Seiðr

In Old Norse, seiðr (sometimes anglicized as seidhr, seidh, seidr, seithr, seith, or seid) was a type of magic which was practised in Norse society during the Late Scandinavian Iron Age. The practice of seiðr is believed to be a form of magic which is related to both the telling and the shaping of the future. Connected to the Old Norse religion, its origins are largely unknown, and the practice of it gradually declined after the Christianization of Scandinavia. Accounts of seiðr later made it into sagas and other literary sources, while further evidence of it has been unearthed by archaeologists. Various scholars have debated the nature of seiðr, some of them have argued that it was shamanic in context, involving visionary journeys by its practitioners.

A depiction of Freyja. Within Norse paganism, Freyja was the deity primarily associated with seiðr

Seiðr practitioners were of both sexes, with sorceresses being variously known as vǫlur, seiðkonur and vísendakona. There were also accounts of male practitioners, who were known as seiðmenn or seiðmaður in the singular. In many cases these magical practitioners would have had assistants to aid them in their rituals.

In pre-Christian Norse mythology, seiðr was associated with both the god Óðinn, a deity who was simultaneously responsible for war, poetry and sorcery, and the goddess Freyja, a member of the Vanir who was believed to have taught the practice to the Æsir.^[1]

In the 20th century, adherents of various modern Pagan new religious movements adopted forms of magico-religious practice which include seiðr. The practices of these contemporary seiðr-workers have since been investigated by various academic researchers who are operating in the field of pagan studies.

[:in german] s_ey_d_-R(:altnordisch): von s_ê_t_-u/-R(:später): "setz_-en": etwas fest-setz-en, ein-setz-en, usw.; etwas be-setz-en; sitz-en > Sitz, Sitz-er/Besitzer (:> english:sett(l)-er) + etwas be-sitz-en

Terminology and etymology

Further information: Witch (word)

Seiðr is believed to come from Proto-Germanic *saiðaz, cognate with Lithuanian saitas, 'tie, tether' and Proto-Celtic *soito- 'sorcery' (giving Welsh hud, Breton hud 'magic'), all derived from Proto-Indo-European *soi-to- 'string, rope', ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *seH2i- 'to bind'.^[2]

Related words in Old High German (see German Saite, used both in string instruments and in bows) and Old English refer to 'cord, string,' or 'snare, cord, halter' and there is a line in verse 15 of the skaldic poem Ragnarsdrápa that uses seiðr in that sense.^[3] However, it is not clear how this derivation relates to the practice of seiðr. It has been suggested that the use of a cord in attraction may be related to seiðr, where attraction is one element of the practice of seiðr magic described in Norse literature and with witchcraft in Scandinavian folklore.^[3] However, if seiðr involved "spinning charms", that would explain the distaff, a tool used in spinning flax or sometimes wool, that appears to be associated with seiðr practice.^[3] In any case, the string relates to the "threads of fate", that the Nornir spin, measure, and cut.

Old English terms cognate with seiðr are siden and sidsa, both of which are attested only in contexts that suggest that they were used by elves (ælfe); these seem likely to have meant something similar to seiðr.^[4] Among the Old English words for practitioners of magic are wicca (m.) or wicce (f.), the etymons of Modern English 'witch'.

Old Norse literature

 

The Skern Runestone has a curse regarding a 'siþi' or 'seiðr worker'.

In the Viking Age, the practice of seiðr by men had connotations of unmanliness or effeminacy, known as ergi, as its manipulative aspects ran counter to masculine ideal of forthright, open behavior.^[5] Freyja and perhaps some of the other goddesses of Norse mythology were seiðr practitioners, Óðinn was accused by Loki in the Lokasenna of being "unmanly" to which Odin replied with: "Knowest thou that I gave to those I ought not – victory to cowards? Thou was eight winters on the earth below, milked cow as a woman, and didst there bear children. Now that, methinks, betokens a base nature."

