#seidhr

[heathenheart9]

Snakeskin. Bone to rune 🖤

[anastasiaoftheironwood]

The amazing Seo Helrune will be teaching "The Völva and the Witch: Spinning, Seiðr, Knots, Luck, and Elves" on October 7, 2023 at 12:00 PM Eastern! Live online, and also it will be recorded so you can watch it later if you can't make the live event.

Description: Ever read Ynglinga saga 7 and wonder about the seiðr that seems to have existed beyond the high seat? If so, this class is for you!

When modern Heathens and other interested magical practitioners think about seiðr, the image that most commonly comes to mind is that of the völva (seeress) on her high seat as depicted in Eiríks saga rauða/Eric the Red’s Saga. It is this image as interpreted via early 20th century scholarship arguing for seiðr as a form of shamanism and Harner’s “core shamanism” that has largely shaped modern recreations of seiðr.

However, when we look at the following section from chapter seven of the Yngling saga, it’s clear that there was much more to seiðr than the high seat:

“Odin knew and practised that craft which brought most power and which was called seid (witchcraft), and he therefore knew much of man's fate and of the future, likewise how to bring people death, ill-luck or illness, or he took power and wit from them and gave it to others. But in promoting this sorcery, lack of manliness followed so much that men seemed not without shame in dealing in it; the priestesses were therefore taught this craft.”

(trans. taken from here)

Well, would ye know yet more?

In this class, I’m going to take a look at seiðr beyond the high seat. We’ll scrutinize the association with shamanism, consider the connection between spinning and seiðr, leap into the matter of luck, vent about the Vanadís, meet with some mound priestesses, get egregious with ergi, pour over possible survivals of seiðr in Early Modern witchcraft accounts, and ask the question so many have asked before: What is up with the elves?

Along the way, we’ll also talk staffs, gandr spirits, weird magical experiments, and so much more!

Caveat: Please note that this class will include discussion of adult themes. Please do not sign up if you are underage or prefer to avoid such topics.

Live attendance not necessary. All ticketholders receive links to attendee packs/recordings after the event.

[sarenth]

Patron Topic 105: On Calling Distant Ancestors

If you want to submit a topic you would like me to write on for this blog or my Patreon, sign up for the Ansuz level or above here on my Patreon. You can also choose to support me outside of Patreon, such as directly through PayPal. From House Hesson comes this topic: “What does ancestor work look like when all of the ancestors you knew personally were awful people? (Abusive, Trump voters,…

[staticverse]

A redo of one of my old drawings to see how much I’ve improved over time, pretty pleased with the results ☺️

[felinehexes]

new wave heaven

[yugiohcardsdaily]

Vala, Seidhr of the Generaider Bosses

"You can only control 1 'Vala, Seidhr of the Generaider Bosses'. You can only use each of the following effects of 'Vala, Seidhr of the Generaider Bosses' once per turn. If this card is in your hand or GY: You can send 1 other 'Generaider' card from your hand to the GY; Special Summon this card, but banish it when it leaves the field. If this card is Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 'Generaider' monster from your hand or GY, except 'Vala, Seidhr of the Generaider Bosses'."

[vanadottir]

Tags:

Freyja: lady of seidhr and shining gold

Freyr: lord of harvest and horses

Nerthus: queen of land and lakes

Njordr: king of waves and wind

Skadhi: lady of sled and snow

Heimdallr: he of bridges

Idunn: she of apples

Vanaheim: land of the gods

Alfheim: land of the elves

My fox bone runes & poem: runes

[folksaga-if]

“It is a long story, and it does no credit to anyone: there is murder in it, and trickery, lies and foolishness, seduction and pursuit.  Listen."

- Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology

You are a human. A totally normal one.

Honestly.

You’re a human. You’re a bartender, which is a very normal job for a human to have, and when you walk down the winding streets of Akureyri you can blend seamlessly into any crowd of people which is, without question, only something that a human could do.

The fact that you came here two years ago with nothing but the clothing on your back doesn’t mean anything; you’re hardly northern Iceland’s first wayfaring soul. That you had no money to your name, no friends or family to speak of — that’s a fairly average human thing, too. And that little craving you have, that quiet urge to dig your teeth into any passing stranger’s throat? It's completely, entirely mundane.

