The Jotunbok: Working With The Giants Of The Northern Tradition

There were many concepts I had a cursory familiarity with prior to reading this book. However, the Jotun always seemed so hands-off that I found it hard to find information to relate to Them on. I tend to research quite a bit before interacting with new spirits, Deities included, and when this book finally came to me, I was impressed by both the work, and the dedication of the author and contributors to forging and maintaining the relationships within the book. I never worked with the Nine Undines prior to picking up this book; now I have, and will on occasion work with Them as called to. I liked the emphasis on personal relationship-building with the Jotun in the book, in that the work was a good guide, but the person reading actually had to do the work for the benefits the guidance might bring. This is something that very few books actually state out-loud, and that I think through this requirement, the book requires positive growth from the reader. This book challenges, indeed, requires you to grow in order to get anything out of it. I found this book an excellent challenge, and I recommend it to any who walk in the Northern Tradition, especially Northern Tradition Shamanism, alongside the other books in the series.

The book is amazing. I highly recommend for those open minded enough to walk the path of the giants.

This is a well written and researched book on the Jotuns of Norse legends. This is book is not for people who think that the Edda's provide a complete picture of Norse religion.

If you've pored over the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda like me for hours, trying to glean tidbits of information on the Norse gods, goddesses, Aesir, Vanir, Alfar, Svartalfar, Jotuns, etc. you've probably gotten frustrated by the small amount of lore that survived. And getting lost in scholarly interpretations doesn't necessarily get you closer to the truth. It's like having North-American scholars poring over anecdotal reports of kangaroo sightings, instead of just going to Australia to study them. Now, either the gods are real, or they aren't. If they aren't, then you can make up anything you like, because it really doesn't matter. But if they're real, then how did the ancients get their stories in the first place? From the gods themselves! Certainly, you should do your homework first, and read all available sources, BEFORE you go annoy a celebrity to interview them... but in the end, the primary source is the gods themselves. That's what I've tried to do myself, but it takes a while to develop a personal relationship, to the point where you can ask questions, and it takes good seership skills to be able to *hear* those answers. Raven apparently came to the same conclusion, and he's found out much from his main deity, Hela. If he had done only that, this would be a great book on Hela. But he went a step further, and collected the information from many spirit workers who have had relations with these beings. It would have taken me many lifetimes to get the relationships necessary to get the information in this book, and quite frankly, a number of them probably wouldn't have been interested in giving me the time of day. The book is full of great information on beings that are barely covered in the written sources, and even when they are, they're treated as the bad guys in what amounts to a cosmic p*ssing contest. Personally, I like and am interested in the Aesir, the Vanir AND the Jotun (Etin, Giant) gods, as well as the other races of the 9 worlds. There are other books that cover spirit retrieved information about the Aesir and Vanir (though not as well as Raven's I think), but so far, there were none on the Jotuns, so I'm very grateful to Raven for this work. I really like his description of the three kinds of gods in the first part of the book. It really helps put them in a perspective where no one has to be the bad guy. In a nutshell, the Aesir are the gods of civilization, the Vanir are tamed nature gods (agriculture), and the Jotuns are gods of wild nature. It only makes sense that they would clash in what each considers "good". A thousand years ago, wild nature was a scary thing. But today, with civilization having almost eradicated wild nature, and upset the balance of the planet with pollution, perhaps we need to pay more attention to what they've got to say. The only downside: It's only about Jotuns. Those are the beings Raven has the best relations with, and he knows more people who honor Jotuns than anyone else. Also, the book is a brick, so there really isn't any room for the other pantheons anyway. However, the upside for Aesir and Vanir lovers out there is that you *do* get to hear about them. You just get to hear about them from the Jotun perspective, which complements nicely the Edda versions of the stories (where Aesir and Vanir are shown as the good guys). So this is not really a minus, just a necessary limit on the scope of the book. In all, this is a very well written book with great information, which is much more juicy to read than many dry scholarly sources. And even if you don't believe the various contributors, it's still full of interesting stories for fans of Norse mythology.

I like it. I finally got to have MY "coming home" moment. I'll never really be involved with any of the beings in this book, but I like all the information. It's nice to be able to read something and know I'm protected and don't have to worry about making a mistake. It's a book.

