![Freyja and the Necklace by James Doyle Penrose, 1890](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Freyja_and_the_Necklace_by_James_Doyle_Penrose%2C_1890.jpg)
In
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
, (sometimes anglicized as ''seidhr'', ''seidh'', ''seidr'', ''seithr'', ''seith'', or ''seid'') was a type of
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
which was practised in
Norse society during the
Late Scandinavian Iron Age. The practice of 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
Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is the most common name for a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic peopl ...
, its origins are largely unknown, and the practice of it gradually declined after the
Christianization of Scandinavia
The Christianization of Scandinavia, as well as other Nordic countries and the Baltic countries, took place between the 8th and the 12th centuries. The realms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden established their own Archdioceses, responsible direc ...
. Accounts of later made it into sagas and other literary sources, while further evidence of it has been unearthed by
archaeologists
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
. Various scholars have debated the nature of , some of them have argued that it was
shamanic
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...
in context, involving visionary journeys by its practitioners.
practitioners were of both sexes, with sorceresses being variously known as , and . There were also accounts of male practitioners, who were known as . In many cases these magical practitioners would have had assistants to aid them in their rituals.
In pre-Christian
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
, was associated with both the god
Óðinn
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, ...
, a deity who was simultaneously responsible for war, poetry and sorcery, and the goddess
Freyja
In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...
, a member of the
Vanir
In Norse mythology, the Vanir (; Old Norse: , singular Vanr ) are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are the namesake of the ...
who was believed to have taught the practice to the
Æsir
The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, res ...
.
In the 20th century, adherents of various
modern Pagan
Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
new religious movement
A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...
s adopted forms of magico-religious practice which include . The practices of these contemporary -workers have since been investigated by various academic researchers who are operating in the field of
pagan studies Pagan studies is the multidisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of modern paganism, a broad assortment of modern religious movements, which are typically influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of premodern ...
.
Terminology and etymology
is believed to come from
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
''*'', cognate with
Lithuanian , 'tie, tether' and
Proto-Celtic
Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed through the compar ...
''*'' 'sorcery' (giving Welsh , Breton 'magic'), all derived from
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
''*'' 'string, rope', ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root ''*'' 'to bind'.
Related words in
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
(see German
Saite
The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXVI, alternatively 26th Dynasty or Dynasty 26) dynasty was the last native dynasty to rule Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although others followed). The dynasty's reign (664–525 ...
, used both in string instruments and in bows) and
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
refer to 'cord, string,' or 'snare, cord, halter' and there is a line in verse 15 of the
skaldic poem
Ragnarsdrápa
Ragnarsdrápa (Ragnar's Poem) is a skaldic poem said to have been composed in honour of the Scandinavian hero, Ragnar Lodbrok, but likely actually addressed to some later Ragnar. It is attributed to the oldest known skald, Bragi Boddason, who liv ...
that uses in that sense. However, it is not clear how this derivation relates to the practice of . It has been suggested that the use of a cord in attraction may be related to , where attraction is one element of the practice of magic described in Norse literature and with witchcraft in
Scandinavian folklore
Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been mutually influenced by, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland and Sapmi. ...
. However, if involved "spinning charms", that would explain the
distaff
A distaff (, , also called a rock"Rock." ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989.), is a tool used in spinning. It is designed to hold the unspun fibers, keeping them untangled and thus easing the spinning process. It is most commonly us ...
, a tool used in spinning flax or sometimes wool, that appears to be associated with practice. In any case, the string relates to the "threads of fate", that the
Nornir spin, measure, and cut.
Old English terms cognate with are and , both of which are attested only in contexts that suggest that they were used by elves (); these seem likely to have meant something similar to . Among the Old English words for practitioners of magic are (m.) or (f.), the
etymons of Modern English '
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
'.
Old Norse literature
![Skjern-stenen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Skjern-stenen.JPG)
In the
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
, the practice of by men had connotations of unmanliness or effeminacy, known as ''
ergi
(noun) and (adjective) are two Old Norse terms of insult, denoting effeminacy or other unmanly behaviour. ' (also ') is "unmanly" and ''ergi'' is "unmanliness"; the terms have cognates in other Germanic languages such as ', ', ''arag'', ''arug ...
'', as its manipulative aspects ran counter to masculine ideal of forthright, open behavior.
