Today I have something a little different on the blog. The Runes: A Grounding in Northerm Magic by James Flowerdew. Thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours and Leamington Books for my fabulous copy of this book.
The Runes are more than an ancient alphabet. They are a key to the wisdom of the ancient peoples that used them in both language and magic.
The Runes: A Grounding in Northern Magic by James Flowerdew aims to help you on your first steps to divining with The Runes and using the magic of these ancient peoples.
Actual practical success and failure is shared candidly in the hope that the reader can learn in a safe and steady manner. All combined into a neat guide to Runic practices and the inner workings of this ancient alphabet.
Full of direct references to ancient texts, as well as ripping yarns and poignant anecdotes, this book demonstrates Rune magic and the underlying principles and culture that inform it, as well as some general magical practices.
This guide helps make sure that the reader’s first steps into Runic mysticism are on solid ground, and allows everyone who wishes to work with The Runes to make intelligent choices of their own.
A book about the Runes – everything about them. The book itself is beautiful. James Flowerdew has included such detailed illustrations throughout. I include a picture of one here, just so you can enjoy this author’s illustrations.
These, along with the stories, do make the enclosed information easier to digest. In fact, I was very interested. We are told the history of these fascinating stones. I am a history nerd, and James Flowerdew really gives us a thorough background, including plenty of details of Norse Mythology.
The book has been written in such a conversational way that you feel like you are sat with a friend chatting about the Runes. I love anything mystical or magical on any way, so this book really ticked all my boxes. The Norse mythology definitely intrigued me as I do love mythology with no preference of which country it is from.
What I must reiterate is that this book is definitely nothing like an ‘info dump’. It is full of information, but if you want to start learning how to use the Runes, this is a perfect place to begin.
Everything is covered in this cleverly written “guide.” I found it an enthralling subject and think that even if you only have an interest in Norse mythology, this is a great book to read.
Author Bio
Discovering the runes in his early teens, James is an avid folklorist and historian with a particular focus on ancient pagan cultures.
He is a practising neo-pagan with an emphasis on the Northern Tradition, but likes to see that as part of a larger global discourse that spans back to Neolithic times and hopefully distantly into the future.
Trained as an artist and illustrator, James Flowerdew currently writes and paints in Edinburgh.
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 