Frēo is not actually a proper name as much as a title, which means “Lady”. She was known in Scandinavia simply as Freyja, who is also called Gefn. In Heathen Germania, a similar title was given to several goddesses, which makes identifying this popular yet mysterious goddess in Old English lore somewhat difficult. Due to her sensual nature, she was one of the most feared and despised by Christianity, hence much of her lore has been lost. Most likely, her proper Anglo-Saxon name is Geofon or Gyfen, a name which could be taken to mean either “gift” or “Ocean”…or both. This may have some connection to a myth wherein the Goddess plows a furough out of Sweden to make the island of Zealand, leaving a new lake behind.
Geofon Frēo is a goddess of plenty, and governs the planting and the plow. Little lore survives of this goddess from ancient times,due to the extreme threat she must have embodied to the new religion, Christianity. Her sexual nature, as well as her power as a chooser of battle slain heroes made her and her cults a target of extreme persecution.
To the followers of Fyrn Sidu, She is revered as goddess of promise and fertility. It may be fair to compare her to “Lady Luck”, as she, like other chthonic Anglo-Saxon goddesses, bestows good fortune on those who deserve better than their current lot in life. She shares many of these traits with Eostre, but it seems relatively recently she came to be known also as a goddess who takes especial interest in the souls of women who die unmarried. She is the feminine counterpart to her brother, Ing Frea, “The Lord Ing”. She rules in matters of wealth and prosperity as well as the female aspects of sexuality. She is also frequently reffered to as working magic on behalf of the Gods. She is said by all who have seen her to be strikingly beautiful, and because of this is she is a treasure coveted by ettinkind. She and her brother are so-called chthonic or “earth” deities, and as such are representitive of the life force and plenty of the Middle Earth. Geofon Freo also keeps half of the warriors selected by Woden’s handmaids in her hall called Gladhome, in an area of Heaven called Folkmeadow. Her symbols are the necklace, Brisingamen, and the boar. Her chariot is said to be pulled by cats, thus they are animals associated with her as well. According to Snorri Sturluson, she married the demi-god Scyld Scefing, whom some associate with the god Hama.
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