Runic Amulets and Magic Objects

by Mindy MacLeod
Runic Amulets and Magic Objects
Author: Mindy MacLeod
Publisher: Boydell Press
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2006
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781843832058
GET BOOK

A fresh examination of one of the most contentious issues in runic scholarship - magical or not? The runic alphabet, in use for well over a thousand years, was employed by various Germanic groups in a variety of ways, including, inevitably, for superstitious and magical rites. Formulaic runic words were inscribed onto small items that could be carried for good luck; runic charms were carved on metal or wooden amulets to ensure peace or prosperity. There are invocations and allusions to pagan and Christian gods and heroes, to spirits of disease, and even to potential lovers. Few such texts are completely unique to Germanic society, and in fact, most of the runic amulets considered in this book show wide-ranging parallels from a variety of European cultures. The question ofwhether runes were magical or not has divided scholarship in the area. Early criticism embraced fantastic notions of runic magic - leading not just to a healthy scepticism, but in some cases to a complete denial of any magical element whatsoever in the runic inscriptions. This book seeks to re-evaulate the whole question of runic sorcery, attested to not only in the medieval Norse literature dealing with runes but primarily in the fascinating magical texts of the runic inscriptions themselves. Dr MINDY MCLEOD teaches in the Department of Linguistics, Deakin University, Melbourne; Dr BERNARD MEES teaches in the Department of History at the University of Melbourne.

Texts and Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions

by Tineke Looijenga
Texts and Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions
Author: Tineke Looijenga
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 434
Release: 2003-01-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9789004123960
GET BOOK

This source publication of all older runic inscriptions provides fascinating information about the origin and development of runic writing, together with the archaeological and historical contexts of the objects. Moreover elaborate readings and interpretations are given of the runic texts.

The Rune Primer

by Sweyn Plowright
The Rune Primer
Author: Sweyn Plowright
Publisher: Rune-Net Press
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2006
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 0958043515
GET BOOK

Rune Dice Divination

by Donald Tyson
Rune Dice Divination
Author: Donald Tyson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1997
Genre: Divination
ISBN: 9781567187489
GET BOOK

Investigate hidden matters, answer questions about the past, and reveal the pattern of the future. By tossing the dice upon pattern matrices (simple grids that bring a new level of meaning to each reading) you can divine a wide variety of subjects in great detail with a single throw of the dice. Pattern matrices make the rune dice one of the most precise forms of divination known. Since their invention by Donald Tyson more than ten years ago, rune dice have bcome a highly popular form of divination - often replacing more common modern rune media such as rune stones or rune cards.

Runes and Magic

by Stephen E. Flowers
Runes and Magic
Author: Stephen E. Flowers
Publisher: Lodestar Books
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2011-05-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781885972323
GET BOOK

Originally published in 1986, based on the author's 1984 doctoral dissertation, this volume has become the leading academic study of the topic of rune-magic. When originally released only 250 copies of this work were printed in a prohibitively expensive edition. This new revised and updated version allows more readers to discover the revolutionary contents of this book which presents a comprehensive history and theory of the concept of magic in connection with the ancient Germanic runes. It also catalogs, categorizes and analyzes the many magical formulas used by the most ancient rune-masters and shows how these formulas were utilized within the traditional Germanic cultural frame of reference. No mater what your level of interest is in the runes, this is the most in-depth text you will find. This is the third edition of this masterpiece, with numerous corrections.

Echoes of the Runes

by Christina Courtenay
Echoes of the Runes
Author: Christina Courtenay
Publisher: Review
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2020-03-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1472268253
GET BOOK

'Fabulous. Highly recommended for fans of Barbara Erskine and Susanna Kearsley - and if you want a thumping good read' 5* reader review 'Wow! This book should come with warning! It's almost as addictive as chocolate!' 5* reader review Winner of the 2021 RNA Romantic Fantasy Novel Award. Brimming with romance, adventure and vivid historical detail, Christina Courtenay does for the Vikings what Diana Gabaldon's Outlander and Clanlans does for Scottish history. ***Don't miss Christina's stunning timeslip novels, The Runes of Destiny and Whispers of the Runes, out now and Tempted by the Runes, available to preorder now! Search 9781472282729.*** ........................................................................... Their love was forbidden. But echoed in eternity. When Mia inherits her beloved grandmother's summer cottage, Birch Thorpe, in Sweden, she faces a dilemma. Her fiance Charles urges her to sell and buy a swanky London home, but Mia cannot let it go easily. The request to carry out an archaeological dig for more Viking artefacts like the gold ring Mia's grandmother also left her, offers her a reprieve from a decision - and from Charles. Whilst Mia becomes absorbed in the dig's discoveries, she finds herself drawn to archaeologist Haakon Berger. Like her, he can sense the past inhabitants whose lives are becoming more vivid every day. Trying to resist the growing attraction between them, Mia and Haakon begin to piece together the story of a Welsh noblewoman, Ceri, and the mysterious Viking, known as the 'White Hawk', who stole her away from her people in 869 AD. As the present begins to echo the past, and enemies threaten Birch Thorpe's inhabitants, they will all have to fight to protect what has become most precious to each of them... ........................................................................... Just some of the rich praise for Christina Courtenay: 'Completely magical' NICOLA CORNICK 'A rich, dual-timeline story that totally drew me in' SUE MOORCROFT 'A fabulous adventure, with characters I loved!' JO THOMAS 'Courtenay's writing brings the past vividly to life, using dual-period narrative to brilliant effect' Historical Novels Review 'I was compelled to read on as I was caught up in the adventure, intrigue and romance of the dual timelines' SUE FORTIN 'Sparklingly authentic - and page-turning' MAGGIE SULLIVAN 'Rich in Viking history...intrigue, adventure and romance' GLYNIS PETERS 'Christina Courtenay weaves the threads of her contemporary and Viking love stories together expertly and the novel moves along at a cracking pace. The characters are appealing and the rural Swedish setting is engaging' JUDITH LENNOX

