NESP Reviews
Runes, Gods, and Feminine Powers
Revised Edition of The Leaves of Yggdrasil
by Freya Aswynn
Review by Alfta Svanni Lothursdottir
Page 2
Chapter 3 covers the use of the Runes in divination. Here she presents various methods of using the runes for divination. She goes into some methods more than others. There is astrology, Jungian psychology as well as one method that, despite her words to the contrary, looks very much Qabalisticly based to me. A few example readings are given along with attribution meanings for each of the runes. Overall when reading this chapter I felt that I could have been reading any new age book on divination, that is Tarot Cards, Astrology or any other number of methods. It had no feeling of the Northern Way whatsoever and were it not for the names of the runes, I would have never known it to have anything to do with the Northern Way. The question becomes all the more important when reading things such as are in this section. When does adding elements from other traditions; from other cultures begin to delude a native tradition like the Runes to the point to where that which makes it unique; that which makes it what it is, is no longer there. This could be compared to precious metals such as silver and gold. The more pure they are, that is, the less foreign elements present in them, the more valuable they are, the more beautiful that silver and that gold is. But when you begin to add elements that are not gold in enough quantities that gold ceases to be recognizable as gold any longer. Aswynn's runes approach this state.
Chapter 4, titled “Runic Magic” starts off, now not surprisingly, with a quote from Aleister Crowley. Aswynn begins by stating that Northern Magic is divided into two areas, ceremonial and shamanic, a statement that almost made me spit my coke all over my monitor in exasperation. Ceremonial magic has absolutely nothing to do with any magical practice of the Northern Way. It is a decidedly Judea-Christian form of Magic. Seidhr although having similarities to Shamanism has more in common with native forms of Witchcraft than Shamanism. There is a lot of debate about whether or not Seidhr is actually Shamanism so one could say there is a possibility but it is going a little far to state that it IS the same as Shaminism as Aswynn does. My own feelings on the matter are that Seidhr has much more in common with real Witchcraft (not to be confused with Wicca) than with Shamanism. She then goes on to equate the runes with various Wiccan and Ceremonial Magic systems. Giving the nine so called non-invertible runes as rulers of the nine planets. Giving each of the nine worlds a guardian that “challenges” your attempt to enter, the eightfold wheel, the God and Goddess/Lord and Lady and Samhain. It is for the same reason that the runes do not have male and female halves that they do not have upright and reversed meanings. Just as any other energy reacts in accordance with those energies it interacts with so are the runes which are graphics symbols of the energies that make up the nine worlds. The energy that the runes represent react different when combined with different energies not because they are “reversed”. Then comes the inevitable four corners information. The Wiccan slant of the first part of this chapter is so strong and pronounced it really has not business being called “Rune Magic” at all. This is not Rune Magic. It is the same old Ceremonial Magic and Wiccan drivel that you will find in any of the a thousand other books that have the little Llewellyn Moon on their spines. Llewellyn is well known for attempting to get its authors to water down their material to Wiccan tastes. Some author's work is watered down to that point naturally. Some authors have to work at it some. It is obvious that Aswynn has done her work well with this chapter. The only part of the chapter that really has some information on the Northern magic tradition is the section dealing with rune magic in Hávamál, although here as in the rest of the book, we get the Wiccan slant.
The chapter deals with “power sigils” such as the Valknot, Swastika and Sun Wheel or Shield Knot. It is good that Aswynn at least conveys the seriousness of wearing the Valknot on one's person. This chapter is rounded out by a discussion on shamanic techniques and at the very end the mainstay of Wiccan and Ceremonial Magic, the attribution table where each rune gets its corresponding, polarity (male or female), color, element and “god-form.” I'll refrain from comment on this particular little “gem.”
Chapter 5 is titled “God-Profiles.” When I saw the name of this chapter I immediately had assumptions. They were proven correct right off. Aswynn trots out plenty of New Age theories as to what the gods are and their origins. All the normal Wiccan theories, including the gods are thought constructs that allow us to connect with the universal divine and when we cease to worship them they cease to exist. Then there is the curious comment about Othinn, who she claims to be devoted to, that he was originally a demon. Then we get a profile on each god complete with their corresponding primary element, secondary element, colors, numbers, totem animals, personal sigils, aspects, magical items and runes, putting each god into his one-dimensional little cubby hole. Anybody with any knowledge of Ceremonial Magic will recognize this for what it is. She makes plenty of statements that “we can be sure” of which anyone with any knowledge of the lore can be anything “but” sure of. For example, She states the Othinn is connected with the number 9 and that since Heimdallr was born of nine sea-maidens and the father is not named, why we can be sure that it must have been Othinn of course, since he is connected with the number nine. It is exactly this kind of lazy reasoning that is common in many Wiccan works. She even looks to Wagner for the source of the mother of the nine Valkyries that Othinn is said to have fathered in some sources, which is laughable in the extreme. Imagine, for example, looking to Star Wars to confirm some aspect of your religion?! Looking to Wagner to confirm some personal idea is in exactly the same vein.
We are nearing the end of the book here were we find the final chapter which is entitled, “Feminine Mysteries.” But before we get there we get shades of what we can expect in this chapter. Take for example this following where Gullveig, Freyja and Frigg are lumped into one big goddess character representing the feminine aspect which Othinn, of course wants to banish so he can establish a patriarchal system of religion.
