Runic Ways: Galdr and Seið

In our conversations about the Runes we have repeatedly noted that Runes are a symbolic expression of flows of Power.

I would now like to draw attention to the fact that any flow can be seen in two ways: on the one hand as a vector with specific coordinates and magnitude, and on the other as the content of that flow, its inner flow.

These two points of view also reflect two modes of expressing Runic force: the “masculine” (analytical, treating Runes as distinct elements) and the “feminine” (immersive, involving immersion in the flows of power).

Of course, the labels “masculine” and “feminine” are merely conventional, yet they aptly reflect the gendered distribution of approaches.

Accordingly, the flows of Power symbolized by the Runes can be employed in two ways: by enclosing them within a definite shell (this approach in the Northern tradition is called “Galdr“) and by immersing oneself in them, moving with them (Seið).

It is clear that Galdr has traditionally been regarded as a predominantly masculine form of Magic, while Seið is feminine.

However, I wish to emphasize once more that in fact both Ways deal with the same Powers; only the mode of interaction differs.

Galdr is the art of creating Runic spells, woven Runes, and Runic talismans. Seið is the art of sung spells, divination, and crossing the threshold between worlds.

Strictly speaking, each of these Arts is itself threefold. Three sources spring from beneath the roots of Yggdrasil: the Source Urd (wisdom, fate), the Source of Mimir (the “mead-bearing” well nourishing the Tree), and Hvergelmir (the “Boiling Cauldron” that sprang at the origins of Creation), reflecting the same division of Wisdom into Three rays: Crystal, Silver, and Golden — Neutral, Passive and Active.

Galdr includes 1) Poetic incantations (Vísur) — the active part (Hvergelmir), 2) Runic talismans and amulets — the passive part (Mimir), and 3) the speaking a spell combined with the carving runes — the Neutral part (Urd). An example of the third case is the famous bone plaque from Devonshire bearing the inscription “May God keep Hadda’s honour, for he has written thus.” The recording of a word (a sentence) in Runes is already a magical act. It is thus that the Druids forbade writing down their books, poems and lays (in the Ogham alphabet, likewise considered magical): writing was regarded as a magical action that should not be repeated often.

Seið, similarly, includes 1) ritual singing, 2) Journeys between Worlds (shamanic wanderings), and 3) Foresight, divination.

As mentioned, only one person mastered both kinds of magic; he learned Galdr from the jötnar (we spoke of Mimir and Bölþorn) and Seið from Freyja. For ordinary people, such fusion seems extremely difficult and rarely achievable.

It seems important both to understand the difference between the two Ways and to be aware of their inner unity.

On the one hand, this means that a man will never become the kind of master of Seið that a woman can more easily attain, and a woman rarely achieves the same precision in using runes and vísur that a man attains more readily. But on the other hand — a man will never comprehend the sources of a power without a glimpse into its depths (Odin’s eye in the Source Urd), and a woman will not return from a journey without fixation at the starting point (the attempt to abduct Freyja by the thurses).

Only the unity of the two Ways, rarely attainable in practice but necessary as an ideal, can bring one closer to the fullness of wisdom and power.