Get the look: The völva and seiðr

In this blog, we discuss our approach to a völva. This völva is based on the 9th-century völva buried near Roskilde in Denmark. Völva graves from the Viking Age are regularly discovered. These are often recognizable by the magic wand included in the graves. Völvas often received expensive grave gifts that demonstrate they held a respected societal role.

In the Germanic and later Old Norse (Viking) paganism, a seeress is a woman said to be able to predict future events and perform sorcery. They are also referred to by many other names meaning "prophetess," "staff bearer," "wise woman," and "sorceress," and are often called witches or priestesses, both in early sources and modern scholarship. In Norse mythology, the seeress is usually referred to as völva or vala.

Seeresses were an expression of the pre-Christian, possibly shamanistic traditions of Europe. They held an authoritative position in the Germanic society. Mentions of Germanic seeresses already appear in Roman times. They sometimes led armed resistance against Roman domination and acted as envoys to Rome. After the Roman period, seeresses appear in North Germanic sources and in Norse mythology. Both classical and Norse sources imply that they used magic wands, and describe them as sitting on elevated platforms during seances.

In ancient Roman and Greek literature, the names of various Germanic seeresses are mentioned, including Albruna, Veleda, Ganna, and, through an archaeological find, Waluburg. Norse mythology mentions several seeresses, some of them by name, including Heimlaug völva, Þorbjörg lítilvölva, Þordís spákona, and Þuríðr Sundafyllir. 

In North Germanic religion, the goddess Freyja has a special association with seeresses, and there is evidence that the Viking princess, Olga of Kiev, was one, serving as a "priestess of Freyja" among the Scandinavian elite in Kievan Rus' before they converted to Christianity.

It is a subject of scholarly debate whether Germanic seeresses like the völva can be considered shamanistic. Archaeological finds have identified graves of seeresses, in which, among other things, magic wands and hallucinogenic seeds were found. Practitioners of seiðr were believed to be able to shape-shift, also known as hamhleypur, where they could place their soul into the body of animals or spirits. This shows parallels with shamanism.

Seiðr was a form of magic in Old Norse society, practiced during the late Scandinavian Iron Age. It was associated with prophecy and influence, and appeared in Old Norse religion. Seiðr was linked to the gods Óðinn and Freyja, and was primarily practiced by women. The practice declined after the Christianization of Scandinavia, but was preserved in sagas and archaeological finds. Some scholars view seiðr as shamanistic, involving visionary journeys and spiritual magic. It is mentioned in various sagass, including those of Erik the Red and the Ynglinga saga.

Seiðr was considered the most powerful form of magic among the Norse and was based on trance and soul journeys. To practice seiðr, people needed special knowledge and skills. Seiðr was performed on a seiðhjalli (a raised wooden platform) and involved a trance state of the seiðkona (female practitioner), accompanied by chanting. It was mainly used against specific individuals or to predict future events.

The British archaeologist Neil Price noted that 'the realm of sorcery' was present in the many aspects of Óðinn. In Lokasenna, Loki accuses Óðinn of practicing seiðr. 

A possible example of seiðr in Norse mythology is the prophetic vision given to Óðinn in the Völuspá by the völva, after whom the poem is named. Her vision is not explicitly connected to seiðr; however, the word appears in the poem in relation to a character named Heiðr (traditionally associated with Freyja, but possibly identical to the völva). The relationship between the völva in this account and the Norns, the fates of Norse tradition, is strongly notable.

Like Odin, the Norse goddess Freya is associated with seiðr in the preserved literary sources. Freyja is identified in the Ynglinga saga as being knowledgeable about the mysteries of seiðr and is said to have taught it to Odin. 

Freya was the daughter of Njǫrðr. He was the first Æsir to master the art of seiðr. Freya was also the first to lead the offering.

Seiðr was associated with the chanting of spells (galdrar, singular galdr). Practitioners were possibly religious leaders of the Viking community and usually needed the assistance of other practitioners to invoke their gods or spirits. As described in several other Scandinavian sagas, particularly the Saga of Erik the Red, practitioners connected with the spiritual realm through song and prayer. Viking texts suggest that the seiðr ritual was used in times of inherent crisis, as a tool to foresee the future and to curse and bewitch enemies. It could be used for great good or destructive evil, as well as for daily guidance.

Neil Price argues that it is highly likely that some parts of the practice included sexual acts. Scholars have emphasized that the staffs have phallic epithets in various Icelandic sagas.

In the Norse magic, magic staffs are referred to with terms like gandr or gǫndull, although there is no exact description of these objects. A gandr might have been a wooden shaft with a sharp tip, but the precise form and function remain subjects of debate.

The gandr is often regarded as a magical staff used in practices such as divination and sexual magic. It is also possible that the staff was wielded by the völva during ecstatic rituals. In this state, the staff would serve as an aid for the soul to travel.

