The Old Norse word for “seer” is vǫlva, sometimes translated as “sibyl” or “soothsayer.” The name derives from vǫlr, a technical term that indicated the rod of prophecy, the round-sectioned stick used for divination, which in turn comes from the Indo-European root *WEL- (see Gothic welta "stick"). Literally vǫlva means «she who carries the staff». The parallel arises spontaneously with the Etruscan-Latin figure of the diviner equipped with the lituus.....
