Freyja: Red-haired Norse Goddess of Beauty, Love, Magic and Healing

FreyaRedheadFreyja: Goddess of Magic, Love and Healing

Of all the Norse gods and goddesses, Freyja alone has enjoyed unbroken worship throughout history. Goddess of magic, love, fertility and healing, her name means “the lady”, as if to emphasize she is the epitome of woman. Patron of wise women, seeresses, rune-mistresses and healers, she is Mistress of Seidhr, the brewing of potions and herbal medicines. As goddess of beauty, she encourages self-awareness, appreciation for and acceptance of one’s own personal beauty. She was also able give new life to the slain. Called the Shining One, legend recounts how she was cast into fire three times, each time emerging unharmed, thus earning the name. Even the rune “F” for Freyja represents good health.

Women dedicated to Freyja travelled around healing people, and this inspired us create our shop Freyja’s Magic. In the spirit of Freyja, it is our mission to bring healing to others, and cultivate true beauty through our handmade body care, crafted in harmony with nature. (Original post on vikinghof)

Shop our store  freyjasmagic.com!

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Sponsored by Freyja’s Magic!

Hagar the Horrible

hagar the horribleOnce again a redhead breaks the records!

“Hägar the Horrible broke all records when it was launched on Feb. 4, 1973, becoming the fastest growing comic strip ever. The strip was created by Hi and Lois artist Dik Browne in his basement art studio/laundry room in Connecticut. The strip’s title was the family nickname for Dik Browne, and the characters were loosely based on Dik’s family and friends. The little red-bearded Viking has appeared in advertisements for IBM, Mug Root Beer, Skol Ale and in the opening titles for the TV show “Caroline in the City,” which starred actress Lea Thompson as a successful female cartoonist. Hagar has appeared on his own CBS special and is featured in Universal’s Islands of Adventure: Toon Lagoon theme park. The strip now appears in about 1,900 newspapers around the world. It appears in 56 countries and is translated into 12 languages and is now drawn by Dik’s son, Chris Browne.” (from the website hagarthehorrible.com)

http://hagarthehorrible.com/about-comic/

Blackbeard: Feisty Redhead Fights Pirates

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All you fans of Pirates of the Caribbean, there be treasure here! I just discovered a great new movie, “Blackbeard” staring Angus Macfayden. Incidentally, it also stars a redhead, Jessica Chastain, who plays a feisty, independent young lady who practices medicine and wields a pistol in days when such behavior by a lady was unacceptable. The story is well-written, historically accurate, with great acting and a rousing soundtrack. With all the elements of a classic pirate yarn, including cannon fights, kidnapping, cutlass battles, marooning, deserted islands, garrulous parrots, buried treasure, drunken brawls, encrypted maps, betrayal and true love, it is well worth a watch. Check it out!

Kidnapped by a Red-Haired Viking!

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Having been kidnapped by a red-haired Viking berserker and Tui-na master with an uncanny resemblance to Sammy Hagar, I now find myself in the wilds of western Montana, in the middle of the craziest adventure of my life.

Meeting Jesse for the first time was an extremely unsettling experience. I was riding the city bus one Sunday afternoon in 2012, happily absorbed in a book, when a man got on. I may never have noticed him, except that my mother immediately called out a greeting and proceeded to introduce us. She had chanced to meet him once before at a bus stop, and had later waxed enthusiastic about his story of healing by a Chinese doctor and subsequent apprenticeship. My response had been a roll of the eyes, as she had a history of meeting “fascinating” people on the bus, notably overly friendly men a little too keen on her smile.

Smiling brightly now she said, “Rose, meet Jesse.”

I looked up from my book, prepared with the usual polite smile I gave all strangers in whom I had no interest, and was startled to silence. Jesse was looking at me unsmiling with a strange expression I could not read. Tall and fierce with long, curling red hair, he was so unlike what I expected I didn’t know what to think. My first impression was that he did not like me, but I found I couldn’t really fathom him or his reaction to me. We exchanged no words, and after a few moments he sat down and began a conversation with my mother. It was not until years later that I understood what had happened.

