Marsha A. Moore: warrior

For the next few weeks on my Magical Monday feature, I’m going to explore various kinds of witchcraft that have existed through various ages and cultures.

I’ll begin with types of classical witchcraft, also called “low” magic, where practitioners or adepts perform spells, make potions, utilize divination, and employ types of healing like herbalism. I find these particularly interesting because they are integral with culture. The more familiar of these include: shamanism; feng-shui; voodoo; native American appeals to the Great Spirit. In coming weeks, I’ll examine those and many others.

Today, my focus is on the practice of Seidr, an old Norse type of classical witchcraft. This tradition stems from Norse, Icelandic, Germanic, Teutonic, Latvian, Estonian, and Lithuanian cultures. Iceland places equal importance on this form of paganism and Christianity. Their literature often recounts pagan myths in sagas and poetic eddas.

My first introduction to this type of paganism was during my first quarter of freshman year in college, when my favorite English professor asked us to read Njal's Saga, a terrific Norse work. I can still see him acting out sword fighting scenes, playing both characters in the duel. I was captivated by the fantasy and his teaching, going on to take five more of his courses. An amazing man who taught me how to write and how to love it. What a huge fingerprint he left on my mind, for which I will always be grateful.

The pagan practice of Seidr values the warrior more than gods and goddesses. Study of this witchcraft includes learning runes, artistic skills, martial arts, and potion brewing. Common usage of Seidr magic is to promote honesty, honor, courage, and dedication to family.

I was lucky enough to find a video example of the music and visual arts/practices of Seidr. Typically, a chorus sings a song like this, inducing the prophetess into a trance or vala.