Baldr's Magic: The Power of Norse Shamanism and Ecstatic Trance

This book is a lively combination of ancestral imagination, mythology, and historical reality. The author introduces a series o f ecstatic trance postures that have been identified elsewhere as having ancient use for facilitating a variety of meditative inquiries and are frequently represented by some of the earliest known sacred figurines from around the world. The author, as he should, leaves the reader to form his or her own opinion as to the degree to which the story can be taken literally or as metaphor, as reality or imaginal fantasy, as personal or collective. Either way, James Hillman suggested that imagination and soul are fundamentally the same thing, and in that sense this book is a soul-focused journey into some o f the long-ago roots o f modern civilization." Raymond Hillis, PH.D., Professor Emeritus of Counseling, California State University, Los Angeles