I read these. Allow me to save you some time.

I post reviews only for books, oracles, etc. that I feel are helpful and worth the time it takes to read them.

Below are books I’ve read, and oracles I’ve considered, so you don’t have to. There are actually more to add to this list, and I’ll update it as time allows.

Nordic Runes, Paul Rhys Mountfort, Destiny Books, Rochester, VT 2003. ISBN 0-89281-093-9. Some of this work isn’t bad, but the parts that are bad are really bad. He conflates Freya and Frigg. There’s entirely too much about Freya’s sexuality and not much about her magic, battle prowess, or death work. He refers to Frigg as “Odin’s rather less glamorous wife”. On page 49, he states, “For in the Northern Mysteries, as in contemporary Paganism in general, there are many faces of the Goddess but only one Goddess.” Dude, allow me to introduce you to the concept of Polytheism. I could go on, but life is short. The best parts of this book are the passages where he quotes Nigel Pennick.

Odin and the Nine Realms Oracle, Sonja Grace, Findhorn Press, Rochester, VT 2019. ISBN 9781620559130. That it needs additional proofreading is the least of its issues. Jormundgand is “another son of Loki and a serpent from Midgard”. Garm is a dog. The “volva was a seidr”. Thor’s hammer, “Mjölnir, is one of the most fearsome weapons in existence, given to him by his father Odin, with the warning to use responsibly and with great care.” Asgard is Heaven. The author also exhorts readers to “act in accordance with God’s will”, as well as encouraging them to ask “The Goddess” for help. The rune names are a mix of Old Norse and Elder Futhark, and parts of the write-ups are quite similar to Ralph Blum’s book. Did you know the Vikings had corn?

The Well of Remembrance: Rediscovering the Earth Wisdom Myths of Northern Europe, Ralph Metzner, Shambhala Press, Boulder, CO 1994. ISBN 9781570626289. This one has some redeeming features, but has more than enough problems to land it on this list. Again, the author devotes a great deal of space to Freya, and dismisses Frigg with the barest of mentions. Most egregiously, he renames Jormundgand as “Midgard”—not “The Midgard Serpent”, but just “Midgard”. He’s incredibly self-indulgent and makes things all about him, when, in fact, those things have nothing to do with him at all. I did write a full review here, if you’re curious about the details.