Norse Goddess Magic (21 page)

Ritual

Var is one of those deities who should not be approached glibly
or without good reason. The most obvious rituals to her would be those seeking
her as a witness to oaths, particularly marriage vows. However, you'd better be
prepared to make good on any promises you make to her, so she should be called
on sparingly and with caution. Another type of ritual to Var would be one asking
for enlightenment on the mystical meaning of oaths in an attempt to develop
oneself spiritually. For this sort of rite, Var could be petitioned more
readily, as she is undoubtedly only too happy to give anyone a better
understanding of her holy trust.

An altar to Var would probably be stark, using either dark or muted colors,
or else white or light gray. Any sacred object on which oaths could suitably be
sworn, whether or not you intend to swear on them at this particular time, could
be placed on the altar—among them, sacred stones, rings and other jewelry,
knives, swords, or other weapons. When swearing serious oaths, it is always best
to do so in the presence of some trusted witnesses—people you know well, who
hear your words and join with you in acknowledging your intentions. In a wedding
rite, Var would probably be only one of several gods and goddesses addressed,
but the actual vows should be made to her and sealed with gifts and a sacred
toast.

In performing a ritual to Var for personal growth and wisdom, you can set up
the altar, make the invocation, and perhaps meditate on the nature of promises,
and then think of situations when you kept or did not keep your word and the
consequences you encountered as a result. Realize that all your deeds and vows,
broken and kept, have created your present world and condition but also that
your deeds now can shape your future. Understand that you have the power, at
each given moment, to create the future you want, step by step and act by act.
Var is a stern taskmaster, but only because she knows the vital importance of
the vows she guards. She wants those who call on her to choose to be victorious
and strong and glad.

Call to Var

Lady of Vows,     mighty Var—
    Witness of weddings,     loather of lies,
    Hearer of oaths,     teacher of truth.

Lady of the purple cloak,
Lady of rings,
Keeper of honor,
Harsh lady—

Be with us, great hearer of vows—
You are the witness of our deeds,
    the warder of our words.
You watch our makings and our unmakings.
We ride on the rush of our words toward our fate,
    the future where you wait,
    bright or clouded,
The soul of our truth.

Hail, Var! Hear us, and come!

17

Fulla

The Sister

Lore

Fulla (ON Fulla; also called Folla, Volla, Fylla) appears as the
goddess closest to Frigg and, like Eir and Gefjon, seems to have a more
well-defined existence than some of the others. Her name means “full” and is
usually taken to refer to fullness or abundance. The word
full
was also
the term used for the
blót,
or ritual, cup. Fulla is listed by Snorri as
the fifth Aesir goddess and appears in several myths as one of the goddesses
seated as judges in the high seats in the great hall at Asgard.

Like many of the other Asynjur, Fulla is described as one of Frigg's
attendants; however, she appears to be the most constant, most favored, and most
intimate attendant, a sort of maid of honor to the queen. In the “Second
Merseburg Charm,” Volla (Fulla) is called the sister of Frija (Frigg). Grimm
speculates that Fulla might have been associated with the full moon, both
because her name is similar to the Gothic word
fulliþs
and the Lithuanian
Pilnatis and because Frigg is often connected with the constellation Orion. In
addition, Frija and Volla are followed in the charm by another pair of
goddesses, Sunna (the sun) and her sister Sindgund.
¹
However, this
reasoning seems a little strained, particularly since the moon is a male deity
in Germanic mythology.

Fulla is described as a beautiful young girl wearing her long golden hair
loose, restrained only by a golden band, circlet, or snood. Indeed, one of the
skaldic paraphrases for gold was “snood of Fulla” (Skáldskaparmál, ch. 32). The
unbound hair indicates Fulla's status as a maiden; unmarried girls wore their
hair loose in Old Norse society. The golden circlet is a sign of nobility. Like
Thor's wife, Sif, Fulla and her flowing hair can be seen as symbolic of the
ripening grain, the golden band representing the binding of the harvested sheaf.
In this guise Fulla represents the fullness and bounty of the earth. Grimm
compares her to the German female fertility figure Dame Habonde, or Abundia.
²
De Vries sees her as merely a personification of the abstract idea of dispensing
prosperity, based on Roman models,
³
although Scandinavia was far less
influenced by classical ideas than continental Europe and Britain. It is more
likely that she was originally a fertility or agricultural deity.

