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Flowers actually did a translation of the galdrabok and it was available from a rune group in Texas that he founded (or was involved in founding), runagild or something like that. It wasn’t a very large text, if I remember correctly it was about the size of those zines, if you know what they are. It was like 10 bucks if I remember right, I kind of regret not buying one when it was available, you might be able to find one somewhere or online.
Flowers is an interesting read but his translation isn't great, the edition of "The Galdrabok: an Icelandic Magic Grimoire" I read had some very unfortunate mix-ups, particularly regarding the staves copied from the Huld Manuscript. Granted I haven't read any of his newer books on the topic. I would advice at least being cautious while reading his works
I can't deny his take on PGM for instance was very entertaining, with a hellinized Tree of Life, serpent Jesus, greek gematria and so on. There is also no doubt in my mind all of it was complete nonsese
This has been one of my issues with the whole (modern) ceremonial magic/kabbalah mindset. So it’s a complete system that explains how and why the universe works. Okay fair enough. But modern western ceremonial magicians dating back to the 1800s took on like this “Christian missionary” mentality with it, they were like, okay the Kabbalah explains how the world works, Kabbalah has answers to everything, Kabbalah is the One Cosmic Transcendent Universal Trve Magick , but instead of persecuting everyone who was operating with a different OS, they just hammered those systems into a Kabbalist framework. Oh you have (insert different ethnic gods and goddesses, herbs, rituals, etc) then those correspond to X sephirot or X path on the tree of life. Suddenly the tree of life is applicable to everything and, with classic perennialist, Neoplatonist dogma, since every culture reveres some kind of tree, that’s proof that the tree of life format is applicable. It’s not logical but it’s been accepted for decades now, to the point that if you are researching Chinese folk magic, or the practices of some remote African or Amazonian tribe group, or pretty much ANY book that isn’t some dry anthropology report, the first thing you’ll see is a tree of life illustration.
Thanks for sharing this, I watch a fair number of Esoterica’s videos and generally find them to be pretty factual.
other extreme stretches of imagination as literal fact and profound wisdom. Sure enough you can find out that j-Zeus von Nazareth was NOT an actual Jew but an Aryan Teutonic Archetype just like Odin and, surprise! The Germanic people are the lost tribes of the Bible. Lucky us!!! Totally not copied from the 18th century British government employees Anglo israelism. Interestingly enough ariosophy of von List and his contemporaries/rivals (I’m looking at you, Karl Maria Willigut) and descendants like Gorsleben and others is considered a denomination of Blavatskys Theosophy, which to my mind has been pretty thoroughly discredited.
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And that’s a really good point. I’m all for reconstruction of my ancestral beliefs as much as possible and investigating ancient magical practices, but how many people today have a lion skin belt for goetic rituals? Honestly, who does? There’s a lot to be said about the study of the past but that doesn’t automatically discredit modern innovations. Look at the GoM books. We’ve seen real results with people who follow the psychological model of science and chaos magic is so fascinating and, obviously getting results. Isnt that what magic is about? Is there a point in buying and making ritual items and memorizing phrases and whatever else to get a job or heal a disease if it doesn’t work. This has always been one of my favorite arguments in response to people who think magic is just superstitions and not real: would you keep planting crops and irrigating, weeding, etc if you never got any harvests? Would you keep going to work if you never got paid? Would you go see a doctor if everyone knew they couldn’t do anything to help? Of course not. Life is about results. As a pagan traditionalist I’m 100% opposed to syncretism in religion. As a historian I understand syncretistic practice is almost inevitable with magic. The Icelandic “black books” literally call on Jesus, Mary, Odin, and Satan in the same ritual. The PGM refers to Egyptian and Greek and Jewish gods together. These rituals worked for at least one magician. Results are what magicians are all about, at least practical magicians, which I would say is probably 98%+ of all magicians throughout history.Yeah, I'm half Neoplatonic (on my dad's side, heh) and all that dualism I make fun of as "Bad Neoplatonism." 20th Century modern magic really only had this tool before the Grimoire Revival. Which was also an Anglo thing. Mexico, Brazil and Haiti never lost them.
I am more a Neoplatonic Panethiest that localizes us all into a Daimonic Idealism, and even further down to a Demiurgic Folk Catholic grim trad Verum practice (since we are the Demiurge, imho, who makes all this space-time reality) , but I do appreciate what these deep dives new pagan reconstructionism is doing now. Good stuff.
If you have not, check out Stefanie von Schnurbein's massive academic survey:
Norse Revival, Transformations of Germanic Neopaganism
Book – PDF - Stefanie von Schnurbein - Norse Revival
Amazon Description: This book offers a thorough investigation of Germanic Neopaganism (Asatru) through an international and comprehensive historical perspective. It traces Germanic Neopaganism s genesis in German ultra-nationalist and occultist movements around 1900. Based on ethnographic...
We should all laugh at ourselves, but what people were doing back in the 1970s was kinda hilarious as they were getting going.
Hell, I think the whole 'The Christians ate our homework' gambit was to keep people from noticing how cringe they were. They brought in Michael Harner and his "Core Shamanism," wedded it to Jung and UFOs, so now Odin is an extraterrestrial. That said, i think eveyone has much better tools now to look at Pre-Christian animism wihtout trying to fold it all into a totalizing Neopagan religion.
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Oh, just to add here. Pardon the soapbox.
I am not a fan of fact-checking people ritual frameworks. It may not be my thing, but don’t listen to anyone who says you have to be 100% historically valid to be ritually effective. I don't want anyone to stop what they are doing, This is all a dream, so dream something beautiful .
Speaking as the Demiurge, you are Him too, (call him "Zeus" if you don't like the word "God") Just dream the reality you want. It will become true. And it will always have been true, for you and anyone who enters into your sub-quantum reality. Mine is just made differently where daimons walk through walls and summon you into their world. But that is what I wanted and grim trad magicians want. You make you own sub-quantum reality the way you prefer. Then throw and party and invite us over for a bit!
