InOld Norse,seiðr (sometimes anglicized asseidhr,seidh,seidr,seithr,seith, orseid) was a type ofmagic practiced inNorse society during theLate Scandinavian Iron Age. The practice ofseiðr is believed to be a form of magic which is related to both the telling and the shaping of the future. Connected to theOld Norse religion, its origins are largely unknown, and its practice gradually declined after theChristianization of Scandinavia. Accounts ofseiðr later made it into sagas and other literary sources, while further evidence of it has been unearthed byarchaeologists. Various scholars have debated the nature ofseiðr, some of them have argued that it wasshamanic in context, involving visionary journeys by its practitioners.
Seiðr practitioners were of both sexes, with sorceresses being variously known asvǫlur,seiðkonur andvísendakona. There were also accounts of male practitioners, who were known asseiðmenn (orseiðmaðr in the singular). In many cases these magical practitioners would have had assistants to aid them in their rituals.
In pre-ChristianNorse mythology,seiðr was associated with both the godÓðinn, a deity who was simultaneously responsible for war, poetry and sorcery, and the goddessFreyja, a member of theVanir who was believed to have taught the practice to theÆsir.[1]
In the 20th century, adherents of variousmodern Pagannew religious movements adopted forms ofmagico-religious practice which includeseiðr. The practices of these contemporaryseiðr-workers have since been investigated by various academic researchers who are operating in the field ofpagan studies.
Seiðr is believed to come fromProto-Germanic*saiðaz, cognate withLithuaniansaitas, 'tie, tether' andProto-Celtic*soito- 'sorcery' (giving Welshhud, Bretonhud 'magic'), all derived fromProto-Indo-European*soi-to- 'string, rope', ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root*seH2i- 'to bind'.[2]
Related words inOld High German (see GermanSaite, used both in string instruments and in bows) andOld English refer to 'cord, string', or 'snare, cord, halter' and there is a line in verse 15 of theskaldic poemRagnarsdrápa that usesseiðr in that sense.[3] However, it is not clear how this derivation relates to the practice ofseiðr. It has been suggested that the use of a cord in attraction may be related toseiðr, where attraction is one element of the practice ofseiðr magic described in Norse literature and with witchcraft inScandinavian folklore.[3] However, ifseiðr involved "spinning charms", that would explain thedistaff, a tool used in spinning flax or sometimes wool, that appears to be associated withseiðr practice.[3] In any case, the string relates to the "threads of fate", that theNornir spin, measure, and cut.
Old English terms cognate withseiðr are-siden (as a suffix in the nounælfsiden, in variousinflected forms) andsidsa, 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 toseiðr.[4] Among the Old English words for practitioners of magic arewicca (m.) orwicce (f.), theetymons of Modern English 'witch'.
In theViking Age, the practice ofseiðr by men had connotations of unmanliness or effeminacy, known asergi, as its manipulative aspects ran counter to masculine ideal of forthright, open behavior.[citation needed]Freyja and perhaps some of the other goddesses ofNorse mythology wereseiðr practitioners, Óðinn was accused byLoki in theLokasenna 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."
In the 13th centurySaga of Erik the Red, there was aseiðkona orvǫlva inGreenland named Þórbjǫrg ('protected by Thor'). She wore a bluecloak and a headpiece of black lamb trimmed with white ermine, carried the symbolicdistaff (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.[5] | 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[6]), 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 oflatten at the ends. On her hands she had gloves of ermine-skin, and they were white and hairy within.[7] |
As described bySnorri Sturluson in hisYnglinga saga,[8]seiðr includes both divination and manipulative magic. It seems likely that the divination ofseiðr-practitioners was distinct, in a metaphysical nature, from the day-to-day auguries performed by the seers (menn framsýnir,menn forspáir).
However, in chapter 44 of the Icelandic sagaVatnsdæla 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.