Freyja
In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...
and perhaps some of the other goddesses of
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
were practitioners, as was Óðinn, a fact for which he is taunted by
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
in the ''
Lokasenna
''Lokasenna'' (Old Norse: 'The Flyting of Loki', or 'Loki's Verbal Duel') is one of the poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki. It is written in the ljóðaháttr metre, typical for wisdom verse. ''Lo ...
''.
Sagas
Erik the Red
In the 13th century ''Saga of Erik the Red'', there was a or in
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
named Þórbjǫrg ('protected by Thor'). She wore a blue
cloak
A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, serving the same purpose as an overcoat, protecting the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. Cloaks have been and a ...
and a headpiece of black lamb trimmed with white ermine, carried the symbolic
distaff
A distaff (, , also called a rock"Rock." ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989.), is a tool used in spinning. It is designed to hold the unspun fibers, keeping them untangled and thus easing the spinning process. It is most commonly us ...
(), which was buried with her, and would sit on a high platform. As related in the saga:
Other sagas
As described by
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...
in his ''
Ynglinga saga
''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into English and published in 1844 ...
'', includes both divination and manipulative magic. It seems likely that the type of divination of -practitioners was generally distinct, by dint of an altogether more metaphysical nature, from the day-to-day auguries performed by the seers (, ).
However, in chapter 44 of the Icelandic saga ''
Vatnsdæla saga
''Vatnsdæla saga'' ( Icelandic: ; ; Old Norse: ''Vatnsdœla saga'') is one of the sagas of Icelanders.
The saga remains in manuscriptsAM 559 4to an138 fol
''Vatnsdæla Saga'' is essentially a family chronicle probably written just after the m ...
'', Þórdís Spákona loans someone her black cloak and stick () 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
(noun) and (adjective) are two Old Norse terms of insult, denoting effeminacy or other unmanly behaviour. ' (also ') is "unmanly" and ''ergi'' is "unmanliness"; the terms have cognates in other Germanic languages such as ', ', ''arag'', ''arug ...
'', was undoubtedly located on 'one of society's moral and psychological borders'. involved the incantation of
spells
Spell(s) or The Spell(s) may refer to:
Processes
* Spell (paranormal), an incantation
* Spell (ritual), a magical ritual
* Spelling, the writing of words
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Spell'' (1977 film), an American ...
(
''galdrar'',
sing
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
. ).
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
The ''Saga of Erik the Red'', in non, Eiríks saga rauða (), is an Icelandic saga on the Norse exploration of North America. The original saga is thought to have been written in the 13th century. It is preserved in somewhat different version ...
in particular, the practitioners connected with the spiritual realm through chanting and prayer. Viking texts suggest that the 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.
One author, Neil Price, argues that it was very likely that some parts of the practice involved sexual acts. Scholars have highlighted that the staffs have phallic epithets in various Icelandic sagas.
Mythology
Óðinn and
British archaeologist
Neil Price noted that "the realm of sorcery" was present in Óðinn's many aspects.
In
Lokasenna
''Lokasenna'' (Old Norse: 'The Flyting of Loki', or 'Loki's Verbal Duel') is one of the poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki. It is written in the ljóðaháttr metre, typical for wisdom verse. ''Lo ...
, according to the Poetic Edda, Loki accuses Óðinn of practising , condemning it as an unmanly art (). A justification for this may be found in the , where Snorri opines that following the practice of rendered the practitioner weak and helpless.
One possible example of in Norse mythology is the prophetic vision given to Óðinn in the
Vǫluspá by the ''
völva
In Germanic paganism, a seeress is a woman said to have the ability to foretell future events and perform sorcery. They are also referred to with many other names meaning "prophetess", "staff bearer", "wise woman" and "sorceress", and they are ...
'' after whom the poem is named. Her vision is not connected explicitly with ; 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 ). The interrelationship between the in this account and the
Norns
The Norns ( non, norn , plural: ) are deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies.'' Nordisk familjebok'' (1907)
In the ''Völuspá'', the three primary Norns Urðr (Wyrd), Verðandi, and Skuld draw wate ...
, the fates of Norse lore, is strong and striking.
Another noted mythological practitioner of was
Gróa
In Norse mythology, Gróa (possibly from Old Norse "growing"Orchard (1997:63).) is a völva (seeress) and practitioner of ''seiðr''. She is the wife of Aurvandil the Bold.
Attestations ''Prose Edda''
Gróa appears in the ''Prose Edda'' book ...
, who attempted to assist
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...
