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Traditions of the Nordic Völva
Samantha Catalina Sinclair
Wise Women, Witches and Intergalactic Crones Dr. Randy P. Conner April 13, 2011
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Introduction: Nordic Roots
A year ago, I had a dream in which my maternal grandmother appeared and said, “You have an inheritance. It is yours and yours alone. It is your birthright and there is nothing you must do to obtain it; it is already granted.” When I awoke, I felt surprised to have have received such a paradoxically clear yet enigmatic message. My grandmother, who passed in 2008, died penniless. What sort of inheritance was bequeathed as a birthright yet required no effort to obtain? Last fall as part of a women’s spirituality class ritual, I drew the goddess tarot card, Skadi which was befuddling, as I had never heard of her. I came to learn that Skaði is a goddess and giant (in Icelandic giant is ‘jötunn’) associated with bow hunting and skiing said to be the personification of the geographical region of Scandinavia. My father who is a 6’4 blue-eyed blond could easily be cast as a Viking in a Hollywood film, so I have always assumed that we had Nordic roots. roots. Since Nordic peoples have historically been cast as raping, pillaging, human sacrificing marauders, I had never been particularly particularly interested to learn more about them. Instead I focused on the stories about my maternal ancestors who were believed to be of Cherokee lineage and studied their pre-Christian nature-based spiritual traditions, idealizing them as the nobler side of the family.
3 As I continued to research genealogy on our distaff 1 side –an old English saying for ‘mother’s side of the family,’ I reached a dead end at Nancy Jane Lovelace, my great-great-great-great-great grandmother, who was rumored to be Cherokee Indian. In order to confirm Native American blood, I had my mitochondrial DNA sequenced and discovered that I am of Mesopotamian heritage. heritage. My mtDNA haplotype is J2b1, which which is is virtually absent in European populations, except for a 60% concentration in Azerbaijan.2 Did my Mesopotamian ancestresses pass through this region en route to the frontier frontier in Tennessee? There was a huge swath swath missing from my genealogical quilt. My father underwent DNA testing testing for both his his X and Y DNA, which confirmed what we had already guessed-R1b and H haplotypes characteristic of Northern and Western European ancestry, particular of Celts and Anglo-Saxons.3 My maternal uncle took the DNA test on behalf of my deceased grandfather, and also tested positive for R1b. Inspired by the subaltern research modalities of Lucia Birnbaum, 4 I began looking into my own story for clues to potential submerged wise women histories. Starting with Azerbaijan, I soon came upon the work of Thor Heyerdahl, a Finnish archeologist who postulated that Azerbaijani ancestors Merriam-Webster. "Distaff - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/distaff (accessed April 12, 2011). 2 Logan, Jim and participating partners by agreement. "The Subclades of mtDNA Haplogroup J and Proposed Motifs for AssigningControl-Region Sequences into These Clades." Journal of Genetic Genealogy. http://www.jogg.info/42/files/logan.htm (accessed April 12, 2011). 3 Sykes, Bryan. Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: the genetic roots of Britain and Ireland. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2006. 4 Birnbaum, Lucia Chiavola. Black madonnas: feminism, religion, and politics in Italy. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1993. 1
4 traveled by papyrus boats to Finland through a strait between the Caspian and Black Seas.5 Consulting my deceased ancestresses, as an unverified personal gnosis research method,6 I intuited that my distant relatives migrated from Mesopotamia through Yemen to Azerbaijan, then via raft to Finland, down to the Celtic British Isles, finally immigrating to the United States. My psychic hunch prompted me to delve into Scandinavian cultural cultural history, particularly the magico-religious practices of the Nordic völva , a wise woman, priestess and healer. The Nordic Völva
By Nordic, I refer to Northern Europe; Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Gotland, Finland, Scotland, the Faroes, the Orkney Isles, Shetland, parts of the Baltic, and Germany. 7 It is important to note that surviving medieval accounts of Nordic paganism were written mostly by biased, conquering Christians whose aim was to divide magic into binary categories of good and evil.8 Non-Christian magic was associated with the devil while Christian magic and miracles were purported as “natural” magic created by Yaweh, the singular deity of the Abrahamic traditions. To understand wise women in Nordic cultural history, it is critical to understand their sociological function in pre-Christian, pre-Enlightenment Heyerdahl, Thor (1995). "The Azerbaijan Connection: Challenging Euro-Centric Theories of Migration", Azerbaijan International, 3:1 (Spring 1995), 60–61. 6 MacMorgan, Kaatryn. Wicca 333: advanced topics in Wiccan belief ; part one of a master class in Wicca. Revised ed. Buffalo, N. Y.: Covenstead Press, 2007. 7 Mitchell, Stephen A. Witchcraft and magic in the Nordic Middle Ages. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. 8 Conner, Randy P. The Pagan Heart of the West. West. Forthcoming. Page 17. Quote from Quell. 5
