NAVIGATION

                  Book Review

Pierced by the Light by Rig Svenson

 Flying Witch Publications, 2003
                                                  

  ISBN 1-900433-13-3

Book Review by Os from Yahoo Rune Divination Groups

As I comment frequently, after one has read 20 or book books on the runes you start to hit the rule of diminishing returns. Each book seems to repeat the same things and it takes ever greater effort to find anything fresh within it. Many of the most original books on the runes come from minor publishers and are often perfect bound with fairly flimsy card covers. Examples are the Rune-Net Primer and Pollington's Rudiments of Runelore. Svenson's Pierced by the Light falls into this honourable tradition. It should be said at the outset though that this is not a book limited to just runes. Rather it describes a mindset, a way of life and a spiritual path which encompasses the runes but much more besides.

Svenson's runic practice is firmly rooted in understanding the Norse literary text and respecting the deities they depict. Having always argued that you cannot truly understand the runes without a knowledge of the cultures which utilized them, I fully agree this is the correct approach. As the book's subtitle makes clear though, the past is just a starting point, this book describes the application of the Northern Tradition and the runes today.

In many ways this is quite an amazing book but I must sound a few notes of caution. Firstly this is not a text for the casual reader. It is often demanding and extracting all the truths it has to offer will take some time and effort. This is also true though of the runes themselves and is one reason all the New Age instant-solution seekers will only ever make limited progress with them. Certainly this book will richly repay the time devoted to studying it but to do this someone must already be committed to the runes. Hence this would not be a recommended starting text. Though Svenson explains about the runes and Norse mythology in some details he often gets quickly into depth and I would recommend the acquisition of a little background knowledge before embarking on this book.

Secondly and I proclaim this warning loudly, this is an adult book and not for the easily offended. In an age where the momentary exposure of a partially shielded nipple can generate mass public outrage be aware that with Rig you get more than you do at the Superbowl but equally be aware that unlike the aforementioned occasion the use is non-gratuitous.

There is an softly erotic quality to some of the illustrations such as the topless woman accompanying the Seidr chapter and there is at least one use of a possibly offensive four letter word, though in the context of explaining a particular sequence of runes. If these things actually cause the reader concern then probably the Northern path is not the right one for them but they should keep in mind that the book promotes a historically accurate attitude towards sex and the body which may clash with some people's modern morality.

Assuming that these two issues present no barrier, the reader will find this book offers a satisfying and sometimes illuminating experience. Reading a good book is never a passive process.. there is  a direct interaction between the reader and the words. Whilst reading this I passed through a wide range of emotional states even undergoing a moment of personal revelation which I will return to later. Of course this book is not without flaws but no book is and fortunately in this case they are fairly minor and have a limited effect.

Indeed one of its flaws is also one of its charms, a certain unevenness. Sometime one yearns though for a slightly firmer editorial control. Though it is divided into 10 chapters I felt some of these seemed closer to self-contained essays and the reasons for the ordering of the chapters was not always clear. Most of the text is quite academic but there occasional shifts into colloquialism many of which are endearing and on one occasion made me laugh aloud but are not without dangers of confusion. How aware will an international audience be of what "slappers" are?

There is an inconsistency about the presentation of names which sometimes jars. In Old Icelandic the nominative case usually has an R ending which often presents translators with a problem as remaining true to the original risks the inexperienced reader not realizing that Bald and Baldr are the same person. I did find the alternation between the two forms potentially confusing and somewhat
irritating.

Chapter 5 is clearly very important to the author but sits uneasily within the book as a whole. Though I have a training in English Literature/Language, and an interest in language generally,  I found the chapter on Runic Phonetics extremely hard going and I would not be surprised if a substantial percentage of the readership don't complete reading this one. That said, this is not an easy topic to present and one could do much worse than Svenson's coverage of it. I do feel though that a publishing opportunity has been lost however since what is really called for is an audio CD to accompany this
chapter enabling the different sound variations to be heard. This would I think make it much more accessible.

