Exploring the Northern Tradition
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £2.85
Trade in Exploring the Northern Tradition: A Guide to the Gods, Lore, Rites, and Celebrations from the Norse, German, and Anglo-Saxon Traditions for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £2.85, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
EXPLORING THE NORTHERN TRADITION is an introduction to the modern reconstruction of the ancient religion of the Germanic and Scandinavian peoples. This religion called Heathenry is one of the fastest growing polytheistic religious movements in the Western world today. This book provides a thorough guide to the cosmology values ethics and rituals practiced by modern Heathens. It crosses denominational lines examining practices common to all branches of Heathenry in an easily accessible format. Readers will have the opportunity to explore the sacred stories of the various Heathen Gods like Odin Frigga Freya and Thor and the devotional practices of modern votaries. The most common devotional rite-the faining or blót-is examined in rich detail with examples given for personal use. Every new concept covered is presented in a clear and easy-to-understand manner. Readers will come away from this book with a thorough knowledge of what the Heathen community is like and what newcomers to that community can expect. Experienced Heathens will find a wealth of lore and inter-denominational critique that will make this book an excellent addition to their libraries.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
To most people, the word heathen is a pejorative, usually taken to indicate a godless or uncivilized person. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
To most people, the word heathen is a pejorative, usually taken to indicate a godless or uncivilized person. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
So I bought this book never having read anything about Heathenry before (aside from various things online) thus I was a utter novice and had no idea what was deemed good information or not. This book seemed well received so I bought it on faith (not always a particularly sensible decision when it comes to pagan-type books)! I certainly chose a good book because Krasskova does an great job of outlining modern Heathenry in a concise manner, one that's easy to read and conversationalist.
Unlike other reconstructionist religions Heathenry deals with a broad range of countries not just Greece like Hellenic Polytheism for example. Rather, Heathenry covers the Norse tribes, Germanic, Anglo-Saxon etc. each with their own names for the gods and their own cultural idiosyncrasies -- thus the subject matter can seem rather intimidatingly broad to newbies like myself so a book like this is essential and very helpful!
The contents is as follows: The Evolution of Modern Heathenry, Cosmology, Gods and Goddesses, Wyrd, The Soul Matrix, Heathen Ethics and Values, Basic Blot, Symbel, Personal Devotions, and Holy Tides.
'Exploring the Northern Tradition: A Guide to the Gods, Lore, Rites, and Celebrations from the Norse, German, and Anglo-Saxon Traditions' does exactly what it says on the tin. Krasskova has a deep passion for her subject matter and that is quite easily sensed. I particularly adored her descriptions of the various gods and goddesses -- she provided the reader with her own prayer for each one as well as a description of how they can guide you in life. The list is very long and she talks about some very obscure gods like Nerthus, Eir and Sif. Those of us who are English will be pleased that Krasskova is a Anglo-Saxon recon because she gives us the Anglo-Saxon names for the gods where appropriate (Woden, Frige, Thunor, Tiw, Ing etc).
She also rather helpfully suggests meditations and activities for the various deities. In that respect this book can help other recons possibly expand their own practice by seeing how others do things, but also by giving some great ideas on devotional activities. I particularly liked the idea of devotional baths which is something else I'll be stealing and adapting. All the rituals and various rites are easily explained as well as the metaphysical and spiritual meaning behind them too. The fascinating concept of wyrd (loosely meaning 'fate') is also well expounded; although I was already familiar with the belief the explanation presented here is quite explanatory. The festivals are dealt with quickly and there's some very interesting information about the soul in Heathen theology, the all important discussion of Yggdrasil and Heathen ethics.
All in all, a very helpful handbook! Recommended.
Unlike other reconstructionist religions Heathenry deals with a broad range of countries not just Greece like Hellenic Polytheism for example. Rather, Heathenry covers the Norse tribes, Germanic, Anglo-Saxon etc. each with their own names for the gods and their own cultural idiosyncrasies -- thus the subject matter can seem rather intimidatingly broad to newbies like myself so a book like this is essential and very helpful!
The contents is as follows: The Evolution of Modern Heathenry, Cosmology, Gods and Goddesses, Wyrd, The Soul Matrix, Heathen Ethics and Values, Basic Blot, Symbel, Personal Devotions, and Holy Tides.
'Exploring the Northern Tradition: A Guide to the Gods, Lore, Rites, and Celebrations from the Norse, German, and Anglo-Saxon Traditions' does exactly what it says on the tin. Krasskova has a deep passion for her subject matter and that is quite easily sensed. I particularly adored her descriptions of the various gods and goddesses -- she provided the reader with her own prayer for each one as well as a description of how they can guide you in life. The list is very long and she talks about some very obscure gods like Nerthus, Eir and Sif. Those of us who are English will be pleased that Krasskova is a Anglo-Saxon recon because she gives us the Anglo-Saxon names for the gods where appropriate (Woden, Frige, Thunor, Tiw, Ing etc).
She also rather helpfully suggests meditations and activities for the various deities. In that respect this book can help other recons possibly expand their own practice by seeing how others do things, but also by giving some great ideas on devotional activities. I particularly liked the idea of devotional baths which is something else I'll be stealing and adapting. All the rituals and various rites are easily explained as well as the metaphysical and spiritual meaning behind them too. The fascinating concept of wyrd (loosely meaning 'fate') is also well expounded; although I was already familiar with the belief the explanation presented here is quite explanatory. The festivals are dealt with quickly and there's some very interesting information about the soul in Heathen theology, the all important discussion of Yggdrasil and Heathen ethics.
All in all, a very helpful handbook! Recommended.
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an amazing book, very spiritual. written by a modern heathen (someone who believes in the old anglo-saxon/viking gods) a great guide to the gods and a great chapter on the soul (much better that the christian idea of a soul). This talks about sacrifices/holidays/modern worship/ethics and much much more. I dont believe in the gods but i still loved this book as it is what you make of it (e.g. for me worshipping the war gods, i am really bringing out the warrior within, my inner courage). This book helped me understand that I am a proud Anglo-saxon heathen (not a neo pagan). Go and read it, you will learn something. Highly recommended.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After reading so many rubbish books which claimed to be about Heathenism, but turned out more like neo-paganism, this was a refreshing book to read. It starts off as an introduction about being a Heathan, then examines the Gods/Goddeses, Cosmology, Soul etc.. It is all very easy to read, and nothing fluffy at all in the pages.
A must read.
A must read.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Newage Sewage
There are far better books out there than this. Rather than look at the price tag and think that it is good value for money, think that you'd also be filling your head with newage... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Torstein
Dangerous
I found this book to be particularly insidious in the way it mixes a lot of useful information with heaps of conjecture then offers it up to the reader as heathenry. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. Barry M. Coombes
Exploring the Northern Tradiiton
I found this book to be very accessible. I enjoyed reading the history and stories of the Northern Gods - I remembered them from my childhood and was delighted to meet up with them... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Sharpshooter
A delightful read.
You can tell this book was written with much passion from its author Galina Krasskova, or at least thats the vibe I got from reading this book. Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2010 by lonewolf1066
More than I bargained for...
I realise that I didn't read the description properly before ordering this volume. I'm embarking (as a pure dilettant) on a course of reading to a/ Rediscover the magic of the... Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2006 by William Richards
An Excellent Work!
As a Universalist and Modernist Heathen, i loved this book. Fair enough the die-hard reconstructionist brigade won't like it, but then their worldview is so dreary that the... Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2006 by Ms. L. E. Spurr
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