It’s manageable. You’re managing.

Or you were, until someone — someone who's decidedly notas good at this human thing as you are — begins leaving a trail of dead bodies at your doorstep, and a trio of god-like siblings take a seat at your bar.

MAGNI THORSON .

No doubt the mightiest of his siblings, the eldest child of Thor is exactly the sort of person you would expect him to be: a giant (half-giant, in fact) asshole with a smoulder and a knife-sharp jawline to match. He’ll match your every word with a cocky grin and a joke that’s nowhere near as funny as he thinks, and he’ll look every inch the prince that he is all the while.

(Well, the prince that he was. Just don’t let him hear you say that.)

MODI THORSON .

For the supposed embodiment of his father’s wrath, the God of Thunder’s second son is surprisingly…not that. He’s no picnic, mind you — he’s broody, he’s secretive, and he's fucking intense, but that hardly equates to fury incarnate. You’re sure there’s something hiding under that moody surface; whether or not you want to uncover it is a different story entirely.

(Looks like even gods aren’t immune to middle-child syndrome. Who knew?)

THRÚD THORSDÓTTIR .

Valkyrie, seidhr,paragon of strength — with all of her mother’s best traits (and a few of her father’s worst), is it any wonder that Thor’s youngest child was also his favourite? Smarter than her half-brothers and more likeable by a longshot, you might find yourself forgetting how easily the fortune-telling goddess could break you in two. You might, but she’ll be happy to remind you if you do.

(Maybe a little too happy, in fact.)

KATLA B̶͍̏L̸̝͑O̵̟͠M̴̳̓Q̴̯̔V̵̺͆I̷̗͛S̵̠͒T̸̬̒ .

A fellow nomad and your coworker at Black Thunder, the first friend you made in Akureyri has remained your closest. Mischevious, magnetic, and often up to no small amount of trouble, there are times when you think you might know Katla better than you know yourself. You even know about her…well, you know that she…sorry, what were you talking about again?

(It's just that it’s nice, being close to someone who’s so very human.)

THE MARE .

There’s a voice in your head and a shadow in your dreams, and they’re telling you to run. You probably shouldn’t trust them.

(…Right?)

Customize your monster character. New life, new you! Choose your gender identity, change your name, cut your hair, and remember: if you’re starting to grow tired of running from your past, try on a new outfit and start running faster.

Play as one of three runway creatures from Norse mythology — a cunning keeper of the forest, a charming warden of the lake, or a formidable guardian of the mountains. Each has its quirks (would you prefer a hollowed-out tree for a back, or webbed fingers and forearms covered in scales?), but they all have two key things in common: they’ll killto protect their homes, and you’redefinitely not one of them.

Choose your own fate, out of the countless that are presented to you. Had oatmeal instead of skyr with your breakfast this morning? You might have just brought about Ragnarök 2.0. Nice one, asshole.

Multiple romance options, with each available to pursue regardless of your gender or background. Ever wanted to kiss a god under a starry sky? Now's your chance! Or maybe you’re through with immortal beings and desperate to ask the pretty server on a date? Go for it! She’s definitelya human too. Totally. You’d be able to tell if she wasn’t. Wouldn’t you?

Save the world — or don’t.It's your choice, and isn't that what true freedom is all about?

Folksaga is inspired by The Edda, Norse mythology, andTwin Peaks, with a bit of tweaking to the myths as needed for the sake of plot. MC backgrounds have been adjusted to fit for all players regardless of gender identity, and creative liberty has been taken with some smaller points for a smoother storytelling experience. All changes will be explained in an FAQ post (too be added in the links below ASAP!)

AS OF AUGUST 21 UPDATE: The current demo consists of the prologue (introductory lore + character creation), + chapter 1, about 70k words total.

I expect it to be somewhere in the range of 600,000 to 700,000 words, but this is subject to change (and likely will due to my propensity for rambling text. oops.).

I’ve written  short and long-form original fiction as well as a lot of fanfic (say hello @ pentaghastly on AO3, and @kendallroynsfw on tumblr!), but this is my first IF! Bugs and coding issues may appear in the demo; please let me know if any issues arise during your playthroughs.

