Völva

A völva or volva, from the Old Norse and Icelandic respectively, sometimes anglicized vala, is a female shaman and seer in Norse tradition and a recurring motif in Norse mythology, as shown in the following extract from the Snorri Sturluson (Old Norse work of literature written in Iceland in the early 13th century), Prose Edda

“Then came the völva Gróa there, wife of Aurvandil the Bold, and she sang her spells over Thor until the piece of stone loosened from his flesh. After Thor noticed this, he understood there was hope she could remove the byrnie-piece, and he rewarded Gróa for her healing by honoring her…”

The ancient tradition dictated that all Norse and Germanic free women (i.e., not slaves) were expected to know magic, but some more so than others. It was then, that most Viking and Germanic tribes nurtured groups of wise-women –witches or priestesses— who usually lived unmarried, though not necessarily in celibacy, and who could travel alone wherever they liked without fear. These were the völvur (plural of völva).

A woman who carried the wand of the witch would never be harmed. They were considered allied of the Norns (fate demigoddesses in Norse mytholgy) and thus wielded the greatest of powers. The völur, which literal translates as “Wed to the wand” or “Staff-Carriers” served as witches.

In such place and age, witches were honored and revered, and sought as healers, prophets, oracles, shamans and priestesses. Old Viking Sagas show that if a völva came to visit, the lord and lady of the house would give up the high seat to her, to indicate that the witch had higher authority. The völva could talk or not talk to anybody at whim, regardless of his or her status – meaning she was outside and above the normal hierarchy of society. The primeval witch/völva was the goddess Freyia, who introduced the art of seiðr [shamanism] and the art of conquering death, for she was said to come back to life each time her wisdom was necessary.

The völvur were also the priestesses in the old Norse cult of Freyr. These women, however, were not traveling witches but homebound practitioners, often of high status within their clan.

The practicing völur were buried with the wands they had wielded in life, a fact hinted at in some Sagas and confirmed by archaeological finds. Witch or priestess burials from the Germanic Iron Age and from the Viking Age testify to the high status such women could achieve in life.

In Norse society, a völva could also be an elderly woman who had released herself from the strong family bonds that normally surrounded women in Norse clans, to travel the land, usually followed by a retinue of young people, and she was summoned in times of crisis. She had immense authority and she charged well for her services.

Few völvur belonged to the aristocratic class, these were rich Viking women who wanted to serve Freyja and represent her in Midgard (i.e., one of the Nine Worlds of Norse mythology, the one inhabited by humans). They married Viking warlords who had Odin as a role model, and they settled in great halls that were earthly representations of Valhalla. The duties of such mistresses were not limited to serving mead to visiting guests, but they were also expected to take part in warfare by manipulating weaving tools magically when their spouses were out in battle. Scholars no longer believe that these women waited passively at home, and there is evidence for their magic activities both in archaeological finds and in Old Norse sources, such as the Darraðarljóð.

It is difficult to draw a line between the aristocratic lady and the wandering völva, but Old Norse sources present the völva as more professional and she went from estate to estate selling her spiritual services. The völva had greater authority than the aristocratic lady, but both were ultimately dependent on the benevolence of the warlord that they served. When they had been attached to a warlord, their authority depended on their personal competence and credibility.

Furthermore, the Völur were not considered to be harmless. The goddess who was most skilled in magic was Freyja, and she was not only a goddess of love, but also a warlike divinity who caused screams of anguish, blood and death, and what Freyja performed in Asgard, the world of the gods, the Völur tried to perform in Midgard, the world of men. The weapon of the Völva was not the spear, the axe or the sword but instead they were held to influence battles with different means, and one of them was the wand.

The earliest descriptions of such women appear in Roman accounts about the Germanic Cimbri whose priestesses were aged women dressed in white. They sacrificed the prisoners of war and sprinkled their blood in order to prophesy coming events.

References:

Kvilhaug, M., 2009. The Maiden with the Mead: A Goddess of Initiation Rituals in Old Norse Mythology?. VDM Publishing.