“Odin's decision to burn Gullveig had far-reaching consequences, as Gullveig represents another aspect of the Goddess. Gullveig is often equated with Freyja, who is virtually synonymous with Frigg in the older Continental sources. We could interpret this action as a patriarchal ousting of the feminine principle.”
Could we now?!? Besides this statement being utterly ridiculous and one that is obviously part of Aswynn's feminist agenda, one has to wonder why Aswynn who is obviously a feminist would be dedicated to a god who she believes to have been working toward a Partriarchal system. Perhaps it would be good to state here that the author of this review is female and believes that women should be strong and have equal although different roles in the tradition of the Northern Way, which, if one examines a group that is truly of the Northern Way, one would find that to be the case. But the feminist viewpoint, in my opinion, is not so much about “empowering” women as it is about putting men in their place. It is a viewpoint that is no more healthy than the patriarchal ideal. Aswynn's statements in this chapter range from fairly accurate, as far as being backed up by the lore, to fanciful, to utterly bizarre. She has Garm fighting on the side of the Aesir and Tyr fighting Fenrir, and Tyr and an obscure goddess from the mainland called Berchta as the co-creators of animals and men for example. Another example of the “lazy logic” that is used throughout this book is the following.
“Usually Tyr is seen as a sword-god, but then how long have swords been known in the North? Bows and arrows were in use well before swords. Therefore the oldest weapon of Tyr may have been an arrow.”
Why not the spear? It is probably older than the bow. Why not go farther back to the rock? The rock was used as a weapon most likely before the spear or bow and arrow. So why not say Tyr's weapon is the rock?
When reading this book, but more specifically this chapter, one should be careful about taking Aswynn's comments as anywhere close to accurate or in some cases even plausible. Anyone reading this book should definitely take the trouble to verify her comments with their own copies of the Eddas or more reliable authors such as H. R. Ellis Davidson.
Chapter 6, The Feminine Mysteries brings us to the final chapter in the book. Here in this chapter we get the same mix of accurate lore, assumptions and wild statements that the rest of the book is filled with. For instance we are told by Aswynn that Bragi is the son of Othinn through the giantess Gunnloth. To my knowledge there is no such evidence in the lore that could even remotely suggest this and it is not found in the works of even in the most “creative” of authors. My only idea of where she got this from is some kind of metaphore she created to connect Bragi, the god of the Skalds with the Mead of Poetry which Gunnloth guarded and whom Othinn slept with to obtain. This is just one of the many things that, according to Aswynn, “We can ASSUME.” Whether she is making assumptions that are pure conjecture of using works of fiction such as works by Wagner to back up her claims, what you get is a large amount of misinformation mixed in with information that can be backed up by the lore.
What is confusing throughout the book are the clear Folkish statements from Aswynn, who is leader of the Ring of Troth Europe, a decidedly non-Folkish group. Take for instance the following statement. “We can thus conclude that it is of vital importance for the future of one's folk, and in consideration of one's responsibility towards one's ancestors, that any man or woman most carefully considers the choice of a spouse, who will be the father or mother of their children and who will pass on their hamingja to the next generation.” Even more telling is the following statement when describing who can work with the runes. “Anyone with a genuine psychic gift can learn to divine up to a certain point, but to penetrate the deeper levels of rune knowledge, one has to be born into the Northern 'group-soul.' The ability to work with the runes is passed on through the psychic equivalent of genetic memory, the group-soul called in our tradition, hamingja.” And in Chapter 3 we find the following: “Thus the runes are sacred to our people and are closely intertwined with Northern mythology, embodying our deepest spiritual values. To obtain the maximum benefit from the runes, it is necessary to possess knowledge and a profound understanding of the myths of the North and the various god-forms or archetypes. Without commenting on the “god-forms” comment I agree strongly with the basic premis of this statement. The runes are not something that can be mixed and matched with other systems as you might find in many Wiccan books or as the Rune Gild does. Statements like these, that are clearly Folkish are peppered throughout the book. This fact is one of the things that makes her work so confusing. Why the need to bring in Wicca and Cermonial Magic when she is obviously someone who is fairly well versed in the lore and culture of our people. Why the need to inject feminist elements that were just not there in the practice of our forefathers? Why the support of a decidedly non-Folkish group when she clearly espouses more than a few Folkish ideals in her book? That's the question that must remain unanswered.
The reader should understand where I am coming from when I write this review. It is my belief that the Northern Way has no need to have foreign ideals infused into it. There comes a time when one adds enough outside ideas into the Northern Way when that which makes it the beautiful unique tradition it is, no longer exists. It then becomes some drab lowest common denominator, salad bar, New Age parody of itself. I strongly believe that practices from Wicca, Ceremonial Magic or any other non-Northern European practices do not belong in the Northern Way. So when I review this book it is from that view point that I am coming from. If you were a Wiccan, you would definitely like this book. In my honest opinion that is who the book is written for. But if you are someone who wants to learn about the Northern Way, a Northern Way that is not tainted with New Age Paganism, this book is not one you should even consider. There is so much mis-information, so much speculation that the person new to our ways could never pick out what is supported by the lore and what is pure speculation. Only someone with quite a bit of experience in the lore would be able to pick out the useful bits, but that same someone would not really have a use for the book. So for the true seeker of the “tradition” of the Northern Way, as opposed to the Norse flavor of Wicca, this book is of little or no worth.
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