# Völva — Seeress Tradition of the North Source: Velya Runava Angel forum (t9187), article by Арина Род, 18/5/2019 --- ## 1. Etymology and Names **Völva** (Old Norse: vǫlva) — a seeress in pre-Christian Scandinavia who practiced shamanic techniques of seiðr and spá, enabling prophecy and the modeling of future events. Völvas also used galdr — an incantatory ritual methodology specific to Scandinavian shamanism. **Alternative names:** - **Spákona / spækona** — literally "woman who knows spá" (prophecy/sight) - **Vala** — possibly a literary-artistic form of vǫlva (E. Hellquist) - **Fjǫlkunnig** — from the Saga of Norna-Gest, indicating a person who practices seiðr, spá, or galdr; no exact translation **Etymological roots:** - Old Norse vǫlva = "bearer of the magical staff/wand," pointing to the völva's essential attribute - Likely derived from Proto-Germanic *walwōn, giving both Old Norse vǫlr and English "wand" (staff/wand) - Spá/spæ from Proto-Indo-European root *(s)peḱ = "I see / I observe" - Sanskrit parallel: spaśyati ("to see") - Latin parallel: specio ("I see") - Modern English "spy" derives from Old Norse spá - Hellquist defines völva as "the seeing one" or "she who sees," emphasizing mystical clairvoyance **Male practitioners:** - **Seiðmaðr** — a man who practices seiðr - Such men became ergi ("unmanly" or "sexually perverted") and lost social status; they could be lawfully killed without trial --- ## 2. The Völva in the Sagas Völvas practiced seiðr, spá, and galdr — corresponding respectively to shamanism (communion with natural forces and spirits), prophecy, and ritual incantation. **Völvas were overwhelmingly women.** Even Odin, lord of Asgard, consults a prophetess for advice — the episode described in the Völuspá ("Prophecy of the Völva") of the Poetic Edda. "Völva" is not a proper name; numerous named prophetesses appear across Eddic texts: - **Völva Heiðr** — mentioned in Völuspá - **Völva Gróa** — appears in Svipdagsmál ("Lay of Svipdag") - **Völva Hund** — mentioned in Ynglinga Saga - **Þórbjǫrg** "the Little Völva" — Saga of Erik the Red (most detailed historical account) **Goddess patron:** Freyja served as the goddess of prophetesses (Harrison & Svensson, Vikingaliv). Völvas held the same authority in Miðgarðr that Freyja held in Ásgarðr — they represented their patroness in the human world. **Sif as spákona:** Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda calls Sif (Thor's wife) a spákona and associates her with the Sibyl — the Greek woman-oracle. **Weapon of the völva:** Harrison & Svensson write: "The völva's weapon is not a sword, spear, or axe, but a magical staff. Through the staff she influences the outcome of battle." The ability to control battles parallels the valkyries (e.g., "Song of the Valkyries" from Njáls Saga). --- ## 3. Historical Sources ### Earliest Mentions **Strabo (Geography):** Describes prophetesses of the Cimbri (Germanic tribe) — elderly women dressed in white who sacrificed prisoners of war and sprinkled themselves with blood to see the future. **Julius Caesar (Gallic Wars):** Reports meeting Ariovistus, chief of the Suebi, and learning of the Germanic custom of sacrificing captives to predict battle outcomes. **Tacitus (Histories):** Mentions Veleda, a prophetess of the Bructeri tribe, whom other tribes apparently deified. **Jordanes (Getica):** Describes Gothic sorceresses called haliurunnas, exiled by King Filimer. The word derives from halju-runnos = "those who travel to the lands of the dead." According to Jordanes, these sorceresses gave rise to the Huns. ### Later Sources **Paul the Deacon (Lombard historian):** Describes conflict between Lombards and Vandals. The Vandals sought help from Godan (likely Odin), while the Lombards turned to his wife Fre (likely Freyja). Fre helped Gambara (mother of the Lombard chieftains) outwit Odin, and the battle was won. Gambara clearly functions as a völva in this narrative. **Ibn Fadlan (921 CE):** Describes the funeral of a Scandinavian chieftain. On the tenth day of the funeral feast, a priestess (described as an elderly woman called "the Angel of Death") sacrificed the chieftain's slave woman and placed her body in the burial ship. --- ## 4. The Völva in Scandinavian Society