Blog Archives
Bookversary! Honoring the Mothers
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
Originally published December 13, 2016.
| “Honoring the Mothers: Novenas to the Mothers of Our Gods and Heroes” is a collection of novenas to ten holy women, mothers of heroes like Achilles and Perseus and Gods like Hermes and Dionysos. These mighty women received cultus in the ancient world. They were reverenced, honored, venerated. This novena booklet provides a starting point for those wishing to honor them today. |
Buy now at amazon.
Book Review: The Five
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
| Starting in September, we see the anniversary of the murders of Jack the Ripper. There are five canonical victims, though many “ripperologists” speculate that there were upwards of eleven or maybe even more. I am fascinated by the case and in 2019, a groundbreaking book was published: “The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper” by Hallie Rubenhold. |
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Rubenhold’s research is impeccable. She ignores Jack the Ripper and instead focuses on fleshing out the lives of the five canonical victims: Mary Ann Nichols (found August 31, 1888), Annie Chapman (found September 8, 1888), Elizabeth Stride (found September 30, 1888), Catherine Eddowes (also found September 30, 1888), and Mary Jane Kelly (found November 9, 1888). She examines the Victorian prejudice that allowed for these women to be dismissed as prostitutes because of their class and the location in which they lived (only one of the women was likely ever a prostitute –and even if all of them were, so what? Murder is murder).
She also incorporates the latest research into the crime (for instance, one forensic theory, that absolutely horrifies me, is this possibility that the women were killed while sleeping curled up in doorways or on the street). The author received a tremendous amount of push-back when she positioned these women, based on evidence, as anything other than prostitutes and even now, there is, in some circles hostility toward the idea — which begs the question of why — is the insistence on their being prostitutes just another way of glamorizing or even sexualizing the killer? Or worse, is it a way of saying they deserved to be killed? Why is it suddenly ok if they were prostitutes? I have questions. The book forces one to confront many of the questions. The scholarship here is excellent and really, the book is just beautifully and extensively researched. I give it five stars.
Bookversary! On Divination
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
Originally published November 12, 2014.
I opted to delay celebrating the bookversary so the focus could remain on Veteran’s Day over the weekend.
| Divination is a sacred art, craft, and science. It is a means of facilitating right relationship with the Gods and other holy powers. It is a means of sorting out our wyrd and bettering our ability to function as responsible human beings. It is a means of bettering our luck, and making the most of the opportunities sent our way. Most of all, it is a means whereby even those without the ability to hear or sense the Gods and spirits consistently and accurately can learn what the Gods and spirits want from them, what their obligations may be, and receive guidance on where to go with the struggles, problems, and questions in their lives. With over twenty years of experience as a diviner, Krasskova answers important questions about performing divination within the context of an engaged polytheistic religious practice. Covering topics like binary systems, proper mental and spiritual protocols, dealing with clients, and the differences between divination and oracles, this is essential reading for those called to a vocation as a diviner, as well as those who are simply interested in divination as a part of their personal spiritual practice. |
On Divination is available now.
Book Review: Salem’s Lot
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
| This is an oldie but goodie, as the saying goes. It’s one of King’s earlier novels (and I really think his earlier novels are some of his best) and offers a different telling of the Dracula mythos where the heroes barely escape, and “win” is a questionable term. The story is less about vampires and more about the way that evil is contagious; certain places hold memories of the horrors done there and go spiritually rancid; and evil places call to evil people. It’s about the contagion of evil and all of that lies behind the vestige of the vampires that take over a small, isolated New England town. There are examples of heroism, semi-heroism, and failure in the face of challenge – a priest loses his faith at the moment he needs it most, yet a child holds the line finding faith in the midst of carnage. King is good like that, flipping the paradigm and he writes intelligent children. |
This is a very good book that, for this theologian at least, prompted quite a bit of pondering on the nature of evil. I give it five stars and highly recommend it. Note: there are at least two movie versions, though neither is very good. The novel is, I think, too atmospheric to translate well to the screen. Of the two movie versions, the one with Rutger Hauer is slightly better but that doesn’t mean it’s *good*).
