Galdrbok: Heathen Runecraft, Shamanism and Magic
A talk from SAJ2 contributor Robert Wallis, and Nathan Johnson
Friday, November 18
At Treadwells, 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 7PB
7.15 for 7.30 pm start £5.00
The speakers have worked experientially, based on historical texts, in what could be called heathen shamanism. The elements include scrying, galdr (magical chants or sung spells), and rune techniques (whispered secrets and magical letters). Their work explicitly focuses on inducing the altered states necessary to enter and explore the nine magical worlds of Yggdrasill – the World Tree. Tonight they will be discussing their experiences and the original texts that inspired them.
Tonight is the release launch of their book, Galdrbok, which means ‘spell-book’. A party and signing follows the talk. Those who wish to come to the party only are invited to attend at 9.30 pm. Booking for the talk is advised, as we expect this evening to sell out.
Nathan Johnson is a teacher and the author of ten books, including Barefoot Zen (Red Wheel/Weiser 2000). Robert Wallis lectures in art history, archaeology and religious studies, and is the author of three books including Shamans/neo-Shamans (Routledge 2003), and he co-directs the Sacred Sites Project. Robert and Nathan are founders of the Ulfhednr Heathen group in Hampshire.
About the book:
Galdrbok offers a complete system for accessing the nine otherworlds of the Northwest European shamanic world tree Yggdrasil. The initiatory system in Galdrbok is inspired by the spiritual legacy of Heathen Northwest European communities of the migration age. Galdrbok maps the altered conscious states which enable shamanic travel – by means of scrying (‘to descry’/’foresee’/ crystal gaze), galdr (‘sung spells’), runic mediation and other powerful techniques, you can enter ecstasy and ‘walk between the worlds’ in the footsteps of Woden and Freyja, the Northern shamanic deities par excellence.
This is a remarkably intelligent, thoughtful and well-informed practical guide to the magic and spirituality of the Old North, in a form accessible to the present. It helps to confirm the Northern Tradition as one of the most scholarly and sophisticated in modern Paganism. Prof Ronald Hutton, Author of The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles and Triumph of the Moon.