Customer Reviews

The Rites of Odin (Llewellyn's Teutonic Magick Series)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

As a heathen, I detest this book. But, for the Norse Wiccan it isn't that bad. The book clearly states it is a "tremendous contribution toward the unfolding of a real 'Norse Wicca.'" It's right there in the foreward, page xiii.

I'll admit it is somewhat misleading, as there are a few mentions of Odinism in the book. But anyone with any knowledge of Odinism, Asatru, Theodish, or any other heathen denomination will see right through it. Fitch's definition of Odinism is apparently much more simple than what most of us think of it as. Fitch defines Odinism as "one who worships Odin, et al." and that is the only requirement.

I don't see the book trying to be about Asatru or heathenry. The foreward was written by none other than Edred Thorsson, the biggest flake "heathen" author in existence. Thorsson was a founding member of the Ring of Troth, but he was also forced out due to his involvement with the Temple of Set, an offshoot cult of the Church of Satan. His endorement of the book should tell you something.

The entire section on runes would be better used as toilet paper. As someone with several years of runic knowledge, this book is certainly unique, in that the information found here is found no where else. Fitch is worse that Blum in that respect (and I never thought that was possible). The entire lore section is also worthless. The seasonal rituals have an obvious Wiccan influence, but some of the Rites of Passage have some good ideas.

Another obvious Wiccan influence is the ever present duality during the rituals. Every ritual has a "godi" and "godia."

The 26 parts of the Rede of Honor fails by comparison to the Nine Noble Virtues. His information on specific gods and goddesses are laughably wrong (Vali is not a son of Loki, Freyr is not the son of Skadi, Idunna does not represent the earth, Ostara is the Germanic name for Idunna, and not a seperate goddess, Fenrir does not devour the sun, etc.) His everpresent term "Gods of Valhalla" is just plain stupid. I don't think the book mentions Asgard even once. Niflheim and Muspellheim are also omitted from the pages. Alfheim and Svartalfheim also didn't make the cut. In fact of the Nine Worlds, only Midgard ad Hel made in into the book.

Basically, the book is worthless to those reconstructionists who try to be as accurate as possible when it comes to the religion of our ancestors. Accuracy is not something Fitch seemed too concerned about when he wrote this book. For the Wiccan, where accuracy and authenticity are simply suggestions to be considered, this book would be worth checking out. As a book for Asatruar, this still is useful as a guide of "what not to do," and I would still recommend it to beginners into heathenry for that purpose.

Still if you must, buy it used, borrow it, steal it if it comes to that. But never, ever pay full price for this book.

The Nordic traditions/Asatru/Odinism are way out of my depth as far as personal practice, but nevertheless I reach out to educate myself anyway. I picked up this book on a recommendation and had some rather high hopes. Unfortunately, I felt absolutely nothing. You might say "Oh, well, she's not in the trad, how does she know?" I'm comparing the experience of reading Fitch's book to reading the Poetic and Prose Eddas in addition to other works on the Teutonic way which did capture my interest and imagination. Perhaps if you're a seeker looking to Nordic ways you may find this book of greater value than I did, but I do not feel this is a good choice for the person seeking to broaden their background.

Definity not a book for beginners.Their was a complete lack of explanation of the gods, blots, sumbels, ve's, horgs, and other essential stuff that is necessary for the religion.I will admit though that the mead making instructions and the horn crafting instructions were good.His expanation of Seidr magic was terrible and he failed to give an overveiw on the proper ritual tools.When the author put out books on Wicca he furthur proved his lack of genuinity in the Nordic Path.Sorry Mr. Fitch, Odinists want to buy books made by Odinists, not some wiccan trying to make a few extra bucks.To all Asatru/Odinists:If you want books on Odinism I suggest The Book of Troth written by Edred Thorrson and Asatru Rituals series written by Steven McNallen.(you can find this in the World Tree Publications, just go to the search engine, type World Tree Publications and you can find it from their.)The one thing I hate most is watching fellow kinsmen getting the wrong Info.

This book is misleading when talking about Asatru rites--moreover, it's not even historically accurate.

Asatruar are better served looking to the Sagas and actual scholarly works for their information about how the ancestors likely worshipped.

Please don't read this book. If you're interested in the Northern mythos or runes, find something by Edred Thorsson, Freya Aswynn, or just go to the Ring of Troth website. Please.

This is one of the few New-Agey books that almost every Heathen has read, been exasperated by, and disposed of ceremoniously. You do not need to be dry, petty, or academic to resent wasting your time reading complete nonsense.