Sagas

Erik the Red

In the 13th century Saga of Erik the Red, there was a seiðkona or vǫlva in Greenland named Þórbjǫrg ('protected by Thor'). She wore a blue cloak and a headpiece of black lamb trimmed with white ermine, carried the symbolic distaff (seiðstafr), which was buried with her, and would sit on a high platform. As related in the saga:

En er hon kom um kveldit ok sá maðr, er móti henni var sendr, þá var hon svá búin, at hon hafði yfir sér tuglamöttul blán, ok var settr steinum allt í skaut ofan. Hon hafði á hálsi sér glertölur, lambskinnskofra svartan á höfði ok við innan kattarskinn hvít. Ok hon hafði staf í hendi, ok var á knappr. Hann var búinn með messingu ok settr steinum ofan um knappinn. Hon hafði um sik hnjóskulinda, ok var þar á skjóðupungr mikill, ok varðveitti hon þar í töfr sín, þau er hon þurfti til fróðleiks at hafa. Hon hafði á fótum kálfskinnsskúa loðna ok í þvengi langa ok á tinknappar miklir á endunum. Hon hafði á höndum sér kattskinnsglófa, ok váru hvítir innan ok loðnir.^[6]

Now, when she came in the evening, accompanied by the man who had been sent to meet her, she was dressed in such wise that she had a blue mantle over her, with strings for the neck, and it was inlaid with gems quite down to the skirt. On her neck she had glass beads. On her head she had a black hood of lambskin, lined with ermine. A staff she had in her hand, with a knob thereon; it was ornamented with brass, and inlaid with gems round about the knob. Around her she wore a girdle of soft hair (or belt of touch wood^[7]), and therein was a large skin-bag, in which she kept the talismans needful to her in her wisdom. She wore hairy calf-skin shoes on her feet, with long and strong-looking thongs to them, and great knobs of latten at the ends. On her hands she had gloves of ermine-skin, and they were white and hairy within.^[8]

Other sagas

As described by Snorri Sturluson in his Ynglinga saga,^[9] seiðr includes both divination and manipulative magic. It seems likely that the type of divination of seiðr-practitioners was generally distinct, by dint of an altogether more metaphysical nature, from the day-to-day auguries performed by the seers (menn framsýnir, menn forspáir).

However, in chapter 44 of the Icelandic saga Vatnsdæla saga, Þórdís Spákona loans someone her black cloak and stick (stafsprotann) for magic. The stick is used to strike a man three times on his left cheek to make him forget and three times on his right cheek to make him remember.

Practices

Price noted that, because of its connection with ergi, seiðr was undoubtedly located on 'one of society's moral and psychological borders'.^[10] Seiðr involved the incantation of spells (galdrar, sing. galdr).^[11]

Practitioners may have been religious leaders of the Viking community and usually required the help of other practitioners to invoke their deities, gods or spirits. As they are described in a number of other Scandinavian sagas, Saga of Erik the Red in particular, the practitioners connected with the spiritual realm through chanting and prayer. Viking texts suggest that the seiðr ritual was used in times of inherent crisis, as a tool for seeing into the future, and for cursing and hexing one's enemies. With that said, it could have been used for great good or destructive evil, as well as for daily guidance.^[12]

One author, Neil Price, argues that it was very likely that some parts of the practice involved sexual acts.^[10] Scholars have highlighted that the staffs have phallic epithets in various Icelandic sagas.^[13]

Mythology

Óðinn and seiðr

 

The 7th century Tängelgårda stone shows Óðinn leading a troop of warriors all bearing rings. Valknut symbols are drawn beneath his horse, which is depicted with four legs.

British archaeologist Neil Price noted that "the realm of sorcery" was present in Óðinn's many aspects.^[14]

In Lokasenna, according to the Poetic Edda, Loki accuses Óðinn of practising seiðr, condemning it as an unmanly art (ergi). A justification for this may be found in the Ynglinga saga, where Snorri opines that following the practice of seiðr rendered the practitioner weak and helpless.

One possible example of seiðr in Norse mythology is the prophetic vision given to Óðinn in the Vǫluspá by the völva after whom the poem is named. Her vision is not connected explicitly with seiðr; however, the word occurs in the poem in relation to a character called Heiðr (who is traditionally associated with Freyja but may be identical with the völva).^[15] The interrelationship between the vǫlva in this account and the Norns, the fates of Norse lore, is strong and striking.

Another noted mythological practitioner of seiðr was Gróa, who attempted to assist Thor, and who in the Svipdagsmál in a poem entitled Grógaldr "Gróa's spell" is summoned from beyond the grave.

Freyja and seiðr

Like Óðinn, the Norse goddess Freyja is also associated with seiðr in the surviving literature. In the Ynglinga saga (c.1225), written by Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson, it is stated that seiðr had originally been a practice among the Vanir, but that Freyja, who was herself a member of the Vanir, had introduced it to the Æsir when she joined them.^[16]

Freyja is identified in Ynglinga saga as an adept of the mysteries of seiðr, and it is said that it was she who taught it to Óðinn:

Dóttir Njarðar var Freyja. Hon var blótgyðja. Hon kenndi fyrst með Ásum seið, sem Vǫnum var títt.

