Hello friends, how are you?
I’m Arith Härger and today I’m going to make a book review
I usually record the videos on the runes in this spot with this background,
and some of you noticed a couple of books, including Helrunar
This isn’t going as planned
Right, here’s the little devil
Some of you wanted me to make a review of this book and why not?
From now on I will only make reviews of books that are really worth reading
There’s no point in wasting time with certain books,
unless of course it’s to warn you about works that can greatly misguide you
Now...
I have plenty of books about the runes,
some are good, others are absolutely terrible,
and only a few are really good,
and Helrunar is definitely on my personal list of top 5 best books on the runes
Rune Magic
This is not the average book that tells you the name of the runes,
the symbol
a little text with the meaning
no...
This book deals with the magic of the runes
and there it is "Helrunar, A manual of rune magick" written by Jan Fries
Although I must underline that this is not the sort of book that you would use for an academic work
and put it on the references you have consulted
There is certainly a good historical introduction on how the runes came to be
and a well-structured synthesis,
but the great majority of the content you can find in this book-
deals with a much more esoteric aspect of the runes
after all, it is rune magic
The book starts with a series of discussions and interpretations of the historical background of the runes,
he process of evolution of runic symbols
and the impact of different cultures upon those very symbols
creating a perception that the runes weren't just letters,
but start off as expressions of a variety of principals of nature, humanity and the cosmos
I was actually surprised to see in this book the runes of northern Portugal
which in this book don't get a lot of attention
But it’s perfectly understandable why in some cases the author doesn’t develop much
because each year there are always new findings and history has to constantly be revised,
and the author is well aware of that actually,
he mentions that same aspect, that various historical theories have to be revised
and he himself clarifies and revises some of his own claims
which is good, it is a good sign
So...
So far it's the only book about runes that I have read, and I’ve read quite a lot,
that mentions other realities outside Scandinavia,
and that alone already demonstrates that the author of the book is not Scandinavian-centred
and is actually interested in knowing, understanding and sharing the knowledge of the runes,
rune magic
making a deeper analyses,
so it isn’t one of those unoriginal books that everybody writes
and it’s always about the elder futhark,
or solely on the perspective of the “viking runes”.
The author explores, or starts to explore, the origins of runic symbols and various runerows,
passing through what we know of ancient runic inscriptions,
jumping into the Nazi misuse of runes, and early Germanic culture, and religion
Nowadays, from book to book on more esoteric subjects,
or that lean over, so to speak, on the occult,
we are almost always rereading something that has been said before
and there’s little new about it
However Jan Fries manages to create genuinely innovative methods and systems in his books,
this is not the only book I've read of him,
so I was expecting this to be truly an uncommon book really worth the time
So you really need to know that about him
However...
as you know...
I, myself, separate my academic work from the occult,
so there are certain claims in this book that obviously no one from the academic field would take seriously,
so you do have to make that distinction as well
When reading this book, try to create a balance with the academic and with the occult
As I've said, this is not a book to be used as a reference for academic works,
and in all honesty Jan Fries seems to be quite aware of that,
his works are not meant to be academic,
but precisely dealing with magic,
or  "freestyle shamanism" as he calls it,
and was in fact him who came up with that expression
His works always follow a concrete line that succinctly defines his own approach to magic in general
be that primordial, physical, practical,
dynamic, intense,
free of dogmas
So if you are a traditionalist, folkish even, you probably won’t like this book,
because it will touch on a variety of realities about the runes that are “foreigner”
to the usual information about the runes
which is always, or seems to be always in the perspective of Scandinavia, or the Germanic world in general
because for various political reasons it’s convenient to forget all the other realities
This is not a book to continue to feed political notions upon religion
This is a book that is meant to learn about the runes
and rune magic
Now...
Just like other works from Jan Fries,
this is not a book that forces you to believe in his claims
On the contrary actually
The author encourages you to read his work with a critical thinking
in the attempt that you open your mind to a variety of possibilities outside the usual clichés
This is a book meant to explore the psychological depth of the runes
It’s certainly a useful book,
not to learn about this history of the runes,
but to learn about the magic of the runes,
to help you out experience the runes by yourself,
to give you a little push on the process of self-transformation by the use of runic wisdom
and runic magic
now...
Take special care with the lists of various rune poems with translations the Author gives
He gives his own etymological insights,
but at times these can be quite sparse and well, honestly poorly connected
But I do believe it's on purpose, judging by other works of his,
because Jan Fries seems to always want to focus on the perspective-
that encourages the reader of his works to seek more personal interpretations
In my opinion, this isn't by any means a primary source or guide for rune magic,
and I underline, rune magic
Definitely not a source to seek an accurate historical background of the runes
But also not a primary source for rune magic,
but without a doubt an outstanding supplement for runelore
and exceptional addition to the works of magic in general
Also, Jan Fries does something that I would like to do if I ever wrote a book,
or rather, if I ever have the time to finish the dozen books I’ve started writing
Jan Fries makes his own illustrations,
which gives you a glimpse into his own imagination, which is pretty cool
Now, do I recommend this book?
I do, absolutely
It’s worth the reading
Alright my dear friends, I hope you have enjoyed this video
and I hope my book review on Helrunar was useful
I wish you the continuation of a good and prosperous Harvest
October
and say goodbye to this little pumpkin because I'm going to make a soup out of it
Thank you so much for watching, see you on the next video
and as always tack för idag!
