Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Seeress (Germanic)" in English language version.
The etymology of seiðr, however, suggests indigenous development, perhaps retention of Indo-European practice. The mysterious term is cognate with French séance, Latin sedere, Old English sittan, and thus with the large group of terms based on the Indo-European root *sed. A seiðr, then, was literally a séance—a "sitting" to commune with the spirits.