While some nonsense may be entertaining and interesting as fiction, this book is not thought-provoking, fun, or particularly creative. New-Age types may think Heathens take themselves too seriously, and in some cases they do. However, think about how Native Americans feel about buckskin-wearing New-Age gurus who parody their sacred traditions.

Some may enjoy the book, and that is their prerogative. Many more will find the book frustrating, even offensive, and that perspective should also be respected.

The Rites of Odin, By Ed Fitch

Page 1 thru page 19 wasn't terrible, somewhat wrong, but not terrible. The "Crafting a drinking horn", section was informative and of some use. As I don't brew my own mead I can't comment on that section. The clothing section was ok. These sections combined total around 27 pages. Unfortunately, the book is over 335 pages long. I don't know who consulted on the cover art but as I recall, the All Father wasn't quite that buff and Loki is represented as a fire spirit, (yet again).

The Recommended Reading section borders on the criminal, (as far as Heathens are concerned), because the Edda's & Sagas aren't even listed! Excuse me, you are writing a book on the modern rediscovery of an ancient religion and you don't list THE primary source material that provided the information! Rubbish! (Granted, many were listed by name in another section, but with no puplication data or any coment).

On the plus side, this is generally one of the first books that most potential Heathen/Asatru run across in the used book store's. As such they usually pay about $3-$4 for it, so they're not getting ripped off too much. Hopefully they will be interested and intelligent enough to seek further knowledge and research better sources than this.

There are three books, (perhaps 4 now), in general circulation that novice Heathens/Asatru reader should steer clear of; This IS One Of Them!

My copy is displayed proudly on my book shelf. There are two reasons for this; 1: It is my personal acknowledgement of my own gullibility in buying it in the firstplace & 2: It keeps it out of the hands of potential Heathens. They've got enough to read without needing to unlearn the junk in this farce.

In Frith,
Spence

"Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc"
M. Addams

Well this book does have big time sexism and Fluff" if ya do not have childen ya are a dead end" that is so Biased has no place in pagan world we are in 2003 i thought we got away from christian views and dogma. Still book is useful for banners and some of crafts ,but the bias turned me off in this book ,next the book talk little about the female deites which is half of dam system ,If I was Freya I be royaly pissed off, still their are other books out there on odin tradtion. But this book was the most poor example, I have ever seen written and for the record women did play a big place in ancient cultures, duh what hell ya think a valkyrie is and how the legends came about them start. Still the cover is cute thats it. Save your money and get books by Freya Aswynn she written the book much better and books by Edred Thorsson for runes,Overall This book is one of worst Odinism books ever written just proves some authors are just out to make quick a buck, and after Fitch wrote "Magical rites from Crystal Well" which was his best book because it was not biased and well written.
I would not recommend this book to any pagan.Do your reaseach and start with the myths and go from there.

Ed Fitch is a well known Wiccan author, but he certainly knows nothing about Odinism. What's presented here bears no resemblance to the rites or rituals that thousands of Odinists/Asatruar perform around the world today. Apparently Fitch couldn't be bothered to do actual research. Instead, it's more Wicca with Norse names. If you want to know about Asatru/Odinism, Gundarsson or Thorsson are much more reputable authors.

The "Rites of Odin" is mostly a waste of money. It is poorly written, and there doesn't seem to be a thread of coherence throughout the book; it seems Fitch wrote a bunch of two page articles on different aspects of his version of Odinism, and he put it all in one book. There are simple type-os either the writer or publisher should have caught. Fitch warns in his "Disclaimer" that he has done the research on Norse tradition, but put his own twist on it (mainly so it is politically correct), but in the body of his book, he doesn't bother to mention what information has come from actual sources, and what came from his own mind. One chapter is called "The Rede of Honor." Is that chapter something he found in his research, or is it something that came from the fount of wisdon in Fitch himself? Similarly, in the chapter called "Sayings for Oneself and One's People," there is a list of sayings and only twelve are cited, but I'm left to suppose he came up with the rest of the sayings from his own infinite wisdom. He also doesn't bother to mention what his "research" entails; he has a short "Suggested Readings" list in the back, but only half the books have anything to do with Norse mythology or tradition. Lastly, in the introduction, he seems to try to impress his readers by mentioning he is a former US Air Force officer. Being the son of an Air Force officer and from a large Air Force family, I can say from experience that for the most part Air Force officers aren't the smartest bunch in the world, and Fitch has proven that with his joke-of-a-book.