"Njǫrðr’s daughter was Freyja. She presided over the sacrifice. It was she who first acquainted the Æsir with seiðr, which was customary among the Vanir."

Origins

Since the publication of Jacob Grimm's socio-linguistical Deutsches Wörterbuch (p. 638) in 1835, scholarship draws a Balto-Finnic link to seiðr, citing the depiction of its practitioners as such in the sagas and elsewhere, and linking seiðr to the practices of the noaidi, the patrilineal shamans of the Sami people. However, Indo-European origins are also possible.^[17] Note that the Finnish word seita and the Sami variants of the term sieidde refer to a human-shaped tree or a large and strangely-shaped stone or rock and do not necessarily reference magical power. There is a good case, however, that these words do derive ultimately from seiðr.^[18]

Seiðr and gender roles in Norse society

Strength and courage are traditionally manly qualities that were highly valued in Old Norse societies. This is exemplified in the attitudes surrounding seiðr and its place as a feminine craft.

A woman practicing seiðr would sometimes be called völva, meaning seeress. She would also sometimes be described as spá-kona or seið-kona, meaning 'prophecy-woman' and 'magic-woman', respectively.^[19] Because seiðr was viewed as a feminine practice, any man who engaged in it (seiðmaðr)^[20] was associated with a concept called ergi, the designation of a man in Norse society who was unmanly, feminine and possibly homosexual.^[19]

Sometimes, female practitioners of the craft would take on young male apprentices, and those who became mothers would teach the practice to their sons.^[21] Though not seen as a respectable thing, it was not rare for men to be involved in seiðr magic.

Queer Theory

Brit Solli^[22] employs a queer analysis to explore the possibility of queerness in Viking cosmology, specifically in the cult of Odin and the use of Holy White Stones. The author argues that the Viking culture and cosmology allowed for non-binary gender expressions, gender fluidity, and same-sex relationships, and that the worship of Odin may have included erotic practices. The author presents examples such as Odin's ability to shapeshift and adopt different genders. The character of Loki, who was often depicted as gender-nonconforming and was known for his shapeshifting abilities. In some stories, Loki transforms into a woman and gives birth to several children.

Solli^[22] suggests that the "Holy White Stones" in Viking culture were likely used in sex rituals that involved gender fluidity. The stones were believed to have the power to change a person's gender, allowing them to experience sex as the opposite gender. Solli interprets this as evidence of the existence of gender fluidity in Viking culture and suggests that such practices may have been accepted or even celebrated within certain religious contexts.

Contemporary Paganism

Contemporary Paganism, also referred to as Neo-Paganism, is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of new religious movements, particularly those influenced by the various pagan beliefs of premodern Europe.^[23][24] Several of these contemporary pagan religions draw specifically on the original mediaeval religious beliefs and practices of Anglo-Saxon England as sources of inspiration, adopting such Anglo-Saxon deities as their own.

Seiðr is interpreted differently by different groups and practitioners, but usually taken to indicate altered consciousness or even total loss of physical control.^[25] Diana L. Paxson and her group Hrafnar have attempted reconstructions of seiðr (particularly the oracular form) from historical material.^[26] Author Jan Fries regards seiðr as a form of "shamanic trembling", which he relates to "seething", used as a shamanic technique, the idea being his own and developed through experimentation.^[27] According to Blain, seiðr is an intrinsic part of spiritual practice connecting practitioners to the wider cosmology in British Germanic Neopaganism.^[28]

