Copyright 2007 T. Sheil & A. Sheil All Rights Reserved
The Bifrost Monographs were originally written between 16 and 12 years ago. Two new ones have been added this year. Like many authors, I do not reread my work on a frequent basis. There are occasional looks into my past works, but most is just a record of things I already know.
While working on something new, I came to realize that I had covered the same subject many years ago. Ths prompted me to do some more rereading. Suffice to say that it put things in a new perspective.
My first work was The Road to Bifrost. It is a compilation of my magickal and spiritual experiences, presented in the form of instruction. Though I have learned more since then, The Road to Bifrost stands as it is. It is complete. I am as satisfied with those six volumes today as I was when it was first completed.
At the time that The Road to Bifrost was completed, I had no contact with Heathen groups. The books was written for Pagan readers, and a few lessons were skewed so that Pagans could use their past experience to understand the work. The book used plain English as much as possible, avoiding too many technical terms borrowed from Old Norse or Icelandic. Granted, I had learned most of my materials in plain language, and to this day rarely use foreign terms.
There is nothing I would change in that book. Reading it is as close as one might get to having several years of personal instruction from me.
The monographs originated with class materials. I used to give handouts at classes. These were mostly outlines of the class and reference materials for future use. Old Norse Runecraft and Spellcraft was the first. It originated as materials for a lengthy class on magick. I took the outline, fleshed it out with all the other things I would have taught in class, and ended up with a book.
Then came the others. The first were spellbooks that had compilations of charms, spells and talismans. I had quite an accumulation of these things. One particularly effective set were the spoken spells. I had restored many old spoken folk charms to their Pagan format. These had been Christianized. The main key to decipherign them was to recognize that the Christianization followed a specific pattern. Each God or holy figure from the ancient times was replaced by a particular Christian character. For example, wherever one found Peter in the Chrsitianized charms, it was obvious that the original deity was Thor. Jesus replaced Odin, Mary replaced Frigga, three Angels or three Marys replaced the Norns, etc. Old Norse Charms, Spoken Spells and Rhymes was the result.
Folks sometimes think the monographs look a bit thin, but when they read they realize that I use another writing trick. Rather than “flesh out” the materials with extra words, I keep it focused on the plain facts. There is less verbal clutter in the way of getting solid information. Readers probably get more hard facts than larger books, and all without having to wade through extraneous words. The goal is not to read, but to do. The monographs are written with the aim of using the material.
The trick to reading them is to read them through the first time, then read each section slowly . Study deep, not wide. Get friendly with the material. Read it, think about it, try it.
Our Master Spellcraft Series was originally going to be a rather intense series of lessons on spellcraft. The intent was to familiarize people with the various styles of magick and how they worked. Rather than focus entirely on Heathen workings, the series went beyond to other Pagan traditions, Hermetics and even modern metaphysics. It is still a great little series for getting someone a serious foundation in practical magick. My only regret is writing it as five booklets rather than one large book. Nonetheless, the booklets are convenient. should I ever decide to teach areal-live course on he subject.
The Troubleshooting Magickal Problems series came from a different need. I noticed that most books on psychic self-defense focused on fantastic-sounding gobbledegook. There was a real need for a practical text on the subject. The focus had to be practical. After writing Troubleshooting Magickal Problems, I turned my sights on two other areas which contribute to most magickal mishaps. Those little books have a lot of wisdom and experience. I believe that if people were taught safe practices from the start, 99.99% of magickal problems could be prevented.
I have said time and again that many people studying magick today would have been refused forty years ago. They are not going to go away, so teachers have to be more careful. The problem is that half of today’s teachers are folks who would never had been admitted to magickal study in the old days. We need to true up our education in the esoteric world. This is not a time to refuse people, but to give folks more solid facts. Whether they would have been refused or not, they are here now and we must adapt accordingly.
The inner parts of Tradition were covered in another series. I’d have to say that Old Norse Magickal Universe: Cosmology and Polarity is one of my best works. It gives an intellectual description of the inner workings of the Universe, the Gods and various forces. This is truly a Heathen “Metaphysical “ Text. Best of all, it does in a few pages what would take others volumes. Its companion is Old Norse Mysteries, Deities and Worship. This looks more at the Gods and mythic themes. Together, they make quite a pair!
My other “Inner” book of note is Hedenskap. That book had been waiting for a while. It was only after spending time in Norway that I could finish it. There were elements of the book that could only be found in Scandinavia. To date, it is one of my favorite works. Put it together with some of my other Inner books and you have powerful information. Hedenskap is as much intellect and feeling and intuition. The other Inner works provide the framework, and Hedenskap is the soul of it all.
The Twisting Trail to Bifrost’s Way is a lot of material that just didn’t make it into The Road to Bifrost. A good part of it would have been included in a never-made seventh volume. There is plenty about the Gods, myth, Norse lore and ethics. I think it’s one of my better works.
In a similar vein is the Around Series. Around the Magick started as a compilation of short articles intended to explain various magickal and metaphysical systems. It finished with a journey into the hidden meanings of folklore and myth. Around the Myths went further into folklore and myth, as well as exposing the facts behind Christian lore. I admit it was a lot of fun to tackle many of the notions which are so much part of modern culture that we do not realize they are actually Christian themes. Not only did I tackle biblical legends and church doctrine. I also examined other common folklore and myths, including some of our own.
The sequel, Around the Myths Again, was another romp in the realms of legend. Along with exposing the myths that persist in modern society, I took a tilt at various other legends. Somewhere in there I even looked at modern legends such as the “terminator man.” These books were fun to write because the subject matter is thrilling.
Finally, I took another look at my specialized works. Among these is “Biomagick,” a look at a type of magick that makes great use of instinct, the astral and etheric bodies, and physical energies. Biomagick covers everything from personal magnetism to sexual forces. I had originally intended to keep a lot of that information secret, but later decided that ti would be better to share it.
Then there were the Recovery books, all three of which I was glad to revisit. There is not a word I would change in any of them.
Looking over my older works, I must admit a great feeling of satisfaction. I have not looked at some of those texts in over ten years. To this day, they are as vibrant and useful as when they first went into print. I get a great feeling when looking over the many things I had written.
My only regret is that I have no place to give classes in person. I’d like to start teaching again. That’s something I also enjoy, and it has always had good results for those who came to learn.
Uncle Thor
