seith
- noun
- Archaic
- During festivals, the community gathered to witness the seith performed by the wise woman of the clan.
Examples
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The shaman practiced seith to gain insight into the future during the sacred ceremony.
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Seith.
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Der Spiegel's Sven Bll and Anne Seith have published a good explainer about the situation.
Blog text (1) -
In Norse mythology, seith is often linked to mysterious rituals and prophecies.
Synonyms
A Norse type of magic that uses rituals and trance to see the future
A kind of magic in old Norse times used to see the future and make people enter a trance
A kind of Old Norse magic used for telling the future and changing events
An Old Norse magic ritual often performed by women who told the future
Old Norse magic used in ceremonies to enter trance and see the future
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word seith comes from the Old Norse seiðr, which meant 'magic' or 'sorcery' used in rituals and for prophecy. A helpful way to remember seith is to picture a Norse 'seer' doing rituals to 'see' or shape the future, which is why the word now means that kind of ritual sorcery.
