A vǫlva or völva (Old Norse and Icelandic respectively; plural vǫlur (O.N.), völvur (Icel.), sometimes anglicized vala; also spákona or spækona) is a shamanic seeress in Norse paganism, and a recurring motif in Norse mythology.

The völur were referred to by many names. The Old Norse word vǫlva means "wand carrier" or "carrier of a magic staff", and it continues Proto-Germanic *walwōn, which is derived from a word for "wand" (Old Norse vǫlr).Vala, on the other hand, is a literary form based on Völva.

A spákona or spækona (with an Old English cognate, spæwīfe) is a "prophetess", from the Old Norse word spá or spæ referring to prophesying, continuing Proto-Germanic *spah- and the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)peḱ and consequently related to Latin speccio ("sees") and Sanskrit spáçati and páçyati ("sees", etc.).

A practitioner of seiðr is a seiðkona (female) or a seiðmaðr (male).

Völur practiced seiðr, spá and galdr, practices which encompassed shamanism, sorcery, prophecy and other forms of indigenous magic. Seiðr in particular had connotations of ergi (unmanliness).