Gangleri – book reviews

This translation of the famous Cavalcare la Tigre (1961) is from noone less than Joscelyn Godwin (1945-) the famous scholar on paganism, music and Renaissance occultism. The name of Godwin might remove the sharp edges of this book, which is a good thing in my opinion. The translation is very well readable and Evola’s writings are again an interesting read. I might not agree with several things Evola says and… Continue reading Ride The Tiger * Julius Evola (2003)

“Pulp” is a word that kept flying through my head when reading this book. I ran into it cheaply, the description of pagan groups in the present day made me curious. The author starts with describing the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung “far from being a dispassionate observer, had been an active had been an active participant in the pagan revival” (p. 275) Jung saw Odin as an archetype and predicted… Continue reading Pagan Resurrection * Richard Rudgley (2006)

Primordial Traditions is a periodical that I did not know. They have collected their best articles from 2005 to 2009, most of which are by the hand of editor Gwendolyn Toynton. As the title suggests, this publication takes a Traditionalistic starting point and since “the term Primordial Tradition is utilized to describe a system of spiritual thought and metaphysical truths that overarches all the other religions and esoteric traditions of… Continue reading Primordial Traditions Compendium 2009 * Gwendolyn Toynton (ed.) (2009)

With some delay Wende 5 (the midsummer edition) of the Flemish “Odalist” “Werkgroep Hagal” is available. About 60 pages in an A5 booklet with a nice variety of subjects. An introduction to “Odalism”, early 19th century decoration on a roof tile that the author found on his roof, a text by Jan de Vries, European martial arts, an interview with formerTraditie chairman Stefaan and much more. Wende always makes a… Continue reading Wende 5

Just like with the Islendingabók / Kristni Saga this is not really a great read. In most cases you will read something like:

206. Kolbein
Sigmund of Vestfold married Ingibjorg, daughter of Raud Rugga of Namdalen and sister of Thorstein Svarfad. Their son was Kolbein who went to Iceland and took possession of land between Grjot and Deildar Rivers, including Kolbeinsdale and Hjaltadale.

About 400 settlers are described with a… Continue reading The Book Of Settlements (Landnámabók) * translated by Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards (1972)

There are some texts that I still need(ed) to read. The Íslendingabók was one of them, the Landnámabók is another (currently reading), the Flateyjarbók yet another. Grønlie presents translations of both The book of the Icelanders and The story of the conversion with a (too) lengthy introduction, a great many notes, a massive bibliography and a large index. Two short texts make a booklet of about a hundred pages. The… Continue reading Íslendingabók and Kristni Saga * translated by Siân Grønlie (2006)

I ran into an old English translation (1958) of l’Homme et son devenir selon la Vedànta. Books of Guénon are never easy literature, but this fifth book is all about Metaphysics, not the way of thinking of the Western man. The first part of the book is mostly about the most ancient traditions of Hinduism and its conceptions. The last part of the book is the second part of the… Continue reading Man And His Becoming According To The Vedanta * René Guénon (1925)

Here we have a very interesting book which is hard for me to review since most of what is in it, is quite new. The basis of this book are parts of the ancient Frisian (the very northern part of the nowadays Netherlands) juridical texts: lists with compensation tariffs. These list are simply like: the loss of an ear : so-and-so much money; a broken leg : so-and-so much money… Continue reading Lichaam Eer En Recht In Middeleeuws Friesland * Han Nijdam (2008)

If I am not mistaken, Jaan Puhvel was born in Estonia in 1932 and he was a student of Georges Dumézil (in Upsala) and follows his path in comparitive mythology. By now living and teaching in America for many years, Puhvel displays an amazing ability to play with the English language, making this book a fun read at times. Puhvel wanted to write a basic book about comparitive mythology (“mythology”… Continue reading Comparative Mythology * Jaan Puhvel (1987)

Scholars like MacCulloch and Jan de Vries were well aware of this, but the parellels have tended to be forgotten or ignored because most recent work on early religion has been firmly restricted to one side or the other.

Thus says Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson in her conclusion (p. 217). I must say it was very refreshing to see the Germanic (both continental and Scandinavian) and Celtic worlds treated together… Continue reading Myths And Symbols In Pagan Europe * H.R. Ellis Davidson (1988)

I was looking for something on Amazon when I ran into this book. The subject may be surprising to many, but not really new to me. The Dutchman Farwerck has written about the subject extensively in 1970 and I have touched on the subject in a couple of articles. I was curious what Runegilder Flowers/Thorsson has come up with.
Rûna Raven books are usually thin (this one is about 70… Continue reading Freemasonry and the Germanic Tradition * Stephen Edred Flowers (2008)

When I ordered this book, I did not know that it is a translation of an English work. I prefer to read a book in the original language, especially in this case, since my English is better than my German. It was soon clear that The One-eyed God: Odin and the (Indo-) Germanic Männerbünde (Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph No. 36) is an expensive thing to buy. Amazon has it… Continue reading Odin: der einäugige Gott und die indogermanischen Männerbünde * Kris Kershaw (2007)

I got this book from a historian for my birthday and another historian friend was very interested. Since both academics with an interest in darker parts of the past value the author, I asume that Russell is a respected scholar on the field. With that in mind, he is also a gifted writer, since oftentimes I found this book to be a bit too light literature. Indeed, Russell shows himself… Continue reading A History Of Witchcraft * Jeffrey B. Russell (1980)