Gullveig and Heid

Gullveig was a Vanir goddess. Gullveig was probably the goddess of healing.

Gullveig was a goddess with a great fondness for gold. Her constant chatter about gold irritated the Aesir gods. Gullveig was assaulted in the hall of Odin. She was tortured: repeatedly pierced by spears, and burnt three times in a great fire. Each time, she was reborn.

The Vanir demanded reparation from the Aesir for the torture of Gullveig: the Vanir wanted the same status and privilege as the Aesir. The Aesir refused, and war broke out between the two races of gods. The war of Aesir and the Vanir lasted for 10 years before the Aesir agreed to the Vanir's terms.

From the fire, Gullveig was reborn as a witch (fordoeda) named Heid ("Bright One") who practised witchcraft known as seiðr.

The dual goddess Gullveig/Heid was sometimes confused with Freyja, who also practised the disreputable kind of magic, seiðr, and also had a love for gold.