Gerda's Stars: The Bride's Hair
Next to Frey's great constellation, and dwarfed by it, is a small constellation known to the Greeks as Coma Berenices. The Greeks named it after Queen Berenices of Egypt who supposedly sacrificed her long hair as a votive offering. Its main star, Diadem, is the one that is used for astrological aspects. Its Greek association as the Bride Who Sacrifices allowed me to see Gerda smiling on it. While it is completely personal gnosis, many of us have had Gerda come to us in visions with very long dark hair that almost touches the ground. I was struck by this image of the Bride's fall of hair, ready to be loosened by her bridegroom in its own kind of sacrifice.
There is some argument over the origin of its Greek name; some scholars believe that it was a Greek mishearing of the Semitic "Coma" meaning "Desired" (which fits with Gerda, desired wildly by Frey enough to give up his sword for love); the ancient Egyptians pictured this as a woman seated on a throne holding a child. The assumption is that the Greek word "co-me" meaning "hair" was assumed to be the name (the later "Coma" is Latin) and thus the hair explanation. It all works for Gerda as far as I am concerned, however.
The main star in the Coma Berenices was called Diadem by the Greeks; I see it as Gerda's Braid. It is traditionally a star of quiet strength, the ones who work hard in their own homes and gardens for the comfort of others but do not seek fame in the outer world. This too resonates with Gerda, the Lady of the Walled Garden whose name means "guarded" and who is quiet and dark as a contrast to her outgoing golden husband. Gerda's Braid bestows a suave and well-bred manner, but sometimes can lead to sacrificing one's self for others who shine brighter than one's self.