The Journey of the Soul to Sessrúmnir: Reinterpreting the Meaning of the Viking Age Chair Pendant
Angie Padilla
Brepols Publishers eBooks May 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1484/m.tane-eb.5.151614 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Proposes that Viking Age chair-shaped pendants may symbolize the cult of the goddess Freyja and the shamanic journey of the soul to the 'Other World' to seek knowledge from the dead, linking the pendants to Old Norse accounts of seiðr performed on a raised chair and to Freyja's hall Sessrúmnir, the 'hall of many chairs'. |
Abstract
The symbolic meaning of Viking Age chair-shaped pendants discovered in Scandinavia remains uncertain. This chapter proposes a new hypothesis suggesting that such pendants may symbolize the cult of the Norse goddess Freyja and the shamanic practice of the soul’s journey to the ‘Other World’ to seek knowledge from the dead. Old Norse literary sources state that the practice of seiðr was taught to the Allfather Óðinn by Freyja, who was versed in the art of sorcery, and that this practice was performed on a raised chair. This association recalls Freyja’s hall in Fólkvangr, called Sessrúmnir, commonly translated as the ‘hall of many chairs’. The present study examines the research history concerning chair-shaped miniatures, analysing their form, function, symbolism, and archaeological context.