The Handmaidens

When talking about Norse mythology we often heard the word "Handmaidens" refering to a female being which helps a particular deity. There are many Norse deities, male and female, who have their own Handmaidens, like Odin's Valkyries, however, there is a huge list of Handmaidens helping and working with Frigga and Freyja and so on. Little is known about the Handmaidens, not even those listed in the lore and the ones people work with through spiritual work.

It is clear that these Handmaidens prefer to work with female spiritual workers, so there is the need to have at hand female objects such as dresses, jewelry, precious stones, rings, bracelets, necklaces and such. Also if you can get any handiwork object, especially if done by yourself, the better. One of the Handmaidens we know about and how she behaves during spiritual work is Fulla. She prefers female, young and unmarried spiritual workers. The spiritual worker will probably be joining an already existing female group of other women working with Fulla.

Another Handmaiden is Eir, unlike Fulla, she is very patient and comprehensible, better to work with when dealing with spiritual problems, psycological problems and so on. She is also very simple, so this is one of the handmaidens which wearing rings and bracelets isn't required, because she is also good to work with for those who do healing spiritual works. For those who work with medicinal herbs, Eir is the one to turn to for that kind of work. She hasn't any preferences in gender, any one can work with her.

There are other Handmaidens, I have mention a lot of them in previous posts, but when it comes to spiritual work, little is known about them. For instance, people also do spiritual work with Var and Hlin, but only few things are known about these two. Or even Vor, which is more turned to spiritual workers who are into divinatory types of work. Some Handmaidens will give you a lot of knowledge, others are better to deliver a message to a specific deity.

Asgard - Home Of The Aesir (5th part) - Fensalir

Fensalir

The post about Asgard and its places continue, this one is exclusively about Fensalir the hall of Frigga.


Like many of the Halls of Asgard, Fensalir also has a golden roof, it is a beautiful hall surrounded by birch trees, because this is the tree of the goddess Frigga. It is delightful to look upon this hall especially during autumn, while the leaves of the birch trees are yellow and the white bark of these really match the colors of the hall. The lawns around the hall are filled with chamomile. Behind the hall lies a vast fens with a real mystical athmosphere.

Fensalir is like a small village but with a huge hall standing there with many small houses around it. After reaching the great white door of the hall, inside of it a cosy and homely feeling fills all that set their feet on the floor of the hall. It is a bright hall with good food and the smell of dried herbs. n the area around Frigga's hall there are other halls, smaller ones, barns where livestock is kept and also workshops.

Frigga is the most powerful goddess of Asgard and she is one of the members of the council of Asgard. Frigga is a peace-maker and a peace-keeper. She is also a great seer and the patron of marriage as well as the patron of all the home works such as crafts, cooking, weaving and so on.
Frigga can be usually found at her home, her hall, always busy along with her helpers.

As I have written before, there are smaller halls around Fensalir which belong to Frigga's handmaidens, however, not hall of Frigga's handmaidens have their hall near Fensalir, some live in different parts of Asgard far from Fensalir, others don't even have a hall because they prefer a smaller house or to live inside Fensalir itself, but most of the time the helpers of Frigga can be found inside Fensalir, most are women and it is impossible to mention all of them.

I can name a few though, I could say I will mention the most important, but all of them have their importance as you might imagine. 
One of Frigga's handmaiden is her own sister Fulla, the goddess of abundance. She is the keeper of Frigga's wealth, all of it and whatever it is.
Fulla lives in Fensalir and lets put it in these terms, she is the second in command when Frigga is busy or not in Fensalir.
There are also human servents in Fensalir.

One of the most important handmaidens of Frigga and highly sought by many is Eir the healer of the Aesir. She keps her own hall around Fensalir, like a hospital.

There is also Gna, Frigga's messenger who lives in Frigga's hall, however she seldom is in it. Gna is always working and running on horseback in the errands that Frigga sends her to. Her horse is named Hofvarpnir whose parents are Gardrofa and Harmskerpir.

There is another handmaiden called Gefjon, a strong farmworker. She is the patron of manuel laborers, either men or women, and she is also the patron of unmarried girls. She has four sons and not a single daughter.

Snotra, another handmaiden, the goddess of virtue and hard working.

Lofn is the protector of lovers and romance and also love. She protects and helps all of those whom relationships are disapproved by someone, or a group of people or even society. She might be one of Frigga's handmaidens but she spends a lot of time in Sessrumnir working with the goddess Freyja.

Sjofn is another, also frequently seen at Sessrumnir, she is the handmaiden of peacemaking between couples. She is the relationship counselor. She has her own cottage and there is a very important rule, before anyone attempts to enter, all weapons must be laid outside. Interesting enough, she also works with the god Forseti.

Var, the goddess who witnesses oaths, is a mostly silent witness, rarely seen even at Fensalir unless someone is doing something that she needs to witness.

Hlin, the handmaiden of mourning, gives comfort and consolation to those who are grieving. She is also a battle Goddess. Hlin is a weaponsmaster, and for those few whom Frigga finds worthy, will teach both Her skill and wisdom in warcraft. (Not the game as you might think)

Syn is the doorkeeper of Fensalir, and another goddess of oath taking. She lives in Fensalir.

Vor is another rarely-seen handmaiden. She is a seer and wisewoman.

Huldra, the hardworking handmaiden of flocks and herds, is often conflated with Holda. However, some say that they are the same, and some say that they are completly different. Huldra is the patron of the Huldre-folk, small earth wights of Midgard.

The Handmaidens

The Handmaidens

As there are many handmaidens, and little is known about working with most of them, only time and trial will give us all the research. However, of the few that we know of who have graced gatherings or consultations with the presence, some preferences are known. In general, they all tend to like sweet wines and fussy German pastry, so make sure that there is plenty of strudel.

Fulla wears green and wants jewelry, and perhaps precious or semiprecious stones to play with, and bless. If you can crochet her a golden snood, so much the better. She requires a female spirit worker, preferably a young woman still able to access the Maiden archetype. Give her an unmarried female attendant with a playful sense of humor. Ideally she should come to a group made solely of women, as she is all about women's mysteries.

Eir is very centered, soft-spoken, and detached; she will generally ground and center the spirit-worker on the way out, and leave them feeling in better shape than a ride from most other Gods. She prefers utilitarian clothing, and no rings on her hands or arms, as she will likely be doing some sort of healing on people. Give her a selection of good-tasting medicinal herbal teas, which she will drink some of and pass on the rest to specific people, blessed. Give her healers of any gender as her attendants; the same goes for her spirit-worker / student. Ideally, anyone who works with Eir should be a vessel that is used to passing on psychic energy healing.

Var likes to wear dark colors and have a staff handy, and likes clear vodka. It is very important not to misspeak around her; watch your words carefully and weight everything you say. Hlin also likes a staff, and she may teach women to use it. Vor wants a dark veil over her head, and some sort of divinatory things about her, which she won't use because she doesn't need them, but she may bless them. Don't call Gna unless you are ready to work with her - of the biological sort, that is - and really the only reason to call her is to beg her to take a message to some Aesir deity.

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