Witchcraft basics

Seiðr-Norse Magic

Seiðr (pronounced say-ther), also spelled seid, seidr, seidhr, seithr, and seith, is a type of Old Norse magic, often compared to shamanism. However, I would advise against calling it Norse/Northern Shamanism.

Table of Contents
• Seidr Etymology
• What is Seidr
• Trolldom and Seidr
• Spadom and Seidr
• Patron Deities of Seidr
• Volvas
• Seidr in the Sagas and Eddas
• Seidr and Gender
• Modern Reconstruction
• Sources and Further Reading

Seidr Etymology
There is a little bit of debate around where the term Seidr comes from. Clear cognates are seen in Old High German and Old English, and both of these words mean "cord" or "snare" possibly related to how the Norns weave and manipulate Wyrd/Orlog (both words meaning fate). Grimm proposed that the term seidr was related to our modern English word "seeth". The word "seat" has also been proposed as a possible word related to seidr, possibly because of the seið-hjallr or "High Seat."

What is Seidr
This begs the question, what exactly constitutes as seidr? It depends on who you ask. The most common answer you'll see is that it's just a catch-all term for Norse magic. But that isn't entirely true. It's just a type of Norse magic, much like how galdr is another type. I personally would define it as a feminine practice that involves prophecies as well as messing with the psyche. Seidr has been described to be used to drive people mad but it's also been described as a method of trance work used to communicate with spirits and gain prophecies.

Trolldom and Seidr
First, what is trolldom? Well, in the Scandinavian languages, Trolldom is often used as a catch-all term for magic. In the Norwegian version of Disney's Frozen, Elsa's powers were described as trolldom, and the Swedish name for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was Hogwarts skola för häxkonster och trolldom. However, trolldom is also used to refer to Scandinavian folk magic, and that is the context that I will be using it for in this post.
According to Swedish trolldom practitioner Johannes Gårdbäck, seidr and trolldom are synonyms. This is further supported in an article by Marianne Moen, Senior Adviser of the Department of Archeology at the University of Oslo, which states <<Seid var vikingenes ord på det vi i dag kaller trolldom>>, which means "Seidr was the Viking's word for what we today call trolldom."
Another trolldom practitioner, Nicholaj De Mattos Frisvold, says that seidr is under the trolldom umbrella, instead of it being a general synonym for trolldom. He describes it as the trolldom of the Vanir. It all really depends on your views on seidr and trolldom on how exactly they're related, but they're related enough that looking into trolldom may be helpful to reconstructionists.
Now, many modern-day heathens and seidr practitioners often ignore this little tidbit on seidr and trolldom, claiming that the folk magic is too modern and too Christianized for what they're going for. However, trolldom still has pre-Christian origins and can be used to attempt to accurately reconstruct the historic practice that it stems from. For example, Thursday as a power day in trolldom can be applied to seidr as well. It's believed that the reason Thursday is a power day in trolldom is due to its connection to Thor. This is just one example of how something from trolldom can be used to help reconstruct seidr.

Spadom and Seidr
The lines between spadom (more commonly known as spa-craft or spae-craft) and seidr have blurred over the ages. To the point where spakona has become a more "politically correct" version of the term seidkona, due to the association with "black magic" that seidr gained with the introduction of Christianity to the Nordic countries. The main difference I've seen between spadom and seidr is that spadom is the act of gaining prophecies and insight through themselves while seidr is the act of gaining insight and prophecies through spirits. The term spadom in many Scandinavian languages (spådom in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish) translates to divination.
Due to the lines blurring between these two practices over the centuries, I personally just view spadom as a form of seidr, however, it's perfectly valid to view these two practices as separate.