How we relate to and perceive the narrator plays a key role in how we feel about a text. British newspaper reporters who shock horror...... had discovered that such things as brothels exist traditionally ended their article with the phrase "I made my excuses and left". The readership were hence supposed to perceive the reporters as highly moral beings emotionally detached from the situation they described and immune from temptations. Such narrative techniques have the potential to isolate and alienate the reader.  Most of us do not respond well to perfection, it is too far from how we perceive ourselves and those around us. An author who succumbs to the temptation to appear god-like may well find he loses the sympathy of his reader. In spite of Ralph Blum's many flaws he does manage to engage his reader whereas many others are content to preach at them from the touchline. Svenson is a likeable guide who scores well here because he shares with us his personal experiences, including some very meaningful ones such as an encounter with Odin via Freya Aswynn.

One strongly feels his energy, enthusiasm and the close connection he has to the goddess Freyja. Indeed he excels in presenting the mythological in terms which anyone can relate to.  Having just spoken to a friend who was searching for missing spectacles, I could feel an immediacy in his description of the protective actions of the Desir.

Svenson is an unapologetic purist but having said that it may surprise some when I relate that he can be quite open minded and non-prescriptive, admitting for example that his book does not contain definitive answers but signposts for a a personal and unique journey each of us make, and that what works for one may well not work for another. Occasionally he becomes more rigid but then which of us has principles on which we won't budge. Admittedly I did sometimes feel like challenging him. His condemnation of distant rune reading was an example. Since we are all connected by the web of Wyrd I didn't see the logic in this. To me the runes are just a way of becoming aware of the tapestry into which our lives are woven and the distance between reader and client is not an issue. However there is always a problem with making generalizations about the runes since practically anything one says someone can be guaranteed to jump forward to contradict.

Even in areas where I might have disagreed with him, I felt no sense of irritation which is more than I can say about some other authors.  He clearly cares for his reader and the book is full of practical advice such as his warnings about being careful to evaluate modern Norse groups before joining them. In this way he does much to prepare the reader for potential pitfalls on the way ahead. His approach is a straightforward commonsense one.

Typical of this is a remark near the end of the book explaining that just because you can mix curry and sugar together doesn't necessarily mean that you should.  This is in relation to the "pick and mix" approach of modern paganism. Certainly there is a danger that when you believe in everything in reality you believe in nothing. However, I do also appreciate that things are not always so simple. I have spoken to many who have heard the call of the runes, and it is a difficult call to resist, but have not wanted to deviate from their chosen way, which in one case was Christianity. For myself, my runic practice is I believe entirely consistent with the Northern Tradition but, as long time readers of this group will know, I am a on a different wider path resulting from an archaeological discovery I was involved with. Until I complete this journey I cannot start another.

When the divine/spiritual calls upon us, I believe we must respond nor can we desire it to take on different forms which might be more convenient for us. Whilst reading this book though, one throw-away remark made me sit upright in a moment of epiphany considering for the first time that a perceived incompatibility with the path might be overcome. Thus, while I can agree with the general sentiments Svenson expresses I also have a perception that sometimes people may not have such as straightforward choice as he may believe.

Those parts of his book dealing with the runes prove some of the most interesting and non-typical. Svenson is a supporter of the Armanen runes whereas I have to admit I am not, nonetheless I heeded his call to approach them with an open mind, though by the end I stayed unconvinced. It depends on an interpretation of a passage in the Havamal that I found plausible but still did not subscribe to. Nonetheless it is clear this is a book which will provoke many debates, something which can only be healthy for runic scholarship.

Though he is not the first author to suggest runic divination was traditionally done with sticks, Tyson is another who comes immediately to mind, Svenson has detailed his method well and it seems as though it should be comparatively easy to learn and perform, though I sadly did not have opportunity before writing this. However in common with all too many other rune books he fails to provide any examples of his method in use. One of the things I have learned from my Rune School experiences is how much working through a practical interpretation of a reading can inspire and inform a student, compared to simply explaining the theory of a method. It is then one of my few major complaints that, having introduced, what to many will be an entirely new concept, he does not provide practical examples.

Generally this is a very attractively presented book. There are well-reproduced illustrations scattered throughout it which help to break up the sections and make the reading experience easier in what is otherwise quite closely-packed text. Scholarly requirements are met with a list of further reading and a glossary. However in keeping with many occult books from small publishers there is no index and its presence is sorely missed.

With so much low quality, mass market material on the runes, there is a desperate need for well-researched intellectually challenging texts and so my congratulations go to Rig Svenson for this. There is a great deal of instructive detail within the 120 or so pages of this book and those seeking a deeper understanding of the runes through a grasp of historical practice and lore should find it highly illuminating. 

Os