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Icelandic Magic
Icelandic Magic: The Mystery and Power of the Galdrabk Grimoire | Stephen E. Flowers
28 posts | 1 reading | 4 to read
A practical guide to the magical systems of pre-Christian Iceland Reveals spells and workings drawn directly from surviving magical books from the 16th to 20th century preserved at the National Library in Reykjavk Explores the history of magic in Iceland through original translations of Icelandic folktales about famous magicians and about legendary grimoires, such as the Galdrabk, the oldest and most complete book of its kind Explains how to personalize the spells through the creation of unique signs and symbols based on the mythic names of Odin and Icelandic magical alphabets During the Christianization of Europe in the Middle Ages, many books of magic were lost as the ancient pagan traditions were suppressed. But in Iceland the practice of recording magical spells in books continued in secret for centuries, on a scale not seen elsewhere. Now housed in the National Library in Reykjavk, these surviving grimoires, which represent only a hundredth of what was lost, reveal a rich magical tradition that continued to evolve into the 20th century. Drawing directly from the actual surviving Icelandic books of magic, Stephen Flowers presents a complete system of magic based on Icelandic lore and magical practices from the 16th century onward. He explores the history of magic in Iceland in pagan and early Christian times and reveals specific practical techniques and ritual templates that readers can adapt to their unique purposes. Illustrating traditional Icelandic magical practices and the Icelanders attitudes toward them, he shares original translations of Icelandic folktales about famous magicians, such as the legend of Gray-Skin, and about legendary grimoires, such as the Galdrabk, the oldest and most complete book of its kind. After initiating the reader into the grammar and symbols of Icelandic magic through history and lore, Flowers then presents an extensive catalog of actual spells and magical workings from the historical Icelandic books of magic. These examples provide ready-made forms for practical experimentation as well as an exemplary guide on how to create signs and symbols for more personalized magical work. The author also includes guidance on creating unique magical signs from the 100 mythic names of Odin, which he translates and interprets magically, and from Icelandic magical alphabets, symbols that connect Icelandic magic to the ancient runic tradition.
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Lesliereadsalot
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Chrissyreadit
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#jolabokaflod thank you Chelle!! Seriously you made my heart so happy with perfect vegan chocolate and a favorite author! ❤️🎄❤️🎄❤️🎄
Also, you can tell from the shadows that this Holiday picture was not photoshopped.

Mitch Mmmmm... ginger & orange 🙌 4y
erzascarletbookgasm Those chocolatesss look yum! 4y
MaleficentBookDragon You‘re welcome. I was thrilled that Koontz was on your wish list. I ❤️ him too. I‘m glad I got the chocolate right. I was bummed that none of my local shops did vegan. 😕 4y
72 likes3 comments
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batsy
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And a close-up of @Smarkies ' amazing talent 😍💚

#jolabokaflodswap @MaleficentBookDragon

Megabooks Wow! 5y
squirrelbrain Gorgeous! ❤️ 5y
merelybookish So pretty!! 5y
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readordierachel How beautiful! 5y
Leftcoastzen So beautiful! 5y
LeahBergen That‘s beautiful! 5y
mabell That is awesome! 5y
BookNAround Gorgeous! 5y
Cathythoughts So beautiful 😍 5y
83 likes9 comments
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batsy
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Thank you so much for this thoughtful and beautifully put together package, @Smarkies ! I'm so excited to discover both Max Porter & Alfian Sa'at (the latter whom I've been meaning to read for a long time!) And I look forward to devouring the chocolate ☺️ The notebooks are gorgeous. Thank you ❤️

And thank you for organising the #jolabokaflodswap @MaleficentBookDragon 🍫🎄📚

saresmoore Beautiful! 5y
merelybookish Lovely! 5y
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Suet624 That's a great selection. Enjoy! 5y
Smarkies Glad that you like the selection! 😁 5y
batsy @Smarkies They're lovely. Thank you! ❤️ 5y
Cathythoughts Gorgeous ❤️ 5y
Moray_Reads Max Porter is a genius. 5y
GatheringBooks loved malay sketches - very erudite. we discussed that in my book club a few years back. 5y
batsy @GatheringBooks I'm very much looking forward to reading this! 5y
91 likes10 comments
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Booksnchill
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The gnomes helped me get this out in good time! #JolabokaflodSwap @MaleficentBookDragon

DGRachel OMG. I love your gnomes!!!!😍😍😍😍 5y
Prairiegirl_reading Adorable!! 5y
Booksnchill @DGRachel thanks- I went a little DIY crazy - everyone gets a gnome for Christmas!!! 5y
DGRachel You made them!?!? 😱 5y
Booksnchill @DGRachel those and 12 more...🤪 5y
45 likes5 comments
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erzascarletbookgasm
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Received my #jolabokaflodswap ! 👍 Thank you!
🎄🤶🍫🤩

Cathythoughts Wooohoooo 🎉🎁♥️ 6y
batsy Yay! So glad it's with you now :) 6y
62 likes2 comments
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Oryx
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erzascarletbookgasm
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#JolabokaflodSwap love on the way! ✈️
#litsymail #litsyswap

erzascarletbookgasm @lapreader have you received your package? @MaleficentBookDragon 6y
71 likes1 comment
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cpreja
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Just one more....i am in love with this country!