The Jotunbok seems to cover every single Jotun from the surviving lore. In addition to sections covering the most popular Jotnar: Loki, Hela, Fenrir, etc. there are also sections dedicated to Jotnar that received but passing mention in the Eddas: Mordgand, Laufey, Jord, to name but a few (seriously, the book is 539 pages long). What isn't in the lore is filled in by conjecture by Raven Kaldera, as well as personal experience from others who have devotional relationships with various Jotnar. Anyone interested in learning more about the Jotnar specifically (as oppose to the Aesir and Vanir) would enjoy this book. I'd also venture that the Jotunbok is a good resource for anyone following a spiritual path that involves the Jotnar - included are numerous invocations, poetry/prose, and ideas for altars and offerings. But I do feel that Jotunbok has a few flaws. In my opinion, the author, as well as other contributors to the book, view the gods, or more specifically, the giants, a little too literally. I'm a hard polytheist, so it's not as if I do not believe that the Aesir, Vanir, and Jotnar don't exist, each with their own separate consciousness. But the impression I get from the author is that he believes they are some sort of magical people living out their own lives in some alternative dimension called Jotunheim. This problem stands out most glaringly in "Tales of the Giants" section of the book, which provides accounts of stories the Jotnar relayed to their human devotees. They aren't all terrible. In particular, Elizabeth Vongvisith's Loki-centric stories "Andvari's Bride" and "Loki & Heimdall" stand out as particularly well told. However, I've read enough fanfiction to recognize it when I see it. I think it's a bad idea to pass it off as some kind of divine revelation. For one, Kaldera doesn't have the writing skills to pull that off. The Jotnar come off as far to human to his stories. For example, in "Angrboda's Children," Angrboda lays on her bed and weeps when Loki takes Sigyn as his wife. IDK, maybe if it was in poetic verse I maybe could appreciate it more but none of this helps me in my devotional relationships with the Jotnar. How shall I now hail Angrboda? 'Oh weeping giantess of the Iron Wood, patron goddess of all women "traded in for a younger model."' In conclusion, I would recommend this book to other Norse pagans if their interest is the Jotnar, with the caveat that some of the material within will probably come off as a little silly. *** After reading "Pathwalker's Guide to the Nine Worlds" by the same author, I felt it necessary to add that a lot of the material in "Jotunbok" is also in "Pathwalker's." If you are ONLY interested in the Jotnar, "Jotunbok" might still be the best book for you but otherwise, I think "Pathwalker's" is better. It covers all worlds and races. Especially so if you already have Krasskova's "Feeding the Flame," since her book is a devotional to Loki and his family, which is, for the most part, the Jotnar people work with and honor. There is overlap between "Feeding the Flame" and "Jotunbok" too.

*Sigh* The Giants in Norse Myths are considered the enemies of both the gods and mankind. Mostly because they tend to be personifications of natural destructive forces. These forces destroy communities and individuals with little to no concern for their well being. The Gods are the protectors of mankind because they are considered to have a relationship of reciprocal trust between them. Why then would it make sense to worship the forces that don't care about killing you? On the historical side there is no evidence that anyone in the heathen time period would have worshiped these creatures for this very reason. It makes no sense in the world-view of the culture. The Northern Tradition is a mockery of all things truly Heathen.

--A marvellous and deeply informative book. It's 540 pages --- huge!--- and mine arrived far more quickly than expected, even on freepost.

Jotunbok is a collection knowledge and wisdom about the Jotnar, their personality, different ways of living and relationship to other Entities, nature and us. It is written in a very respectful and circumspective way. There is an article by Diana L. Paxson too about the role of the Jotnar in the religion of the North. There are interesting thoughts like: the tribes of the Jotnar are very well adapted for life in harmony with nature and its local resources. Today we could learn from them too. In the book Aesir, Vanir and Jotnar are all gods in their own right with a shared history. The book is based on the Edda and PCPG (Peer Cooperated Personal Gnosis) and UPG (is marked as such). The book is the result of many years of compairing research and work of spirit workers. The method explained in the book is plausible if you believe that spirit travel etc. is real. Also in a reality where original sources like the Eddas are unique and often ambiguous - where else to go in order to find clarity? This book offers Inspiration, awesome stories and a much needed mature point of view. It challenges the comforting mindset that the Aesir are good and the giants evil- a limitation that is rooted in christianity. The book helps to grasp the complex middleground and relationsships between the different godtribes without downplaying the divergency and conflict. In a way it circles around the paradoxal heart of heathenry. Great book very recommended.

Raven è molto onesto fin dall' inizio Per me di una dolcezza straordinaria Con questo libro mi ha permesso di creare un percorso introspettivo basato sugli archetipi Mi ha insegnato una nuova linea di pensiero e soprattutto la fede rokkatrù Libro che consiglio a tutti gli appassionati Raven ha uno stile tutto suo che mi piace molto e un approccio considerevole

Libro meraviglioso e direi necessario per chi voglia approfondire da un punto di vista spirituale (ma non solo) il pantheon norreno. Essendo le mie divinità di riferimento Hell e Odino ho trovato questo libro non solo utile ma anche estremamente commovente, in più di un'occasione ho pianto. Leggere nero su bianco le esperienze spirituali, le sensazioni e impressioni che io stesso ho vissuto e sto vivendo mi ha fatto sentire capita e riconosciuta e mi ha dato la voglia di esplorare sempre di più questo mondo e la mia spiritualità. Raven Kaldera è un grande maestro e recupererò tutti i suoi libri. So che riguardo questo autore ci sono pareri contrastanti, ma posso garantire che ciò che racconta delle esperienze in mondi altri e con queste divinità corrisponde perfettamente anche alla mia esperienza e perciò non posso fare a meno di credergli.

Full of the writer's own ego. would have prefered something more intense, will read it, as a light read, and move on to more heavier read, a thick book with little referencing. i would not recommend for anyone wanting detailed information on the subject, there are better books out there.