Rune Rede by Ruarik Grimnisson.

When I was in london this year which is very rare nowadays, I did my round in the bookshops and I bought a rune book which I had no seen before Rune Rede by Ruarik Grimnisson. This book is bloody good!

Clear written instructions for working with the runes.  Now as I live in Spain I don't get always the latest Runebooks, but that aside, I can honestly tell you that for me this is the best book on runes divination and magic I have come across this year.

Well worth getting, it's not a book one reads once it's a marvellous reference works, also it somehow whilst reading it immediatly 'log's you in with the runic streams of consciousness and so you start getting immediatly new idea's this is what I call a 'trigger book', and no I don't know the bloke who wrote it I don't what he thinks of my own writings, I am not doing anyone a favour other than the folk which has to be kept informed of the best books. I will at regular intervals do more book reviews.

 Review by Barb Hayes ( Psychosyntesis Therapist )
This is one of the few books I have read on the origins and mythology of runes, and certainly the only one written by a woman. As a user of runes, both in my personal life and in my psychotherapeutic work, I found this body of work both useful and illuminating. For the reader approaching this subject with a little information of the origins and development of runes as a divinatory tool it presents fascinating detail supporting the claim of the author relating the runes to a Shamanic Northern Mythology.

This runic system could have developed in the way of the Greek, Roman and Egyptian Mystery schools had not Christianity intervened and effectively stomped it out over many centuries.

The author presents the runes as a magickal spiritual system of divination, she defines the term magic in a way that is familiar to me from readings of Ancient traditions and more recently described in quantum physics. " Magic is the act of interfering in one part of the web through operation of the will, thereby deliberately causing an effect on other parts of the web. .. The gentlest tug at the periphery of the web transmit vibrations along all its threads." the web referred to here is one's karmic life path. The web referred to in Quantum physics is the "universe" as a web of interrelated energies that we are all part of. the whole is reflected in the part.

In consulting the runes for divination one is consulting the energies of this web system, she gives interpretations of the runic symbols or alphabet and links the association of language and writing with Magickal power in its earliest development.

She presents the Yggdrasil Tree system (the sacred Ash tree upon the god Odin was found hanging upside down). This system has three levels or planes. The higher unconscious; middle or normal working consciousness and the lower unconscious. It also has nine worlds, specific appointed places which are equated with the various psychological states of consciousness - very similar to psychological divisions formulated by C.G Jung.

 The author outlines a tree of life; layout for a psychological reading, with nine aspects: higher self, thinking, feeling, intuition, sensation, personality, lower unconscious, masculine, feminine (anima, animus). What follows is an excellent psychological divinatory tool which could be used in a psychotherapy setting. all this is outlined in chapter three.

Chapter Four titled "Runic Magic" talks about the difference between Shamanic and ceremonial magick. Shamanic relies heavily on information received in altered states of consciousness. She describes Shamanism as more intuitive, emotional, developed through individual experience and experimentation. Ceremonial magick as disciplined, systematic more intellectual based on hermetic philosophy and has the advantage of long established tradition and expertise.

Chapter Five profiles Northern Gods, Chapter Six examines feminine mysteries - female practitioners of magic, goddesses and other powerful female beings i.e norns, valkyries, and disir and of course many of the ancient rune masters were women. This is a fascinating chapter bringing the focus back to Feminine Powers, and the female principle.

On the whole this book was more interesting and informative than I expected. I think the cover mislead me to view the book as a "quick and easy" light version of the subject for a fast North American consumer. I realize you can't always tell a book by its cover, thank goodness but would suggest changing it on its next printing - it does no justice to the contents and could put many readers off. Altogether I found this book a useful addition to my personal library and a helpful resource for psychotherapeutic work.

Review by Ragnar (Denali Institute of Northern Traditions)
Northern Mysteries and Magick is one of the classic books in the world of rune lore, and Freya Aswynn is one of the classic Teachers of the Elder Northern mysteries. In this book, she addresses the Northern runes, rune magic, feminine mysteries and lost beliefs of the Northern European cultures with a refreshing directness that makes the Northern spiritual mysteries come alive.

In every chapter of her writings, we get the benefit of her singular dedication and research, her extensive experience as a runic practitioner and her deep intuitive awareness to clearly define the tradition and relate the ancient writings to modern circumstance. All seekers on the Path look for authentic Teachers offering accurate knowledge of Life mysteries. The runic tradition fulfills the need for accurate spiritual knowledge, and Freya Aswynn in her book, Northern Mysteries and Magick, articulates the tradition in a most exemplary manner. It is comforting to know that she remains one of the principle leaders in the awakening of runic consciousness in this century and the next.