5 society. A common misconception regarding magic magic occurs when we project contemporary social mores onto proto-Scandinavian culture and assume that the practice of magic was outré. The magic arts were practical, not fanciful fanciful and were the precursor to science. Magic evinced a desire to exert power over a perceived cause to produce an effect. 9 Magic was a way to mitigate the circumstances of life; to choose the gender of a child, to cause fertility of fields and livestock, to heal disease, to control the weather, to predict the future, and to consult consult deceased ancestors. Magic was also a way to enact retribution, to exact justice, and to impose some sense of order. The Norse mythos provided the ideological filter through which life could be understood. Life was fragile fragile for Nordic rural subsistence farmers during medieval times. Seeking wise woman counsel gave households a sense of control over the precarious razor’s edge upon which they lived, assuaging fears, and inciting stability in settlements. Divinities such as the goddess Freyja, the Norns, and the Valkyries wielded their magical powers in the nine worlds of Yggdrasil while Nordic wise woman mastered the vocation of witchcraft in order to serve the community and attain status here on the earthly plane plane of Middgard. The Nordic wise woman was revered for her “deeper knowledge of Nature, the stars, and …plants”10 that could prevent famine, draught, disease or war, and she was prized for her mysterious powers. 11 Mitchell, Stephen A. Witchcraft and magic in the Nordic Middle Ages. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. 10 Conner, Randy P. The Pagan Heart of the West. Forthcoming. 17. 11 “ “ 18 9
6 Although there were many Nordic wise women who practiced magic arts, the völva held a special position as the community high priestess and medicine woman.12 In Old Norse, the word völva means "wand carrier" carrier" and refers to the distaff , an instrument used in spinning s pinning that völur (plural) appropriated for the spinning of vord (Old Norse for guardian or helping spirit) urd (as in Urd, the name na me of a fate spinning Norn) or wyrd (Old English). Wyrd is defined as fate; “destiny intertwined between the weaver and the woven.”13 A distaff is a tall spool of wound flax fibers to be drawn into cloth while being spun. Distaff is also a euphemism for women’s work.14 Dísir (plural, dís singular is Old Norse for lady) were female ancestresses who could be summoned by the völva to intervene intervene on behalf of the clan. The distaff (Dís + staff = lady wand) was the primary talisman of the völva. Perhaps the distaff was literally spun as part of the völva’s ceremonial shamanic practice. 15 Seidr or seiðr is Old Norse for an array of magic arts such as shamanic journeying, prophecy, healing, necromancy, shape shifting, dream interpretation and rune spell casting practiced by seiðkonas (female) and seiðmaðr (gender diverse men).16 The etymology of seidr seems related to Fries, Jan. Seidways: shaking, swaying and serpent mysteries. 2nd Impression with appendix ed. Oxford: Mandrake, 2009. 76. 13 “ “ 77. 14 Merriam-Webster. "Distaff - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/distaff (accessed April 12, 2011). 15 Kodratoff, Yves . "Feminine magic in the Nordic myths ." Nordic Magic Healing: runes, charms, incantations, and galdr. http://www.nordic-life.org/nmh/feminine.htm (accessed April 13, 2011). 16 Conner, Randy P. The Pagan Heart of the West. Forthcoming. 18. 12
7 Old High German for cord, snare, string, or halter (seidr used in verse 15 of the skaldic poem Ragnarsdrápa in this context). 17 This could correspond to the practice of cord magic, a type of sorcery prepared in advance by enchanting knots knots that released spells when untied. untied. The charmed charmed distaff was involved in spinning wyrd for those who sought the völva’s counsel. 18 Additionally, seidr could refer to seething, as when a pot boils, evocative of the völva’s ecstatic state during trace. 19 The spinning metaphor could refer to the exoteric state of consciousness required of völva “fare forth” or send out a “fylgia” or helping spirit20 as she traveled to astral and etheric planes during séance (from Old French, seoir = to sit). 21 The völva also received spirits into her psyche esoterically. This may be why feminine (ergi) characteristics characteristics are so closely closely associated with sorcery, and why Odin was taunted by Loki for being argr (sexually receptive) when he performed magic uncharacteristic of his gender, which he learned from the goddess Freyja.22 In Norse cosmology, the Norns are goddesses who spin the destinies of the inhabitants of nine worlds of Yggdrasil. In the Middle Ages destinies were also woven by völur who could imprison an enemy by enchanting the loom Andren, Anders , and Kristina Jennbert. Old Norse Religion in Long-Term Perspectives: Origins, Changes & Interactions . Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 2006. 164. 18 Thorsson, Edred . Witchdom of the True: A Study of the Vana-Troth and the Practice of Seidr. Smithville: Runa-Raven Press, 2011. 19 Fries, Jan. Seidways: shaking, swaying and serpent mysteries. 2nd Impression with appendix ed. Oxford: Mandrake, 2009. 77. 20 Gerrard, Katie . Seidr the Gate is Open. London: Avalonia, 2011. 21 "Seance - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seance (accessed April 13, 2011). 22 Conner, Randy P. The Pagan Heart of the West. Forthcoming. 23. 17
