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 as the 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 “seer, one who sees”, from the Old Norse word spá or spæ referring to prophesying and which is cognate with the present English word “spy,” continuing as the Proto-Germanic *spah- and the Proto-Indo-European root speḱ (to see, to observe).
A practitioner of seiðr is a seiðkona (female) or a seiðmaðr (male).