Odin's Wife: Mother Earth in Germanic Mythology

by William P. Reaves

The Definitive Study of Odin’s Wife, Frigg. For more than a millennium, the people of Northern Europe venerated an Earth goddess, which evidence attests is the oldest known Germanic deity. Called by a number of names, when the accounts are compared, common traits emerge. During Yule, she rides among her people in a wagon inspecting homes, rewarding the industrious and punishing the lazy. With her husband, she leads the fearsome Wild Hunt, riding through the winter skies, cleansing the air of evil. Most often identified as Odin’s wife, the ancients called her "Mother Earth", “Queen of Heaven”, and the "Mother of the Gods", roles firmly rooted in her Indo-European pedigree. Only now can the full scope of her reign be revealed. Presenting an in-depth study of Mother Earth in Germanic mythology and folklore from prehistoric times to the present day, with an emphasis on the primary sources of our mythic knowledge. Beginning with an overview of agricultural symbolism in religious art during the prehistoric period in Northern Europe, the investigation proceeds to an examination of Nerthus, "that is, Mother Earth", the first Germanic goddess named in the literary record. Following the tribes said to worship her, the author traces her development through the Anglo-Saxon Æcerbót, a charm intended to open fields in Spring addressed to "eorþan modor", as well as the widespread German tales of Frau Holle and other closely related figures, who inspect homes during Yule, dispensing gifts to the deserving, demonstrating her dual roles as Mother Earth and Queen of Heaven. Among her many names are Holle, Holda, Herke, Bercht and Percht, Frau Wode, Frau Gode, Frick and Frekka. Directly related to Odin and the Wild Hunt, this goddess emerges in history as the wife of Odin and the mother of Thor, also known as Hlodyn, Fjörgyn and Jörd in the Icelandic Eddas. Further investigation into old heathen poetic sources reveals her role not only as Baldur’s mourning mother, but the Mother of the Gods as a whole —the Aesir being collectively called Friggjar niðja, her offspring. An Asynje by marriage, she is a Vanir-goddess by birth and a powerful personality in her own right. From this perspective, her and her husband’s identity as the Earth-Mother and Sky-Father of Indo-European comparative mythology becomes evident among the Germanic branch. Rather than reducing multiple goddesses into a single entity or identifying the uniquely Germanic Earth Mother with a Universal Great Goddess, this thorough investigation of the primary and secondary sources details the complexity and narrative depth of the mythology surrounding Odin’s Wife, the oldest continuously attested Germanic goddess.

363 pages, Paperback

Published December 6, 2018

Reviews

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to start this review by saying that I learned a lot about Germanic mythology from this book and I'm keeping it for reference because I liked it so much.

However, I can't write an honest review of this book without giving a full story, and quite frankly, this book really got on my nerves. The byline is "Mother Earth in Germanic Mythology," right? The book claims it's about mother Earth. A female goddess.

The reality is different. There's an entire chapter about Tyr, unrelated to anything else in the book. One of the main arguments for Frigga being Mother Earth is that Odin is Sky-Father, and she's married to him, so what else could she be? When I say "main argument" there are multiple chapters establishing who Odin where Frigga isn't mentioned whatsoever-- because what matters, apparently, is Odin's identity, not Frigga's. At one point there's a 10 page section where it's just on a tangent about how Odin is actually Mercury. By the time I got to the conclusion I was literally thinking "please explain why the hell this book about Frigga *isn't about Frigga*" only to find out the conclusion is a 15 page rant about Snorri Sturluson's Eddas and how they were interpreted through the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. They didn't even restate the thesis of the book. I'm incredibly disappointed.

And I know someone is going to read this and go "this girl is just an angry feminist," and write me off. Listen. This book talks about Frigga and Freyja as separate goddesses and had entire chapters about Thor, Odin, AND Tyr, including *multiple* myths that for don't have to do with Frigga. However, there is not a chapter long explanation about Freyja, though, nor a single mention of Folkvangr, cat-pulled chariots, weaving, or any mention of Freyja's myths. He touched on how Frigga and Freya are similar but different, but I literally could not follow along--I'm not sure I even know who Frigga is but she's supposedly the main figure in the book.