8 with binding magic or could free an ally by loosening the weave. Weaving alludes to a web and the possibility of ensnaring or attracting a desideratum.23 An example is the following charm from Merseberg, “Once the Idisi (disir) sat, sat here and there, some hefted fetters, some stopped the host, some loosened the fetters. Jump the bonds, bonds, escape from the enemies!”24 Eldar Heide believes that the mind can be cast like a net as a mind emissary that moves forces such as wind and sea as well as subtle energies.25 In a Sami myth, a woman is able to use magic to pull her husband back to her when he is away. In a Sami poem, The Son of the Sun , the goddess Maadteraakha is responsible for creating new souls by tying three wind knots that when released cause a woman to become become pregnant with a newly conceived conceived soul. The Valkyries, (Old (Old Norse = chooser of the slain) winged Norse goddesses who choose who will will die in battle, “weave on the grotesque loom of men’s body parts” in the Old Norse skaldic poem Darraðarljóð.26 During the Middle Ages, spinning or ‘woolen work’ was thought to invoke supernatural power such as rendering invisibility. Nordic witches were also known as spákona in Old Norse, or spækona or spæ-wife in Old English, which refers to spae, or “truth speaking” Andren, Anders , and Kristina Jennbert. Old Norse Religion in Long-Term Perspectives: Origins, Changes & Inter actions. Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 2006. 167. 24 Kodratoff, Yves . "Feminine magic in the Nordic myths ." Nordic Magic Healing: runes, charms, incantations, and galdr. http://www.nordic-life.org/nmh/feminine.htm (accessed April 13, 2011). 25 Andren and Jennbert. 167. 26 Magnusson, Magnus. Njál's Njál's saga. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1960. 23
9 associated with prophecy.27 19th century Orkney folklorist, Walter Traill Dennison defines the spækona as having “…all the supernatural wisdom, some of the supernatural power, without any of the malevolent spirit of witches.” He goes on to say that the spækona was “skilled in medicinal and surgery, in dreams, in foresight and second-sight, and in forestalling the evil influence of witchcraft. Such women were looked upon with a kind of holy respect.” In the Saga of Eric of Eric the Red, written around 1000 C.E., Þórbjörgr is the last surviving völva in a family of nine sisters who had all been völur. 28 The völva’s habiliments are distinctive; she is dressed in a floor length blue or black cloak trimmed with precious stones sewn into the hem, evoking the cloak of Odin. 29 She walks with a jewel encrusted distaff (Old Norse = seiðstafr), and wears a crystal necklace as spectacular in its own way as Freyja’s dwarf-forged gold Brisingamen. The hood of Þórbjörgr’s garment is black lambskin trimmed with ermine fur. On her waist, she wears a pouch that conceals her magical implements. She wears calfskin slippers with brass knobs and wildcat skin gloves lined with ermine fur. The franklin (free man) Thorkell sends for Þórbjörgr because of hard times in the clan, and she is welcomed heartily and served a special dinner of kid’s milk and an assortment of animal hearts. Afterward, the spae-queen Fries, Jan. Seidways: shaking, swaying and serpent mysteries. 2nd Impression with appendix ed. Oxford: Mandrake, 2009. 77. 28 "The Saga of Erik the Red - Icelandic Saga Database." Home - Icelandic Saga Database. http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en (accessed April 13, 2011). 29 Fries, Jan. Seidways: shaking, swaying and serpent mysteries. 2nd Impression with appendix ed. Oxford: Mandrake, 2009. 77. 27
10 is escorted to a high seat (Old Norse uniseta) cushioned with goose down pillows from which she can cast seidr. One way the völva casts spells is by singing falsetto incantations called galdrars with an assembly asse mbly of others. Though historians cannot be sure exactly how the songs were sung, some suggest that they may have been howled. 30 Although assumed to be oral traditions, I propose that galdrars might have been transcribed as magical stave songs. The contemporary definition of of stave is a set of five horizontal lines upon which music is written. 31 In the Middle Ages, Icelandic staves were magical symbols of combined runes that formed an incantation. These symbols may have been the written form of a galdrar. Here is an image of a draumstafir magical stave, an enchantment to evoke the realization of your heart’s desire.32
