| Most useful for: | Beginning and Intermediate Students |
| Content: | World view; the deities, Ases [Aesir] and Wans [Vanir]; Spirits; the afterlife; the tribal nature of Teutonic religion; religious practice; forms of clergy; tools of worship; places of worship; elements of ritual; ritual scripts; crafting ritual tools. |
| Commentary: | When you move away from mainstream Pagan religion (which is to say, Wicca and its derivatives :)) it becomes more and more difficult to find accessible information. It's a problem, because not everyone who is drawn to one of these paths has the time or resources to devote to intensive study of academic sources on the subject, at least not as a beginning seeker. For those interested in the Norse/Teutonic path, this is an excellent first book, although certainly many if not most people will want to supplement it with history and mythology (and if so, a decent bibliography is provided). The section on the cosmology, a fairly difficult concept at first glance, is very clear; discussion of land and ancestral spirits is also quite helpful. There is a good deal of practical information on finding and making tools. That said, the book is, overall, very group-oriented, which may make it a challenge for the solitary heathen (please note that this is not unique--most of the heathen resources I have come across have been aimed primarily at those who worship with a group), particularly if s/he is trying to do some of the rituals provided. The rituals themselves, while not to my taste personally (I tend to be a bit of a minimalist), are easy to follow and often quite dramatic. This book is unfortunately out of print at this time; I would suggest trying inter-library loan or trying your local used book store, or one of the many used book shops online. Note: the terminology in this book is Germanic (for example, referring to Wodann rather than Odin); however, this should not be a problem for those who prefer the Norse pantheon since alternative names are given. |
| Very Strongly Recommended |
Kveldulf Gundarsson, et al, Our Troth.
| Most useful for: | Beginning and Intermediate Students |
| Content: | History of ancient Norse paganism and modern heathenry/Asatru; gods, goddesses, ancestral spirits (idises/disir), land spirits, house spirits, and other spirits and entitites; theories of life and death; organization of The Troth; rituals including ritual scripts; crafts; resouces; recommended reading list. |
| Commentary: | Our Troth is an excellent handbook provided by The Troth, a specific heathen organization, and therefore the book reflects the Troth's specific system; however, it is a fine resource and my favorite of any of the heathen books I've found. It is available only online (the non-electronic version has long been out of print) at http://www.thetroth.org/resources/ourtroth/index.html. The information on the gods is some of the best and most complete I have seen anywhere, and although the ritual scripts provided are, again, a bit more complex than I prefer, they are very good and the discussion of holidays includes a wide range of historical and mythological information as well as bits of useful folklore. The information is accessible without being simplistic, and provides enough information for the new heathen to use easily while whetting the appetite for more rigorous work and research. This is the book I am most likely to recommend to someone looking for good heathen resources, and not only because it's most available. |
| Very Strongly Recommended |
Edred Thorsson, A Book of Troth.
| Most useful for: | Intermediate Students |
| Content: | General information on heathenry/Asatru; history both ancient and modern; cosmology; brief discussion of ritual practice and holidays; brief discussion of the gods, souls and rebirth, runes, ethics; ritual format; ritual scripts for holidays and rites of passage; some information on the Troth. |
| Commentary: | As the first widely-available book on the subject, A Book of Troth was many people's introduction to heathenry and is still a valuable resource. However, it isn't my first recommendation; for one thing it has been out of print for quite a while; for another, while not difficult, Thorsson's writing style can be a bit hard to follow and he tends to focus somewhat on more esoteric subjects at times, making this book less than idea for the beginner. Still, the information is good, and the rituals are quite nice if a bit formal. If you can find a copy, get it! |
| Recommended |