Lammas, Freyja, and Sowelu: a personal vision
Most heathens worship the Goddess Sunna as the embodiment of the Sun. For me, being true to the Vanir, Freyja is my Sun Goddess. Among a myriad of other roles. But there is no denying there is much to associate Freyja with the Sunlight.
Her connection to gold, her control of elemental fire as evidenced in the Lay of Hyndla, her description in the lore as "bright and shining." These are just a few of the many ways Freyja can be seen on one level as a solar deity.
The other side of the coin is the Lord Freyr, one whose connection to harvest is undeniable. One of the most common associations with Freyr is that of the sheaf of wheat or grain, not to mention his connections to the deep earth in mounds and barrows, and his great boar Gullinbursti, or "golden bristles," commonly associated with the solar light.
I do not see them as static representations of the sun and the earth. To me thay are part of a shifting cycle where the lines at times become blurry. There is much solar energy within Freyr just as there is much of the fertile earth in Freyja.
As I said last night, I saw Freyja coming to me, illuminating the night, carrying the rune Sowelu. I felt this was an important lesson for me.
Sowelu, the power of the Sun itself in all its manifestation. While researching the different meanings of this, I cam across something that struck me in one person's interpretation of the rune. They had included a prayer called the Gayatri, a Hindu prayer or mantra to the Veda Mater and Savitr, a solar deity. There are many translations of this prayer but this particular version spoke to me deeply.
You, who are the source of all power,
Whose rays illuminate the whole world,
Illuminate also my heart
So that it can do your work.
The power of sunlight represents both solar power and illumination, i.e. knowledge. I realize that Freyja is trying to show me something about the nature of energy in its universal forms. She is showing me that what I have been doing in some areas is a grasping for control, a useless action. The light of Sowelu, and the energy of life and reality itself permeates us.
So much magical thought now days is that we must grasp this energy, hoard it, and manipulate it directly. Freyja shows me the falsehood in this. True magic comes not from manipulative action, but rather from the ability to let energy flow through oneself, to become a conduit through which energy can flow. Instead of grasping at it, that which I need I might simply draw to myself on that current without pulling. This is what is known in Eastern thought as the art of "doing without doing."
The energy of Sowelu also shows a need for illumination. To accept the parts of myself which are clouded in darkness, and to admit the things which I have long denied. For me that is the realization that as much as I wish it were so, I cannot control my life utterly. I cannot control what happens. I must simply learn to flow with change instead of dreading it. I must let life and energy and love flow through me, rather than grasping for it, hoarding it away for myself.
Anyway, that was a bit of what I thought of on Lammas night, and meditated on.
I hope all have a wonderful and illuminated Loafmass!
Love and Light
Cena
Image by Jody Hewgill "Sun Goddess"
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