Gróa

In Norse mythology, Gróa (possibly from Old Norse "growing") is a völva (seeress) and practitioner of seiðr. She is the wife of Aurvandil the Bold.

==Attestations== ===Prose Edda=== left|thumb|"Awake Groa Awake Mother" Illustration by John Bauer (illustrator)|John Bauer Gróa appears in the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, in the context of Thor's battle with the jötunn Hrungnir. After Thor has dispatched Hrungnir with the hammer Mjollnir, Gróa is asked to help magically remove shards of Hrungnir's whetstone which became embedded in Thor's head. Unfortunately while Gróa was about her work, Thor distracted her by telling her of how he had earlier helped Aurvandil cross the river Élivágar, and had saved her husband's life by snapping off his frost-bitten toe. Gróa's spell miscarried and the pieces of whetstone remained permanently embedded in Thor's head.