Folksaga is a work in progress. I would love constructive feedback when the demo is posted, as well as any bugs or grammar issues to be brought to my attention if I've missed them :) I would also love patience, because I'm a full time health care worker who gets sleepy lots xoxo

A Swedish farmer named Sven Andersson was executed in 1691 for having intercourse with a mountain nymph, or bergsrå. I will neither confirm or deny if his Wikipedia article was the inspiration for this IF, except I will confirm it and it definitely was.

MC ORIGINS | RO INTROS | DEMO!!!!! | COG FORUMS | PATREON

[spinmeround]

Seidhr by Marc Potts

[toastandjamie]

So I wanted to elaborate on the Mat/Elayne Freyja/Odin parallel, so here’s that essay. For the sake of keeping this post semi coherent any off topic but vaguely relevant ramblings will be at the bottom of the post.

To start I was surprised to find out that while the obvious parallels between Mat/Odin and Perrin/Thor are often noted I haven’t seen anyone mention how Elayne is Freyja, so I’ll start by talking about those similarities. Freyja is a goddess of love and fertility as well as a goddess of death and war, and of course, of the magic practice of Seidhr which I covered in my precious Mat post. Freyja much like Elayne is a twin, having a twin brother(and masculine form) Freyr, the god of peace, fertility and prosperity. Freyr also has a horse cult, for some reason. Freyja of course is the second patron god of Seidhr sharing the role with Odin but she fulfills the more traditional and feminine aspects in a more socially conventional manner. Her husband, is often absent resulting in a particular myth of her crying ‘red-gold’ tears in his absence, her husband, Odr’s name actually means frenzied madness so shout out Rand. Freyja is also often depicted with having red-gold hair like everyone’s favorite Trakkand. She’s also associated with cats and she’s sometimes connected to the Phrygian goddess Cybele, who instead of a chariots drawn by cats has a chariot drawn by lions. Of course the Cybele/Freyja connection is debatable but I wanted to point it out for the lion connection.

Now onto the fun part, Freyja/Elayne and Mat/Odin, let’s talk about that dynamic. So if you didn’t notice Seidhr isn’t the only domain Freyja and Odin share, they’re both also gods of war and death, specifically they’re both gods of glorious death on the field of battle. Half of the slain are taken by Odin to Valahalla and the other half to Freyja’s realm Folkvangr. Now this might be a stretch but the sharing of the dead between Odin and Freyja reminds me of the sharing of The Band and the Dragons between Mat and Elayne in ToM and AMoL. Once again that’s a bit of a stretch but I wanted to point it out. Though I think the Band of The Red Hand is definitely a reference to Odin leading a procession of fallen warriors and the fact that Elayne gets shared custody is something I find very interesting in terms of this parallel.

Odin and Freyja are also both connected to the Valkyries for the above reasons. I think it’s safe to say that Brigitte is a Valkyrie, a spirit of a female warrior who comes to lead the dead to Valhalla and Folkvangr respectively. The fact that Brigitte bonded to both Mat and Elayne(through the horn and through the Warder bond respectively) is something I think proves this connection. Yada yada the Horn of Valere and the Heroes of the Horn are the Wild Hunt which in some stories is led by Odin with a Valkyrie at his side, Mat and Brigitte yada yada.

Also depending on who you ask Freyja is often conflated with Odin’s wife Frigg and Odin with Freyja’s husband Odr so uh- Matlayne

Now how do these connections inform Mat and Elayne’s dynamic. Well for one it explains why they are so heavily linked to eachother, from Mat’s vague connection to Manethran’s King Aemon and Elayne LITERALLY being the Rose of The Sun to Mat and Elayne sharing their weapons of mass destruction with eachother, the two spend a great deal of time with eachother and working together. Much like Odin and Freyja they compliment eachother and work together in their respective domains, whether that’s being a soldier and his Queen or two powerful people sharing battle earned death while accompanied by a woman warrior spirit and legendary procession of long dead heroes. They are complimentary halves and foils to eachother, they of course clash because they are forced to share space(share domains) but in the end they come to an understanding and make eachother stronger through their differences and similarities.

