REVIEW: Northern Mysteries & Magick, by Freya Aswynn

[Xiao Rong]

Northern Mysteries and Magick: Runes and Feminine Powers, by Freya Aswynn
Published in 1990 by Llewellyn Publications



[standard disclaimer that this book review is solely my opinion, etc. Feel free to disagree with me! Also, I should probably add that I am not a Heathen, and this book is definitely Heathen, so I didn’t get very much out of it, but I’m sure others could.]

ABOUT THE BOOK

This book is an introduction to Heathenry, and what Aswynn calls the “Northern Mysteries” (the fourth part to the Wicca, the Western Mysteries, Hinduism and other eastern religions as the Eastern Mysteries, and African spirituality as the Southern Mysteries). In this, she goes over the Elder Futhark runes, the uses of the runes in divination and practical magic, and Norse gods and goddesses.

THE GOOD

This book had a lot of great practical information (more than other books I’ve seen, anyways) about the uses of runes in magic, like rune charms derived off of Nordic poems and texts. The associations of the runes with the 12 astrological signs, the Wheel of the Year, and the Four Elements are also quite interesting. Although I don’t really base my own runic practices off of historical records, Aswynn’s studies of runic history is really quite amazing, and she bases most of her practices off of these ancient texts (combined with her own experience as a priestess of Wodan). Her case studies and practice examples of runic divination were also more detailed than most other books. You can also tell she bases a lot of her practice off of good ol’ psychology as well, which I found very fascinating and useful. I also think her description of “wyrd” and the Nordic concept of fate are something every rune caster should read.

THE BAD

Early on, Aswynn talks about her method for divining the uses of the runes (a.k.a. she “felt” for them and made her own associations) - sometimes, I felt like her individual treatments of the runes didn’t make sense because of this methodology (for example, Dagaz should be used to hide things? I didn’t get a good explanation for why this is). I was initially excited to get a book about feminine/Goddess reinterpretations of the runes, but I found her chapter on the “Feminine Mysteries” to be kind of underwhelming (mostly just a profile of Nordic goddesses). And, again, keeping in mind that I am NOT a Heathen and don’t seek to recreate Nordic pagan practices from a historical context, I found some of her claims about heathen practices to be a little bit weird. For example, she asserts that only rune readers who had been born into the “Northern group-soul” or had married someone of Nordic descent can really use the runes - a notion that I entirely reject. She also says that we should reclaim the swastika as a symbol of peace (the swastika is a bindrune of two Sigel runes) … that’s also pretty questionable (by which I mean, NO)

TO TAKE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT

Again, this is a book about Heathenry, so it is a little different from what we typically think of as pagan …

THE VERDICT

An interesting book, especially for rune readers who are interested in the historical context. Some of the Heathen aspects I personally find kind of questionable (because I’m not a Heathen!) but definitely interesting material to ponder.

3.5 out of 5 stars

[Holdasown]

I have never read her stuff and I am Heathen. I don't usually hear too much bad about her. I wouldn't use Dagaz to hide something either. Were you looking for a Heathen based rune book?

[Xiao Rong]

No, I wasn't looking for a Heathen book, particularly - I saw that hers was about runes and feminine mysteries, which is why I bought it. I didn't really discover until I read it how different our perspectives were. I liked her book fine, and she's obviously very knowledgeable about the actual historical sources. I just probably won't personally use her system. I know my "The Bad" section is kind of long, but I think I may just be a nitpicky, critical person (and I always try to have balanced "good" and "bad" sections in my reviews so people know what they're getting into if they decide to read the book), and again, it's pretty heavily influenced by the fact that I'm not exactly her target audience.

[Heartsong]

Thank you for posting this review, it was very thorough and has given me some food for thought.

I had found this book on Amazon when I was searching for good material to research both runes and Nordic belief systems (I already spent 3/4 of my last paycheck on that topic alone....see what you started, Xiao, with showing me the awesomeness of runes? ).

I wasn't sure at all if this book was what I was looking for, and after reading your review, I'm still not certain I should buy it, at least for the price it was listed. While her account of the history of the runes, and the fact that she even has case studies are indeed points in her favor, I too, find myself dubious about basing one's interpretation of the runes on yet another interpretation (that kind of layering is exactly the playground my skeptic gremlin wants to play in). Still, I think that the practical aspect you've praised in Aswynn's writing could be very useful to me, as well as the historical context you pointed out. I'm not likely to be in her target audience either (I consider myself a Green Witch), but I get the sense that I might still get something out of the volume.