Being observant by nature, and a keen judge of others, I was used to seeing others without being seen. Not even my closest friends or family had ever penetrated the veil of mystery and secrecy I lived behind. Twenty years in the making, the wall I had build between myself and the world was strong and impenetrable – or so I had thought. Now with no warning, I had looked up at a complete stranger and, to my utter astonishment, found him looking at me.

Terrified and somewhat indignant at being thus discovered, I instantly threw up additional defenses, which Jesse later told me he felt as a tremendous output of energy so intense it almost knocked him over. Hence the strange look on his face I had at first interpreted as hostility. I must have been 24 at the time. He thought I was 16.

I went back to my book, dismissing the incident with the assumption I would never see the man again. For a long while it seemed I was right. Then, two years later in the summer of 2014, by the strangest chance – or fate – our paths crossed again. But that is another story…

 

Read more at Mountain Rose Tales.

The Red-Haired Angel of Italy

 

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Naples, Italy

My great-grandfather Angelo was pure blooded Italian, born and raised in the Old Country. He was also a redhead, with blue eyes and a temper to match. His wealthy family owned a pizzeria in Naples, and eventually open Prima Pizza in Cornwall, NY, now in its third generation and still in the family.

Growing up in Italy, Angelo fell in love with a poor farm girl, Rose. The only complication was she was set to become a nun, and already living in a convent. Being a redhead, however, Angelo was not deterred. He wooed her secretly over the convent garden wall, and when he was sent away to war, he wrote her love letters in his own blood. They were eventually married, moved to America and had ten children plus two adopted girls.

Luckily for him, he had chosen a saint as his bride. My great-grandmother Rose was as calm, humble and obedient as he was fiery, proud and rash. She must have realized her special calling in being married to a red-head. She used to say, in broken Italian, that it was her mission in life to “fight the evil through him!” Named after her, and married to a redhead myself, it seems she has passed that mission on to me.

Never A Saint With Red Hair

A Russian proverb states, “There was never a saint with red hair”, meaning all red-heads are prone to evil tempers and dissolute ways. In fact, one of the most famous Irish saints, Brigid, was a red-head.

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It all began with Brid, the goddess of fire, patroness of hearth and home, smiths and forges, healers and herbs, poets and language. Honored in ancient Ireland, it was claimed that at birth, a column of fire reached from her red curls up into heaven. Many girls were named Brid, or Brigid, in her honor.

One such girl was Saint Brigid. Born in 435 AD to a chieftain and a slave girl, and raised by Druids, she was beautiful and iron-willed. She refused to be married off, instead choosing to follow the revolutionary teachings of St Patrick and embracing Christianity.

She worked many miracles, from controlling the weather to improving the yield of crops and livestock, and even outwitted Irish Chieftains. She travelled far and wide, eventually building an Abbey in Kildare where she welcomed travelers with legendary hospitality. She was fond of ale, and said to be the best brewer in all of Ireland! She also kept a magic red-eared cow that gave the most and best milk in the land.

Brigid’s feast day is still celebrated on February 1st, the old feast of the goddess Brid. On that day it is said Brigid travels through Ireland with her magic cow, blessing those who remember and honor their sacred roots.

Red Dulse for Redheads

dulseFor more than a thousand years, it has been feeding Northern Ireland. The reddish purple seaweed known as dulse is a secret staple of the Irish diet, and has even been called the epitome of Irish food! Mineral and protein rich, and a traditional peasant food, dulse kept the Irish alive during the potato famine. In the 7th and 8th c, Irish law stated that any traveler should be offered a serving of dulse.

Growing like long reddish hair clinging to the sea rocks, dulse is pulled up by hand during low tide, stored in caves, and sun-dried on the cliffs. Considered by many to be the most nutritional food in the world, “the holy grail of seafood”, it is loaded with iron, magnesium and potassium, and greatly helps weight loss. Sweet when fresh, salty and smoky when toasted, dulse can be added to almost any dish, and even incorporated into homemade butter. Seaweed teas and baths were used to cure everything from colds to skin rashes.

