As a Nordic witch, finding resources that haven’t been tainted by white supremacy can be a challenge. It’s refreshing to see books that are so unabashedly from an inclusive perspective - from an author who is a Nordic witch, writer, and teacher, who also identifies as a queer, disabled, nonbinary femme. Siri Vincent Plouff (they/she) is also the co-author of the book Lessons from the Empress: A Tarot Workbook for Self-Care and Creative Growth, and a professional rune and tarot reader.
In the Forward, the author sets the reader’s expectations by sharing some of their background and how they were drawn to work with runes. She also takes the opportunity to further set the reader up for success in the Introduction by defining some key terms as well as emphasizing the inclusivity of heathen belief, which, while it is culturally specific, is not a closed practice like Voudoun or Indigenous spirituality. In discussing how to use the book, the author again grounds us in their perspective of research, personal gnosis, and grounded ancestral practice, as well as emphasizing that what she is providing is a tool to help the reader build their own unique relationship to the runes as a practice.
“Queering” has become a popular term, not just in spiritual writing (see Queering the Tarot, Queering Your Craft), but also in pop culture and media. Architects are thinking about how to queer spaces, people are writing about queering the map, and the author introduces the reader to this concept and how they’ve used it to approach their work with the runes. She then goes on to discuss the history of the runes, and ably tackles the problem of white supremacy in the rune revival movement, giving the reader solid information about the more problematic resources available.
The bulk of the book is dedicated to an in-depth look at the Elder Futhark, where the author provides the reader with the framework of their approach, which includes keywords, background and lore associated with the rune, a transliteration chart, the rune poem references, and a section I particularly enjoyed called Opportunities for Ancestral Discovery that prompts the reader to reflect on the themes of the rune. I learned a lot from the chapter on divination about the importance of the rune cloth as the container for a reading in the author’s practice, which I’m going to investigate more for myself. The chapter on bindrunes is practical and packed with information to get the reader started in this aspect of rune work.
One of the first things I check when looking at a new book is the bibliography, especially when it comes to Nordic spiritual practice. This book is well-researched and has a terrific bibliography that the reader can explore to delve further into queer theory and social justice theory, as well as solid Nordic magic and mysticism resources. This book is a refreshing and empowering framework for the reader to discover and develop their own relationship with the runes as a tool for divination and magic, as well as for self-discovery.
~review by Ursula Mogensen
Author: Siri Vincent Plouff
Red Wheel/Weiser, 2024
pp. 240, $18.95