To put it in perspective, immune reading a book about Odin titled "Frigga's Husband: Father Sky in Germanic Religion," where Odin is only identified as a god because he's married to Mother Earth so he must be a sky god, there's an entire chapter about Idunn for no apparent reason, more time is spent establishing Frigga as Earth Mother than they do proving why Odin is a sky-father, 60% of the book just straight up isn't actually about Odin at all, they never mention Valhall because Folkvangr is the only place you can go after death, Odr is actually the god they mean, not Odin, and the conclusion doesn't explain or apologize for being wildly off topic in the slightest.

So, yeah. That's what I got it of the book. And I'm actually trying not to lambast this book. I learned quite a bit about Germanic and Roman religion that I wasn't familiar with before. I was also blown away by just how many sources were cited in this book: it is ridiculously well-researched and I'm impressed by it. It's just also off-topic in a glaring obvious and borderline insulting way. I wish I could wholeheartedly endorse it as this amazing book that reinvents ancient goddess cults in Northern Europe. I don't know that I can recommend it to someone without adding on a "by the way ~50% of the book has nothing to do at all with any goddesses."

[Crystal Ratcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. The writer does well bringing his ideas together, and there are resources for deeper study

[NordicHolyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in a while, you come across a book and think something along the lines of “How isn't this a book every Norse pagan knows and refers to?”. This is one of those books, without any discussion.

I have read literally dozens of books touching upon or dealing with the main subject of this work, but this is a masterpiece in the words true sense. It's not a terribly lengthy one, but contains much more than meets the eye at first.

The title is a bit humble in my opinion, as it covers a lot of other important topics, even though the Mother Goddess/”Mother Earth” is the main one - and which is often effortlessly woven into the other matters it deals with.

I need to admit that I was pretty blown away by realizing there is so much more source material on Norse spirituality and culture, than what is usually elaborated on and referred to. And that is mildly put.

I've been into studying these matters since the early 1990’ies, but never came across quite a few of the sources quoted in this book. It ranges from pretty mind blowing material on the Irminsul and The Wild Hunt, the Perchtenlauf (etc.), pagan resistance towards christian conversion, and loads and loads of customs and traditions that have undeniable pagan origins.

Being a (basically) non-dual Tantrika myself, I am already following a more or less self styled solitary Norse pagan path, primarily revolving around what I usually refer to as “The God and the Goddess”.
And of course, I always knew instinctively that this is pretty much a highly traditional (yet obscured) one, but this book gave me so much more to work with, that it gave me a good number of “Kama Muta sensations”, with teary eyes and shivers along my spine - as if touched by the Goddess herself.

At the end of the book, there's also a great Appendix section, that among other things weave together Balder myths with legends of various Saints (that of course replaced the real deal!), Scandinavian herbalism, the Merseburg charm (in various versions and related texts) and various traditions, festivals and folk culture practices.

I had heard and knew of most of this already, and have had quite a few discussions on these matters with others - but this sums it all up pretty well. Very good and easy pickings for putting into practice, as a part of a living Norse pagan religion.

I first heard of this book in a pod, run by a pretty well known “pagan” influencer - that I have come to realize is something entirely different than what he markets himself as.

He was sent a copy for review, and he pretty much kindly dismissed this book as a curiosity, adding notions such as that folk culture isn't to be trusted or paid much attention; and that there's nothing really suggesting that the main thesis of the book is correct, and so forth.

Frankly, the truth is that he obviously doesn't want this book to be neither known of or read, or that the facts that are presented should gain general credibility or recognition among “his” followers of fanboys and yes-men (emphasizing men in particular here).

I won't elaborate on why, but once you realize his motives, you can see him really having an agenda again and again in much of what he does and says.

Now, about the thesis and the agenda of the author:
It is in a (very) short summary, that Odin's wife Frigga, and the “Earth Goddess” Jörð are basically one and the same - which has pretty far reaching consequences for the whole understanding of Nordic religion. Something that christians (and now some “pagans”) have gone to great lengths to cover up for a number of reasons.

Yes. I can partly see why this so-called “influencer” doesn't want this to be known, as this can be easily utilized and weaponized by a certain contemporary political faction; and while I largely agree with his concerns, I am far more concerned with his intentions and agenda.

The author offers massive and pretty undeniable evidence for his thesis, backed up by so many sources and interdisciplinary methods - that you really need to have your reasons for not accepting them.
I am not really qualified to say if each and every little thing the author says is legit and true, but I didn't really come across anything that was conflicting with my own knowledge and beliefs.

In summary: Along with a few other books, this is really mandatory/compulsory reading for anyone who are serious about not only contemporary reconstructionist Norse paganism, but anyone who means to understand or have a say about Norse culture and religion.