Runes Of The North

A rune is, in its general meaning, a tale of magic and mystery. To Sigurd Olson it expresses his feelings about the haunting appeal of the wilderness and of the tales and legends to be found there. His runes are legends, yards, and wilderness reflections drawn from the great northern vastness of Canada and Alaska. Whether he is recounting a charming Indian myth, such as “The Dream Net,” or describing the exhilaration of the sauna, the primitive Finnish bath, or sharing the pleasure of digging a spring for a remote Runes of the North is divided into two sections: one, “Le Beau Pays,” reveals woodland lore of the land of big timber, rushing white water streams, and “lost” lakes of the Canadian border; the other, “Pays d’en Haut,” has for the setting of its chapters the wilderness farther north, from Hudson Bay across the Barren Grounds and tundra to the Yukon and Alaska. This new book by the author of The Singing Wilderness, Listening Point, and The Lonely Land will please thousands of readers who have found in him a kindred spirit and a man who puts into words their own deep feelings about nature. Robert Hines’s jacket drawing of the loon, symbol of far places, and his atmospheric pen-and-inks of birds, animals, and voyageurs add pictorial appeal to these tales and ruminations of the Big North, ancient, old, and modern.

In TROLLRÚN: A Discourse on Trolldom and Runes in the Northern Tradition, Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold opens the door to landscapes little known outside of Scandinavia. These landscapes are populated by mythical beings and land spirits which offer a quite different approach to the Northern Tradition than what is usual. Here the Aesir have taken a backseat in favour of discussions on the wider tapestry of Northern wisdom, such as trolldom, seidr and the legacy left by the Black Books of magic under the larger theme of 'What the Trolls Told', comprising the first part of TROLLRÚN. This is followed by a presentation of the Elder runes, runology, and rune magic, all rooted in Scandinavian ideas of the use of runes and their magic. TROLLRÚN views this landscape through the eyes of the cunning arts, where the ice, the frost, the midnight sun, and the majestic mountains and fjords become the orchestra of TROLLRÚN's wisdom, drenched in the powerful atmosphere of the magical north.

A guide to the secrets of rune-reading, an ancient predictive art, that teaches you how to lay out runes and interpret them instantly. Once the sacred alphabet of the Germanic people of Northern Europe, runes are more than 2,000 years old. Runes (meaning a secret or mystery) were words of power, once carved on amulets, rings and weapons, and found as inscriptions on tombstones. The 1st rune, Fehu, is connected with cattle, and since wealth was measured in the number of cows a person owned, it has an underlying meaning of material wealth. The 11th rune, Isa, literally means 'ice', signifying danger and the probability of slipping up. Likewise, the 17th rune, Tiwaz, shares its significance with the North Star as an aid to navigation and charting life's path. In this insightful book, each of the runes is fully described, together with the symbolic images and celestial phenomena associated with them. Methods of laying out, or 'casting' the runes are described in order to give a full and comprehensive reading to answer any question. There are six spreads to choose from, from Odin's Rune, a simple reading with one rune stone, to using up to nine runes for deeper insight into the past, present and future.

The scattered research history of the Old Frisian runic inscriptions dating to the early Medieval period (ca. AD 400–1000) calls for a comprehensive and systematic reprocessing of these objects within their socio-cultural context and against the backdrop of the Old English Runic tradition. This book presents an annotated edition of 24 inscriptions found in the modern-day Netherlands, England and Germany. It provides the reader with an introduction to runological methodology, a linguistic commentary on the features attested in the inscriptions, and a detailed catalogue which outlines the find history of each object and summarizes previous and new interpretations supplemented by pictures and drawings. This book additionally explores the question of Frisian identity and an independent Frisian runic writing tradition and its relation to the contemporary Anglo-Saxon runic culture. In its entirety, this work provides a rich basis for future research in the field of runic writing around the North Sea and may therefore be of interest to scholars of historical linguistics and early Medieval history and archaeology.

Have yourself a very Merry Witchmas in Holiday Haven, where the magic and mystery of Christmas is snow joke!Lumi Northrop is a powerful guardian of the north-the North Star Reindeer Sanctuary, that is.When Rudolph vanishes the week before Christmas, Lumi is thrust from the peace and quiet of her family's farm, into the magical town of Holiday Haven to help find him.Lumi quickly discovers that Rudolph isn't the only local celebrity who's gone missing. Jack Frost is also MIA, just days before his coronation as the next Frost King.Teaming up with Corbin Frost, Jack's reclusive brother, Lumi finds more questions than answers. What she thinks is an odd coincidence quickly turns into something more sinister.With time running out for Rudolph and Jack, can Lumi use her powers to save the North Pole?Grab your cup of cocoa, sit in a comfy chair by the cozy fire, and find out now in Reindeer Runes! And be sure to check out the other magical mysteries of the Winter Witches of Holiday Haven series!

Originally published: New York: Alfred A. Knopf, c1969.

To do with the calling of loons, with northern lights, and the great silences of land lying northwest of Lake Superior. It is concerned with the simple joys, the timelessness and perspective found in a way of life which is close to the past. I have heard the singing in many places, but I seem to hear it best in the wilderness lake country of the Quetico-Superior, where travel is still by pack and canoe over the ancient trails of the Indians and voyageurs." Thus the author sets the theme and tone of this enthralling book of discovery about one of the few great primitive areas in our country which have withstood the pressures of civilization. Acute natural perceptivity and a profound knowledge of the relationships to be found in nature combine here in vivid evocations of the sights, the sounds, the vast stillnesses, and the events of the wilderness as the seasons succeed each other. But Mr. Olson is not content merely to "describe; he probes for meanings that will lead the reader to a different and more revealing way of looking at the out-of-doors and to a deeper sense of its eternal values. In each of the thirty-four chapters of The Singing Wilderness he has sought to capture an essential quality of our magnificent lake and forest heritage. He shows us what can be read from the rocks of the great Canadian Shield; he offers a delightful essay on the virtues of pine knots as fuel; he writes of the ways of a canoe, of flashing trout in the pools of the Isabella, of tamarack bogs, caribou moss, the flight of wild geese, timber wolves, and the birds of the ski trails. And much more, with something to satisfy every taste for wilderness experience. Superbly illustrated with 38 black-and-white drawings by Francis Lee Jaques, The Singing Wilderness is a book that no lover of nature will want to be without. To anyone who contemplates a vacation in the lake country of northern Minnesota and adjoining Canada, it is the perfect vade mecum.

BOOK 1 OF THE RUNES OF WAR SAGA The adventure begins...