, and who in the
Svipdagsmál in a poem entitled
Grógaldr
''Grógaldr'' or ''The Spell of Gróa'' is the first of two poems, now commonly published under the title '' Svipdagsmál'' found in several 17th-century paper manuscripts with ''Fjölsvinnsmál''. In at least three of these manuscripts, the poems ...
"Gróa's spell" is summoned from beyond the grave.
Freyja and
Like Óðinn, the Norse goddess
Freyja
In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...
is also associated with in the surviving literature. In the (c.1225), written by Icelandic poet
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...
, it is stated that had originally been a practice among the
Vanir
In Norse mythology, the Vanir (; Old Norse: , singular Vanr ) are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are the namesake of the ...
, but that Freyja, who was herself a member of the Vanir, had introduced it to the
Æsir
The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, res ...
when she joined them.
Freyja is identified in as an adept of the mysteries of , and it is said that it was she who taught it to Óðinn:
" Njǫrðr’s daughter was Freyja. She presided over the sacrifice. It was she who first acquainted the Æsir with , which was customary among the Vanir."
Origins
Since the publication of
Jacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of th ...
's socio-linguistical
Deutsches Wörterbuch (p. 638) in 1835, scholarship draws a Balto-Finnic link to , citing the depiction of its practitioners as such in the sagas and elsewhere, and linking to the practices of the
noaidi
A noaidi ( sme, noaidi, smj, noajdde, sma, nåejttie, sms, nōjjd, sjt, niojte, sjd, noojd/nuojd, italic=yes, sje, nåjjde) is a shaman of the Sami people in the Nordic countries, playing a role in Sámi religious practices. Most ''noaidi'' ...
, the
patrilineal
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
shamans of the
Sami people
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...
. However, Indo-European origins are also possible. Note that the
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
word and the
Sami
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
variants of the term 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 .
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 and its place as a feminine craft.
A woman practicing would sometimes be called ''
völva
In Germanic paganism, a seeress is a woman said to have the ability to foretell future events and perform sorcery. They are also referred to with many other names meaning "prophetess", "staff bearer", "wise woman" and "sorceress", and they are ...
'', meaning
seeress
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
. She would also sometimes be described as or , meaning 'prophecy-woman' and 'magic-woman', respectively.
Because was viewed as a feminine practice, any man who engaged in it () was associated with a concept called ''
ergi
(noun) and (adjective) are two Old Norse terms of insult, denoting effeminacy or other unmanly behaviour. ' (also ') is "unmanly" and ''ergi'' is "unmanliness"; the terms have cognates in other Germanic languages such as ', ', ''arag'', ''arug ...
'', the designation of a man in Norse society who was unmanly, feminine and possibly homosexual.
Sometimes, female practitioners of the craft would take on young male apprentices, and those who became mothers would teach the practice to their sons.
Though not seen as a respectable thing, it was not rare for men to be involved in magic.
Contemporary Paganism
Contemporary Paganism, also referred to as Neo-Paganism, is an
umbrella term
In linguistics, semantics, general semantics, and ontologies, hyponymy () is a semantic relation between a hyponym denoting a subtype and a hypernym or hyperonym (sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term) denoting a supertype. In other wor ...
used to identify a wide variety of new religious movements, particularly those influenced by the various pagan beliefs of premodern Europe. 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.
is interpreted differently by different groups and practitioners, but usually taken to indicate altered consciousness or even total loss of physical control.
Diana L. Paxson
Diana Lucile Paxson (born February 20, 1943) is an American author, primarily in the fields of Paganism and Heathenism. Her published works include fantasy and historical fiction novels, as well as numerous short stories. More recently she has ...
and her group ''Hrafnar'' have attempted reconstructions of (particularly the oracular form) from historical material. Author
Jan Fries
Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to:
Acronyms
* Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN
* Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code
* Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group
* Japanese Article Numb ...
regards 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. According to Blain, is an intrinsic part of spiritual practice connecting practitioners to the wider cosmology in British Germanic Neopaganism.
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
Academic books and papers
*
*
* Ch. 6.
* Gardela, Leszek. ''Into Viking Minds: Reinterpreting the Staffs of Sorcery and Unraveling Seidr''. Brepols Publishers, 2009.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Non-academic sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seidr
European shamanism
Germanic paganism
Witchcraft in Iceland
Witchcraft in Denmark
Witchcraft in Norway
Witchcraft in Sweden
Iron Age Scandinavia