Purely out of curiousity, did she seem like a particularly biased author when it came to reading practices or was she able to convey at least a little bit of objectivity?

[Xiao Rong]

Heartsong, when you say "basing one's interpretation of the runes on yet another interpretation", what do you mean by that? Generally speaking, Aswynn sticks pretty closely to historical sources (as a Heathen, she's more interested in recreating the ancient Norse religion, whereas I am not so interested in historical authenticity) and I will say she does a good overall job of going through the Norse deities, the Nine Worlds, and other legends to give you an idea of Nordic culture. By the practical aspect, I mean that she spent quite a bit of time talking about runic magic and how to use runes in spells (which I haven't personally done much of; I have mostly done runic divination), if that was what you were interested in. (also, Freya Aswynn considers herself to be a High Priestess of Odin, which I know you're also interested in)

By reading practices, do you mean divination reading practices, or do you mean how she interprets historical texts?

(Personally, the book I found most influential was Nordic Runes, which I also reviewed. But perhaps that was because it was also my first book on runes ... The author of that book also does a great job with Nordic culture and legends, but he seems a little less interested in runic magic, and doesn't do a very good job of talking about how to actually do a rune reading.)

Anyways, I'm so glad you like runes!!

[Heartsong]

Early on, Aswynn talks about her method for divining the uses of the runes (a.k.a. she “felt” for them and made her own associations)

From this quote, what I meant was that it sounded as if she was making her own interpretation of the runes and then, when reading them, based her interpretation of them in that reading on top of the first one she made regarding the meanings she "felt" in them (if that makes more sense). As a tarot reader, there are times when I feel that a card speaks to me of a different meaning that what might be originally ascribed to it, but it's still one that works in tandem with that original. To come up with meanings that are completely based in my own "sense", using runes that have already been created and are known to indicate this idea or that possibility, seems like very fragile ground to walk on. Of course, arguments could always be made that everything's meaning was given by someone, at some time, so, perhaps that's my tendency to listen to that skeptic gremlin talking.

Not having the read the book, I probably jumped the gun on that, so to speak, and I apologize for making an assumption.

And yes, the use of runes in magic is primarily what I was looking for, at least for the moment. I'm also interested in runic divination, but spells with runes was, again, what intrigued me.

And I also meant divination reading practices.

I hope that clarifies what I was saying.

[Heartsong]

And I also read your other review of Nordic Runes. It's on my wish list( I have to wait until Thursday when my next paycheck comes in before I can buy that one, argh!).

[Xiao Rong]

Actually, if you wanted some free books in the meantime, DPhoenix has curated quite the collection of e-books in the public domain, and there are a bunch on runes I've been meaning to read.

As for Aswynn's methodology - what she did was bake 24 small cakes, inscribe a rune on each one, and then every night asked Odin and Frija to bless a rune, ate it, and took notes on her experiences. That was when she was still very much a beginner, but she does reference these personal experiences in her later chapters about each individual rune (though she does note what is her personal experience and what is derived from historical sources). That said, she does state openly that personal experience with runes is very important and valuable, and there's definitely room for Unverified Personal Gnosis (UPG) in runework. I just felt like a lot of her personal experiences with the runes did not mesh well with mine, so while I took notes on the book, I didn't wind up using a lot of it. I feel like the influence of her personal experience is more closely felt when she talks about the uses of runes in magic. I'm the kind of person who takes notes on everything and then comes up with their own conclusions later, so I found her insights valuable, but didn't always agree with them. I also very much have a strong skeptical streak in me, so all I can say is that it's worth a read, but the personal relationship with the runes is very important.

I've watched a Youtube video of her doing a rune reading. It's far from my practice, but then again, I've never read runes for anyone in person. So I don't know. Everyone's practice is very different.

Hope that helps!

[Heartsong]

Very much so, thank you. ^.^

And what you're saying is true. I will certainly keep it in mind when I get my hands on a copy (I decided to go ahead and buy it, it was just too tempting).

I've already burned through several of DPhoenix's list, haha, it's excellent!

[Xiao Rong]

Well if you get a chance, would you mind writing some reviews of the books you read? I know DPhoenix wants to do a book club for her free e-books on this forum, and I'd love to know your thoughts too! (if you have time, of course) And when you get your copy of Northern Mysteries, do let me know what you think!

[Heartsong]

Of course, I'd be happy to.