Goddess of the North: A Comprehensive Exploration of the Norse Godesses, from Antiquity to the Modern Age

By Lynda C. Welch

A thorough, academic look at the past, present, and future of Norse polytheism.

Welch highlights many Norse goddesses as well as other divine females of the Norse pantheon Valkyries, Norns, Giantesses, Disir and in a straightforward manner, makes a definitive case for the primordial goddess.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 157863170X
• ISBN13: 9781578631704
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Weiser Books
• Length: 267 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Absolutely love this!

This book is awesome! It gives a great new perspective and knowledge on the Goddess and Her history.

I cannot live with out this book!

I absolutely LOVED this book! So much information put together in a way I didn't think was possible.

Not Bad

A good book because it goes against modern Asatru current. Let them/us be offended. They'll/we'll get over it. They/we don't own the god/esses regardless of what we/they'druther believe. Its good for a different persepctive,it's good because once in a while you need to rethink things and it's good because it gets Asatruar angry. That from an Asatruar. My main complaint is that, like most Asatruar, the book is a bit warm and fuzzy. But I can get past that.

Great book on the feminine divine

I agree with Liza what were these other reviers smoking??? Lynda C. Welch dismisses the myth that were instilled by Christianity that the male gods were in total control. See back then (duringh the burning times) you could write about the gods as long as they were treated as myths and as long as you do not write about how women and goddesses were seen as important. So this myth gave the people even in modern days that the Norse had little respect for the goddess and women. I love the way Lynda describes the goddesses as been more than "Maiden, Mother and Crone." She even describes the Yggdrasil as a goddess and she gives an excellent point of view as to why she wrote that. The book describes how Jacob Grimms faiery tales are laced with the stories and descriptions of the Goddess. This book is the first one ever written soley about the Divine Feminine of the North. She does not just grab things from the air as she basses her book on practice, research and meditation. She descriibes Yggdrasil (not in depth), the Goddesses, Giatesses, Norns, Disir and the valeries. She also gives some details on the major religious positions of women back during ancient times before Christianity invaded the lives of the Northern people. This is a must for those who are Goddess worshippers and those who follow the asatru religion. Any pagan would find this a treasure house of information. Though there is no information on spell casting or rituals you can find them in other books. This is a book soley on real good information. This book was hard for me to put down!

If you like to think and not be spoonfed what to believe

then this book is for you! A refreshing insight to the Goddesses of the Asatru. Lynda reinforces traditional views while at the same time exploring different insights of how the Goddesses may have been seen or can be seen. This is NOT a Wiccan book and Lynda is no Wiccan. This is about the Goddesses of the Northen ways and Lynda asks many important questions and makes the readers think for themselves, something fundamentalists of all religions hate for they want you to be spoonfed to believe like they do. In the Asatru religion less than half of the lore survives and to constrain all thought about the religion to what is available is ludricous at best. Just as in all old ways, each person's pathway and insights will vary for each person is unique. Lynda allows her readers to reach their own conclusions without spoonfeeding them how to believe. If you want to explore and look at the Goddesses of Asatru on an intelligent and refreshing way then get this book. If you, however, don't want to think for yourself and want to accept what a few narrow-minded self-proclaimed scholars want to spoonfeed you then this book is not for you. Great job Lynda! This book is in the true spirit of Asatru: free, independent and leaves one to draw their own conclusions. A 5!

New look at old legends...

This was a fantastic read! Well documented, well thought out, great bibliography, plus written by an Asatruar! It is a breath of fresh air, full of many interesting and new ideas. It really made me think and look differently at the Norse myths. This is a must have book! Hail the Norse goddesses!