Icelandic Folk Magic: Witchcraft of the North

by Albert Björn Shiell

From the author that brought you Icelandic Plant Magic comes Icelandic Folk Witchcraft of the North, Albert Bjorn’s second book. Learn how to apply folk magic and herbalism to any circumstance with this highly engaging book of magical northern techniques.Enhance Your Power Like Never BeforeIcelandic Folk Witchcraft of the North is Albert Bjorn’s second book. Drawing on the same friendly and engaging style of his first book, Icelandic Plant Folk Herbalism of the North, Albert offers us an extensive grimoire of folk magical practices based on the Icelandic landscape. Incorporating elements of myth and lore, along with his own tried and true magical techniques, Icelandic Folk Magic will add a highly workable system of operative magic to your practice.

Genres: Witchcraft, Spirituality

337 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2024

About the author

Albert Björn Shiell grew up in the shade of the South Downs of Sussex, England. He spent his days there walking ancient chalk hills, full of burial mounds and folklore. Trading it all in 2017 for cold and seemingly desolate Iceland, Albert picked up his life and moved north. He now lives in downtown Reykjavík, writing, researching, and translating old Icelandic books. He spends his days walking the land around him, learning and conversing with the many plant and land spirits of Iceland. Focusing now on an animistic framework of Nordic magic combined with the Sussex cunning of his homeland, Albert aims to deliver practical folkloric magic inspired by both his homes.

Reviews

[Lotus Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is easily one of the best books I have read on Norse and Northern European folk magic. It is a wonderful combination of folklore, historical traditions and practical witchcraft, offering both a deeper understanding of Icelandic magical practices and plenty of inspiration for incorporating them into your own craft.

What makes this book particularly impressive is its depth and breadth. It explores everything from Icelandic spirits, to shapeshifting, dream magic, weather working and traditional magical tools. I particularly enjoyed the exploration of Icelandic magical staves (galdrastafir) and how to create your own.

The book does not why away from modern sensitivities and presents the information as contained in the sources while also writing that perhaps we won't be doing those things these days.

The book also includes and expands the collection magical herbs from the author's previous book and explores stones, traditional charms, incantations, magical alphabets, and recipes for incense, oils and other preparations. I particularly enjoyed the different alphabets and how to use them in creating your own staves.

I especially appreciated how Björn connects these practices to Icelandic folklore, the landscape and the spiritual worldview from which they emerged. His discussion of seasonal traditions, spirits and the blending of older Norse beliefs with later Christian influences adds a richness often missing from modern books on Northern magic. He also gives suggestions for those who do not want to use the Christian elements.

Another strength is that this is not simply a book about folklore or magical history. It is also a practical resource that encourages you to explore, adapt and develop your own magical practice.

Björn's writing is engaging, generous, accessible and clearly informed by a genuine passion for the subject. For anyone interested in Norse paganism, Heathenry, traditional witchcraft, Northern European folk magic or Icelandic magic I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

An outstanding addition to any witch/heathen's library and a book I have certainly return to again and again. I've highlighted and tabbed much of the book.

[wildandwitchyreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first time reading anything about Norse practice or Icelandic magic. That being said, I do not feel this book was meant for a beginner like myself. There is a lot of good information that can be taken and used in one's own practice, but there were plenty of things that should stay simply a part of history. My main complaint is that there were multiple places in the book where Icelandic language or Latin were used without giving the reader an English translation. This made all of those sections useless to me as I'm not going to say things I don't k own the meaning of. This is true for chants, spells, and plant names. All in all, I think this is a good resource if you have some knowledge of Icelandic plants and folklore.