Additionally, it is suggested that the seiðr staffs had symbolic connections with the god Odin, who himself was the master of seiðr, a form of magic associated with prophecy and manipulation of fate. One of Odin's attributes was a spear, and the staff with a composite point could possibly be seen as a symbolic spear, representing his power and magical abilities.

Etymology tells us, among other things, where words originate from. This can fill in 'gaps' for which there is little or no archaeological or literary evidence. 

It is believed that both völva and Seiðr originate from Proto-Indo-European. The word Seiðr, Proto-Germanic saiðaz is related to the Lithuanian saitas 'to bind, tie' and the Proto-Celtic soito- 'sorcery' (which means the Welsh hud and the Breton hud 'magic'), all derived from the Proto-Indo-European * soi-to- 'rope, cord', and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root * seH2i- 'to bind'. 

The Early Medieval Germanic Goths called their prophetesses  haliurunnae (Gothic-Latin). The word appears in Old English, hellerune ("prophetess" or "witch") and in Old High German, hellirûna ("necromancy") and hellirunari ("necromancer"), and from these forms an earlier Proto-Germanic form  χalja-rūnō(n) is reconstructed. In which the first element  χaljō is, i.e. Hel, the abode of the dead, and the second * rūnō ("mystery, secret"). At that time the word * rūnō still referred to chanting and not to letters (rune), and in the sense of "incantation" it was likely borrowed from Proto-Germanic into Finnish, where runo means "poem".

The Volva and Seiðr were not a standalone Old Norse phenomenon. Similar magic were practiced in other Indo-European cultures. Many uses of Seiðr can be directly linked to the Indo-European pagan belief. 

In Indo-European paganism, fate is central. Even the gods have no influence on the fate that a person must bear. They can only help you on the path to fate. 

It has been suggested that, just as in Greek mythology, the use of a textile cord may be related to seiðr. However, if seiðr involved 'spinning fate,' it would explain the distaff often found in the graves of the Völva. In any case, the string relates to the 'threads of fate' that the Nornir spin, measure, and cut.

The cosmic order is the natural course of events within the universe. In the Vedic, this order is referred to as Rta and in Greek as Kosmos, derived from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂r-tós (Xartus).  Rta is a dynamic cosmos in which both physical objects like celestial bodies and abstract concepts like moral development are constantly in motion (gati). All elements in the universe work harmoniously together according to this cosmic order (samghatna). Both nature and social structures function in balance, thanks to the power of Rta. The course of events is guided by inevitable laws of cause and effect. The Greeks called this Logos and based their philosophy and science on this 'logic.'

People find their true fulfillment by acting in accordance with the laws of Rta. Ignoring these laws leads to chaos and suffering. To ensure well-being, it is necessary for individuals to align their actions with this cosmic order. This process is called dharma. Derived from the Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- ('support, hold').

Dharma encompasses the principles and rules that support the Rta. Non-compliance with these laws results in adharma, which causes disturbances in the natural balance and leads to misery and adversity. 

The Greek word kosmos literally means "order" or "ordered world," and stood in contrast to chaos, which refers to disorder or the original primordial state without structure.

Seiðr involves seeking the right path within the cosmic order , to bring your wish to fulfillment. But sometimes Seiđr involved manipulating the cosmic order. This could be seen as 'fraud' and therefore socially disapproved. It could even be considered dangerous. After all, you never know the side effect when you unilaterally adjust the cosmic order. Even the gods were subject to the cosmic order. Therefore, they also practice seiđr when they want to bend the cosmic order. Nonetheless, it can be assumed that much was done with Seiđr within Indo-European societies and that there was a necessity for it. Possibly, Seiđr can be considered as: Everyone 'cheats' a little bit sometimes. Society allows this tacitly. As long as no boundary is crossed.

Like other (proto-)Indo-European cultures, Old Norse society was strongly oath-bound. Marriage was sacred and an important expression of this bond. Old Norse gender roles were rigid, and the völva and seiđr could be seen as harmful in some contexts. Words like Trollkona (troll-woman), Skass or Skessa (witch or giantess), all refer negatively to the völva. Some völva’s were accused of manipulating people and seducing men through sex, ruining marriages. Some graves show possible völva’s who were beheaded after death or had large stones placed on their bodies so that this practitioner of magic could not rise from the grave to haunt the living.

Sometimes völva’s took on young male apprentices, and those who became mothers taught the practice to their sons. Although it was not seen as respectable, it was not uncommon for men to be involved in seiđr- magic. Because seiđr was considered a female practice, any man who participated (seiđmađr) was associated with a concept called ergi, the designation of a man in Norse society who was unmanly, feminine, and possibly homosexual.

Ergi was an insult, the Dutch word erg derives from it. However, male völva’s or seiđmađr were indeed part of Old Norse society. The god Odin himself is sometimes a seiđmađr because he is a master of seiđr.

In various Indo-European cultures, similar traditions are known. The Proto-Indo-European god Agdistis was possibly hermaphroditic. A remaining tradition of this is the Hindi cult of Shiva Ardhanarishwara (the half-male, half-female form) where the priestesses are transgender men. Just like the priestesses in the cult of Cybele. Finally, an archaeological excavation from Suontaka shows an Old Norse Transgender who was buried with great wealth and had an important social status.