Frigg's Confidante

Fulla's main role seems to be as Frigg's chief companion,
confidante, and advisor. Fulla has custody of the queen of the Aesir's ashen
casket, presumably containing her jewels and other treasures. Mythologically,
however, this casket could symbolize the container of the divine mother's
blessings, prosperity, and fertility, and Fulla would thus be the one in charge
of preserving this power until Frigg is ready to dispense it.

Fulla is also said to be in charge of Frigg's shoes. Although this sounds
rather mundane to us now, in earlier times shoes were rarer and more expensive,
as much a symbol of wealth and prestige as jewelry or fine cloth. The foot has
connotations of fertility. Early rock carvings picture the imprints of feet
alongside fertility symbols. The foot has traditionally had important symbolic
meaning in Germanic and Celtic lore; for example, the word
foot
was often
used symbolically to indicate the penis and hence fertility and prosperity.
Footwear might also signify travel and journeys, and indeed Fulla is often seen
as Frigg's messenger in a number of myths.

As described
here
, Frigg and Odin, disguised as an old peasant
couple, raise two boys who have been shipwrecked on an island. Odin taunts Frigg
that his favorite, Geirrod, is a king while hers is a nobody. Frigg accuses
Geirrod of being inhospitable and miserly, some of the most terrible charges one
could make in Norse society. She then sends Fulla to Midgard to trick Geirrod.
Fulla tells the king to beware of an evil magician in a blue cloak who can be
recognized by the fact that dogs will not bark at him. This description, of
course, fits Odin, who is so badly treated when he arrives at Geirrod's court
that he revokes his favor to the king. In Saxo's
Gesta Danorum
(book 1,
ch. 7)—a much later text that is sometimes confused with the myth of Freyja and
the Brisingamen jewel—Fulla enlists the aid of a dwarf to help Frigg prevent
Odin from finding out that his queen had stolen a piece of gold from one of his
statues to make herself a necklace. In both of these myths we see Fulla as
Frigg's close friend and helper, sharing with the queen her traits of
cleverness, strategic acumen, and cunning. As Frigg's helper, Fulla is similar
to Loki in his role as Odin's helper and partner in deceit.

Fulla is a goddess of rank and stature. This is implicit in her inclusion
with other prominent Asynjur on important occasions. For example, she is named
among the lawgivers of the Aesir in the Skáldskaparmál (ch. 1) in the
Prose
Edda
. In the “Second Merseburg Charm” she is paired with her sister Frija,
the wife of the Aesir's leader, and is among those called on to try to heal
Balder's foal. Because of the similarity of her name to the god Phol, an obscure
god who is also mentioned in the charm, some have suggested that Volla, or
Fulla, might have been one half of a god and goddess pair, similar to Frey and
Freyja.
⁴
Phol is often regarded as another name for Balder. There is
also a Prussian god of plenty with a similar name, Pilnitus.
⁵

Fulla appears again in a Balder myth in the Skírnismál of the
Elder Edda
.
In this story Balder's wife, Nanna, sends back gifts from the Underworld to
Frigg and Fulla—Fulla receives a golden finger ring. At the same time Balder
sends back Odin's magic ring, Draupnir. Just as Odin's ring, which reproduced
itself every nine nights, is often seen as representing wealth and prosperity,
so might Fulla's ring be a symbol of the abundance and riches she is said to
dispense. Coming as it does from the world of the dead, it might also be a
symbol of the link between life and death. Grimm speculates on its having
magical powers, perhaps invisibility. He goes on to point out that Aventiure,
Frau Ehre's messenger, has such a ring. Earlier I compared Aventiure to Saga
because of their association with poets and history, but Aventiure is also
similar to Fulla in that each functions as her queen's messenger.

Fulla's inclusion in these stories hints at some sort of possible relation
between this goddess and Balder, although what that might be is not clear. As
Frigg's closest friend, Fulla would certainly share Frigg's love and concern for
her son, and the fact that she is Frigg's sister would make her Balder's
maternal aunt. Fulla's connection with the harvest might also link her with a
god who by his own death symbolizes cyclic change. At any rate, Fulla was
obviously considered to be closely connected to Frigg and important enough to be
petitioned, along with her, for help and to be equally honored with a gift.

Trance

She is small, roundish, buxom, solid. Her hair is blond, her
cheeks red. Dressed in rose colors, she is shining, fresh smelling, energetic,
bustling. I see her at night, lying in bed with her sister Frigg, both of them
naked together, laughing and exchanging secrets.