In Scandinavian clans (ættir), young women were bound by family obligations and household duties. Therefore völvas were typically older women no longer tied to the hearth. **Nomadic lifestyle:** Gro Steinsland (People and Power in the Viking World) writes that völvas led nomadic lives, traveling between settlements, usually accompanied by several young men. They were specifically summoned during crop failures, livestock plagues, and kin disputes. Their services were well compensated. **High-born women:** Harrison & Svensson note that many women of high birth sought to serve Freyja and represent her in Miðgarðr. They married warriors representing Odin and settled in long houses that served as symbolic prototypes of Valhalla. During feasts, women imitated valkyries by serving mead to warriors who imitated einherjar. But women also participated actively in warfare — not in the battle line with weapons, but through magical rituals helping their husbands in combat. **Darraðarljóð:** This skaldic poem from Njáls Saga confirms this theory, describing a magical ritual performed by warriors' wives while their husbands fought in battle. --- ## 5. Archaeological Evidence Harrison & Svensson cite over **40 female burials** containing ritual staffs. More than half include rich grave goods typical of major funeral rites, indicating the exceptional status of völvas. ### Fyrkat Burial (Denmark) — Richest Known Völva Grave - The völva was laid in a large wagon with wheels removed - Dressed in a long gown and sandals with exposed toes - A Gotlandic-type brooch on her head, manufactured in the east (regions of modern Finland and Russia) - At her feet: a box containing bird bones, small mammal bones, and **black henbane seeds** - Black henbane (Hyoscyamus niger): when seeds are thrown into fire, the smoke produces ecstatic sensations of flight and aphrodisiac effects - A silver amulet in the shape of a **chair/throne** — symbolizing the ritual seat used during prophecy - Harrison & Svensson draw a parallel to Hliðskjálf, Odin's high seat from which he surveys all worlds - Likely the völva kept by Harald Bluetooth, legendary ruler of Denmark and Norway (958–986 CE) ### Oseberg Ship Burial (Norway) - Two women in rich clothing - Hemp seeds found near one woman (probably stuffing for pillows under the bodies) - A wooden staff near one woman - A horse, an Arabian clay jug, and a silver amulet depicting a woman with a broad necklace - The necklace-wearing woman likely represents Freyja with Brísingamen - Similar amulets were worn by respected women, not only völvas ### Birka Double Burial (Sweden) - A warrior and a völva buried together - A wooden staff near the völva - A spear laid across both bodies — indicating they belonged to Odin --- ## 6. The Völva's Staff and Weaving Symbolism The völva's image is inseparably linked to the wooden staff, the spindle, and weaving. This motif extends beyond Scandinavian mythology: - **Norns** — Norse goddesses of fate called "weavers of destiny" - **Moirai** — Greek fate-goddesses who were weavers - **Parcae** — Roman fate-goddesses who were weavers **Staff-spindle connection:** Wooden völva staffs found at battle sites alongside swords and axes suggest völvas may have participated directly in combat. Many völva staffs resemble distaffs, and one theory holds that the concept of seiðr originally referred to a spinning thread. Thus the völva's magical staff may derive from the distaff. **Spinning thread = thread of life:** The metaphor of spinning thread as the thread of human destiny/fate is widespread. Spinning is distinctly not a warrior's craft, creating a telling parallel. **Peace-weavers:** In Beowulf, women called "peace-weavers" (friðuwebbe) are mentioned — women who married men from rival tribes to establish lasting alliances between warring peoples. **Norn or völva?