How should we interpret this with our modern perspective? Probably the truth lies somewhere in the middle. We can conclude that both ergi and völva existed on the fringes of society. Their way of life deviated from the future that families had planned for their children. (The society was highly hierarchical). However, we see that both were held in high esteem in some cases high. They were unaffected by an oath or marriage. They played an important role within the tribe or community.

However, there were naturally also Machiavellian völvas and eiðmaðr, whose practices were of dubious validity and who even performed black magic. This image was possibly used as a source for witch hunts after the arrival of Christianity.

In the Danish city of Roskilde, archaeologists discovered a 9th-century female grave that likely belonged to a völva. The grave is located near a burial mound from the bronze Age, which is built near a Neolithic burial mound.  Later, a trench was dug on the east side of the mound to make it appear larger than the neighboring Neolithic mounds. In the late bronze Age or the beginning of the pre-Roman Iron Age (approximately 600–400 BC), three urn graves were buried on the west side of the mound. This site was also sacred in Old Norse culture. 

Barrows of the ancestors were a passage to the other world, another layer in the cosmic life tree, the Yggdrasil. It is not uncommon for Indo-European peoples to have used the same sacred places for thousands of years. It is also not uncommon for Indo-European peoples to bury their dead in places that were considered sacred in the Neolithic. In the 8th - 9th century AD, a Danish Viking community decided to bury their dead here. A total of 27 graves have been found.  

Grave A505 contains two women, a man, and sacrificed animals such as a split dog and a sheep fetus, all covered by stones. The three individuals had unusual burial features, such as a twisted skull and a loose skull in a "nest" of stones. These anomalies suggest possible ritual practices, with one or more of the deceased considered extraordinary.

In the Viking Age, graves with multiple persons were sometimes a sign of a master-slave relationship, with the slave being executed to accompany the master. It is also suggested that one of the women was a völva, a seeress who guided the deceased to the afterlife. Possible evidence for this was a copper object with an iron blade, which could be interpreted as a magic wand.

The presence of a stallion in grave A505 is notable, as horse sacrifices in Viking graves, especially in Denmark, are usually found in male graves and often accompany riding equipment, weapons, and status symbols. In female graves, such sacrifices are rarer and often involve harnesses for draft animals. This grave, which contains no riding equipment but does have a possible magical staff, suggests another form of high status, possibly related to magical or ritual roles, such as that of a völva.

In Norse mythology, horses had a ritual function, and in this case, the stallion could have been a psychopomp, a being that guided the dead to the afterlife. The treatment of the woman's body, such as the removal of her head, could also be a precaution to prevent her spirit from returning to haunt the living, which can be associated with her magical role as a practitioner of seiðr.

Despite the absence of luxury items in grave A505, as often found in other graves of female magicians, this grave is distinguished by the careful arrangement, the offerings, and the complex symbolism. All this indicates the special role of the woman within her community, possibly as a völva, a powerful magical figure.

The völva of Roskilde was buried with a kettle. This kettle may have been used for making magical brews, but it certainly would have been used for making food such as stews. Kettles were indispensable. 

The völva of Roskilde is buried with two knives. These knives are practical utensils. Sometimes these knives were stored in luxuriously decorated scabbards. Also, the leather of the scabbard was often printed with motifs. Knives are needed in both everyday tasks and rituals. 

The magic wand was the most distinctive item that the völva of Roskilde took with her to the grave. We do not have comparable magic wands in our assortment, so we have used our own seiðr staff. We have assembled this from various articles plus an ash wood staff. This staff symbolizes for us nature, where our Indo-European pagan religion finds its origins and is central. 

First of all, the völva wears a simple underdress. The underdress provided extra warmth and comfort. Additionally, the underdress ensured that the outer clothing became dirty less quickly and thus needed to be washed less often. Dresses were dyed with natural dyes that faded faster.

We have chosen a white Viking dress. White represents beauty and holiness. The Germanic tribes, among others, mainly sacrificed white cattle to the gods, and white mares were studied to predict the future. Tacitus described that Germanic priestesses wore white dresses during their rituals. This white can also be seen in later Christianity. 

No traces of a belt have been found in the grave of the völva from Roskilde. She may have worn a textile belt like this one. 

To attach the knives to her waist, we have added a leather belt. Belts keep the clothing in shape. Often, many of your possessions are attached to your belt. 

Tacitus mentioned that Germanic priestesses were barefoot during their rituals. We find this a very beautiful symbolism because the priests then make direct contact with Mother Earth. In the grave of the völva of Roskilde, no remnants of footwear were found. Therefore, we have chosen to go barefoot. Alternatively, these shoes are a suitable alternative: 

Fur stood for wealth. No fur coats have been found in the grave of the völva of Roskilde. However, völvas could receive excellent fur as a gift for their services. Hence this artistic freedom.