ODIN’S EYE

A Völva was a professional or semi-professional prophetess of Nordic magical traditions known as a “Seidr” (Old Norse: rope, string, trap) or “Spa” (Old Norse: wise).  A Seidr Völva performed a wide range of actions with the help of spirits they summoned to assist them in their work; from spiritual journeys and healings to weather magic, predicting animal movements and finding lost objects. A Spa Völva was a specialized clairvoyant who prophesied by directly perceiving destiny.  While most volus were women, the most famous practitioner of seidr is a man, and the most famous character in Norse mythology: Odin.  Yet Odin learned seidr and spa practices from a woman, his wife Frigg/Freya.  Subsequently, he spent much of his time on spiritual and physical journeys, much to the frustration of his fun-loving wife.  His very name means master of ecstasy: the root of his name, “odr”, translates as ecstasy, fury, inspiration, the ultimate, unconditional life-affirming force, while the suffix to his name, “inn”, means “master of”. Odin is the master of inspiration, ecstasy and divine fury.