Icelandic Magic: Practical Secrets of the Northern Grimoires

Icelandic Magic: Practical Secrets of the Northern Grimoires by Stephen Edred Flowers.

Those unfamiliar with Flowers’ (aka: Edred Thorsson) work will be glad to know he has a wonderfully breathable writing style, easily drawing one into the meat of the text without bogging them down with unnecessary digressions or superfluous language. Those familiar will find similarities to his brilliant Hermetic Magic, albeit with fewer pages and an obviously Northern focus. The first few chapters deal with the tale of how these fascinating Icelandic works evolved, highlighting the various Pagan, Catholic and Protestant influences found within. After the foundation is built, the reader learns about runic staves and sigilization methods drawn from and inspired by the Galdrabok, a grimoire Flowers translated and published back in 1989, as well as other lesser known and incomplete codices from the region. Don’t let the slenderness of this volume deter you. Like in most of his works, Flowers packs each page with scholarly tidbits, simultaneously teaching both history and occultism with clarity and ease. A must-have for any fan of Norse spiritual traditions, occult history or sigil magic.