Runes and Astrology

“Nigel Pennick’s Runes and Astrology presents the runes in perhaps the most relatable and accessible way—through an intimate relationship with time and place. His gift of making the personal transform into mythic through the power of the runes shines.” * S. Kelley Harrell, author of Runic Book of Days *
“A few thousand years ago, ancient cultures lived in the context of a traditional worldview that was framed by the cycles of Sun, Moon, and planets and was expressed by multivalent symbols systematically organized. Examples of these include ancient Mesopotamia, India, China, and Mesoamerica. In Runes and Astrology, Nigel Pennick has worked a kind of reconstruction and updating of the Northern Tradition, the northern European culture north of the Alps that later served as the template on which the Roman Church built its own version of reality. We learn about the coherent sequence and multiple uses of the runes, ideas about fate and destiny, the power of the 8 directions that frame the seasonal cycle, and the astounding breakdown of time applied to the cycle of the day. While the Northern Tradition did not produce a horoscopic astrology, it did produce a complex map of time that the author argues is a lot more real than the conventions we live in today. In this sense, Runes and Astrology offers another path to a more holistic vision of nature and human life.” * Bruce Scofield, author of The Nature of Astrology *
"It’s difficult to assess the target audience for Runes and Astrology. Astrologers will find quite a few of the entries and historical overviews highly useful. People involved in Northern Tradition spirit work will find the annual time-keeping and naming ideas attractive. There’s a detailed discussion of the origin and messy implementation of the modern Gregorian calendar during the 16th-17th centuries. It’s one of the best and most complete descriptions of this monumental global calendrical shift I’ve ever read. Rune readers will discover much useful material in the first few chapters and descriptions of rune meanings, but divination methods are absent. It’s a lengthy and detailed text with a great deal of valuable information that’s rarely found in any kind of book in the esoteric genre. Eccentric polymaths will revel in this book if they’re not thrown off by the title. This is a book that cannot be judged by its cover! There’s far more to it than meets the eye." * FacingNorth.net *
"Runes and Astrology is a must for anyone interested in the Runes or in the Northern Tradition and I also highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in history, spirituality … or who just loves a good book!" * June Kent, Indie Shaman Magazine *