Also called Gefjun, Gefion.
Their story
King Gylfi of Sweden promised a wandering woman as much land as she could plough in a day and a night. She was Gefjon, and she yoked four oxen who were her sons by a giant. They ploughed so deep that they tore the land free and dragged it west into the sea, where it became Zealand, and the hollow left behind became Lake Mälaren. Snorri also says she is a maiden, and that girls who die unmarried serve her.
Best times to give to them
- spring ploughing and sowing
- when starting a garden
- at the turning of new ground
What they like being given
- seeds or grain
- home-baked bread
- a turned patch of soil planted with flowers
- milk, or oat milk
How to honour them
- Dedicate the first dig of a new bed or allotment to her.
- Give something freely, in honour of her name, which means "giver".
How they can help you
- gardening and growing
- new ventures on new ground
- hard work that pays off
Symbols
- a plough
- four oxen
- the island of Zealand
- a necklace
Some sources make her a maiden and others give her sons and a husband; Lokasenna hints at a necklace won from a youth.
Sources
- Prose Edda, Gylfaginning 1 and 35
- Snorri Sturluson, Ynglinga saga 5
- Poetic Edda, Lokasenna 20–21
- Bragi Boddason, Ragnarsdrápa
More Norse goddesses
- Frigg Queen of Asgard, keeper of the hearth
- Sif The golden-haired, wife of Thor
- Freyja The Lady, mistress of seiðr and love
- Iðunn Keeper of the apples of youth
- Hel Keeper of the realm of the dead
- Eir The best of physicians
- Sága Keeper of stories, who drinks with Odin
- Fulla Frigg's confidante and keeper of her casket