I know Edred Flowers/Thorsson because of his writings in the Tyr Journal and later from his Bureus booklet. Of course I learned that the man is the founder of the Rune Gild. I had no intention to read the man’s ‘standard works’ until I had some discussions with another Rune Gilder. At The Well Of Wyrd (see elsewhere) arrived earlier and wasn’t too much of a good encounter. Runes and Magic is Flowers’ dissertation. Written on a typewriter and with a pen for the uncommon letters, impossible to get, so I got a library copy. Runes and Magic is (of course) a much more scholarly work than that other booklet. It deals with runes and magic (and not ‘runic magic’). Flowers investigated a great many Northern magical and runic scriptures and inscriptions, cataloged them, gives interpretations, looks for systems, etc. Very interesting for sure! Flowers is very open about the level of speculativity, but his theories are founded as well as possible (and his masters agreed of course). I had never seen so many inscriptions together (even though the writer doesn’t give the actual runes very often) and so much information on this kind of Northern magical systems. Runes and Magic didn’t change my view on Flowers’ and his Rune Gild system though. In any case, I can advise this book to anyone interested in runes and/or Northern magic, either or not affiliated with the Rune Gild. -20/9/06-