IamIamIam AMAZING!!! Thanks for sharing!!!! 7y
mrozzz 😯😍😊 7y
398.2 Beautiful! 7y
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Andrew65 A great picture! 7y
Suet624 So lovely. 7y
WarpedSweetness That is so pretty to look at. 7y
RadicalReader This picture needs only one word AMAZING 6y
58 likes7 comments
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MaleficentBookDragon
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I saw this on Instagram from book_ish_life. I think this is a wonderful tradition. I usually get PJs. How wonderful would it be to get PJs AND a book on Christmas Eve?!?!

eanderson I love this! 7y
85 likes1 comment
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GatheringBooks
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Our version of Jolabokaflod (and a few others) in Singapura. Whee! A Merry Christmas to all Littens!

RealLifeReading Merry Christmas!🎁🎄 7y
mrozzz Wow! Merry Christmas!!!! 7y
31 likes2 comments
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umbrellagirl
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Sehdcce I love this idea!!! I already had some chocolate tonight and plan on reading at bedtime, but next Christmas Eve this may become my new tradition. Thank you for sharing, @umbrellagirl ! 🍫📕🛏🎄 7y
Mollyanna My mom and I started this new tradition tonight. Excited to see how it evolves... 7y
mhillis We celebrate Christmas Eve with friends and are already planning to do this next year! 7y
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PirateJenny We got an email earlier this month from out CEO supporting this idea. So Penguin Random House (naturally) is in favor of this. I can't make it up till midnight these days, but husband did get a book to open today. I'm ok with just browsing to find a new ebook to download from the PRH catalog. This year. 7y
Bourriquet76 I told my husband we need to start this. 7y
umbrellagirl @PirateJenny Am v jealous that you work for Penguin! 7y
PirateJenny @umbrellagirl I am so tempted to say Eh, it's just a job, but I would be lying. 😊 7y
98 likes7 comments
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Grrlbrarian
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Shhh, Littens, don‘t tell, but I‘ve been working on our Jolabokaflod presents! For mystery & thriller hubs: Flynn‘s Transfer of Power & Hillerman‘s Blessing Way. For college Game Design daughter: Lu‘s Warcross. For college International Studies-French minor daughter: Lebovitz‘ Sweet Life in Paris. And for me, b/c I love myself too: Beard‘s SPQR. Happy Jolabokaflod to YOU, Littens! (Also more recs happily accepted since I still have B&N coupons!)

GatheringBooks can‘t wait to open our christmas book presents too! happy jolabokaflod to you and your family! :) 7y
Rachel.Rencher I wish we had this tradition in the U.S.! 7y
Grrlbrarian @Rachel.Rencher I am American and live in the US. I just decided on some bibliophilic cultural appropriation because why let Iceland have all the fun? Go for it! 👍📚🎅 7y
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Rachel.Rencher @Grrlbrarian Good point 😉 I'll start doing it next year with my husband... nobody else in my family reads 😐 7y
Jinjer This is awesome! 7y
Wife We did it for the first time last year. This year we are moving it to Valentine‘s Day when less is going on. 7y
FlowerFairy Do this with my kiddos every Christmas Eve. They look forward to it so much! I also include a new bookmark and new jammies to snuggle in while we read. 7y
67 likes7 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Every year this pops up in my feed, and every year I think this is the best Christmas tradition ever! Sounds like a perfect Litsy holiday!

#HappyJolabokaflod
Happy Jólabókaflód!