** The prophetesses who come to the newborn Helgi in the First Lay of Helgi the Hunding-Slayer were originally considered norns, but may in fact have been völvas. --- ## 7. Völvas, Fertility Rites, and the Phallic Cult Some researchers believe völvas participated in fertility rites linked to a phallic cult: - **Rällinge figurine (Sweden):** Presumed statue of Freyr (god of fertility, Freyja's brother) with a prominent phallic element - **Adam of Bremen:** Describes a statue of Freyr in the Uppsala temple with the same distinctive feature - **Vǫlsa þáttr (Flateyjarbók):** Contains an episode using a horse penis in a fertility ritual — possibly a reference to Indo-Aryan sacrificial rites - **Anonymous 1902 German treatise:** Proposed that the seiðr staff served a direct phallic function, explaining why seiðr practice was considered unacceptable for men - **Lokasenna:** Loki accuses Odin of practicing seiðr and therefore being ergi ("unmanly") - **Ragnvald Rétilbeinn:** Son of Harald Fairhair, practiced seiðr using an instrument called rétilbeinn — a word also used to denote an erect penis **Important caveat:** There are only theories and indirect indications. No direct evidence confirms that seiðr practice or völva rituals involved sexual acts or their imitation. Nor is it certain that völvas participated in fertility rites at all. **Warnings in Hávamál:** The Sayings of the High One and other Eddic texts warn that a woman skilled in seiðr can seduce a man and subjugate him to her will, or inflict illness upon him. --- ## 8. Völva Rituals and Christian Suppression **Trance position:** R. Keyser (Religion of the Northmen) and J. Blain (Nine Worlds of Seidr) write that the völva entering trance assumed a special seated position — likely referring to meditative and self-contemplative practices. Also mentioned is the use of rhythmic drumming, as later among Sámi shamans. ### The Þórbjǫrg Session (Saga of Erik the Red) — Most Detailed Account The völva Þórbjǫrg arrived at twilight wearing: - A long blue (or black) cloak adorned with gemstones along the hem - A magical distaff (seiðstafr) inlaid with jewels and brass - A necklace of glass pearls - A headdress of lambskin lined with white cat fur - A belt of tinder-fungus with a large pouch of ritual instruments - Calf-skin shoes with brass trimmings on the laces - White cat-fur gloves worn fur-side-in **Ritual sequence:** 1. The völva was respectfully greeted and conducted to the chieftain's high seat, prepared with soft cushions 2. Specially prepared dishes offered: porridge in goat's milk and roasted hearts of all animals raised locally 3. The völva spent the night in the house 4. In the morning, she performed a ritual dance, ascending a special platform 5. Young women sat around her, singing ritual incantations (varðlokur) 6. The nature of the incantations varied depending on which forces the völva invoked **Result:** The ritual was successful — the völva foresaw the future and prevented famine. ### Color symbolism Both in the Erik the Red Saga and the Saga of Odd the Arrow, the völva wears a blue or black cloak. Odin traditionally wore a blue cloak when wandering Miðgarðr. This color likely forms the image of a stranger endowed with supernatural powers. --- ## 9. Integration with Rune Skill ### Rune connections: - The völva tradition is the **historical foundation** of runic divination practice - The seiðr ritual used runes as **trance focal points** — not as symbols for analytical interpretation - Galdr (incantatory magic) is the runic chanting tradition — völvas were galdr practitioners - The völva's staff may be related to the concept of the **world tree** (Yggdrasil) as axis mundi ### Key distinctions for rune readings: - Völva prophecy emerges from **trance state**, not from rune-symbol analysis - The staff (vǫlr) as ritual tool connects to the **spinning/weaving** metaphor of fate — parallel to the Norns - The connection between seiðr and ergi (for male practitioners) explains why Odin learned seiðr from Freyja rather than developing it independently - The völva's role as **Freyja's representative** in Miðgarðr links prophecy to the Vanir tradition of fertility and prosperity ### Practical implications for modern practitioners: - Understanding the völva tradition provides **historical depth** to rune reading - The seiðr approach to runes (trance-focal rather than symbol-analytical) offers an **alternative methodology** - The völva's connection to **community service** (summoned during crises) provides ethical framework - Archaeological evidence (Fyrkat, Oseberg) offers **material culture context** for rune practice