So the title basically says it all but here’s an explanation:
I’m from northern Europe and I’ve been super into the old Norse religion/asatru and all the myths and stories since I was a little girl. Nagged my parents to visit runestones, viking graves, old holy places n that kind of stuff all the time when growing up but I didn’t know that asatru and paganism was alive still until I was an adult (might be a bit hard to grasp for a child when no one is there to guide you although I always believed that the pagan gods and goddesses were more real than the Christian god…)
I’m just discovering lately that not only do I love doing Magick but also I think I’m pretty good at it! Rune magic seems way easier than for example ceremonial magick and everything that rely heavily on systems and knowledge of various subjects like ancient languages and physics/math. Took me 3 years to even dare think about trying out the ceremonial stuff just because of all the reading I had to do just to finally understand the basics of what Crowley wrote about!
Also since it’s my heritage I feel as if I should try and get a better understanding of what the runes mean and how to practice say seidr and stuff like shamanism and learn more about the Völvas/wise women’s role in the community before Christianity tried wiping them out.
I’ve recently been down to my local library and borrowed a book about the goddess Hel which is pretty mind blowing to read since it tells us that the mother goddess worship was almost completely wiped out by the worship of Odin and that she, Cybele and the old Greek goddesses are basically the same goddess so I would really like to learn more about Hel, Nordic and European witchcraft and witches in general
Anyone have any suggestions for me to work with? Reading tips on books and websites or other ways to get someone started? I’m all for learning how to read runes as well but I don’t know what book/website/person etc I should consult for this and will be thankful for any input and comments I can get
We actually have posted now the original Getting Started Guide that our beloved GlobalMod of the last 9 years created. She is no longer here but the massive amount of work she put into his forum remains, and this is part of it:.
Take a look at that, particularly the links in “How do I get started in black magick?” and posts that are literally called “getting started” where you can see the ideas given to others in your position.
Personally I second the idea to get your spiritual hygiene on point first. Then pick up a book like Corwin Hargrove’s Goetia Pathworking, and work it front to back. By the time you’ve done that, you’re well on your way.
Also check out the top link in the Book Recommendations topic for beginner friendly books:
For runes specifically and that path of magick I would recommend one of three beings to start with to get farther than books will take you, Freyja, Odin, or Loki (good for Seidr surprisingly even if more Jotun styled) if you are insane enough.
Terms of books those by Edred Thorsson are what I would recommend most and maybe some smaller cheap booklet with a list of the runes and general archetypes or write your own list just for quick reference at a glance because some are spelled very similar.
The name similarity didn’t occur to me at the time I chose the name for the forum if it did I might have made it even more similar just to mess with people.