Okay okay tangent time, so I’m really insane about Mat/Elayne’s whole relationship and how Elayne is a thematic character foil to Tuon. Like Elayne is the Rose of the Sun and Tuon is the Daughter of the Nine Moons. The thematic relevance of Mat choosing to stay in Ebou Dar with Tuon vs. taking Elayne’s contract to become an Andoran general, choosing the Moon over the Sun. All I’m saying is that RJ robbed us of the potential Mat/Elayne/Tuon love triangle that would’ve shot and killed me. The Themes, The Character Foils, The DRAMA

Next tangent has nothing to do with Elayne really but was inspired by the previous tangent. So the Seanchen are represented by the night but they are also symbols of death right? Now one of Tuon’s names is Kore which is an epitaph of Persephone and with the death connection and the kidnapping that brings an obvious parallel to the myth of Hades and Persephone. But I’d argue that the story themes put Tuon in the role of Hades rather than Persephone while Mat takes Persephone’s role. I mean wed to Hades(Tuon) and brought into the underworld(Seanchen) only to become trapped there by eating a pomegranate(or accidentally starting a foreign marriage ceremony) able to return home to the land of the living(Andor) but only for short periods of time, all while becoming more than she once was as the Queen of the Underworld(Prince of Ravens). Anyways I have FEELINGS about Mat Cauthon.

[ratnix]

I saw your tags, I'm not coming for you, promise. I'm actually right with you on the whole thing with the Volva. That was actually one of the most ridiculous takes on Seidhr/Volva in recent years and one of the most inaccurate. It's like someone just saw "magic" and went, "Oh, let's just glean over THIS MASSIVE PART that is intrinsically part of the practice" and just ignores the part of a Volva, in a house, would be the highest honored guest, highest seat even in the presence of the jarl or king, everything. And don't get me started on Seidhr being a feminine practice because we all know Odin has skills in it because I could bash both the Seid-Kona and that idiot seer in the Vikings show that shouldn't even be a thing. Upside - they seem to be trans? Which is a neat aspect that has a ton of potential but considering how much is already inaccurate, I don't expect anyone writing TotG to know half of it. (Besides, there's a huge difference between Seidhr and Galdr, which I'd happily go into explaining if needed.) Phew. Okay, carry on.

YESS THANK YOU THANK YOU!! I was so confused by this whole thing I actually started doubting my own knowledge and memory and was like ....wait...am I missing something? It feels like the writers thought "okay, magic" and then connected this notion of magic to (non-Norse) witchcraft and how forbidden and looked down upon this witchcraft was. It especially feels weird because yeah it was a feminine practice but the writers must have seen feminine so feminine=looked down upon, when Odin and Freya themselves used seidr.

I really liked the queer representation though so that was neat. Though I will admit my issues for rage quitting were writing, pacing, voice acting related instead of accuracy (though it did play a part) - idk man (gender neutral) I just really like Norse mythology ever since I was a kid and not seeing it represented correctly** feels like a personal insult (enter brie Larson meme) (**okay correctly might not be the right word bc yk the sources were written down by christian scribes so ofc I'm not expecting them to time travel back to the 800s and spend a day with Norse people and listen to their stories or smth)

[ladybrythwensinclair]

Hail Freya

Hail to the Mistress of the magic of Seething * Hail to the Keeper of the Falcon Cloak Hail to the Mother of Treasures Bless and walk with us this day

~*~*~*~*~*~ Seething, as used here, is a medieval English term for Seidhr.

[rosquinn]

AITA for being dramatic at a family dinner?

My brother (we're not biologically related, it's more like a blood-brother situation) O and I usually go to have a feast at this guy's (A) palace, but A didn't invite me this time. I know they were all sad mourning the death of O's kid so I didn't mind it too much and decided to go by myself. Everyone was acting super angry when I showed up, and a family member said he would fistfight me if we weren't sitting in another man's hall and all, so I killed one of the servants. Just so they know what to expect from me. Then they all got so fed up and kicked me out, which is objectively not fair? They've always bullied me and blamed everything that goes wrong on me. When my kids were born I thought they were gonna be happy for me, but my brother O had his son T throw them into the sea and the pits of hell respectively and tied the third one to a rock. Come on, man.

Anyway, I decided to go back and insult them for a couple of minutes. Everyone in my family cheats on their spouse all the time and I like to keep track of the affairs for fun and this was the perfect time to expose them all. O and some other olders called me a faggot for sleeping with men as if O didn't practice seidhr and their daughters weren't having sex with their brothers when they're not looking. I told them that and S said she was gonna break my kneecaps (she had reasons to be angry at me─I set her father on fire, after all─but that's going a little too far).

They ended up killing my son and tying me to a rock with his guts??? I don't know where all of the sudden aggressiveness towards me is coming from? Am I the asshole? I did kill O's kid, that's on me and I'll admit it, and I also made sure he doesn't go back from Helheim ever again, but they've put a giant serpent dropping venom on my face while I'm tied to this rock and still haven't apologized??? My wife is crying

[sarenth]

Patreon Poem/Prayer/Song 71: For Freyja Seiðkona

If you want to submit a request for a prayer, poem, or song to be written to you privately or to be posted on this blog or my Patreon for a God, Ancestor, or spirit, sign up for the Ansuz and above level here on my Patreon. This request was made by Maleck for Freyja Seiðkona. Freyja! Freyja! Freyja! Seiðkona! Seiðkona! Seiðkona! Varðlokkur-bearer! Seið-teacher! Gandr-wielder! Teach me what I…

[wearethekat]

February Book Reviews: A Flame in the North by Lilith Saintcrow

Picked this new release up because I've found Saintcrow's books engaging in the past. Solveig has a respected position in her father's hall as one of the most powerful magic users seen in generations. But when her brother impulsively kills a man in a brawl, she's sent north with the dead man's kin as a weregild tribute in recompense. As Solveig travels northward, she begins to realize that the Northerners are not who they seem-- and legends she's heard about the evil that lurks there are more than stories.

Saintcrow does an excellent job of establishing Solveig's Norse-inspired home. It's obvious that she's done research into the material reality of the period, which makes for a much more engaging setting than tacking some (inaccurate) horned helmets onto things and calling it a day. The prose is in a high-formal, faux archaic style which personally I enjoy, but some people might find grating.

Where this book fell a little short for me was the pacing. For a hefty four hundred fifty pages, this book does little more than introduce the basic premise before ending on a cliffhanger with little to no plot threads resolved. It takes a hundred pages to cover the initial setup I summarized in two sentences above-- Solveig being sent north as weregild. The slow pacing is exacerbated by Solveig's essentially passive position in the plot. It's an understandable decision based on her situation and reverence for the rules that govern a weregild's behavior-- but it also means that Solveig could be effectively replaced by a very important suitcase for most of the story without changing the plot.

One further side note and caveat about this book. While the first half of the book had worldbuilding I enjoyed, the second half of the book abruptly entered a narrative where every single backstory was cribbed directly from Tolkien's Silmarillion. I don't mean it vaguely resembled the Silmarillion, with a shadowy big bad and orcs and elves. I mean Saintcrow presented the reader with sentences of plot taken directly from it, with only some token name changes. A representative but not exhaustive list of examples: The theft of the Silmarils and the Oath of Feanor

Of Faevril's works he spoke, many works of seidhr wrought by an Elder alkuine's hands in the uttermost West. Of how the Enemy, granted grace and lee to repair damage he had previously wreaked, betrayed that ruth with the murder of Faevril's father and the theft of many great works, as well as a crime so dark the Elder do not speak of it, dimming the light of their home well before Moon or Sun arose. Of Faevril's sons and the vengeance they swore with their wrathful father did Eol speak...

The romance of Beren and Luthien and the recovery of one of the Silmarils from Morgoth

"Whatever he told you was only in service to finding what Bjornwulf and Lithielle won at great cost. He and his brother will slay any who seek to keep the Freed Jewel from them, even their kin-- that is their oath...

Nithraen is a hidden elven cave city that fell in an attack involving a dragon-- which is, of course, the story of Turin Turambar and the fall of Nargothrond.

Aeredh clasped the tall man's shoulder, and it looked like he was delivering even worse tidings than Nithraen's fall, for that was the only time I saw Tarit son of Hajithe pale and almost stagger. The songs say he lost a loved one in the cataclysm, an Elder maid...

An interesting beginning and a standout execution, but I don't think I'll be reading the sequel when it comes out in July. If I wanted to know what happens I would just reread the Silmarillion.

[felinehexes]

Seidhr if she was a dungeon meshi