. Many comics have borrowed from myth…but the comic writers have also written them in their own ways.
In Norse Mythology, Vanir gods and goddesses weren’t the central deities like the Aesir. However, this does not discount them as gods. The Vanir were a separate pantheon altogether. Their powers were intrinsically linked to the natural world. These gods and goddesses of agriculture, fertility, fair weather, and precious metals may have been few, but their influence over ancient Scandinavian societies is undeniable.
In general, the Vanir were differentiated from the Aesir by their patronage of and association with fertility, maritime life (especially navigation), and material success. Further, they (especially Freyja) were associated with prophecy and the magical arts. Their differences with the Aesir also include sexual behaviors, as they were said to have practiced endogamy and even incest. The Vanir were overall a passionate, lascivious lot.
Vanir worships the Skies, Wind, and their Deities. They are skilled warriors, (even as they much prefer peace,) and shipwrights and navigators who can sail the seas.
They were humble and according to themselves, were not held in high regard. They have been witnessed to great acts of courage. Additionally, they share some of the values and ancient bloodlines with the Fey and some even maintain connections to other planes. In my reading, I have been impressed by their connections to the Sidhe. This would be because of their many similar characteristics. The Vanir, especially women who are called, Volur are gifted in magics. In the Vanirian culture, magic is referred to as Seidr. These women are involved in both ‘seeing’ and affecting the future. They, like elves, have protective and fertility powers and healing powers.
Vanir are gifted in their mental as well as physical strength. They are lovers of nature and have a deep curiosity for the arts. Many light elves live in the Asgardian land of Alfheim but have intermarried with the Vanir in Vanaheim.
These are just a few conclusions I have drawn about the Vanir and will continue to add to this journal.
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04/03/2024 11:39 PM
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Freyja's Powers. Norse Myth and Gods of War Comic
Freyja is powerful in the myth and in the comics.
Freya, being the Norse goddess of love, beauty, fertility, war, death, and sorcery, possesses the following abilities.
Photokinesis: Her power is what lights up the entirety of her realm instead of a sun, implying some influence over light.
Ferrokinesis: As the Goddess of Gold, she most likely has control over it.
From Gods of War
https://godofwar.fandom.com/wiki/Freya#Powers
Freyja, like all Asgardian gods, is nearly immortal and resistant to disease and illness. She has superhuman strength, endurance, and durability and can speak in the languages of the Ten Realms. But unlike other Asgardians, Freyja can wield powerful magic.
Best Freya Vanir Magic skill - Entangled Grip: As a Vanir goddess, Freya has quite a few spells up her sleeves, but none as effective as Entangled Grip. She can summon vines to grab and hold enemies at a place, making it easier for Kratos to attack.
Freyja, like all Asgardian gods, is near immortal and resistant to disease and illness. She has superhuman strength, endurance, durability and can speak in the languages of the Ten Realms. But unlike other Asgardians, Freyja can wield powerful magic. -
- Spell Casting: As the greatest master of the magics of the Vanir, Freya is fully capable of casting a wide variety of seiðr spells without any concentration, requiring simply mere hand gestures, and verbal spells in the ancient Vanir language:
- Defensive Spells: She can mark someone with a rune to mask their location from their pursuers, even one as competent as Baldur. Mimir revealed during one of his tales that Freya concealed Thor with her magic so he can infiltrate Jötunheim with her, and stated that Freya had warded her forest with magic effective enough to make it one of Odin's blind spots. Freya also had the skill to bolster the magical defenses of the Realm Between Realms in order to keep the Hel-Walkers from invading.
- Magical Perceptions: Freya upon the initial encounter with Kratos and his son could sense their divine origin. She could even see that Kratos was a god of a foreign realm. She could also hear the forests state her son Baldur was in Midgard.
- Chlorokinesis: She can manipulate the flora around her for various effects, such as: bending vines to her will, conjuring vines to subdue her opponents, strong enough to constrict even the likes of Kratos, Baldur, and Odin, and creating weapon (such as a bow) out of plants.
- Purification: She can contain and purify Seiðr poisons generated from scorn poles for indefinite amount of time, as long as her medium is still attached to the scorn poles.
- Animal Command: Freya can command creatures, such as the gigantic turtle that lives on her home, to move according to her wishes.
- Legion Summon: Through her magic, Freya can call forth humanoid creatures made of plant matters. They aren't strong on their own, instead overwhelming the opponent with sheer numbers.
- Divination: Freya, through the use of runes, can divine the future. Using this, she was able to predict that Baldur would die a needless death.
