DAUGHTERS of FRYA

Oera Linda Order of Priestesses

Perfection through purity of body, mind and spirit! All priestesses must: (1) Abstain from meat products, intoxicants, orgasm and sex. (2) Bend knees in worship for six hours every day. (3) Wear a short, white tunic at all times.

The Daughters of Frya are an initiatory Order of Priestesses dedicated to serving others and raising the energies of the earth, according to the teachings of the 13th century Frisian manuscript known as the Oera Linda Book, preserving knowledge dating back more than four millennia.

In ancient times, as described in the Oera Linda Book, a priestess (fâm) – ‘maid’ – served her community as a healer and prophetess. After seven years living and worshipping at her sacred enclosure (burch), kneeling before the eternal flame for six hours a day, she either left to raise a family, or became an elder priestess (aldfâm), dispensing justice and spiritual guidance. After another year, an elder priestess was also eligible to be appointed as a high priestess (burchfâm) – ‘borough maid’ – by the folk mother (folksmoder), the head of the order.

Our Lady Frya, ancestress and lawgiver to the Frisian peoples, inaugurated the line of folk mothers. She and her two elder sisters, Lyda and Finda – the three mothers of mankind – were the daughters of Jrtha, the earth-mother. Frya was blessed by the spirit of Wr-alda, the creative principle and life-force of the world.

All priestesses must: (1) Abstain from meat products, intoxicants, orgasm and sex.

Pure and perfect in body, a Daughter of Frya avoids all physical passions and pollutions, strictly abstaining from drugs, stimulants and sexual activity of any kind, while following a frugal and naturally sourced vegetarian diet.

The burch is a sanctuary and a community located in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Any Daughter of Frya may visit the burch and stay for as long as she wishes, worshipping daily around the foddik – a lantern bearing the eternally burning flame. Open events, such as those celebrating the six annual festivals of the Frisian year, are held at the nearby Moseley Bog local nature reserve, Yardley Wood Road.

All priestesses must: (2) Bend knees in worship for six hours every day.

Pure and perfect in mind, a Daughter of Frya spends six hours a day at worship, kneeling before the foddik, in two watches of three hours each. She draws the spirit of Wr-alda, the life-force of the world, from Jrtha, the earth-mother, into her body, sending it back out to the foddik, and from there, sanctified and purified, to the land and all its inhabitants, chanting: “Wr-alda t-Anfang t-Bijin” (‘Wr-alda, the Origin, the Beginning’).

Founded in 1936 by the Over de Linden (Oera Linda) family, in addition to its international headquarters at Den Burg, Texel, Netherlands, the order, currently numbering around 200 members worldwide, also has sanctuaries at Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, and LaGrange, Indiana, United States.

All priestesses must: (3) Wear a short, white tunic at all times.

Pure and perfect in spirit, a Daughter of Frya wears only a short, white, sleeveless tunic – the tohnekka – plus appropriate accessories, wherever she may be, so that everyone may recognise her calling and her devotion.

The Daughters of Frya do not accept payment for membership, training or services. On admittance into the order, each member is responsible for providing her own tunic (tohnekka) and her own lantern (foddik). Furthermore, wherever possible, all Daughters of Frya are expected to offer their time to charities and other organisations serving their communities with good works.

The Frisian wheel of the year comprises six annual festivals corresponding to the six-spoked yule (jol) wheel, representing time, plus twelve months of 30 days each, making a total of 366 days per year – with the third month shortened to 29 days in non-leap years by observation of the spring equinox. Years are numbered from the destruction of Atland (Âldland), the Frisian homeland in the North Sea, an event fixed by the Oera Linda Book at 2194 BC.

OERA LINDA BOOK – English and Frisian text plus original manuscript (PDF file)

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