Taking Up the Runes

by Diana L. Paxson
Taking Up the Runes
Author: Diana L. Paxson
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
Total Pages: 452
Release: 2021-12
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1578637295
GET BOOK

An accessible, in-depth exploration of the runes as a living spiritual tradition. Diana Paxson has distilled her many years of experience working with the runes into this essential source book. Readers will learn the historical meaning of each individual rune and its use and meaning now, in contemporary culture. But, Paxson reveals, the real power of the runes comes from internalizing them and using their symbols as sources of wisdom and power. At the end of each chapter are rituals and spells for all levels of ability that aim to help internalize the attributions, meanings, symbolism, and use of the runes. Everything regarding runes is covered in this definitive workbook, from the history of runes and how to make your own rune sets, to how to work with them on a psychic, spiritual, and magical level.

Nordic Magic Healing

by Yves Kodratoff
Nordic Magic Healing
Author: Yves Kodratoff
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2003
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1581125739
GET BOOK

Galdr is a song or howling by which a poem written in runes is "made active." Anthropological texts will often describe a healing ritual where the healer has been seen to mutter some indistinct words over the patient. This book gives these 'mutterings' back their true meaning and importance. It will also explain their rational value by clearly stating the root causes of the sickness, and explore their religious meaning. The poetry and creativity of these chants combine to form a very effective healing technique, albeit a very difficult one. Many of you will be familiar with karate's 'scream that kills', that came to us from the East. We will explore the 'scream (or song) that heals' called galdr by the Norse. In this book, galdr will be explored in two ways: by looking at a new interpretation of the famous Finish epic, Kalevala; and by considering pagan charms from various parts of the world, including two unexpected sources, those from Lithuania (not yet published) and those from Hildegard von Bingen (a German Christian visionary of the early twelfth century, whose charms were not considered to be Pagan). The Kalevala teaches us the twelve steps for physical healing, and the nine steps for healing mental illness. Old charms are used as a model for buidling new ones.

The Viking Way

by Neil S. Price
The Viking Way
Author: Neil S. Price
Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019
Genre: Archaeology and religion
ISBN: 9781842172605
GET BOOK

Magic, sorcery and witchcraft are among the most common themes of the great medieval Icelandic sagas and poems, the problematic yet vital sources that provide our primary textual evidence for the Viking Age that they claim to describe. Yet despite the consistency of this picture, surprisingly little archaeological or historical research has been done to explore what this may really have meant to the men and women of the time. This book examines the evidence for Old Norse sorcery, looking at its meaning and function, practice and practitioners, and the complicated constructions of gender and sexual identity with which these were underpinned. Combining strong elements of eroticism and aggression, sorcery appears as a fundamental domain of women's power, linking them with the gods, the dead and the future. Their battle spells and combat rituals complement the men's physical acts of fighting, in a supernatural empowerment of the Viking way of life. What emerges is a fundamentally new image of the world in which the Vikings understood themselves to move, in which magic and its implications permeated every aspect of a society permanently geared for war. In this fully revised and expanded second edition, Neil Price takes us with him on a tour through the sights and sounds of this undiscovered country, meeting its human and otherworldly inhabitants, including the Sámi with whom the Norse partly shared this mental landscape. On the way we explore Viking notions of the mind and soul, the fluidity of the boundaries that they drew between humans and animals, and the immense variety of their spiritual beliefs. We find magic in the Vikings' bedrooms and on their battlefields, and we meet the sorcerers themselves through their remarkable burials and the tools of their trade. Combining archaeology, history and literary scholarship with extensive studies of Germanic and circumpolar religion, this multi-award-winning book shows us the Vikings as we have never seen them before.