I fly or sail to Valhalla. As I go to Frigg's hall, Fulla
meets me in the garden between Fensalir and Valhalla. “We don't need to bother
with all that formality this time,” she tells me. She is very chatty and perky,
wearing a medieval-style, rose-colored gown. She braids my hair back away from
my face and gives me one of her gold chains to make a circlet for my brow like
hers. She makes me look pretty as we sit at night in the garden. We walk along
with our arms around each other's waists. We stop in Fensalir to say hello, and
we find Frigg and the other goddesses all busy doing various tasks. Fulla takes
me up to Frigg's bedroom and shows me Frigg's things. The famous footgear is all
magical—“Why do you think they have someone guarding a lot of old shoes?” she
asks. “One pair makes you swift, one gives endurance, one makes you invisible,
one lets you dance all night, one leads you to a lover!” Fulla giggles
uproariously at the last pair. She then shows me Frigg's jewels. At first she
starts to show me the notorious piece said to be made from a jewel she
and Frigg purloined from one of Odin's statues, but she changes her mind at the
last minute. Each piece has a story, and Fulla knows them all.

Just then Frigg comes in looking worried. She says she is
a bit upset because Odin is on one of his journeys and has been gone longer than
expected. Fulla decides we should all have a fancy dinner to cheer us up. She
dresses Frigg in her finest clothes and lays out a gorgeous table for
dinner—“Just for us,” as she puts it. Just then Odin comes in—a tall, handsome
man in his early to mid-forties, dusty and worn-looking from travel, with very
acute, sharp blue eyes (or eye, in his case). He sort of smiles at the sight of
our party and asks who's joining us for dinner. “Maybe it's a secret lover,”
Fulla teases him. Frigg interrupts to say that she and Fulla were just about to
have dinner together. “Well,” says Odin, “I won't disturb you then,” and he
makes as if to leave. Fulla hops up, saying no, she's changed her mind and isn't
eating, so she supposes he might as well stay. We leave Odin and Frigg together,
smiling at each other.

Fulla then decides we should climb out the window and down
the trellis and leave the house in secret to “go on an adventure.” We travel by
boat down a river, Fulla rowing. As we float by the shore, we see various pairs
of women of many different ages who are all fast friends—first two little girls
playing together on a dock. Next we see two young girls in their early teens
walking in the woods. “How sad,” says Fulla. “They will soon quarrel over a boy,
and he is not worth the loss of their friendship.” I see myself and a close
friend of mine, representing women in young adulthood. I am surprised to see
myself. Fulla says, “Why? You're a part of this too. You are and have friends.”

Fulla talks of the importance of women having women for
friends—even the ability to later be a lover stems from the ability to be a
“best friend,” she tells me. “Women's friendship—this is the secret kept in my
ashen casket.” I next see my mother and her sisters on the shore, having lunch.
I complain about the fact that I have no sisters. “Make your own sisters, being
sisterless!” Fulla tells me.

We return to Fensalir and go in through the front door
this time, finding all the other goddesses sitting together in the main hall.
Fulla laughingly admits to sneaking out earlier. I then leave. As I go, I turn
to see Fulla and Snotra standing arm in arm in the doorway, waving good-bye.

In my trancework Fulla exhibited not only the traits of
loyalty, support, generosity, friendship, and sisterhood, which might have been
expected from reading the myths, but also a great deal of vitality, fun, and,
yes, mischief. She seems to be the archetypal best girlfriend and particularly
devoted to women and their friendships. Although she appeared outwardly girlish,
frivolous, and fun-loving, there was an undercurrent of power, an ability to
manifest and manage things, and a hidden side of secrets that was only revealed
in brief glimpses.

Though neither distant nor unfriendly to men, Fulla seems to be especially
concerned with women and their relationships with each other, as sisters and
friends; this complements Frigg's role as wife and mother. Fulla is the best
friend, always ready to help, trade secrets, discuss love affairs and life
goals, and share a good time. Unlike some goddesses, who remained relatively
distant until I had worked with them for some time, Fulla was immediately
friendly and intimate; moreover, she began reappearing spontaneously in other
tranceworkings afterward. She evoked in me a feeling for old childhood friends
so strong that I felt moved to call some of them after my first ritual to her.
Fulla is the part of every woman that remains young and an individual, despite
the many other roles and responsibilities created by family and work obligations
that overlay the original personality.