Rating: 
Summary: Recommended to all Pagans interested in the Northern Way!!
Review: Another of Thorsson's masterpieces! I strongly recommend this book to all pagans who follow the Northern Way. I don't quite understand the bad reviews about Edred Thorsson being a satanist, he is quite far from it! This is an excellent book for beginners of Asatru, due to the book wide variations of Norse paganism. This book covers many subjects and customs such as: The Troth, Runes, Hex-signs, Seith Magic, and much more. This book, however, is not in depth in these subjects, but a great introduction to them. If you are looking for information on Runes of the Elder Futhark, I wouldn't count on this book, however Thorsson introduces the Younger Futhark and covers them pretty well (one page on each rune, front and back!) I also recommend this book for the advanced, because it introduces new customs as well. Be sure to check out other books by Thorsson.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introduction to Northern Magick
Review: Edred Thorsson is prolific writer on Norse Runelore and Magick. This book is an excellent distillation of this knowledge into a useable form for the beginner. It also makes for an excellent springboard for more rigorous scholarship. (The bibliography alone is worth the price of the book!)
Rating: 
Summary: clarification
Review: Hail!
Having know Edred for some time know (I met him at the Rune Gild Moot as well as maintaining communications with him), I would like to point out that the "one star" reveiws are extremely unfair and cowardly. Edred has a PHD in Germanic Philology and has been reconstructing/developing Rune Galdor since the early 70's. Being very familiar with Setian cosmology/philosophy I can assure you that Edred did not "mix" Setian material into these books. Yes, Edred is a member of the ToS....and the reason why he joined was so that he could set aside studies into the more "darker" aspects of Germanic Cosmolology/Runelore (the Temple of Set has different Orders dedicated to various LHP traditions all over the world) and pretty much "pass on the baton" to someone else to research this so that he can return to his duties to the Rune Gild (which is allied to Asatru and not "Satanism") as a Yrmin Drighten. Qouting something that Edred had said to me and my fellow Gilders "I, Edred, am first and foremost an Asatruar." In other words, he is a Teutonic Heathen. Bottom line. Those that attack Edred usually have the following traits: 1)They do not know him,
2)Usually of a low education level, and 3)Too cowardly to look at themselves and cause changes accordingly so instead of dealing with their own neurotic fears/problems they look outward and lable them "Edred", or "Temple of Set", or "Satanism".
Anyhow, these "one star" people are agents of the neopagan (th.i.
generalised fluff-bunny "earth religion" tirade) community and they really don't want you to obtain books with any sort of sound and objective basis. Furthermore, one of the reveiwers is trying to tell you what you should and shouldn't do (by telling you to stay away from Edred's books) and is thus robbing you of a personal choice and the second reveiwer is going by hearsay from an extremely an "Asatru"(The Ring of Troth) organisation that is imfamous for its political games, power play, backstabbing, and a whole slew of undesirable traits. The Rune Gild (Edred's organisation), on the otherhand, is nearly void of such things and has outlasted every Asatru organisation out there.
The fact that anyone would even hint that the book Northern Magic is somehow "diabolical" is so hilarious from a reasonable, logical, and mature standpoint that such statements would be regaurded as silly, absurd, and just downright melodramatic. Here is an outline of the book:
1)Material on the Elder Troth (Teutonic Paganism), 2)Lore of the Younger Futhark and its magical uses., 3)Lore from the Galdorbok (Icelandic magic) tradition, 4)stuff on seidhr(otherworld travel, contacting your fetch) and 4)Hex Signs and that is it. Bottom line.
Reyn til Runa,
Isenwulf
Rating:
Summary: An excellent and diverse work
Review: I must admit this isn't Thorsson at his best, but it's still a very good book for introduction into the northern magical systems. It's simpler and broader than some of his other work, making it more suitable for the general public. Perhaps the most interesting feature is that he doesn't stick to the popular rune system here. He goes into explanation of Troth (religious tradition), touches on Rune magic and the lesser-known system of the younger Futhark, and proceeds to Seith (shamanism) and Dutch hex symbols. If you're curious about all forms of northern magic then I recommend this book. I've never been led wrong by Thorsson's research, and I trust his accuracy over any other writer on the subject. This book gives good background on the religion, gods, and beliefs of the northern traditions. If you want a well-researched and intelligent book on these subjects you can start here. If not, buy a book by Ralph Plume and live in ignorance.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent and diverse work
Review: I must admit this isn't Thorsson at his best, but it's still a very good book for introduction into the northern magical systems. It's simpler and broader than some of his other work, making it more suitable for the general public. Perhaps the most interesting feature is that he doesn't stick to the popular rune system here. He goes into explanation of Troth (religious tradition), touches on Rune magic and the lesser-known system of the younger Futhark, and proceeds to Seith (shamanism) and Dutch hex symbols. If you're curious about all forms of northern magic then I recommend this book. I've never been led wrong by Thorsson's research, and I trust his accuracy over any other writer on the subject. This book gives good background on the religion, gods, and beliefs of the northern traditions. If you want a well-researched and intelligent book on these subjects you can start here. If not, buy a book by Ralph Plume and live in ignorance.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: If you are interested in the Runic mysteries of the noth, this is a good book for you. Well written and researched.
Rating: 
Summary: No way
Review: its really too bad the warning about thorsson being a satanist was removed from here. this is information that concerns the material of the book and the tone of the whole thing. i have it confirmed by the group of asatru that asked him to leave, that this is true, and he is also a priest of set. this colors all the books knowlege and is just a relavent to readers as any other information in these reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Good intro into runes
Review: Since I don't know anything about the author himself, I can only take the book at, literally, face value. This book provides a clear introduction into the ways of the pre-Christian Northern Europeans, and how those practices can be implemented today. Thorsson gives concise definitions of the Younger Futhark and some suggestions for their layouts in divination. I also enjoyed reading his abbreviated outline of Germanic magical history, from around 1100 a.c.e. to the present. Thorsson goes far to explain how the German National Socialist movement co-opted and perverted the Teutonic mythology and symbology in order to conquer others. Recommended for beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introductory Book
Review: This book is one that i almost always recommend to beginners at magic and witchcraft, because it really does contain a little bit of everything, from pennsylvania "hex" signs to Seidr (shamanism, prophecy, etc..) to runic symbols like the helm of awe from the out of print _Galdrabok_. Best of all, it covers the younger futhark of runes thoroughly enough to begin practicing with them. It is NOT the only book one ever needs, but an introduction to just what the northern traditions are all about. At the same time, much of this info is useful outside of the northern traditions to seriouss practitioners of witchcraft, folk magic, or the runes in general, although i'd recommend atleast a copy of the prose edda before one begins trying to fully understand the runes if not many other scholarly works on germanic mythology. Little here will be of use to the more experienced runeworker, however, except perhaps the brief chapter on hex signs, if one is interested in that kind of thing. if you do find _Northern Magic_ useful, you should also check out the author's other works, especially _Futhark_.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Informative
Review: This is a really good reference for the very busy professional person who needs a clear presentation of ideas in a very short space. It would function as an excellent primer to Runelore and/or Futhark. This book gives a really good quick overview of the Northern Way as it exists in its present remanifestation. In Chapter III, Dr. Thorsson explains the similarities and differences between the Troth, Rune-Galdor (operative rune magick), and Seith (norse shamanism) in a clear and concise manner. Chapters IV and V explain Teutonic Cosmology and Theology in a quick, clear, and concise manner. Dr. Thorsson does make a run at describing the Teutonic "soul" concept, but this is not as satisfying as the foregoing-described concise summaries. Dr. Thorsson focuses on the younger runes and some home-grown Pennsylvania Dutch magick in this book, which might be interesting to some. In my opinion, this book is most valuable for the quick summaries, and illustrations accompanying same, discussed above.
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