These galdrars discharged magic spells when howl-sung that were intended to tip the the scales in favor of a desired outcome. In the Saga of Eric
Kodratoff, Yves . "Feminine magic in the Nordic myths ." Nordic Magic Healing: runes, charms, incantations, and galdr. http://www.nordic-life.org/nmh/feminine.htm (accessed April 13, 2011). 31 "Staves | Define Staves at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Free Online Dictionary for English Definitions. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/staves (accessed April 13, 2011). 32 "Icelandic magical staves - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_magical_staves (accessed April 13, 2011). 30
11 the Red, preparations for the völva to perform magic are incomplete until a
quorum of women is found to sing the wyrd galdrar (songs). “And when the day was far spent, the preparations were made for her which she required for the exercise of her enchantments. She (Þórbjörgr) begged them to bring to her those women who were acquainted with the lore needed for the exercise of the enchantments, and which is known by the name of Weird-songs, but no such women came forward. Then was search made throughout the homestead if any woman were so learned.” When a young woman name Gudrid admits to having learned the wyrd/weird songs from her mother back in Iceland, but is hesitant due to being a devout Christian, Thorkell and Þórbjörgr convince her albeit reluctantly to join in the circle casting. casting. Þórbjörgr praises Gudrid for her assistance saying, “thou art wise in good season.” “The women formed a ring round about, and (the spae-queen Þórbjörgr) ascended the scaffold and the seat prepared for her enchantments. Then sang Gudrid the weird-song in so beautiful and excellent a manner, that to no one there did it seem that he had ever before heard the song in voice so beautiful as now. The spae-queen thanked her for the song. “Many spirits,” said she, ‘have ‘have been present under its charm, and were pleased to listen to the song, who before would turn away from us, and grant us no such homage. And now are
12 many things clear to me which before were hidden both from me and others.” The importance of wyrd songs cannot be understated. Clearly the old galdrars must be sung in order to charm the spirits and coax them into interceding on behalf of of the völva. After Þórbjörgr divines the prophecy for the clan, she blesses Gudrun for her participation. “And thee, Gudrid, will I recompense straightway, for that aid of thine which has stood us in good stead; because thy destiny is now clear to me, and foreseen. Thou shalt make a match here in Greenland, a most honourable one, though it will not be a long-lived one for thee, because thy way lies out to Iceland; and there, shall arise from thee a line of descendants both numerous and goodly, and over the branches of thy family shall shine a bright ray.”33 Þórbjörgr, even among Christians is sovereign, and exhibits the dignified demeanor of a spiritual leader in her grace and character. From her beneficent intersession on behalf of Thorkell, to her auspicious blessing of Gudrun, Þórbjörgr exhibits the regal air of a queen. The völva was a profoundly important figure in proto-Scandinavian and Scandinavian territories. Seidr practitioners such as Diana Paxson, Jan Fries and Yngona Desmond as well as many others have attempted to reconstruct the old traditions and carry the spiritual knowledge forward to successive "The Saga of Erik the Red - Icelandic Saga Database." Home - Icelandic Saga Database. http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en (accessed April 13, 2011).
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13 generations. Although initially initially ashamed of my Nordic roots, I have now come to appreciate the contributions of my wise ancestresses, the dísir, who have guided me along this journey. At the end of of his life, Thor Heyerdahl postulated that Azerbaijan was the primary spreading center for Europe. Finland and Gobustan share share identical Paleolithic Paleolithic rock drawings of boats. I have recently learned that I am related to King Fornjotur of Kvenland (Finland- b. 160; d. 250) on my maternal grandmother’s father’s side of the family. It is a strange coincidence that the only European populations populations of J2b1’s are in Azerbaijan. Snorri Sturluson 13th-century historian says, "Odin came to the North with his people from a country called Aser." 34 Heyerdahl believed that Aser referred to Azerbaijan as well as the mythological Aesir, from which Odin came. Heyerdahl’s last book Jakten på Odin, (The Search for Odin)35 chronicled his excavations in Azov, Azerbaijan, northeast of the Black Sea as he searched for physical evidence of the Norse god Odin’s existence. Since Sturluson euhemerized Odin, describing describing how he led the Æsir tribe from Saxland, to Fyn in Denmark and Sweden, Heyerdahl believed Odin had been based on a living living Nordic king. Between the genealogical, genetic evidence and my unverified personal gnosis, I feel there is a strong chance that Heyerdahl was correct in asserting that Finland was populated by immigrants from Azerbaijan.
Stenersens, J. (trans.) (1987). Snorri, The Sagas of the Viking Kings of Norway. Oslo: Forlag, 1987. 35 Heyerdahl, Thor, and Per Lillieström. Lillieström. Jakten på Odin: på sporet av vår vår fortid. 2. oppl. ed. Oslo: Stenersen, 2001 34
14 I have recently learned that J2b1 haplotypes have been studied extensively for their resistance to cellular oxidation, which contributes to longevity. I have come to be proud of my Ango-Saxon, Nordic, Nordic, Azerbaijaniby-route-of-Mesopotamian ancestry; particularly the strong line of Nordic wise women whose DNA and histories wove their threads into mine. And as for my birthright, the the inheritance which is is intrinsically mine: mine: I believe it is is twofold: the gift of communication from my ancestresses, and the gift of longevity bequeathed by my maternal grandmothers in my genes. For these treasures I give the deepest sacrament of thanks from the core of my being as I journey toward intergalactic cronedom. Ashé
Works Cited Andren, Anders , and Kristina Jennbert. Old Norse Religion in Long-Term Perspectives: Origins, Changes & Interactions. Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 2006. Birnbaum, Lucia Chiavola. Black madonnas: feminism, religion, and politics politics in Italy. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1993. Azerbaijan International Magazine. Challenging Euro-centric Euro-centric Theories of Migration by Dr. Thor Heyerdahl. The Azerbaijan Connection. http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/31_folder/31_articles/31_thorazer conn.html (accessed April 12, 2011). Dennison, Walter Traill. Orcadian sketches by Walter Traill Dennison. Kirkwall: W. Peace, 1904. Merriam-Webster. Distaff. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distaff (accessed April 12, 2011).
15 Fries, Jan. Seidways: shaking, swaying and serpent mysteries. 2nd Impression with appendix ed. Oxford: Mandrake, 2009. Gerrard, Katie . Seidr the Gate is Open. London: Avalonia, 2011. Heyerdahl, Thor, and Per Lillieström. Lillieström. Jakten på Odin: på sporet av vår vår fortid. 2. oppl. ed. Oslo: Stenersen, 2001 "Icelandic magical staves - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_magical_staves (accessed April 13, 2011). Kodratoff, Yves. "Feminine magic in the Nordic myths." Nordic Magic Healing: runes, charms, incantations, and galdr. http://www.nordiclife.org/nmh/feminine.htm (accessed April 13, 2011). Logan, Jim, and Partners Scientist. "The Subclades of mtDNA Haplogroup J and Proposed Motifs for AssigningControl-Region Sequences into These Clades." Journal of Genetic Genealogy. http://www.jogg.info/42/files/logan.htm (accessed April 12, 2011). MacMorgan, Kaatryn. Wicca 333: advanced topics in Wiccan belief; part one of a master class in Wicca. Revised ed. Buffalo, N. Y. Covenstead Press, 2007. Magnusson, Magnus. NjaÌl's saga . Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1960. Mitchell, Stephen A. Witchcraft and magic in the Nordic N ordic Middle Ages. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. "Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms associated with longevity in Finnish populatons [Human Genetics. 2003] - PubMed result." National Center for Biotechnology Information. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12483296 (accessed April 13, 2011). "SVIPDAGSMÃL." THE LAYS OF SVIPDAG. http://notendur.hi.is/eybjorn/ugm/svipdag2.html (accessed April 12, 2011). "Seance - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/seance (accessed April 13, 2011). "Staves | Define Staves at a t Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Free Online Dictionary for English Definitions. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/staves (accessed April 13, 2011). Sykes, Bryan. Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: the genetic roots of Britain and Ireland. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2006.
16 "The Saga of Erik the Red - Icelandic Saga Database." Home - Icelandic Saga Database. http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en (accessed April 13, 2011). Thorsson, Edred . Witchdom of the True: A Study of the Vana-Troth and the Practice of Seidr. Smithville: Runa-Raven Press, 2011.