Seiðr is mentioned in Icelandic folktales dating to the 19th century (Íslenzkar Þjóðsögur og Æfintýri, Jón Árnason).
Seiðr involved the incantation ofspells (galdrar,sg.galdr). 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 theseiðr ritual was used in times of inherent crisis, as a tool for seeing into the future, and for cursing and hexing one's enemies. Overall, Seiðr could have been used for great good or destructive evil, as well as for daily guidance.[9]
One author, Neil Price, argues that it was very likely that some parts of the practice involved sexual acts,[10] given that ritual staves have phallic epithets in various Icelandic sagas.[11] Price also argues that, because of its connection withergi,seiðr was "undoubtedly located on one of society's moral and psychological borders."[10][12]
British archaeologistNeil Price noted that "the realm of sorcery" was present in Óðinn's many aspects.[13]
InLokasenna, according to the Poetic Edda, Loki accuses Óðinn of practisingseiðr, condemning it as an unmanly art (ergi). A justification for this may be found in theYnglinga saga, where Snorri opines that following the practice ofseiðr rendered the practitioner weak and helpless.
One possible example ofseiðr in Norse mythology is the prophetic vision given to Óðinn in theVǫluspá by thevölva after whom the poem is named. Her vision is not connected explicitly withseiðr; 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 thevölva).[14] The interrelationship between thevǫlva in this account and theNorns, the fates of Norse lore, is strong and striking.
Another noted mythological practitioner ofseiðr wasGróa, who attempted to assistThor, and who in theSvipdagsmál in a poem entitledGrógaldr "Gróa's spell" is summoned from beyond the grave.
Like Óðinn, the Norse goddessFreyja is also associated withseiðr in the surviving literature. In theYnglinga saga (c. 1225), written by Icelandic poetSnorri Sturluson, it is stated thatseiðr had originally been a practice among theVanir, but that Freyja, who was herself a member of the Vanir, had introduced it to theÆsir when she joined them.[15]
Freyja is identified inYnglinga saga as an adept of the mysteries ofseiðr, 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 withseiðr, which was customary among the Vanir."
Since the publication ofJacob Grimm's socio-linguisticalDeutsches Wörterbuch (p. 638) in 1835, scholarship draws a Balto-Finnic link toseiðr, citing the depiction of its practitioners as such in the sagas and elsewhere, and linkingseiðr to the practices of thenoaidi, thepatrilineal shamans of theSami people. However, Indo-European origins are also possible.[16] Note that theFinnish wordseita and theSami variants of the termsieidde 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 fromseiðr.[17]
In Old Norse societies, gender roles were very rigid and deviating from them was considered shameful [reference?]. This is exemplified in the attitudes surroundingseiðr and its place as a feminine craft.
A woman practicingseiðr would sometimes be calledvölva, meaningseeress. She would also sometimes be described asspá-kona orseið-kona, meaning 'prophecy-woman' and 'magic-woman', respectively.[18] Becauseseiðr was viewed as a feminine practice, any man who engaged in it (seiðmaðr)[19] was associated with a concept calledergi, the designation of a man in Norse society who was unmanly, feminine and possibly homosexual.[18]
Sometimes, female practitioners of the craft would take on young male apprentices, and those who became mothers would teach the practice to their sons.[20] Though not seen as a respectable thing, it was not rare for men to be involved inseiðr magic.
Contemporary paganism, also referred to as neopaganism, is anumbrella term used to identify a wide variety of new religious movements, particularly those influenced by the various pagan beliefs of premodern Europe.[21][22] Several of these contemporary pagan religions draw specifically on the original medieval 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.[23]Diana L. Paxson and her groupHrafnar have attempted reconstructions ofseiðr (particularly the oracular form) from historical material.[24] AuthorJan Fries regardsseiðr 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.[25] According to Blain,seiðr is an intrinsic part of spiritual practice connecting practitioners to the wider cosmology in British Germanic neopaganism.[26]
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