"Northern Lore" is one of the rare well researched books available on Heathen Lore for Heathen folk. Such books were almost impossible to find in previous decades, leaving a choice between dry academic tomes, or cobbled-together New-Age fantasies. Since 2000, a small but growing number of authors have made the effort to bring academic sources and honest analysis to bear, and put their findings into a useful form.

The book begins with a history of Northern Europe, our ancestors, and the cultural influences that we came to inherit. It then covers the runes in detail, explaining the Futharks with a straightforward but academically accurate approach.

The middle sections cover a wide variety of traditional lore, including weather, food, and health. There is also an honest discussion of modern practices, such as "rune yoga", including its history and origins in early 20th Century Germany.

Finally, mythology, ethics, divination, and religious practices are covered in an educated and down to earth manner.

This is one of a handful of books I could recommend to a student or seeker of Northern Lore that does not need an accompanying list of caveats. Well done.

Sweyn
author of
The Rune Primer

Northern Lore is an engaging introduction to Northern history, traditional culture and new practices - areas we tend to know little about. In this book we discover that most of the holidays we celebrate today and even the names given to the days of the week can be traced back to Germanic gods and festivals. It was especially interesting to learn about our Northern legacy of herbal and holistic healing, and the development of new practices such as Runic Yoga; aspects that we commonly associate with more distant cultures. These discoveries make the reader want to delve deeper into the spiritual and healing arts that are a part of our cultural heritage.

I love discovering new information about the Gods and Goddesses and all the runelore that surrounds the topic. As someone fairly new to the subjects covered in Northern Lore, I found it to be a perfect balance of detail without going into such depths as to be overwhelming for someone new to this information. The book illuminates many traditions that should be common knowledge, but their origins have been forgotten by many modern people. I particularly enjoyed reading The Havamal, the ancient folk wisdom of Northern people.

Being a student of runic lore myself, and having been one for most of my life there is something here for anyone interested in runelore. Absolutely Northern Lore serves as a great positive introduction in regards to runic lore without being overly cryptic and/or mystical about the subject. The runic yoga stances are interesting and believe it or not great when starting or winding down your day.

Meade as Poetry, I agree with whole heartedly -- being a brewer myself when able. The recipes in the Northern Cuisine are worth trying, preferably with a goblet of meade.

Northern Lore "A Field Guide To The Northern Mind, Body & Spirit" by Eoghan Odinsson captures the subject in a clear and concise way and covers many interesting individual elements of Northern Lore. As it is an easy read it is also a very good book for those just getting into the subject. The runic yoga system which Eoghan has devised based around the Elder Futhark runes captures the spirit of Northern Lore, and is an excellent practice to incorporate this spirit into the mind and body . - Rod Bennett, Australia

“Northern Lore” is one of the rare well researched books available on Heathen Lore for Heathen folk.

Such books were almost impossible to find in previous decades, leaving a choice between dry academic tomes, or cobbled-together New-Age fantasies. Since 2000, a small but growing number of authors have made the effort to bring academic sources and honest analysis to bear, and put their findings into a useful form.

The book begins with a history of Northern Europe, our ancestors, and the cultural influences that we came to inherit. It then covers the runes in detail, explaining the Futharks with a straightforward but academically accurate approach.

The middle sections cover a wide variety of traditional lore, including weather, food, and health. There is also an honest discussion of modern practices, such as “rune yoga”, including its history and origins in early 20th Century Germany.

Finally, mythology, ethics, divination, and religious practices are covered in an educated and down to earth manner.

This is one of a handful of books I could recommend to a student or seeker of Northern Lore that does not need an accompanying list of caveats. Well done.

- Sweyn Plowright

(Author of "The Rune Primer" & "True Helm")

Wassail Eoghan!

I truly enjoyed it [Northern Lore] esp. the section on weather lore, the mythology section and "Tao of the North."

I would recommend it to anyone!

Welga! Swain Wódening

Swain is the author of several excellent books on heathen topics: