The Prophecy of the Völva speaks of the mysterious seer Gullveig, who came from the tribe of Vanir. Her name is unclear, but it is sometimes translated as ‘Gold-drink’, ‘Gold-drunk’ or ‘Gold-draught’. The ancient Völva describes how Odin threw a spear and, in addition to starting a war, hit and injured Gullveig. Then the Æsir took her to Hár’s (Odin’s) hall, where they burned her. Not just once, but three times! Every time she rose from the dead, and the last time she was called Heid (ON Heiðr), which means the Bright One.
This whole process is most reminiscent of alchemy, especially Gullveig’s indestructibility, which allows her to rise from the ashes like a phoenix, and her subsequent transformation into Heid. The number three was a sacred number for the Germanic people. Analytical psychologist James Hillman even calls the whole of alchemy as a subject “the art of fire”, which is a different name for transformation. It would not be the first time in Norse mythology that an abstract phenomenon was personified in a human form. At the end of the war between the Æsir and the Vanir, the gods gathered for a reconciliation ceremony, during which they mixed their saliva, which eventually gave rise to an extremely wise being called Kvasir. Kvasir’s transformation was continued by his death at the hands of two dwarves, and from his blood they created the Mead of poetry. So it is possible that Gullveig represents a similar kind of personified process, who was transformed into an even more powerful sorceress through the triple fire.
What was the war of the gods all about anyway? No one knows exactly, and it is believed that this text is probably incomplete in this part of the manuscripts. For all we know, we could easily say it was because of the Desire of Gold, and it would make sense. Then the fire was kindled three times, and a new being was born, called Heid (The Shining One). Some scholars identify Gullveig with Freyja, the beautiful and sensual goddess of the Vanir, who came to Ásgard with her father Njörd and her brother Frey as hostages. The reason for this is not only her love of gold, but also seidr (ON seiðr), a magical art that both Freyja and Gullveig mastered.
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S. Sedlakova, Brno, CZE