Bookversary! Day Star and Whirling Wheel: Honoring the Sun and Moon in the Northern Tradition
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
Originally published November 4, 2009.
| In the Northern Tradition, the Sun is represented by the Goddess Sunna, and the Moon by her divine brother Mani. They give their names to two of the days of the week, and their rays shine down upon us, giving life and inspiration. This devotional is dedicated to them, and to their family. They are more than mere personifications; they bring joy and peace to every day of our lives. We saw them first in the sky as children, and now we can understand and reverence them even more fully with the help of this book. |
While this book is out of print, all content is still under copyright protection. You can find copies in the resale marketplace, including through third party sellers at amazon, and elsewhere.
Book Review: The Salt Grows Heavy
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
| This is a creepy retelling of “The Little Mermaid” and the writer’s style is lush and quite evocative. It is a bloody, gruesome story, where there is no happily ever after for the mermaid with her prince, and the prince and so many others in this world are sadists. The mermaid has terrifying and absolutely just agency and travels with a plague doctor, with a story of his own. In the end, there is a “happy” ending of sorts but the reader wades though quite a bit of “Lord of the Flies” like carnage to get there. I give it three and a half stars (it would have had four, but I read the first novel this author wrote, and it was awful, truly awful. I’m not actually sure how she pulled this one out of her …brain). |
Things I did not like: the plague doctor is referred to as ‘they’ because the mermaid cannot tell what gender the doctor is. Enough of this grammatical garbage, people. If one doesn’t know the gender of someone or there is a mixed group, the correct grammatical pronoun is ‘he.’. It’s bad enough to see grammar and pronouns being twisted out of true by a generation that doesn’t seem to know how they work, without having writers do it too – it doesn’t work in print, and it very easily throws a grammatically competent reader out of the story.
Also, parts were a bit too influenced by “Lord of the Flies.” But it all worked out in the end, and it is a dark, grimy, gritty, wrenching little tale (tail?) where in the end, justice of a sort prevails. One thing I did encounter in reviews on good reads and amazon is several reviewers complaining that the author uses too big a vocabulary. Um…get a dictionary. The language is poetic even at the bloodiest moments of the book. At no point is the vocabulary misplaced. Her use of language was one of the highlights. I recommend this book.
Book Review: Thornhedge
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
| I love Kingfisher’s work, Thornhedge. I’ve read quite a bit from her and have rarely been disappointed. This work, a short retelling of “Sleeping Beauty” is one that I couldn’t put down. I read it on kindle in one sitting and then immediately bought the hard copy. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Now, I don’t want to give away any of the plot, because there are some serious twists and turns, but it’s not your usual fairy tale. Kingfisher’s style is lyrical and painfully beautiful. For that reason alone, this book warrants a read – some of her sentences are just so damned beautiful! Beyond that, she takes the story through quite a few surprising twists and turns. The characters are unique, very well written, and the monsters aren’t whom you might initially think. That’s all I’m going to say, save go and read this lovely tale. We need our fairy tales. We need the lessons they teach, and this book is no exception. Five stars. |
Bookversary: Transgressing Faith
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
Today is the bookversary of my more academic bent book, Transgressing Faith, which was originally submitted as my Master’s thesis in Religious Studies from NYU. 🤓
An eye-opening and balanced presentation of the history of the Heathen revival in America and its attendant conflicts over where to draw the boundaries concerning belief, practice and identity.
Though this restoration has only been going on for a few generations there is tremendous tension within the community concerning areas such as gender, race, normative social presentation, sexuality and questions of religious authority.
All of these are explored with a special emphasis placed on how the community treats those who don’t quite fit in or are called to intentionally transgressive roles.
Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Who has read it? What were your thoughts on it? Your questions?
30% Off at Red Wheel Weiser
My publisher Red Wheel Weiser is running (for a limited time) a 30% Off Sale for any books with delivery in the U.S. So if you’ve been wanting to pick up A Modern Guide to Heathenry, Living Runes, or the Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner now is the perfect time!
Click on the link and use code WNL30 at checkout.
Book Review: Mina’s Child
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
| I had a bit of downtime the past week and stumbled across a really, really good novel. It’s a sequel to Dracula (though be warned, everything supernatural is stripped from the story, which annoyed me but then the story itself is so good I still enjoyed it immensely). The book is Mina’s Child by Paul Butler. I won’t say anything more, save that it contains the most chilling line I have read in any book: “I will make sure you always remain the girl I fell in love with.” It’s a story of human baseness at its worst. The main character is rather self-absorbed but the author does such a good job of creating a claustrophobic little world that it works and the result is horrifying. I read the whole thing in one sitting. Check it out on amazon. |
Gangleri's Grove 