SEIDHR AND SEIDHRWORKERS: Recovering shamanic practice in contemporary Heathenism

• Published in: Pomegranate
• Main Author: Blain, Jenny
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Equinox Publishing 1998
• Subjects: Greenland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v13i6.6; https://journal.equinoxpub.com/POM/article/download/2782/2846

The Saga of Eirik the Red describes the visit of a spákona, a seeress, to a Greenland farm, one thousand years ago. Her clothing and shoes, her staff and cloak, are detailed. She is asked to predict the progress of the community; she eats a meal of the hearts of the farm animals, and the next day a “high seat” is made ready for her, where she will sit to foretell. She engages in ritual practices known as seidhr, which requires a special song to be sung to “the powers” in order that she may gain their knowledge, in trance.