Sorcerer's Screed

by Skuggi, Philip Roughton (Translator)

Would you like to increase your prosperity, secure the love of the man or woman of your dreams, seek protection from evil forces or grumpy neighbours, catch a liar or raise the dead? If so, the Sorcerer‘s Screed is just the book for you.

The spells in this book have been adherent to Scandinavian history and culture for centuries and Icelanders have been using magic spells from the first settlement for everyday purposes as well as the more unorthodox.

The Sorcerer’s Screed is the world‘s most comprehensive collection of Nordic spells. Each spell comes with a diagram and specific instructions for their use and purpose.

Genres: Nonfiction, Occult, History, Mythology, Magic, Witchcraft, Reference

182 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1940

Reviews

[Samúel Reynis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice, good to know.

[Scott Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting - basically, a reprint of an Icelandic grimoire published in the 1940s, whose author claimed that the 1940s version was a reprint (essentially) of bits of other, more ancient grimoires he and other Icelanders had in their possessions. The staves (rune-spells) are interesting, what drops this from a 4-star to a 3 for me is that I'd love more context of what led them to reprint this, or history of the original author and his works, other than "he was sort of crazy but really interesting." Still, a worthwhile addition to your library if you're fascinated with Icelandic and Norse magical practices. Most of the spells are not actually usable unless you're seriously into self-mutilation (or at least pricking yourself with needles), since they require your own blood for efficaciousness.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real gamut of spells, charms and curses here. Everything from winning a chess match to making a thief vomit up all the food he’s stolen from you. Some of the staves have lots of information; some have no information at all. More background would be interesting.

[Olly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very pretty book and was really fun to look through. I do wish there had been much more historical background since there was barely any, but it at least gave me the right things to google to find out more about the history of sorcery in Iceland.

[Caressa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting addition to any magical collection. Most of the staves were unrelatable to todays desires, and very male oriented, but still fascinating and worth checking out.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a weird little book, a hodgepodge of truly historical content and original content by the author (so historical in that it’s from the 1940s) with very little indication of which is which and what exactly the historical context is. It’s great fun to read, and you’ll get a lot of words and concepts you can look up elsewhere as a jumping-off point.

A few caveats on who would be interested in this:
If you’re interested primarily in modern, practical occult practices, this one won’t provide; lots of spells calling for materials such as human skin, crow’s blood, and other items you presumably cannot obtain. There’s not a lot of reasoning as to why things are what they are, and they don’t really follow the broad panEuro esoteric trends you might be familiar with.

If you’re only interested in the history of the occult, there’s very little actual context here. You’d probably be better off with something a bit more academic, though you can google interesting bits and pieces to get a more complete view of their context.

If you just like weird occult books, this one is a perfect pickup. Sits nicely between Liber Null and The Golden Dawn.

[Schmacko · Rating 3 out of 5]

1) I agree with many reviewers stating that it’d be nice to have research or historical context.

2) As a piece of cultural history I’m struck by how many of these spells are about facing negative things, warding off calamity, fighting and enemies. Grim. Very few are about attracting good luck, wealth, love, etc. And when they are about positive things like health, they are phrased about avoiding bad health, not attracting good. Interested in what others think of this socio-psychologically, and whether this might be a reflection of Iceland’s relatively harsh landscape requiring resilience. Thoughts?

3) So much self-mutilation and bloodletting…. See #2 about the general negative atmosphere. Thoughts?

4) I’m not very magical myself, so I’m only looking at this as a cultural artifact.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting historical text, I found it curious that some of the staves had incorporated Christian symbolism as well, but maybe not so surprising given the prolific proselytizing that happened during that time.

[Pedro Costa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a daring book with an important sense of criticism and analysis, not simply a handbook of sigils and staves. There's also an interesting part on the History of magic in Iceland.

[Koya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely marvelous.

[J.M. Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! Loved it!

[seumas · Rating 5 out of 5]

No review is necessary. Speaks for itself.

[Halilfarukgoksu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okuyalim

[Brady Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only sort out follow it
Don’t know how to get my hands on the heart of a raven either…

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is store bought water from the eye of a raven okay or does it have to be naturally sourced?

[khaz. · Rating 4 out of 5]

did not know I needed a colic stave but eh, gonna save this one

[Gabija · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really at a loss as to how to rate this book. Coming from the anthropological perspective, it's short of perfect to say the least - well, to someone of my (clearly insufficient) backround knowledge of Icelandic occult traditions. And I would have really loved to use this tome to increase that knowledge. By that I mean, this book is fully packed with instructions "how to", but is very elusive as to "why" and "what for", as if it was obvious to all concerned why someone would need to inscribe the Skull of Thor on spruce tree bark, or use the Knot of Erikur, and the only question they'd have would be how to do it correctly. Another example: "to successfully hold a vigil at a crossroads on New Years Eve, you'll need..." Yes, great - but what is the vigil itself meant to achieve? Well, perhaps it indeed used to be self-evident to the Icelanders what these mysterious symbols and rituals stand for, but I craved a more detailed explanation.
To do Skuggi some justice: not all rituals and symbols were left to drift in elusive mystery; others were painstakingly explained, and some folklore background given to understand better what these practices used to ostensibly serve for.

As an instruction of magic practices, or an art album of folklore and ethnic art it would serve, I suppose, perfectly. Sorcerer's Screed managed to interest me most at a linguistic/semiotic (or even cryptographic, one may say) angle. The ways in which different runes are incorporated into magickal designs, how their shape is transformed etc.were very intriguing... I only wish I knew much more about the runes and some of the Old Icelandic to appreciate it all better.

[A.R. Beckert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating stuff! Found some things that matched other research I did. If you're looking for a book ABOUT Icelandic magic, you'll be disappointed, but if you're looking for runes, spells, and staves this is perfect!

[nthrmst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting collection of Icelandic staves and sigils. Most modern magicians probably wouldn’t have a need to use a majority of the staves and ceremonies described, but it is quite an entertaining and intriguing read nonetheless.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing gift from a Secret Santa in Iceland. Savored every minute of this amazing historical gem.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really beautiful, fascinating read.

[Bastien Baguilat · Rating 4 out of 5]

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