{"product_id":"seidhr-eva-smit-9798235202504","title":"Seidhr: The Witchcraft of the Vikings","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBefore the Viking world became legend, there were women who sat above the firelight and spoke with fate.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey carried staffs. They sang to spirits. They entered trance. They called the dead. They read the hidden pattern of the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey were the \u003cstrong\u003evölur\u003c\/strong\u003e, the feared and honoured seeresses of the Norse world, and their art was \u003cstrong\u003eseidhr\u003c\/strong\u003e, the witchcraft of the Vikings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSEIDHR: The Witchcraft of the Vikings\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e uncovers one of the most mysterious spiritual traditions of the Viking Age, a practice bound to prophecy, trance, fate, death, spirit calling, divine power, and the forbidden knowledge of the unseen world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the sagas, seidhr was powerful enough to disturb the boundaries of gender, honour, and the sacred. \u003cstrong\u003eOdin himself was said to have practiced it\u003c\/strong\u003e, though the old stories tell us that this magic carried danger and shame when used by men. \u003cstrong\u003eFreyja\u003c\/strong\u003e, goddess of beauty, desire, battle, and the dead, was remembered as the divine mistress of seidhr, the one who brought this art into the world of the gods.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the hidden world of the \u003cstrong\u003estaff carrying prophetess\u003c\/strong\u003e, the woman who entered halls during famine, crisis, sickness, and fear. She was welcomed, watched, paid, honoured, and dreaded. She could reveal the future, call spirits, bless, curse, heal, and expose the threads of \u003cstrong\u003ewyrd\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInside this book, you will discover: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe real meaning of seidhr\u003c\/strong\u003e, and why it stood apart from other Norse magical practices\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe völva's place in Viking society\u003c\/strong\u003e, as seeress, ritual specialist, outsider, and feared guest\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWhy Odin's use of seidhr mattered\u003c\/strong\u003e, and why it unsettled Norse ideas of power and masculinity\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe connection between Freyja, the Vanir gods, and Viking witchcraft\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe staff, the high seat, and the spirit calling songs\u003c\/strong\u003e used in seidhr ceremonies\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe role of trance, prophecy, death, and fate\u003c\/strong\u003e in Norse belief\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe archaeology of possible völva graves\u003c\/strong\u003e, staffs, ritual objects, charms, and burial evidence\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe links between Norse magic, Sámi practice, and northern spirit traditions\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow Christianity condemned, reshaped, and preserved memories of seidhr\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe survival of Viking witchcraft in folklore, modern Paganism, and popular imagination\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the world behind the familiar image of the Viking Age, beyond swords, ships, raids, and kings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA world of seers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA world of spirits.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA world where fate could be heard in song, read in signs, and summoned from the dark.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe woman with the staff knew what even kings feared to ask.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Eva Smit\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798235202504\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Black Bell Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/07\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 268\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.61d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLarge Print\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Eva Smit","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48874658726143,"sku":"9798235202504","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/seidhr-eva-smit-9798235202504","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}