THE USES OF SORCERYSeiðr and the other magics were evidently used for a wide range of purposes, varying
from the solution of domestic problems to major affairs of state.
Among the gods, Óðinn used seiðr primarily to seek out information about the future,
especially by asking questions of the dead. He is described as falling into trances, as
leaving his body behind and travelling abroad in the spirit-form of an animal, and
several times as having visions of wisdom provoked by various kinds of ordeal. Freyja
uses sorcery as disguise, changing her shape and using her physical charms to wreak
havoc in the lives of her enemies.
If we turn to sorcery in the human world, from examples in the literature we find it
employed for bringing good or bad luck to individuals or a community, for affecting the
weather and the abundance of game and fish (all useful things in an agrarian or pastoral
Figure 17. 1. 1 A reconstruction of the vo ̨lva Þórbjo
̇
rg’s costume and equipment from
the description in Eiríks saga rouða. (Drawing: Þórhallur Þráinsson, after Price 2002 .)–– Neil Price––