In Old Norse, seiðr (sometimes anglicized as seidhr, seidh, seidr, seithr, seith, or seid) was a type of magic which was practised in Norse society during the Late Scandinavian Iron Age. The practice of seiðr is believed to be a form of magic which is related to both the telling and the shaping of the future.
A Völva or as it is pronounced in old Norse a Vǫlva (in Danish a ”Vølve”), is what we in English would call a Seeress. You could compare it to someone who practiced shamanism or witchcraft. So a Völva is a Nordic version of a shaman or witch, that practiced magic.
Odin - Third Chief of the Aesir; God of Wisdom, Magic, Divination, Death, War, and Poetry.
The term seiðr is used to describe actions ranging from shamanic magic (such as spirit journeys, magical healing by removing "spirit missiles" such as elf-shot from the body, magical psychiatric treatment in the form of recovering lost portions of the soul-complex, etc.), to prophecy.
Rune Magic: Odin is the very best practitioner of rune magic that gives him divine abilities like: Spell casting: Using rune magic, Odin gets the ability to cast powerful magic spells and enchantments.
Asgardian Magic. Illusion Manipulation: Loki and Frigga can generate holographic images used to create illusions. They have both used this ability to either make decoys of themselves or another person or to project themselves into another location to speak to someone, similarly to astral projection.
Norse beliefs regarding Freya were far more involved than her beauty, however. As a Vanir goddess, she was a master of seidr magic. She was said to have introduced knowledge of fate, healing, and spellcraft to the Aesir.
Ancient Vanir arts, known as the Old Magic, were capable of reanimating the dead, and some of them even had the ability to manipulate time itself. One of the most significant accomplishments of Vanir magic is invulnerability to all threats, physical or magical, which Freya blessed or "cursed" Baldur with.
Today, seidr practices are reappearing as 'neo-shamanism' in areas of Europe and North America. Both today and in the past, seidr is often thought of as 'women's magic', although it is also practised by men.
Fenrir possessed great power in his true form. His abilities over magic were apparently so strong that his release would mean the end of all things. In his human form, Fenrir's abilities are greatly depleted but he is by no means weak.
In the Middle Ages the Danish word for seeress “vølve” meant witch. Their rituals were by then connected with dangerous and harmful magic. Thus it might be said that the Viking Age seeresses were predecessors of medieval witches. Laws were issued in the Middle Ages in order to suppress pagan rituals.
Heka is the god of magic and medicine in ancient Egypt and is also the personification of magic itself. He is probably the most important god in Egyptian mythology but is often overlooked because his presence was so pervasive as to make him almost invisible to the Egyptologists of the 19th and 20th centuries CE.
Odin. The supreme deity of Norse mythology and the greatest among the Norse gods was Odin, the Allfather of the Aesir. He was the awe-inspiring ruler of Asgard, and most revered immortal, who was on an unrelenting quest for knowledge with his two ravens, two wolves and the Valkyries.
Fairies, also known as Vanir are one of the dominant races of Erion. They reside in the southern forest realm of Ringford, ruled by Queen Mercedes. In Norse mythology the Vanir were one of the two groups of gods, the other being the Æsir.
The draugr or draug (Old Norse: draugr, plural draugar; modern Icelandic: draugur, Faroese: dreygur and Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian: draug) is an undead creature from the Scandinavian saga literature and folktales.
Noun. drengr m (genitive drengs, plural drengir) a valiant, gallant, chivalrous man. lad, youth, a boy. one who is bold, reckless, or inexperienced.
Seiðr practitioners were of both sexes, with sorceresses being variously known as vǫlur, seiðkonur and vísendakona. There were also accounts of male practitioners, who were known as seiðrmaðr. In many cases these magical practitioners would have had assistants to aid them in their rituals.
Norse mythological narrations are probably among the most violent religious texts ever written. Specific rites have been recorded around this era, as Viking men put great trust in battle ritual and consultation of omens to tell them when to fight and what the results of an encounter would be [8].
But men are known to use it as well; notably, both Loki and Odin are said to have practised seiðr while in female form, although this is considered a source of shame.
One figure that really should be highlighted in this connection is Freya who by many mostly is referred to as the goddess of love, but she is actually also extremely skilled in the art of magic, it was her that introduced Odin to magic and taught him everything she knew.
Loki is traditionally associated with the Aesir gods, although he was not actually born to this tribe. In many versions of his mythology, Loki was the son of a jotunn (sometimes translated as giant) and was sort of adopted by the Aesir.
Freya (Old Norse Freyja, “Lady”) is one of the preeminent goddesses in Norse mythology. She's a member of the Vanir tribe of deities, but became an honorary member of the Aesir gods after the Aesir-Vanir War. Her father is Njord.
Hecate was the chief goddess presiding over magic and spells. She witnessed the abduction of Demeter's daughter Persephone to the underworld and, torch in hand, assisted in the search for her.
Freyja, like all Asgardian gods, is near immortal and resistant to disease and illness. She has superhuman strength, endurance, durability and can speak in the languages of the Ten Realms. But unlike other Asgardians, Freyja can wield powerful magic.
The Elder Futhark runes are broken up into three sections called aettir (singular is aett). The first belongs to Freya, Norse goddess of beauty and love.