Northern Magic: Mysteries of the Norse, Germans & English

Northern Magic is one of the best books for a beginning student of the Runic arts. It provides an excellent look into the ways of the Northern European shamanic and magical practices. The book is detailed and interesting while proving a decently easy read. It covers rune carving, galdr and seidh work as well as some further rune esoterics and even a section on the Pennsylvania Dutch Hexagrams, a Germanic magical artform. Thorsson as an author is one of the supreme authorities of this age on Runology. He has an impressive university record as Stephen Flowers and his basis in Germanic history and language provide an excellent background for his work in the Northern historical and esoteric fields. His list of published works is impressive considering the quality of the materials he has presented. Northern Magic is one of my personal favorites of his works as Edred Thorsson. Along with Futhark: A Handbook of Runes it has lead me far in my path. Any serious Odian should at least give this one a look. As one further note, the Kindle edition is lovely! The layout is excellent. The pictures are clear and easy to view. I highly recommend it to any Kindle-owning Runer!

I give this book 5 stars not for its information on runes or norse mythology, but for the small chapter on the Pennsylvania Dutch Hexsigns. I am very interested in Hexology and Powwow, and read anything I can get my hands on about it. Mr. Thorsson has given the reader a basic introduction to Hexology, examples of Hexsigns, and pretty good history too. I cannot speak about the rest of the book, but buy it for the hex information if for nothing else.

Edred Thorrson is perhaps the most trusted modern authority when it comes to the Runes and Northern occult tradition. This book is a great introduction to many practices rooted in the Northern way, including a fascinating section on the only system of unique colonial American magic that I have come into acquaintance with, Pennsylvania "Dutch" Hex-signs. Very informative and suitable for beginners as well.

Hail! Having know Edred for some time know (I met him at the Rune Gild Moot as well as maintaining communications with him), I would like to point out that the "one star" reveiws are extremely unfair and cowardly. Edred has a PHD in Germanic Philology and has been reconstructing/developing Rune Galdor since the early 70's. Being very familiar with Setian cosmology/philosophy I can assure you that Edred did not "mix" Setian material into these books. Yes, Edred is a member of the ToS....and the reason why he joined was so that he could set aside studies into the more "darker" aspects of Germanic Cosmolology/Runelore (the Temple of Set has different Orders dedicated to various LHP traditions all over the world) and pretty much "pass on the baton" to someone else to research this so that he can return to his duties to the Rune Gild (which is allied to Asatru and not "Satanism") as a Yrmin Drighten. Qouting something that Edred had said to me and my fellow Gilders "I, Edred, am first and foremost an Asatruar." In other words, he is a Teutonic Heathen. Bottom line. Those that attack Edred usually have the following traits: 1)They do not know him,2)Usually of a low education level, and 3)Too cowardly to look at themselves and cause changes accordingly so instead of dealing with their own neurotic fears/problems they look outward and lable them "Edred", or "Temple of Set", or "Satanism".Anyhow, these "one star" people are agents of the neopagan (th.i.generalised fluff-bunny "earth religion" tirade) community and they really don't want you to obtain books with any sort of sound and objective basis. Furthermore, one of the reveiwers is trying to tell you what you should and shouldn't do (by telling you to stay away from Edred's books) and is thus robbing you of a personal choice and the second reveiwer is going by hearsay from an extremely an "Asatru"(The Ring of Troth) organisation that is imfamous for its political games, power play, backstabbing, and a whole slew of undesirable traits. The Rune Gild (Edred's organisation), on the otherhand, is nearly void of such things and has outlasted every Asatru organisation out there.The fact that anyone would even hint that the book Northern Magic is somehow "diabolical" is so hilarious from a reasonable, logical, and mature standpoint that such statements would be regaurded as silly, absurd, and just downright melodramatic. Here is an outline of the book:1)Material on the Elder Troth (Teutonic Paganism), 2)Lore of the Younger Futhark and its magical uses., 3)Lore from the Galdorbok (Icelandic magic) tradition, 4)stuff on seidhr(otherworld travel, contacting your fetch) and 4)Hex Signs and that is it. Bottom line. Reyn til Runa,Isenwulf