Fulla

Fulla icon art by me. Available to buy on Redbubble.

Fulla is described in the Prose Edda [1] as a maiden Goddess, with free-flowing hair bound by a gold band. She carries Frigga’s ash box, looks after her footwear, and Frigga confides secrets in her. In the Grimnismal [2], Fulla acts as Frigga’s agent in Her wager with Odin. She warns Frigga’s favourite that a magician (Odin in disguise) is coming to trick him, and how to detect him, thus throwing the contest in Frigga’s favour. Fulla is also cited in kennings for gold [3]. A counterpart of Fulla, Volla, is mentioned in the Old High German “horse cure” Merseburg Charm [4]. She is one of several Gods stated to sing charms to heal Balder’s horse, and is said to be the sister of Friia, the counterpart of Frigga and Frīg.

Fulla, translated as Bountiful, is one of those ON words that translates directly into OE. In OE it may simply be translated as fullness, though the Bosworth Toller [5] gives an appealing definition including “the highest stage reached by anything, the perfection, perfect specimen of a kind or class“. This gives Fulla’s name a connotation not just of fullness, bounty and fertility, but highness and perfection. This fits with my idea of the Handmaidens as exemplifying different virtues or ways of living.

Personal experiences and reflections

Much like Her sister, I see Fulla as a complex Goddess with multiple different aspects, several of which deserve further elaboration in their own posts.

Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, I see Her as a Goddess of bounty, of plenty, of abundance. Hers is the cup that runs over with mead and with blessings, the cornucopia of fertility. This covers material security and wealth, and I have certainly prayed to Her at times of financial precarity or uncertainty, but I see this domain or association as broader and deeper than just this. (For more of my thoughts on abundance and Fulla, see this post.)

For me, Fulla teaches the value of practicing gratitude, and a mindset focused on personal growth rather than limitations. Her blessings also encompass joy, fulfilment, peace, self-love, contentment. As in the definition of Her name, She represents the highest, most complete and perfect stage of fulfilment. In this way I see Her as a Goddess of being true to oneself, of upholding and exalting whatever values you hold dear, of striving to be the best and truest version of oneself – without either self-deprecation or narcissism. From a more Buddho-Heathen perspective, I even think of Her as showing the way to Enlightenment.

Fulla’s blessings can also be deeply mystical in nature. I see Fulla also as an initiatory Goddess and one with a strong link to the magical and the esoteric. She is the keeper of Frīg’s secrets and Her keys – able to literally open the door to initiation. Like Her sister, She is called on in the Meseburg Charm to sing a spell of healing. I also personally interpret Her carrying of keys and a box of unknown and secret contents, as Her having a role as a Goddess of sacred Mysteries.

Fulla icon art by me. Available to buy on Redbubble.

Another aspect to Fulla that I see as important is Her status as Frīg’s sister. As the relationships between Gods have a meaning beyond and deeper than the literal, I see this as not just being about sharing parentage, but about sisterhood (or sibling-hood) as a deep, abiding love, friendship, and sense of being kindred spirits.

Fulla is a Goddess of that sense of sisterhood: of loyalty, respect, love, understanding. Of being the sort of person who takes their siblings’ secrets to the grave. Of being the person others turn to in their hour of need, who can be relied upon unconditionally. Of the profound power of friendship and chosen family to bring blessings into our lives. And when I have needed that support, companionship, acceptance, I have prayed to Her and felt this pure wellspring of love and of understanding.

Fulla brings tremendous blessings and offers tremendous challenges. Even as She brings us joy and abundance, She calls on us to be the finest version of ourselves we can be.

I symbolise Her with the cornucopia, the overflowing cup, the locked box, the pomegranate, and the keys.

Epithets

Cǣg-hyrden – keeper of the keys
Frīges-sweostor – Frīg’s sister
Frīges-eaxl-gesteallen – Frīg’s bosom friend
Smǣte – refined, pure as gold

Prayer

Hail Fulla,
Sister of Frīg, who knows Her secrets,
Keeper of the keys to the Heavens,
Bountiful one, whose horn overspills,
You of perfect sisterhood,
May You bless us with prosperity and good health,
And may our fidelity honour You.

References

1. Prose Edda – Gylfaginning stanza 35
2. Grímnismál – prose introduction
3. Skáldskaparmál – chapters 32 and 36
4. Second Merseburg Charm or Incantation – free translation by DL Ashliman
5. All Old English taken from the online Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon dictionary

Advertisement