Customer Reviews

Norse Magic (Llewellyn's World Religion & Magick)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

This is my perspective on this book......

This book is filled with many errors. Here goes:

1. Djinni, Sylphs, and Gnomes are not a part of the Northern Tradition. Sylphs are Greek, Gnomes are Roman, Djinni are Persian. D.J. Conway, you have sinned!

2. Like many Wiccans, she insists on trying to merge Celtic and Germanic holidays. For an example, Samhain and Yule, all though celebrated on different months, represent the same thing. This is because the *growing seasons* for the Celts and the Teutons were different because they were located in different parts of Europe.
Shame on you, D.J. Conway. You have sinned!

3. Some Heathens may feel that "casting a circle" is not a part of Germanic Magic. Not true. This technique is mentioned in Anglo Saxon Manuscripts. See the Travelers Charm Anglo Saxon Magic by Godfrid Storms as well as Leechcraft by Stephen Pollinton. Therefore, this can be forgiven.

4. She made the error of mentioning Earth, Air, Fire, and Water as elements to be called in the corners. This comes from Greco-Roman sources. However, in the Prose Edda (the creation myth), there are five major elements mentioned: Ice (which is North), Fire (which is South) , Earth (which is "in the middle"), as well as Air and Water. The last two are not given any kind of directional qaulities in the creation myth, HOWEVER, the Vanaheim is said to be in the west and it is "watery" and their is a Storm Ent in the shape of an eagle the generates winds in Jotunheim, which is "to the east". She does say that one can opt to use the Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Ice elements and she does alot them in the appropiate directions and even mentioned the dwarves Nordhri, Sudhri, Austri, and Vestri. Therefore, she can be forgiven for this.

5. She mentions the "raising the cone of power". Many Heathens may disagree with this practice....I however, absolutely do not. In anceint germanic times there was a rite called the May Pole Dance in which participants dance around a pole while tying ribbons around it, this is done on "May Day" which is sacred to Freya and Frey. Here is the thing: A) energies ARE being raised, B) this is being done in a circular area and C) there is a pole in the middle. Therefore, if energy was being raised it would in fact form into a cone. This is basic geometry. Once again, this can be forgiven.

6. The last part of the book contains charms and various magics centered around herbs, stones, and metals. In all actuality, I actually didn't see anything that would contradict the practice of witchcraft as it was practiced by our ancestors. She also mentions the elves and the dwarves and there roles in the use of these substances. Don't see any problem there. Witchcraft, as a West Germanic magical practice (and not Wicca) is an ART, not a science. It is totally formless. ::makes a hammer sign:: You have been forgiven, D.J. Conway.

7. She mentions the use of an iron cauldron. This is non-Traditional because in anceint witchcraft it was beleived that iron is offensive to the spirits contained in the plants. This is beleived in alot of different cultures. I would not recommend burning herbs in them, and you may find that it has a distruptive presense when you try to raise power. Actually, this is why a "witch bottle" is used a a source of protection against witchcraft...it has nine nails made of iron inside of it. D.J. Conway, you have sinned!


What we have to consider is that some aspects of Wicca did in fact come from the West Germanic Tradition (like the casting of a circle and the raising of the cone of power as well as the use of metals, herbs, stones, and verbal chants), however it did get altered by ceremonial magic influences (ie the use of athames and the pentacle...but even then their is new evidence pointing to the use of a pentacle in the Northern Tradition, this symbol is found on belt buckles as well as arrangements of rocks in Northern Europe).

I think that this book would of been alot better if she did more research into West Germanic Folklore and covered things such as Familiars/Fetches (which were in fact used), Fith-Fath (or shapeshifting), the traditional use of the besom, hyde-faring (or "astral projection") through the Nine Worlds, Soul Lore, the role of the Dark Master and Scourging.

So really, this book has alot of mistakes. But it isn't totally worthless and has acted as a springboard for Greater Works for many people who are involved in the Northern Tradition.

While Conway's idea may have been in the right place, she unfortunatly did not do the required research. I am "Norse Wiccan" but luckily I did not base my Tradition on this book!
(I was forwarned before doing so!)

For those interested in building a Wiccan Tradition that is Norse or Germanic based I suggest the following books:

1) Wiccan: Beliefs and Practices by Gary Cantrell
- Not Norse, but a very good Wicca 101 book to serve as
a blueprint.

2) Witchdom of the True by Edred
- Shows how Gardnerian Wicca has its roots in Traditional
Old English "Wiccecraeft" and the Cults of the Vanir from
Scandinavia who worshiped the "Lord and Lady" (Freyr
and Freyja)as there primary deities. YOU HAVE TO READ
THIS BOOK!!! It's availible from Runa Raven Press:
http://www.runaraven.com/

3) Hammer of the Gods by Swain Wodening
- This is a book Anglo-Saxon Heathenism, but if read the
above book, you see why it is nessesary.

4) Germanic Heathenry: A Pratical Guide by James Hjuka Coulter
- This is the ultimate book on Germanic Paganism. A must
read!

5) Northern Mysteries & Magick by Freya Aswynn
- Aswynn is Asatru but with a Wiccan past, so her stuff
tends to be more on the "Vanic" side. Worth a read.

