Customer Reviews

Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner: A Book of Prayer, Devotional Practice, and the Nine Worlds of Spirit

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I'd agree with some of the other reviewers: this book isn't for absolute beginners, but neither do I think it advertises itself as such. It is a book of prayer and devotional practice after all, and in the capacity it fills a niche beautifully.

For strict recons, I'd recommend a textbook of old Norse or English and some manuscripts, but for anyone who has ever felt a more mystical bend to their practice of heathenry, this book is a must.

For those who are looking for a deeper connection with their ancestors, the local spirits of place, and the gods, this book gives constructive advice for developing your own practices, be they solitary rights, daily prayer, or "right action," which is the part when you walk the talk and go out and do things as acts of spiritual devotion. Every section comes with examples and ideas to branch out from there. My only complaint: it felt too short! Luckily, you can keep up with the authors at their blog, where you'll find more of the same. http://godsmouths.blogspot.com/

This book was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I consider myself Rokkatru, a devoted Loki's-woman and humble student of the Jotnar, and I adore the fact that this book included devotionals for, prayers to, and a good deal of information about my fulltrui and his beloved second wife Sigyn. It is well written, informative, and gives a wide view of the Northern Traditions from both Reconstructionist and Reconstructionist-derived sides of the coin. It is a welcome, and now loved addition to my library. I will be ordering the other books from Raven and his kith in the future. Hail and blessings to the authors! May the Gods favor you and your kin!

This is an excellent mid-level text on the Northern Tradition, for those who have already gotten passed basic introductory texts. The chapters are clear and well laid-out, with loads of practical advice. Krasskova's passion for the subject shines through on every page.

Also recommended: Essential Asatru by Paxson, Travels Through Middle Earth by Albertson, and Introduction to Pagan Studies by Davy.

It can be very difficult to go it alone in a tradition that organizes itself in 'hearths' and 'kindreds'. This book is not fluffy-bunny, nor is it extremist towards one perspective or another. It provides the information one needs to begin structuring one's own practice. After years of having to adapt group-oriented practices to solitary observances, I found this book to be a treasured addition to my bookshelf. The language is direct, the tone is honest, and the author tries very hard to keep a balanced view of some hotly contested beliefs within the community.

At some point, we all come alone to the Gods, for a short time or for a lifetime. This books helps.

i read about 10 pages of the book and got sickened by the christian talk in it and its attempt to sound asatru based... referances to reverends and other christian idiologies made me but the book right down.

i was hoping for a book i could use being a soliatry asatruar, but this book gave me no such attention and care. its read false and daunting...

i dont like it.nae gott!

This book is an excellent work touching on the issues of devotion and prayer within the Heathen religion, an issue that tends to be neglected in most of the Northern Tradition demographic. The title might be a tad misleading...in my opinion the work isn't for beginners and you won't really find anything like ritual outlines or any other 101 level stuff in here. Nonetheless it is a good book and one I feel has come out at just the right time.

Many Heathens might take issue with some of the material in the book. I want to address them by simply stating that 1) the book in no way, shape, or form states that you must worship the Jotnar. I did not once see anything indicating such. 2) I did not feel the book looked down upon any aspect of Heathenry. It looked at the different paths, including Folkism and Theodism, objectively and did not once imply that any path was inferior or close-minded.

Putting petty politics aside, when you allow yourself to see past the differences it is a beautiful work that addresses something sadly neglecting in not only Heathenry but in much of Pagan religion as a whole.

If you want to practice Heathenry. If you want to celebrate the Old Ways of Northern Europe, then this is NOT the book for you. It's pure garbage and nothing more. The author shows very very little understanding of old customs or practices, and the majority of the book is nothing but her own, ignorant interpretations, without an ounce of evidence to support it. The author's own history is not found in Heathenry, but rather, she has been rejected by the heathen community, and is only able to claim she is Heathen due to free speech. Recommended readings for newcomers to Heathenry should include instead, the Poetic and Prose Eddas, The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley Holland, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, by H.R. Ellis Davidson, Gronbech's Culture of the Teutons, and the article "Germanic Spirituality" by Bil Linsey; and from there, find a good Heathen community to help find solid, academic sources, and help with practices. Remember, just because someone publishes their own book and calls it heathenry, that doesn't mean it is so. Stick with reliable sources!

I purchased this book along with several others and the Eddas last summer, excited that I'd found information on Norse paganism/heathenry. I subsequently tore this book up and binned it after completing it. Here's why: it encourages the worship and veneration of dangerous entities by planting the seeds for such activities in readers minds. Rokkr are not an accepted or normal part of modern reconstructed Norse paganism/heathenry, nor is there any evidence in history or archeology of people worshipping Jotuns or monsters like Fenrir. This book carries on a love affair with Loki, and uses the mindset of "just because we can't find proof people did this doesn't mean they didn't". Absence of evidence is not proof of evidence. The book also liberally mixes new-age concepts and worship methods into the pot, all under the guise of being part of the "Northern Tradition".

In summary, if you are seriously looking to get involved in modern Norse paganism/heathenry, avoid this book.

While Exploring the Northern Tradition is an okay book (written solely by Krasskova), Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner (by Krasskova/ Raven Kaldera) is the worst kind of junk. Not just junk, but subversive, UPG (unverified personal gnosis) fueled lunacy. Having cast a critical eye to it, I suspect that it was written entirely by Kaldera. The sentence structure, themes, and mood are completely different for the other book. It also draws it's conclusions based almost entirely from UPG (of the writer/writers and those who returned their surveys).

It labels the Jotuns as Rokkr and makes them out to be the third (previously unmentioned) god group; of chaos, wild nature and the underworld. I can see the logic working behind it; it stems from the unhealthy obsession these people have with Loki and to a lesser degree his children via Angrbroda. The works also sit squarely in the darker fringes of the neo-pagan camp, with a few feeble nods at trying to be Heathen. This is probably the worst book on Asatru/Norse Paganism I've read since Norse Magic by DJ Conway. It wears the clothes of heathenry and conceals a rotted core of corruption.

It's very casual and matter of fact about the Rokkr thing to, like it's perfectly normal to blot to say... Fenris. Or Surtr. It's perverse normalization of this is the worst part. Were I a new heathen with only this book, I would swiftly descend into darkness. This is not a case of me being narrow minded and trying to oppress others and keep them from exploring/expressing their faith, this is a case of deliberately misleading others by trying to pass off UPG and neo-paganism with a northern focus as being Heathen.

I'll stand by my statements on Galina's other book, it's okay. This other book though... it's like a guide on how not to do it. This is a guide book to Raven Kaldera's Cauldron Farm/Ironwood Kindred's style of neo-paganism, described sometimes as Northern Tradition Shamanism. It incorporates parts of Asatru/Heathenry/Norse Paganism, then mixes them liberally with neo-pagan ideas and beliefs.

If you're new to heathenry or looking to expand your knowledge base, look elsewhere.

I have found this book deeply useful to my personal spiritual pracitce. The breakdown of the varying pathways in the beginning was a great help to understand how to approach the book itself, and from then on she plunged deeper into understanding one's path in terms of Devotional Works, prayer, and the like. Her inclusion of footnotes is something I deeply approve of, as I have more avenues to research and reflect on. The appendix for deities is helpful if one wants a straightforward, simple guide to offerings, symbols and the like before one has fully developed relationship with these deities.

Overall, I find this book to be a great addition to anyone's library hoping to develop or deep devotional practices and other spiritual relationships with their Gods. Not everyone will agree with the subject of worshipping Rokkr, the Jotnar Gods. Each to their own. That said, there is a growing presence of practitioners who do, and I do not see where casting them to the fringes helps.

One of the best parts of this book is, in my opinion, the quotes. It would be one thing to write, say "This is how to do a prayer bead; follow these steps". That is relatively easy, straightforward. What is not, is getting to how the prayer beads affect one's worship. How it can be a focus tool that bring the practitioner into alignment with their Gods, vaettir, etc. The quotes provide powerful invitations to understand the minds of the people that worship the Northern Gods, and what the effect of that worship is on them.

Another thing I see much of in this book that I seldom see anywhere else: created prayers for the Gods by their devoted followers. Not only useful to the reader, they provide an invitation to deep one's practice by not just reading someone else's words. They invite the reader to develop their own relationship with their God/dess, vaettir, etc. deeper, more solidly. I could think of few books that push the reader to do this kind of thing. This, to me, is what makes the book so powerful. It is a launching pad for lifting up your own spirituality. As is said throughout the book, your relationship with your Gods is your own, and as I see it, this book invites you at every turn to deepen that relationship.

That said, this book has made an incredible impact on my spirituality. It has helped me develop deeper prayers, a better use of my focusing tools (I use prayer beads to journey from Midgard to Asgard via a Bifrost Bridge prayer bead set), and a deeper devotional practice with my Gods. My spiritual life has greatly been improved by practicing the techniques of this book.

I purchased this book looking for a useful manual to help me investigate solitary practice in a Norse tradition and came away feeling like a Christian who wants to practice without going to church. There was a lot of good info about the different branches of Norse heathery and their non-acceptance of solitaries, but I found very little useful information on solitary practice. The book seemed to contain a lot of feedback and quotes from other people and their ideas of practice since the author doesn't seem to be a solitary practitioner. I found it interesting there was a section on Viking type rosaries. I had never heard of anything like that.

Maybe this isn't a path for solitary practice. It seemed a depressing journey for those wanting to worship the old Norse gods by themselves.

As for myself I found this book useless and it is the only one I have ever sent back for a refund.