Þorbjörg lítilvölva ('Thorbjörg little-völva; c. 10th century CE) was a renowned seeress (völva) in Norse colonial Greenland during the late Viking Age.
One winter, Þorkel, a major farmer, invited Þorbjörg to his farm, and he and his family began making preparations for her arrival: Sephton translation, 1808: Kunz translation, 2000: After the tables were cleared, Þorkel asked Þorbjörg what she thought of the estate and the household's conduct, and how soon he could expect a response to his questions about the future, as everyone was eager to know.
Þorbjörg asked if any woman present knew varðlokkur (Old Norse 'ward enticers, ward songs'), chants necessary to carry out magic rites.
The people of the household asked around the settlement until a woman named Gudrid (introduced earlier in the saga) responded that, "I have neither magical powers nor the gift of prophecy, but in Iceland my foster-mother, Halldis, taught me chants she called ward songs".
[5] According to philologist and religious studies scholar Rudolf Simek, Saga of Erik the Red may be an embellished literary narrative but details regarding the seeress, such as the high seat, staff, and the circle derive from historical practices in Germanic paganism.