Magic as the Norm
“In the Norse religious world, contrary to general belief on this subject, it was not warfare, combat, or physical strength that was most highly valued, but magic. Runic inscriptions, large stones with illustrations difficult to interpret, esoteric poems, and amulets of all kinds all prove that magic played a preeminent role.” So wrote Regis Boyer in “Norse Magic” in American, African, and Old European Mythologies complied by Yves Bonnefoy. Even though he ignores Freyja as the Goddess of magic and gives the malicious Odin far too much attention and credit, I think Boyer is right about magic being most highly valued.
Magic saturated the everyday lives of our ancestors, not just in northern Europe, but wherever our ancestors lived; that is, until it was suppressed and forced underground by murderous Christian priests. Now that the long, dark winter of Christianity’s dominance is finally waning, magic is blooming again in the ever-growing light and warmth of the new post-Christian, Neo-Pagan spring. In this Neo-Pagan spring, magic is for everyone, not an elite group of witches and shamans. The return of magic to being as normal as eating in everyone’s everyday life is a joy to see. What a wonderful time to be alive.