Laura (Snow) Fuller
1.1. I-E Myth 1 passed on February 28, 2015
1.2 From the lore (or
histories), pick an example that shows a Seer at work. (The Seer may be
mythological or historical.) Describe how this Seer functioned within their
culture. (Deities invoked, rituals performed, required items, timing, etc.
Note: Some, all, or none of these may be present, or there may be other aspects
that are not mentioned here.) Explain how, if at all, this influences your
practice. (Minimum 300 words.)
One of
the most detailed descriptions of seership in Norse culture occurs in the Saga
of Erik the Red. The saga goes into
great detail about the dress of one of the local spae-queens, as well as giving
some description about her ritual. We
are told that the prophetess, named Thorbjorg, was originally one of nine
sisters who all had the gift. We are not
told how the other sisters died or how old they were, although the impression I
have always gotten from the saga was that she was relatively old for the
culture.
In chapter
four of the saga, there is a famine in Iceland.
In an attempt to discover what is the cause of the famine and how to end
it, the people turned to Thorbjorg. We
are told that Thorbjorg made a circuit of the households. In the saga, we see her interacting with
Thorkell’s household where she was received with honor and given a seat with a
cushion of poultry feathers. The men
offered her compliments, and she chose whether to acknowledge them or not. She was feasted on porridge with milk and
given the hearts of the animals that were being prepared for dinner. It is unclear whether the heart had special
magical significance or if it was considered a choice cut of meat.
Thorbjorg’s
clothing was described in detail. She
wore a blue mantle that had both glass beads and gems, and she had more glass
beads for a necklace. She had a black
hood of lambskin lined with ermine on her head.
She carried a staff that had a brass knob on top and was also covered in
gems. Around her waist was a girdle made
of soft hair (I assume this means it was woven from wool), with a bag hanging
from in where she carried her talismans and other magical objects. The last details are of her calf-skin boots
and ermine-fur gloves. Again, the
details recorded could be important for magical significance or, more likely,
to show her wealth and respect within the community.
After
dinner, the tables were removed and Thorbjorg refused to answer the questions
put to her until she had a chance to sleep there in the hall. Again, there is no explanation if this was
for magical reasons, or because she was tired.
The
second day is when we begin to get more information about the ritual. Again, we are never given specific words or
prayers or songs, but we are told that Thorbjorg asked for the women to come
forward who were familiar with the ‘wyrd-songs’ but no one came forward. They finally found a younger woman named
Gudrid who knew the songs, although she wasn’t a believer having converted to
Christianity. She was finally convinced
to sing for Thorbjorg, and the ritual could begin.
Thorbjorg
was led to a seat that had been erected on a scaffold, and the women formed a
ring around her. Gudrid sang the song,
and Thorbjorg said that the beauty of the song had attracted many spirits to
answer their questions who would otherwise have ignored them. She then went on to answer questions (Sephton) .
While I
find this description fascinating, I don’t find it terribly meaningful to my
practice for several reasons. First, it
does not tell me much about the ritual itself that I can recreate. It says songs were sung to please the
spirits, but it does not tell us much about the songs. It does not tell us what preparations she
might have made during the day or the night before. While the story is rich in details of
setting, it is completely lacking in the details of the real substance. It is even unclear if the details given are
magical in nature or if they are simply for show, to set the stage. What I have really taken from this account is
that being surrounded by supporters can be a key in helping me focus, and that
I include a musical cue for myself. I
use a Gregorian style chant I wrote, which I chant three times before beginning
any working to ask for clarity in my work.
Works Cited
Sephton, J. Erik the Red's Saga. n.d. Website.
28 January 2016. <http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en>.
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