Kathleen Stokker

I'm fascinated by Scandinavian folk-magick, and this book tripled my knowledge on the subject. This was a very in-depth, well researched, and academic book on Scandinavian folk magick and medicine. Normally books like this can be a bit dry; however, this one is fascinating from cover to cover. The book puts a lot of attention on Scandinavian immigrants who immigrated to Wisconsin and Minnesota in the early-mid 1800s. It covers their customs and folkways and how they brought over their magickal beliefs, systems, books, and practices to the new world.

The book also covers various "svarteboken" or "black books" used by Scandinavian conjurers, such as The Black Books of Elverum, and gives detailed descriptions of their contents, including scans of some of the actual books. The book also sheds light on how difficult life was in the upper-Midwest during this period; a time when people were lucky to have a doctor within a day's ride.… (mer)