Egyptian Mythology and Magick Forum ☥

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Khepri on April 24, 2015, 05:47:13 pm


Title: Seišr, Norse Magick
Post by: Khepri on April 24, 2015, 05:47:13 pm
Seišr

A depiction of Ošinn riding on his horse Sleipnir from the Tjängvide image stone. Within Norse paganism, Ošinn was the deity primarily associated with Seišr.
Seišr (sometimes anglicized as seidhr, seidh, seidr, seithr or seith) is an Old Norse term for a type of sorcery which was practiced in Norse society during the Late Scandinavian Iron Age. Connected with Norse religion, its origins are largely unknown, although it gradually eroded following the Christianization of Scandinavia. Accounts of seišr later made it into sagas and other literary sources, while further evidence has been unearthed by archaeologists. Various scholars have debated the nature of seišr, some arguing that it was shamanic in context, involving visionary journeys by its practitioners.

Seišr practitioners were of both genders, although females are more widely attested, with such sorceresses being variously known as vǫlur, seiškonur and vķsendakona. There were also accounts of male practitioners, known as seišmenn, but in practising magic they brought a social taboo, known as ergi, on to themselves, and were sometimes persecuted as a result. In many cases these magical practitioners would have had assistants to aid them in their rituals.

Within pre-Christian Norse mythology, seišr was associated with both the god Ošinn, a deity who was simultaneously responsible for war, poetry and sorcery, as well as the goddess Freyja, a member of the Vanir who was believed to have taught the practice to the Ęsir.[1]

In the 20th century, adherents of various modern pagan new religious movements adopted forms of magico-religious practice that include seišr. The practices of these contemporary seišr-workers have since been investigated by various academic researchers operating in the field of pagan studies.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia