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Runic Astrology: Starcraft and Timekeeping in the Northern Tradition
Book by Pennick, Nigel
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
1 person is currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Nigel Pennick
127 books91 followersNigel Campbell Pennick, born 1946 in Guildford, Surrey, England in the United Kingdom, an author publishing on occultism, magic, natural magic, divination, subterranea, rural folk customs, traditional performance and Celtic art as well as runosophy.
He is a writer on marine species as well as an occultist and geomancer, artist and illustrator, stained-glass designer and maker, musician and mummer. He also writes on European arts and crafts, buildings, landscape, customs, games and spiritual traditions. He has written several booklets on the history of urban transport in Cambridge and London . He is best known for his research on geomancy, labyrinths, sacred geometry, the spiritual arts and crafts, esoteric alphabets and Germanic runic studies.
He has written many books in German and has over 50 published books and hundreds of published papers on a wide range of subjects.
He is a writer on marine species as well as an occultist and geomancer, artist and illustrator, stained-glass designer and maker, musician and mummer. He also writes on European arts and crafts, buildings, landscape, customs, games and spiritual traditions. He has written several booklets on the history of urban transport in Cambridge and London . He is best known for his research on geomancy, labyrinths, sacred geometry, the spiritual arts and crafts, esoteric alphabets and Germanic runic studies.
He has written many books in German and has over 50 published books and hundreds of published papers on a wide range of subjects.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 13, 2017
Through the runes of the Northern Tradition, Nigel Pennick lays out a completely new - although ancient - system of astrology and yet one that the European heart recognises. For me, it's been like coming home.
To our earliest ancestors, the 24 Elder Futhark runes were more than a system of language - they were a system of divination based on astrology for which the Celts, Saxons and the Norse peoples used 15 of the stars that were over their heads in the Northern hemisphere, and they are the 15 stars also used by navigators.
The Northern Tradition Wheel of the Year is not divided into solar months, but into fortnights - and each month has a bright fortnight and a dark fortnight, depending upon whether the moon is waxing or waning. Just like the calendars of the Celts, this form of runic divination pays as much attention to the moon as it does to the sun.
So if like me, you're a European or an American who's interested in moving towards a more native, grass-roots philosophy that's in line with your DNA, rather than one underpinned by ancient Greek and Egyptian thinking, then I think you would really benefit from this book.
To our earliest ancestors, the 24 Elder Futhark runes were more than a system of language - they were a system of divination based on astrology for which the Celts, Saxons and the Norse peoples used 15 of the stars that were over their heads in the Northern hemisphere, and they are the 15 stars also used by navigators.
The Northern Tradition Wheel of the Year is not divided into solar months, but into fortnights - and each month has a bright fortnight and a dark fortnight, depending upon whether the moon is waxing or waning. Just like the calendars of the Celts, this form of runic divination pays as much attention to the moon as it does to the sun.
So if like me, you're a European or an American who's interested in moving towards a more native, grass-roots philosophy that's in line with your DNA, rather than one underpinned by ancient Greek and Egyptian thinking, then I think you would really benefit from this book.
July 13, 2007
very intricate, this book.
nigel is awesome, and thorough, and always adds something fresh to material he's written of elsewhere. this is probably the "thickest" of his books on the northern tradition that i've read. juicy and meaty. lots of information to eat.
nigel is awesome, and thorough, and always adds something fresh to material he's written of elsewhere. this is probably the "thickest" of his books on the northern tradition that i've read. juicy and meaty. lots of information to eat.
January 21, 2019
Un livre qu’il ne faut pas prendre au pied de la lettre mais qui réserve quelques bonnes surprises. Il est préférable de bien connaître les deux sujets abordés (runes et astrologie) au préalable.
La première partie reprend les concepts de bases liés aux runes, notamment orlög et wyrd, ainsi qu’une description basique des runes (avec quelques approximations). Les concepts sont bien expliqués, avec une digression intéressante sur Hagalaz et la récurrence de la forme hexagonale dans la nature. Il est juste dommage que l’aspect physique de l’équilibre des forces que cette structure permet ne soit pas abordé, mais c’est original et inventif.
La deuxième partie est la moins intéressante, on y passe en revue à peu près tout ce qui est connu en matière de cycles naturels, plus ou moins reconnus (certains totalement fantaisistes). Cela est censé servir à introduire la notion de divisions du temps selon les runes, mais comme celle-ci est ensuite faite de manière assez arbitraire, on peut au final s’en passer totalement. A noter cependant, des passages intéressants sur l’histoire des calendriers.
La troisième partie est celle qui relève vraiment de «l’astrologie runique». Il est évident qu’il faut prendre cette partie comme une tentative de l’auteur d’adapter l’astrologie occidentale aux runes, et non une recherche archéologique sur la perception du temps par les populations scandinaves. Chaque planète est associée à une déité scandinave (avec plus ou moins de bonheur) puis on interprète simplement chaque planète avec chaque rune. La partie sur les étoiles est très parlante : il s’agit de l’interprétation classique de l’astrologie occidentale traditionnelle, avec des noms de déités scandinaves par dessus. L’auteur dit même littéralement s’être inspiré de «recherches documentaires, d’études folkloriques» qu’il ne cite pas et «de techniques ésotériques avancées» (probablement de la divination ou une forme de méditation ou de transe/gnosis) pour trouver les noms des étoiles scandinaves.
A noter, j’ai lu l’édition française de 1995 aux éditions de Janvier, qui comporte d’intéressantes notes du traducteur, en particulier des corrections des traductions que fait Pennick.
La première partie reprend les concepts de bases liés aux runes, notamment orlög et wyrd, ainsi qu’une description basique des runes (avec quelques approximations). Les concepts sont bien expliqués, avec une digression intéressante sur Hagalaz et la récurrence de la forme hexagonale dans la nature. Il est juste dommage que l’aspect physique de l’équilibre des forces que cette structure permet ne soit pas abordé, mais c’est original et inventif.
La deuxième partie est la moins intéressante, on y passe en revue à peu près tout ce qui est connu en matière de cycles naturels, plus ou moins reconnus (certains totalement fantaisistes). Cela est censé servir à introduire la notion de divisions du temps selon les runes, mais comme celle-ci est ensuite faite de manière assez arbitraire, on peut au final s’en passer totalement. A noter cependant, des passages intéressants sur l’histoire des calendriers.
La troisième partie est celle qui relève vraiment de «l’astrologie runique». Il est évident qu’il faut prendre cette partie comme une tentative de l’auteur d’adapter l’astrologie occidentale aux runes, et non une recherche archéologique sur la perception du temps par les populations scandinaves. Chaque planète est associée à une déité scandinave (avec plus ou moins de bonheur) puis on interprète simplement chaque planète avec chaque rune. La partie sur les étoiles est très parlante : il s’agit de l’interprétation classique de l’astrologie occidentale traditionnelle, avec des noms de déités scandinaves par dessus. L’auteur dit même littéralement s’être inspiré de «recherches documentaires, d’études folkloriques» qu’il ne cite pas et «de techniques ésotériques avancées» (probablement de la divination ou une forme de méditation ou de transe/gnosis) pour trouver les noms des étoiles scandinaves.
A noter, j’ai lu l’édition française de 1995 aux éditions de Janvier, qui comporte d’intéressantes notes du traducteur, en particulier des corrections des traductions que fait Pennick.
November 20, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. I've been a Rune student for almost two and a half decades, and I always enjoy a different take on the Runes and how to use them.
As I'm not a scholar in the arena, I can't attest to the methods Pennick used to derive his astrological connections to the Runes. I can attest that his connections between them and Northern lore and artifacts are compelling.
Quite a dry read with a bend toward maths, this book isn't a quick or easy text to take in. Rather, it serves as a reference, whose value increases with use.
While it's a bit off the beaten path of most Runic students, it's well worth the detour to apply the insight of the Runes in a new, albeit not ungrounded, way.
As I'm not a scholar in the arena, I can't attest to the methods Pennick used to derive his astrological connections to the Runes. I can attest that his connections between them and Northern lore and artifacts are compelling.
Quite a dry read with a bend toward maths, this book isn't a quick or easy text to take in. Rather, it serves as a reference, whose value increases with use.
While it's a bit off the beaten path of most Runic students, it's well worth the detour to apply the insight of the Runes in a new, albeit not ungrounded, way.
September 8, 2012
Oh so tremendously dry.
Some of it's kind of interesting, but it's poorly organized and written in a way to knock you unconscious in under a minute. The end result is surprisingly inaccessible, for a book that's largely about how archaeological finds suggest how vikings tracked the stars.
Which, if you didn't notice, should be *awesome*.
Some of it's kind of interesting, but it's poorly organized and written in a way to knock you unconscious in under a minute. The end result is surprisingly inaccessible, for a book that's largely about how archaeological finds suggest how vikings tracked the stars.
Which, if you didn't notice, should be *awesome*.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews