Recommended Reading (a bookhoard)
The following is a comprehensive list of books I would recommend for people who want to learn more about the Northern Tradition and "non-fluffy" Witchcraft. By no means is this every title to be had, and some of these are written by my friends so maybe I am biased. But I stand by my statements here, and would invite you to read a book.
Where possible I have provided links to where books can be purchased or downloaded.
TEXTS THAT ARE MUST-READS
If you are going to be working at any length with the Northern Deities, you need to have a basic knowledge of Their mythology, and the history of the people who worshipped Them. These are primary sources on the mythology and history of the Northlands.
The Poetic Edda, Bellows translation
The Prose Edda, Brodeur translation
The Chisholm Edda (first link on the page)
Various stories in the Icelandic Sagas
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation
Tacitus' Germania
Jordanes: The Origin and Deeds of the Goths
(Please note: we are not talking about people who wear too much eyeliner and listen to Morrissey, kthxbai.)
Saxo Grammaticus: The Danish History
Heimskringla, or The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
Beowulf, Francis B. Gummere translation (1910, scroll and click)
BASIC NORTHERN TRADITION INFORMATION
(RELIGIOUS AND HISTORICAL SECONDARY SOURCES)
Exploring the Northern Tradition: A Guide To The Gods, Lore, Rites And Celebrations From The Norse, German And Anglo-saxon Traditions
Galina Krasskova
Hammer of the Gods: Anglo-Saxon Paganism in Modern Times
Swain Wodening
The Ancient Fires of Midgard
Andrea Haugen
Essential Asatru: Walking the Path of Norse Paganism
Diana L. Paxson
The Jotunbok: Working with the Giants of the Northern Tradition
Raven Kaldera
The Pathwalker's Guide to the Nine Worlds
Raven Kaldera
Wyrdwalkers: Techniques of Northern-Tradition Shamanism
Raven Kaldera
Wightridden: Paths of Northern-Tradition Shamanism
Raven Kaldera
The Road to Hel: A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature
Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson
Aspects of Anglo-Saxon Magic
Bill Griffiths
The Mead-Hall: The Feasting Tradition in Anglo-Saxon England
Stephen Pollington
Peace-Weavers and Shield-Maidens: Women in Early English Society
Kathleen Herbert
MAGICKAL PRAXIS
Rudiments of Runelore
Stephen Pollington
Leechcraft: Early English Charms, Plantlore, and Healing
Stephen Pollington
Germanic Magic: A Basic Primer on Galdor, Runes, and Spá
Swain Wodening
Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft: Shadows, Spirits and the Healing Journey
Christopher Penczak
(Yes, I did just recommend you a Llewellyn book. I normally don't but Penczak's work tends to be superior compared to most other Llewellyn authors. Even though I'm not Wiccan he provides useful information here.)
DEVOTIONALS
Feeding the Flame: A Devotional to Loki and His Family
Galina Krasskova
(I may probably be biased because I have two works in this book, "Drop Dead Loki" and "Sigyn's Story: Stand By Your Man". But, dammit, I think They need to be honored. So, you really should have this book.)
The Whisperings of Woden: Nine Nights of Devotional Practice
Galina Krasskova
Odhroerir: Nine Devotional Tales of Odin's Journeys
Laure Gunnlod-Hjarta Lynch
Water from the Well And Other Wyrd Tales of Odin
Laure Gunnlod-Hjarta Lynch
Full Fathom Five: Honoring the Norse Gods & Goddesses of the Sea
Galina Krasskova
(Note: you can get it directly from the Asphodel Press site for half the cost shown on Lulu's site. I own a copy of this book however and it is be-yoo-tiful, and well worth the expense.)
Walking Towards Yggdrasil: Poems for the All-Father
Galina Krasskova
From the Heart, for the Heart
Tracy Nichols
Love and Shadows
Elizabeth Vongvisith
Trickster, My Beloved: Poems for Laufey's Son
Elizabeth Vongvisith
The Spindle Hearth: A Sourcebook for Goddess-Centered Living
d. Kate Dooley
Frey, God of the World
Ann Groa Sheffield
(Note: This has more historical/Lore information and is technically not a devotional, but is a good starting point for getting to know Frey.)
And now, for books I DO NOT RECOMMEND:
There are not many books I will say are not worth the paper they're printed on -- even books that are mostly made of FAIL may bring up one or two good points... or at least be good for lulz. I am not mentioning these books as a personal attack on individuals but because I have owned or at least read the following books and find them to be the most misleading of anything on the Pagan market and are at least partially accountable for some of the BS that serious Pagans encounter repeatedly. Because of this I would say these books are not only not worth two pence on Amazon but are not fit to be used as my toilet paper. What you believe and practice is of course your decision but your book money would be better off invested elsewhere.
Consider this fair warning.
Anything by Silver Ravenwolf
Much ado has been made about Silver Ravenwolf. I don't have time to argue why her work is tripe, however this article pretty much made every point I could possibly make about the subject. I encourage you to read this article if you're thinking about buying one of her books, or if you already own her work and think it's great stuff.
Anything by DJ Conway
Fluff through and through. Her book "Norse Magic" is essentially the same as "Celtic Magic" with the change of a few Deities. In "Dragon Magick" she says you should call Fafnir in one of the Quarters... because apparently all dragons are friendly and wuv the humans and are eager to do our bidding. WHUT?
Rites of Odin by Ed Fitch
Now, I don't think he's the complete fluffbunny that many Asatruar make him out to be. (Actually I've met him and I think he's a very nice man and has been given an unfair shake by many Heathens.) However, even as "heretical" as my own beliefs and practices are, I try to do some semblance of a reconstruction. I don't really know what to say about this book except that there is no "Odin rune" and no "Mundilfari rune", the Gydhia garb would better be described as "Lolita costume" and so on it goes. Though it might be appropriate for someone wanting to practice Wicca in a Norse context, people who are even slightly pedantic and insist on a modicum of historical accuracy will be taken aback.
Book of Runes by Ralph Blum
This is the crap that started the whole "blank rune" controversy and why 98% of commercial rune sets come with a blank rune. Like Silver Ravenwolf, much of what I have to say has already been re-hashed by other Heathens and Pagans. This is a good article about the book and sums it up briefly and concisely why it is made of FAIL, and this is a thread on a message forum where it gets into more detail.
Lady of the Northern Lights by Susan Gitlin-Emmer
Did you know that Frey was the Great Mother Goddess, and was changed into a God by the evil patriarchy? Neither did I.
As a woman, a feminist, AND a devotee of Frey, I have all kinds of choice words about this book. But you get the point.
Witchdom of the True by Edred Thorsson
In general, I am not the biggest fan of Thorsson's work; his information on the meanings of runes is sound, but I don't trust his interpretations of the Nine Worlds as nine layers of the subconscious, and it's important to keep in mind that he is not Asatru but is actually a Setian, meaning a mage in the Temple of Set. He considers himself an Odian, seeing Odin as an archetype to be emulated rather than a God to be worshipped. Beyond these initial biases, myself and some of my associates have lamented that Thorsson's premise is that Gardnerian Wicca was based on a surviving cult of Frey and Freyja worship in England; however it's clear from this he's never studied the history of Gerald Gardner's movement. He also does not provide any footnotes to back his information up. While I will concede that Frey and Freyja fit nicely into the Lord and Lady paradigm and indeed are Gods very friendly to the practice of magick, Gardnerian Wicca is completely different and there really is no evidence that an explicit form of Vanir cultus survived past the Christian conversion. We can only at this point fit pieces together and hope they make some kind of cohesive resemblance to what was done millennia ago.
By request, I have added this, a book that I forgot about... wanted to stay forgotten. Just UGH: New History of Witchcraft by Ann Moura. Essentially this is the same thing as Origins of Witchcraft, the original I read in 2000 and rolled my eyes at. 1. Frey and Freyja are not Shiva and Shakti. This should be patently obvious if you've studied archaeology and/or spoken with a person who actually practices real Hinduism, not to mention the Deities in question. From my personal understanding of the archaeology of the Northlands, the Aesir cultus did arrive from elsewhere, but the Vanir were already worshipped by the original inhabitants of the Northlands, ergo, the Vanir are not Norse modifications of Davidian Deities. 2. I find Aesir-bashing (esp. bashing Odin) to be as distasteful as I find Jotnar-bashing. I have a disproportionately high number of Odinsfolk who are *good friends* of mine, and I was at one time going to be an Odinswoman, before Frey and Odin worked that out between Themselves. Odin's not everyone's horn of mead, you don't have to be buddy-buddy with Him, but I have a hard time feeling that the Vanir are unhappy hostages. Hostages, yes, but They are clearly frithful with the Aesir; the Aesir would likely all be dead if the Vanir were in Asgard and that unhappy. There's not much more I can say without truly wanting to throw up. Incidentally I find Moura's books on Green Witchcraft to be OK if you're working from a more generic Neowiccan paradigm, but this as well as Witchdom of the True have made me very wary about myself being perceived as an armchair historian with the forthcoming Vanirbook.
And... last and most special:
Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland by Viktor Rydberg
There are plenty of Heathens who will quote "Lore" and not realize that it's actually Rydberg's "interpretation" of the Lore, for example, Freyja being kidnapped by the giants and rescued by Skirnir, Frey and Ullr never happened in the Lore but is Rydberg's interpretation of Svipdagsmal. I could go on and on, but basically I don't like Rydberg because it's clear not only did he not understand the Eddas, he also interpreted them with a Nordic-supremacist agenda (as in his beginning with discussions about "the colored people"). We won't get into Rydberg being gay because sexual orientation has nothing to do with someone's scholarship or lack thereof, but his writing speaks for itself. I may think the Eddas need to be read with a grain of salt, but there's that, and then there's Rydberg's fanciful interpretations.