- Necromancy: Freya possesses the knowledge and the skill needed to reanimate dead bodies into something closely resembling their former self. They even have the capability to use their skills from when they were alive. There are limits to this magic however, as Mimir himself said that he was still a decomposing head and his existence was unpleasant enough that Freya wouldn't want to resurrect Baldur using this magic. It also seemed to be dependent on the condition of the corpse as Freya commented the state of Mimir's head before casting the magic. She can also reanimate someone without recovering their consciousness, essentially making them her puppet.
- Invulnerability Spell: Her most famous feat of spell-casting, one that made Baldur invulnerable to all threats except for mistletoe, the only item which could break the spell, due to the Vanir magic's fickleness. The invulnerability also gave an unintended side effect which made the target unable to feel anything, from pain to pleasure, which made Baldur consider this spell to be a curse instead of a blessing. Aside from mistletoe, there is still a possibility for one to incapacitate or injure the target, as demonstrated during the fight between Kratos and Baldur, although any wound will be rapidly healed.
- Healing Spells: Freya is a greatly capable and knowledgeable healer, knowing several spells and ingredients needed for different types of sickness or wounds. She even knew how to treat illness something Mimir claimed to be unheard of. Such as one stemming from a God believing himself to be mortal. Many of her healing arts were used in conjunction with herbs and Seiðr spells.
- Binding Spell: With an object of the victim, Freya can cast a binding spell which will strangle the person she chooses, the tighter the object, the stronger the hanging of the victim will be.
- Shapeshifting: Freya was able to shape-shift, as she could transform herself into an eagle searching before a cautious Kratos and Atreus to look for Baldur.
- Telekinesis: Freya once lifted and kept Atreus's bow in the air for her to place her bowstring (which can contain and channel the light of Alfheim) onto it.
- Toxokinesis: Freya can use poison as a weapon, launching poison as projectiles onto the ground.
- Realm Travel: Freya knows the runes to access different realms, such as Alfheim and Helheim. Through an unknown method, she managed to access the realm travel room and interrogate Mimir while Kratos and Atreus were in Jötunheim.
- Energy Projection: Freya can project bolts of magical energy from her hands or in the form of arrows.
- Magical Combat: While initially unable to kill or even harm someone due to Odin’s Curse, she is said to have been able to use Seiðr spells to fight against others. This is a notable feat as she was among the Vanir who used magic to fight against the Aesir to a standstill in the Aesir-Vanir war.
- Power Infusion: Freya can infuse her weapons with magic which gives her sword and arrow attacks more force and can allow her to release shock waves when striking the ground with her sword.
- Valkyrie Wings: With her Valkyrie wings, Freya can fly and maintain combat in the air.
- Immortality: As a Vanir Goddess, Freya is unaging, as despite being millennia old, she still retains the appearance of a woman in her prime. However, she can be killed by other gods and powerful weapons or beings.
- Incarnation of Beauty: Being the Goddess of Beauty, Freya radiates a dazzling natural beauty, Mimir admitted that she was as well-known for her beauty as for her prowess in battle, Odin was so taken with Freya's beauty that was one of the reasons why he agreed to marry her.
- Amokinesis: Being the Goddess of Love (like Aphrodite), Freya also has power over love and the feelings linked to it.
- Superhuman Strength: Freya has displayed tremendous levels of superhuman strength, being capable of pressuring a reluctant, holding-back Kratos. She was able to strike with her sword hard enough to dent the Guardian Shield, give Kratos noticeable effort in breaking free from her holds as well, and easily lift and throw Kratos aside. She was also able to match blows with Gná and use her sword to decapitate her with a single swing to the neck.
- Superhuman Durability: As the former leader of the Valkyries and among the most powerful of the Vanir Gods who had fought the Aesir dozens of times, Freya must have considerable levels of superhuman durability to be able to survive fighting the Aesir, who were renowned for their extreme raw strength. Despite having spent centuries unable to fight anyone due to Odin's curse, Freya's durability did not seem to have dwindled at all from the lack of combat, as she not only withstood a high fall without any damage, but even Baldur attempting to kill her by gripping her neck without restraint for a decent amount of time, choking her to death, caused her only minor discomfort, still able to declare her love for him, and she survived without any actual injury when Kratos freed her. While trying to kill Kratos, Freya was able to withstand being repeatedly forced aside and knocked down without any injuries, although Kratos wasn't trying to kill her at all.
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04/03/2024 11:14 PM
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Freyja's Sword
“Asgard holds a bond on me I can’t sever. It is Odin and my Valkyries.
Its power is hidden in my Mardoll. Freyja’s sword Mardöll has the power of the Bifrost crystal called lotnar.
This is a pair of magic eyes. They can project and summon weapons and allow the eyes-holder to travel to Tyr’s Temple.
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