Study › Runes & Norse › Seiðr and the Völva
Seiðr (seidr or seid) was Norse magic for seeing the future and shaping it. Its masters were the völur, seeresses who went from farm to farm. Freyja taught it to the gods, and Odin learned it from her.
What is seiðr?
Seiðr was a form of Norse magic used to see the future and to shape it. Its masters were the völur (singular völva), seeresses who travelled from farm to farm, invited to tell what the coming season would bring.
Thorbjorg, a völva
The Saga of Erik the Red describes one such woman in Greenland, Thorbjorg. She wore a blue cloak, a hood of black lambskin lined with white catskin, and gloves of catskin, and carried a staff capped with brass. A high seat with a cushion of hen feathers was set for her, and she was served a meal of the hearts of animals. The next day women gathered around her and sang the varðlokkur, songs to call in the spirits, and in her trance she foretold the end of the famine and the fate of those present.
Seiðr among the gods
Staffs of just this kind have been found in the graves of Viking Age women. Freyja is said to have taught seiðr to the gods, and Odin learned it from her — though it was thought unmanly for a man to practise it, a charge Loki throws in Odin's face.
It came from Freyja; its fate is the work of the Norns.
Questions
What is a völva?
A seeress who practised seiðr, travelling from farm to farm to tell what was coming.
Who taught seiðr to the gods?
Freyja.