Fiction: Seiðr's Block (Freyja / Völva)

Published on Apr 17, 2024

Hello my lovelies,

Spring is here but in Norway there is still snow and ice and therefore the völva meets with her goddess tonight.

ð: a letter from the Old English and Icelandic alphabet that was used in medieval Scandinavia. It is pronounced like a voiced th, i.e. in the word father.

Dís: a female deity, ghost, or spirit associated with Fate, protective spirits of Norse clans. Freyja's name Dís of the Vanir might just mean Woman of the Vanir or Goddess of the Vanir but it could also paint her as a protector of the Vanir, her people.

Freyja: Norse goddess of love, fertility, war, and sorcery. It was her who introduced the practice of seiðr ("magic", see below) to the Æsir, the gods of Asgard.

fuð: Old Norse word for vulva and vagina in the same way that "pussy" doesn't really discriminate between the two.

mugwort: part of the Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs Charm and a plant with oneirogenic properties, therefore I chose it for Freyja and her aspect as a Goddess of Magic.

Norns: three goddesses who spin the destinies of gods and mortals, the Fates akin to the Moirai in Greek mythology.

Seiðr: a type of magic that Freyja is said to have taught to Odin. It seems to have been used as a tool for seeing into the future and for cursing enemies. Women and men practiced seiðr but since it was seen as a feminine craft, there was a stigma for men who practiced it.

Vanir: a groups of gods known for fertility, wisdom, and magic who are the namesake of the location Vanaheimr ("Home of the Vanir"). After the Æsir–Vanir War, the Vanir became a subgroup of the Æsir. Freyja is one of the Vanir.

völva: a staff-bearing seeress and sorceress in Germanic paganism. Völvar (plural) enjoyed a high status in Germanic society. Even the god Odin himself consulted them.

The title is a play on "writer's block".