Using the above books, one can build a "Norse Wiccan" Tradition that is based on the historic folk traditions of Norse/Germanic Paganism, instead of the "fluffy bunny" and "New Age" stuff that Conway does with this book, which is basically a reprint of her Celtic Magic book with the names changed to Norse Gods and Goddesses.

I found this book offensive as a pagan. I have no problem with Wicca as a religion, nor with those that admit it when they plaster other people's gods and goddesses onto Wicca. What I do have a problem with is when one obviously did enough research on the Norse religion to know that it has very little in common with Wicca, and still claim that the Norse were Wiccan. Freya and Freyr as the main deities? Where did that come from? I guess Odin was too manly to be the principal male in her mind. The author not only ignored all research done by reconstructionists pagans, but she had to make Freyr, the most effeminate of the Norse gods, the principal male.
This was, unfortunately, the first book on the occult and Norse magic that I read. Luckily, I actually did some research on the subject, and was able to discard it as useless in under a week. I will say, however, the book is quite well constructed. I have ran over it with a truck, left it outside for weeks at a time, used it as a coaster, etc., and the cover hasn't even fallen all the way off yet.

This is undoubtedly the worst occult book I have ever read. Unfortunately, it was also my first one. This book is so bad, reading it is counterproductive to your development as a magician.

The rituals that Conway describes are like something out of a movie, and any decent practicioner of the occult arts knows that the real thing is nothing like what you see in movies. Also, Conway claims that the garbage written in this book is similar to what the Norse actually practiced in their time. That is so not true. What she has done is taken a childishly dramatic twist on Wicca, filled in the places for deity names to go with Norse gods and goddesses, and added a little chapter on the runes. There's a rumor going around that this book is the exact same book as her other book, Celtic Magic, but with the names swapped out for Norse ones. And I'm sure that other book is just as terrible as this one.

Reading this book really opened my eyes to the amount of false information that's out there. Conway is just trying to impress readers into buying more of her books and binding people to dogma that she made up herself. Please save a few trees, and your worth as a magician, by not buying this book. If you are/will be a Wiccan/Pagan, there are tons of better books out there, but just as many bogus authors.

A really bad book purporting to be "Norse Religion". This is actually a book of Wiccan ritual, in which the names of the deities have had their Norse equivalents substituted, sometimes incorrectly. An exercise is shoddy research, containing gross inaccuracies. Conway also commits plagarism, stealing her illustrations from Kevin Crossley-Holland's Norse Myths. Not very useful.

This book is almost verbatim of Conway's Celtic Magic book. Its basically Wiccan ritual form watered down into a generic germanic stew. It feels disrespectful to the Nordic Gods and Goddesses and treats the runes like a dimestore fortune telling device. The Runes are a way of understanding the universe, a way to seek inner wisdom, a way of self empowerment. Odhinn hung on Yggdrasil sacrificing himself to himself for a little more then to find out whether or not some guy likes your little sister or if you will win the lotto. The runes are archetypes of the universe and need to be approached seriously and with pure intention. DJ Conway's intention here is a nice residual from the pockets of people who dont know any better, she treats them casually and superficially for the most thought-crippled individuals.

This book is punsihment to read. If you are serious about learning, look elsewhere. If you want to learn the runes and get a serious feel for the Northern Magickal and religious cycle, read Edred Thorrsson or Freya Aswynn. If you want to learn the mythology read the Poetic Edda or even Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley Holland. There are so many great resources out there, that your money could be better spent almost anywhere. Skip this and read Thorrsson.

Granted, I was a newbie Pagan when I first got this book, soon after I read Conway's Celtic Magic, and I realized that *It Was The Same Book With The Names Changed!* Yes folks, that is right, the rituals were almost identicle, the invocations, etc. I have avoided Conway's books ever since. Her information is not accurate. If you must, use it for inspiration on Norse Wicca, not to learn anything about Asatru, or traditional Norse ceremonies.

I would have to agree with the majority of the reviewers, this book is horrible!! Our ancestors did not practice magic in this manner, and the Celtic peoples didn't either. This author should have did more research on the Nordic people before writing this book instead of portraying them as Wiccan. Take my advice, don't buy this book!

If i wanted a book about wicca, i would have looked for a book titled for wicca. as a learning asatruar, i was looking for true norse works, not wicca. Every ritual was blatantly a wiccan one, which is fine, but i'm not wiccan! I was very disappointed in this book, especially due to the fact that it was targeted to the heathen readers. Let this be a guide to all others looking into odinism, asatru, or any other true nordic path-- any writer who writes a vast amount of books on magic in many different pantheons, is probably, at best, an entreprenureal wiccan, but most likely a hack. save your $$!

THe only redeeming feature of this book is her concise retelling of some of the Norse myths; however, I agree with a previous reviewer that one is likely to get much more from Kevin Crossley-Holland's books. Her lack of knowledge on how the Norse actually viewed their gods is appalling. To say that Freya is a moon goddess is false. In fact, in the Norse pantheon, the sun was viewed as female and the moon was male! Her research is pretty thin.