References

Footnotes

1. Price 2002, pp. 91, 108.
2. Hyllested, Adam, 2010, 'The Precursors of Celtic and Germanic'. in SW Jamison, HC Melchert & B Vine (eds), Proceedings of the Twenty-First Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference, Los Angeles, October 30th and 31st, 2009. Dr. Ute Hempen Verlag, Bremen, pp. 107-128.
3. Heide 2006, pp. 164–68.
4. Hall 2004, pp. 117–30.
5. Hall 2007, p. 148.
6. Eiríks saga rauða, Chapter 4.
7. Gundarsson, Kveldúlfr. "Spae-Craft, Seiðr, and Shamanism". www.hrafnar.org. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
8. 'The Saga of Erik the Red', Chapter 4.
9. . www.northvegr.org. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
10. Price 2002, p. 210.
11. Thorsson, Edred (1999). Witchdom of the true: A study of the Vana-Troth and the practice of seiðr. Smithville, TX: Runa-Raven Press. ISBN 978-1-885972-12-5. OCLC 755015906.
12. DuBois, Thomas A. (1999). Nordic religions in the Viking Age. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812235118. OCLC 40925957.
13. Price 2002, p. 217.
14. Price 2002, p. 94.
15. McKinnell 2001, pp. 394–417.
16. Price 2002, p. 108.
17. Hall 2004, pp. 121–122.
18. Parpola 2004, pp. 235–73.
19. Thor, Ewing (2008). Gods and worshippers: In the Viking and Germanic world. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Temous. ISBN 9780752435909. OCLC 195680405.
20. A more general term for a male spiritual practitioner was vitki ("sorcerer").
21. Jochens, Jenny (1991). "Old Norse Magic and Gender: þáttr þorvalds Ens Víðfǫrla". Scandinavian Studies. 63 (3): 305–317. JSTOR 40919289.
22. Solli, Brit (2008-04-29). "Queering the Cosmology of the Vikings: A Queer Analysis of the Cult of Odin and "Holy White Stones"". Journal of Homosexuality. 54 (1–2): 192–208. doi:10.1080/00918360801952085. ISSN 0091-8369.
23. Carpenter 1996, p. 40.
24. Lewis 2004, p. 13.
25. Harvey 1997.
26. Blain 2001, p. 21.
27. Fries 1996.
28. Blain 2001, p. 13.

Bibliography

Academic books and papers

• Blain, Jenny (2001). Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic: Ecstasy and Neo-Shamanism in North European Paganism. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-25650-X.
• Carpenter, Dennis D. (1996). "Emergent Nature Spirituality: An Examination of the Major Spiritual Contours of the Contemporary Pagan Worldview". In Lewis, James R. (ed.). Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 35–72. ISBN 978-0-7914-2890-0.
• DuBois, Thomas A. (1999). Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-3511-8. Ch. 6.
• Gardela, Leszek. Into Viking Minds: Reinterpreting the Staffs of Sorcery and Unraveling Seidr. Brepols Publishers, 2009.
• Hall, Alaric (2004). The Meanings of Elf, and Elves, in Medieval England. Woodbridge: Boydell, 2007.
• Hall, Alaric (2007). Elves in Anglo-Saxon England: Matters of Belief, Health, Gender and Identity. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-294-2.
• Harvey, Graham (1997). Listening people, Speaking Earth. London: C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85065-272-4.
• Heide, Eldar (2006). "Spinning Seiðr". In Andrén, Anders; Jennbert, Kristina; et al. (eds.). Old Norse Religion in Long-Term Perspectives: Origins, Changes, and Interactions. Lund, Sweden: Nordic Academic Press. pp. 164–168. ISBN 91-89116-81-X.
• Jakobsson, Ármann (2011). "Óðinn as mother: The Old Norse deviant patriarch". Arkiv för nordisk filologi. 126: 5–16.
• Jolly, Karen; Raudvere, Catherine; Peters, Edward (2002). Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Middle Ages. Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe. Vol. 3. London: Athlone Press. ISBN 978-0-485-89103-4. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
• Karlsson, Thomas (2002). Uthark: Nightside of the runes. Sundbyberg: Ouroboros. ISBN 91-974102-1-7. OCLC 186199355. Featuring rune images by T. Ketola{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
• Lewis, James R. (2004). The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements. London and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514986-9.
• McKinnell, John (2001). "On Heiðr". Saga-Book of the Viking Society (PDF). Vol. 25. pp. 394–417.
• North, Richard (1997). Heathen Gods in Old English Literature. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-03026-7.
• Parpola, Asko (2004). "Old Norse SEIÐ(R), Finnish SEITA and Saami Shamanism". In Irma Hyvärinen; Petri Kallio; Jarmo Korhonen (eds.). Etymologie, Entlehnungen und Entwicklungen: Festschrift für Jorma Koivulehto zum 70. Geburtstag. Mémoires de la Société Néophilologique de Helsinki, 64. Helsinki: Société Néophilologique. pp. 235–73.
• Pollington, Stephen (2011). The Elder Gods: The Otherworld of Early England. Little Downham, Cambs., UK: Anglo-Saxon Books. ISBN 978-1-898281-64-1.
• Price, Neil (2002). The Viking Way: Religion and War in Late Iron Age Scandinavia. Uppsala: Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University. ISBN 91-506-1626-9.
• Tolley, Clive (2009). Shamanism in Norse Myth and Magic: Volume One. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia. ISBN 978-951-41-1028-3.

Non-academic sources

• Fries, Jan (1996). Seidways: Shaking, Swaying and Serpent Mysteries. Mandrake. ISBN 1-869928-36-9.