LA_Mead I love that! @TheEscapist and I usually put books in each others' stockings and we open them up on Christmas Eve. 7y
99problemsbutabookaint1 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa my Mother and I actually do this and this year we are adding my children to the mix (Except we eat baked goods 😉) It's such a fun tradition!!! 7y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @LA_Mead That‘s a great tradition! 7y
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PacingTheCage I bought books for my family last year. They were not impressed. Oh well 7y
Bibliogeekery I'm doing this with my family this year! So excited! 7y
398.2 That‘s such a great tradition! 7y
dsfisher @DGRachel & I celebrate this lovely and very cool holiday. 7y
DGRachel @dsfisher I‘m definitely looking forward to tomorrow evening! 😘 7y
dsfisher I‘m not absolutely positive but I think we may celebrate often throughout the year @DGRachel 7y
monalyisha I just convinced my husband to do this on/in lieu of New Year‘s Eve. I‘m so pumped. 🎉 7y
Jinjer @monalyisha brilliant! 7y
71 likes13 comments
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Bibliogeekery
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I'm wrapping my Jolabokaflod books for my family! 📚😍🎉🎄

rabbitprincess Nice wrapping paper! 7y
BooksForEmpathy Awesome!!!!!! 7y
Smangela I love this!!!! 7y
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Christine ❤️❤️❤️ 7y
Kitty_Rochsmith My book club is planning a trip to Iceland next year!!! 7y
Bibliogeekery @Kitty_Rochsmith how fun!! I went in the summer and I loved it!! 7y
74 likes6 comments
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Bourriquet76
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How does one sign up to be honorary Icelandic? Is half-Canadian geographically close enough?

TricksyTails I'd like to know this, too! 😆 7y
Pamwurtzler Maybe it‘s the same as everyone being Irish on St. Patrick‘s Day- everyone is Icelandic on Christmas Eve! 🇮🇸 🎄📚 (edited) 7y
Texreader We open our presents on Christmas Eve too. My Texan family tradition and when I married a man from Norway it turned out he did too. Just perfect. 7y
Eggs Ahhh my nightly routine ☺️🤗🙃 7y
19 likes5 comments
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Lynnsoprano
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I think I am ready to move to Iceland. I read this to hubby, and he is all in. Little does he know that I ordered a book for him from Amazon today that should be here by Christmas Eve 😄

Alfoster I‘m in!😂😂😆! 7y
Julsmarshall I did this last year and it was a blast! Doing it again this year 😄 7y
jfalkens My husband and I are doing it this year 😊 7y
Clare-Dragonfly I've told my husband that this will be our Christmas tradition as soon as our kid is old enough! 7y
67 likes4 comments
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MummaBear
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What a fabulous tradition ❤️

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LikelyLibrarian
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I think I‘m living in the wrong country.

melrailey Sounds like a perfect way to spend the holiday. 7y
Bklover I need to move. 7y
RebelReader Sounds like a perfect Christmas Eve to me! 💕 7y
jfalkens My husband and I are doing it this year 😊 7y
6 likes4 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
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1. Last vacation a couple weeks ago to Copenhagen and then a road trip around Iceland ✨.
2. Comfort food: 🍕🍔🍟.
3. Bucket list: it's so long! Buenos Aires, New Zealand, Machu Picchu, Mexico City (but this is booked already for New Year's!!!). Back to Tokyo and Italy.
4. Currently 📖: Finishing The Women in the Castle, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, New People, and next up is The Invisible Furies and Home Fire 😍.
5. Audio + Hardcover!

mauveandrosysky I miss Iceland every single day! 7y
100 likes2 comments
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Bibliogeekery
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Wall of books at the Reykjavik airport! 😍📚

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Bibliogeekery
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Thanks to @charl08 for reminding me of this lovely Icelandic tradition! I'm going to try to get my family to do it this holiday season! 😍📚

Ashley_Nicoletto One of my girlfriends and I celebrate this every year. So much fun! 7y
LA_Mead I love Iceland... 7y
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Laalaleighh My bf and I do this. 7y
bedandabook We've done this for the last few years and it really is a lovely way to spend Christmas Eve. Heavenly! 7y
Wife We did this for the first time last Christmas. A new tradition! 🎄📚🍫😍 7y
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BooksForEmpathy
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Last waterfall of the trip! This was my favorite as well. It was beautiful from all angles, and I struggled with which picture to post! Last day is tomorrow and as always with traveling, it's bittersweet.

Alfoster Wowie!😍😍👏👏👏 7y
Cinfhen Gorgeous 7y
ScientistSam Beautiful! 7y
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elkeOriginal And what's this called for us future tripmakers? 7y
Audrey I've loved your pictures. Thanks for sharing. 7y
BooksForEmpathy @elkeo Dynjandi 🙌🏻. 7y
elkeOriginal Thanks! Putting it on the bucket list📝 7y
Skygoddess1 Love this shot! 7y
Bibliogeekery Gorgeous! 7y
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BooksForEmpathy
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🙌🏻.

PS I know my pictures are not book related on the trip! I apologize and just know I AM READING whenever I can! However, Game of Thrones was filming at this exact beach back in January so watch for it this season!

Books_Wine_Repeat Gorgeous pics!! 😍😍😍 7y
Simona Astonishing beautiful😍 7y
Dragon Awesome! 😎 7y
britt_brooke Wow, stunning!! 7y
Gissy Every place is so so beautiful! 7y
117 likes5 comments
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BooksForEmpathy
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That's us! And right next to us is the very powerful Skógafoss waterfall. The greenery here is seriously SO magical ??.

RinaBrahmbhattBarot Gosh...beautiful and lush!! Enjoy 7y
LauraBeth Wow! 7y
Susannah SO MUCH GREEN! Lovely! 😍 7y
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ReadingEnvy Amazing 7y
MemoirsForMe Gorgeous! 7y
batsy Just stunning. Your nature pics of Iceland are 👍 7y
126 likes6 comments
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Merethebookgal
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3 years ago I was in Iceland with my husband and @TaraNewman *sigh* it's so beautiful there- I can't wait to go back ❤️! #tbt

Cinfhen Beautiful 💞 8y
queerbookreader IM OBSESSED WITH ICELAND 8y
TaraNewman It was so beautiful! 8y
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mauveandrosysky I was just there a few weeks ago! Such an incredible country. 8y
OrangeMooseReads Gorgeous 8y
Merethebookgal @lemonlime799 You need to go!! Late Oct/Early Nov is a nice time to go, definitely cold, but we didn't have to deal with a lot of snow. Next time I want to go in June or July! 8y
Merethebookgal @mauveandrosysky Awesome! It's such an amazing place! Did you do any excursions? We mostly hung around in Reykjavik for a music festival but did make it out to the Blue Lagoon and did a day-long Golden Triangle trip, which was really cool. I can't wait to go sometime in the summer months and explore more of the country! 8y
BookishFeminist So pretty!! I would love to go to Iceland one day. 8y
mauveandrosysky @Merethebookgal we did a road trip from Reykjavík all the way up the west and north coast. We were going to go all the way around the country but the wind was too severe in the south that it would have been dangerous in our RV. Then we spent the last two days in Reykjavík. I want to go back, too! I think we're probably going to do Norway next though! ? ?? 8y
MyNamesParadise Dang can I just move there now? Lol 8y
Merethebookgal @mauveandrosysky That's awesome! How many days were you there? Norway would be amazing as well! 8y
Merethebookgal @MyNamesParadise I know, right?!? I do think the cold weather would wear in me pretty quickly, though. While it doesn't get crazy cold there, I don't think it usually gets any warmer than the 60's, even during the summer. But then there are amazing geothermal hot springs all over the place, sooo... lol 😄 8y
MyNamesParadise @Merethebookgal that's my favorite temperature! Omg I want to live there even more now! 8y
mauveandrosysky We were just there for 5 days — never enough! How about you? 8y
Merethebookgal @mauveandrosysky You fit a lot in that time! We were there for 4 full days and then the 5th day was really just traveling. It was awesome, but, you're right, it's never enough time! 8y
JonathanDunne @Merethebookgal I haven't been to Iceland but I have listened to one of your podcasts👍👏 8y
Merethebookgal @JonathanDunne Awesome, I hope you liked it! 😃 Which episode did you listen to? 8y
JonathanDunne @Merethebookgal the last two episodes... Shakespeare stuff I think and the Book Riot. Good stuff! 8y
Merethebookgal @JonathanDunne Yay! Glad you liked them! Hope you'll continue to tune in 😃 8y
JonathanDunne @Merethebookgal I'll check in every now and again. You're not in some of them? 8y
Merethebookgal @JonathanDunne Cool! Yup, since there are 4 of us cohosting now we're trying out a rotation of 3 cohosts an episode so everyone gets a break from time-to-time, but there will probably still be some episodes that'll have all 4 of us on. :) 8y
98 likes22 comments
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Merethebookgal
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My #coffeetablebook is a hardcover photo book I created with pics I took during an amazing trip to Iceland. If you ever get the chance, definitely go! I can't wait to go back myself, but next time in the summer 😉 (Oh, and Jimmy decided he wanted to be in the picture, too 😸) #FunFridayPhoto #catsoflitsy #kittenlitten #JimmyCat

CherylDeFranceschi ❤️😻! That is a beautiful book! 8y
LeahBergen Jimmy is very handsome. 😃 8y
elkeOriginal Hi, Jimmy! 8y
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Bookzombie 💕🐱 8y
Bette ❤️ Jimmy! 😊 8y
MrBook 😻😻😻 8y
Merethebookgal @CherylDeFranceschi Thanks! Photography is a hobby of mine 😊 8y
Merethebookgal @LeahBergen @elkeo @Bookzombie @Bette @MrBook Thanks, everyone, Jimmy's my handsome little man 😸😻 8y
126 likes8 comments