Edred Thorsson - Northern Magic: Rune Mysteries and Shamanism

"In Northern Magic, Edred Thorsson opens up a completely new area of Nordic magical lore, and as well, that of the Vikings. Here he ably explains the difference between `Seidr' and `Galdr' and includes in-depth explanations and analyses of the meaning of the Viking Futhark runes as distinct from the betterknown common Germanic ones. Practical training is offered in constructing Viking Galdor stafen for the first time ever. One is instructed how to communicate with one's `fetch animal.' Furthermore, Edred introduces the old Germanic `Hexcraeft,' better known in the U. S. as `Pennsylvania Dutch'; this section is a crash course in practical magic in itself. The last section in this book is devoted to a discussion of the Germanic Renaissance in the most forthright and courageous way ever.

This book, more than any of his others, is written with real feeling as well as with his usual intelligence and therefore is appealing to both mind and heart. It can no longer be denied that Edred Thorsson is the leading Adept in the Germanic Mysteries."

- Freya Aswynn author of Northern Mysteries & Magick

Edred Thorsson is well known as the author of such books as Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic; Runelore: A Handbook of Esoteric Runology; At the Well of Wyrd: A Handbook of Runic Divination; Rune-Might; and A Book of Troth. Since 1972, he has been dedicated to the esoteric and exoteric study of the Indo-European religion and culture at major universities in Germany and in the U.S. Northern Magic represents a practical exploration of many topics in the field of Germanic magic.

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Edred Thorsson

The Truth About Teutonic Magick (1994)

The Nine Doors of Midgard (1991)

A Book of Troth (1989)

Rune Might: Secret Practices of the German Rune Magicians (1989)

At the Well of Wyrd: A Handbook of Runic Divination (Weiser, 1988)

Runelore: A Handbook of Esoteric Runology (Weiser, 1987)

Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic (Weiser, 1984)

Fire and Ice (1990)

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Northern Magic is a book which is more than it appears. As originally conceived, Northern Magic was simply to be a brief survey and introduction to a wide variety of Germanic spiritual and magical traditions. It turned out to be more than that. Despite its overall brief conception, it was created as a concisely written point of entry into a number of disciplines which had never before been discussed in any practical way in any book. Northern Magic is not merely a rehash or condensation of otherwise familiar material. It boldly enters new areas-Icelandic galdor-stave magic, Pennsylvania Dutch hex-magic, Scandinavian seith-and does so in a way that is precise and accessible.

What to all outward appearances seemed to be a simplified elementary text was actually one of the most sophisticated treatments of practical Germanic magic yet offered. This was always the secret of the book Northern Magic-and so too is it the secret of the essence of the Magic of the North itself. I am very happy that Llewellyn has seen fit to bring the appearance and the reality of this book into closer harmony by creating a second edition which more accurately reflects the quality and merit of the book's contents.

-Edred Thorsson

April 2, 1998

High within a towering building in a major urban city, a modern runemaster carves his will upon the very warp and woof of the universal fabric. He carves the elder signs and sings the ancient rune songs. In doing this he becomes one with the patterns laid down by his ancestors in centuries before. In learning the lore and using it actively the modern magician makes remanifest the eternal runes which inform a timeless process of becoming. The modern runemaster, like his ancestors, gladly rides the waves of cosmic flux and guides his ship across a sea of eternal becoming. From his tower, whether it is the crags of the ancient Externsteine or the modern high-rise apartment, the runemasters of all ages have held the secret of altering the fabric of the world-this is as true today as it was two thousand years ago.

We live in an age where that which is holistic and natural is understood and sought more than ever. People want to live in harmony with nature, to understand the unity of the "body-mind-spirit." These are all noble and valuable goals. The pathway to these goals has, however, been severely obstructed. The blockages come from within; the keys to unblocking these pathways must also come from within. But, as we so often see in this universe, the secret-the Rune-to their liberation has come from without-from the runic realm of Valhalla itself standing beyond the limits of nature.

If you are interested in living a whole-istic life in which the integration or unity of body-mind-spirit is gained and understood, it should be obvious that a key to knowledge concerning your spiritual heritage is to be found in the "heritage" of your body-in the "genetic code" which you have inherited from your distant ancestors. Thus your own most natural, most intuitive path is an ancestral path.

We in the "West" have often made idealized models out of other (exotic) cultural traditions: the American Indians, the Indians of Asia, and even the AfroCaribbean, just to name a few. What we have idealized is their great sense of continuous tradition and their deep level of spiritual authenticity. If we want this for ourselves-individually or collectively-we must find it within ourselves. It cannot be truly gained from sources outside our tradition of body-mind-spirit unity. We can learn a great deal from other traditionsbut from a holistic viewpoint they remain something outside ourselves.

I remember when I was about six years old on a trip to New Mexico and Arizona that I cried myself to sleep one night wishing that I had been "born an Indian." I was so struck by something about these noble, authentic, and self-aware people. But what my six-year-old mind could not understand was that it was not the Indians as such that I found so inspiring but it was the things which they represented and embodied for themselves. If you want to (re-) capture the loss of nobility, authenticity and self-awareness that the American Indians or other traditional peoples have you cannot recover it from them-you must recover it from within your own being and self.