Keep your red hair healthy and vibrant – and your sensitive skin smooth and clear – by eating dulse, a traditional superfood for redheads!

 

http://www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20180522-the-renaissance-of-northern-irelands-forgotten-seafood

The Hair Shaman

“All vital life force – ‘chi’ – is interwoven with our hair.”

~Antonio Morocco, The Hair Shaman

We know instinctually that there is something magical about hair. It makes our face, reflects our health, and reveals our personality. Anthony Morocco, The Hair Shaman, has spent his life “fully discovering and maximizing the vital life force of human hair”.

At the age of four he had the vision that started him on his quest. He realized “all vital life force is interwoven with our hair, rather than the body.” After working as a barber for the likes of Audrey Hepburn, he set out on a worldwide journey to study hair shamanism, including cutting based on lunar cycles, Ayurveda, herbal elixirs, & Qi Gong. His life’s mission is to “restore chi to the world.”

Check out his story at The Hair Shaman and don’t miss the fairy tales, which prove that the magic of hair was once well known.

Redheads, your hair is magical!

“Woven Moonlight”: Linen ~ The Perfect Fabric for Red-heads!

Sensitive skin is a major factor for red-heads. Sunburn, rashes, and allergic reactions all come easily to fair-skinned gingers. Finding suitable clothing can be a challenge, especially considering most cotton is genetically modified and soaked with chemical pesticides, fertilizers and insecticides; synthetic fabrics are harsh and hot; and wool is itchy. The solution? Linen!

Who can resist the allure of linen? Elegant, cool in summer, warm in winter, crisp when new, soft and silky with age. My entire life I have been captivated by the fabric. At the age of 15 I made my first linen shirt for a Lord of the Rings costume convention. Thirteen years later I made my wedding dress of linen. To this day I ransack thrift stores in search of anything flax, which I can tell just by touch.

Why the obsession? At first I liked linen for no apparent reason other than its nice texture and classic good looks. After delving deeper into its history and uses, I am in awe of the many benefits and power to heal contained in this simple grass with blue flowers.

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History

Linen is the oldest textile in the world, with records of the fabric dating back to 30,000 BC. Due to its amazing versatility and exceptional beauty, it was revered throughout the world, and was even used as currency. The Egyptians called it “woven moonlight” and the Romans named it the “extremely useful flax plant”.

A short cultural history of linen…

Strong and Resilliant, Like A Red-head

Called the king of fabrics, linen is the highest quality, strongest and longest lasting of all natural fabrics. Its smooth, fluid qualities increase with age and wearing, and it wrinkles less with time. Thicker and longer than cotton fibers, linen fibers are so strong they are added to paper money to increase its durability. Linen does not accumulate static or develop pilling, and can last for decades.

Cool, Dry and Fresh – Naturally!

Linen fibers are hollow, allowing the fabric to retain heat in winter and release it in summer, naturally keeping you warm or cool based on the season and your own body temperature. It is nature’s wicking agent, absorbing 20% of its weight in moisture before feeling damp. It is anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, hypo-allergenic, non-toxic, and blocks 50% of UV radiation!

Healing Properties

Not only does linen adapt to your body’s temperature, it is also energetically complementary to human frequencies. Its synergy with the human body makes it soothing to sensitive skin, and can even relieve irritation and allergies. It is known to relieve stress, improve sleep, reduce arthritis and dermatitis, speed the healing of wounds, and shield the body from harmful radiation. The thread is used in internal sutures because of the human cell’s ability to dissolve flax with ease. The extremely high energetic frequency of linen actually increases health, energy and wellbeing.

Linen for Healthy Living

Linen for Life

Linen’s sacred status throughout history is well deserved. Only with the advent of modern textile making has linen become less popular, since it is best handmade. It is time to restore this magical fabric to its rightful place of honor. Red-head or not, go buy some today and experience the wonderful difference it makes to your health and wellbeing. You’ll look great, too!

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