The Norns: Weavers of Fate and Magick I found this text incredibly accessible. Weaving together historical research, translated myths and texts, and her decades of practice as a witch, Irisanya Moon delivers a text that allows anyone with an interest to enter the mystery of the Norns. The practices and reflection opportunities allowed me to engage with the mystery at my own pace but with the guidance of what is helpful to notice. As a reader, I always appreciate when I feel an author is relational. I felt the author's presence in a gentle and consensual manner, with authority and appropriate tending. Reading this book felt like being in a class with Irisanya, with explicit instruction and support to develop my relationship with the Norns. The stories presented are obscure and esoteric, and they lent much to my understanding and gave me a straightforward resource through which to engage. I can't recommend this book enough for those wanting to deepen their knowledge of these ancient myths. --Pavini Moray, PhD, How to Hold Power: A Somatic Approach to Becoming a Leader People Love and Respect--30+ embodiment practices to empower your team and lead with intention ~ Pavini Moray, PhD, How to Hold Power: A Somatic Approach to Becoming a Leader People Love and Respect--30+ embodiment practices to empower your team and lead with intention

Irisanya Moon, The Norns: Weavers of Fate and Magic Moon Books 2023 Reviewed by Karen Krebser Anyone who knows me will not be the least surprised to learn that I’ve always been fascinated by both weaving and divination. When I was eight years old, I received a toy loom for Christmas that actually worked, and it was also that year that I began dressing up for Halloween as a fortune teller. I have no idea where these impulses came from, I only know that they are as inherent to my being as reading and writing, as necessary as pens and paper. The mystery of creating something out of nothing and doing so from the space of spiritual exploration meant something to me from early on, as did using tools to speak to the gods. It took many years for me to shake off the constraints of Roman Catholicism, and I’m still not sure I’m rid of them entirely even now that I’m a priestess of other ways, but the mysterious connection between working with and speaking to the gods and the fiber arts has always loomed large for me , no matter where I was in my life or what else I was doing. I remember reading a book of Norse mythology in grammar school and learning about the Northern gods and goddesses, including three mysterious women who nobody seemed to want to talk to but who were eminent in every scene of every story they were in. The Norns were ancient sisters of mystery and significance, but I never knew exactly of what other than that They were somehow in charge of Fate, Life, and Death for both gods and humans until I began a deeper study recently, and even now the going is slow and somewhat painstaking. Books about the Norns are few and far between, but thankfully author and priestess Irisanya Moon has written one about her relationship with the mysterious Norns called The Norns: Weavers of Fate and Magic. I was thrilled when I first learned that this book was on its way because of how important to me it is to know more about the sisters of the Wyrd, the mystery, and I want to learn how to connect and work with Them and develop a relationship with Them that seems to have begun a long time ago. I was also taking a class with the author about writing with the Norns at the time of learning that the book was imminent, so it seemed even more like a fateful hand was placing these excellent emerging resources within my grasp. Having read the book now, I can say that I am as pleased and delighted with it as I’d hoped to be. Moon includes an approachable history of who the Norns are in the lore as well as an excellent bibliography for further study, and chapters on each of the three main Norns: Their names, working with Them, and trances one can take to meet Them. The book is an approachable, personable, and valuable addition to the texts about these ancient sisters of Fate about whom so little is known, and I am very grateful to have a copy of it for my personal library. I recommend it for anyone else who is interested in working with Them; it teaches the reader to blend the practical and the mystical into a solid working practice with Them, and it helps raise the veils a bit between known and unknown, seen and unseen, and the workings of Fate and free will. ~ Idunna (#130), the publication of The Troth, Karen Krebser

Wisconsin Bookwatch: August 2023 James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief Midwest Book Review 278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575 https://www.midwestbookreview.com/wbw/aug_23.htm#metaphysical The Metaphysical Studies Shelf Pagan Portals: The Norns: Weavers of Fate and Magick Irisanya Moon https://www.irisanyamoon.com Moon Books c/o Collective Ink Books https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com 9781789049107, $12.95, PB, 112pp https://www.amazon.com/Pagan-Portals-Norns-Weavers-Magick/dp/1789049105 Synopsis: The Norns are the deities in Norse mythology who are responsible for shaping the course of human destinies. With the publication of "The Norns: Weavers of Fate and Magick", Irisanya Moon introduces the ones who weave, measure, and cut at the base of the World Tree. With Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, we travel across time and meet ourselves as part of fate. In this meeting, we will join the Norns, weavers of destiny, and encounter the wyrd. Critique: An invaluable and succinctly informative introduction to Norse mythology, "Pagan Portals: The Norns: Weavers of Fate and Magick" is a brilliant and informative read from cover to cover. A welcome addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Metaphysical Studies and Norse Mythology collections, it should be noted for that "Pagan Portals: The Norns: Weavers of Fate and Magick" is also available from Moon Books in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.49). Editorial Note: Irisanya Moon (https://www.irisanyamoon.com) is an author, witch, international teacher, poet, and Reclaiming initiate who has practiced magick for 20+ years. She has written several books: Pagan Portals (Reclaiming Witchcraft - 2020, Aphrodite - 2020, Iris - 2021, Norns - 2023); Earth Spirit (Honoring the Wild - 2023, Gaia - 2023); and Practically Pagan: An Alternative Guide to Health & Well-being - 2020. Plus, she has written essays, articles, poems, and blogs for Witches & Pagans, Pagan Dawn Coreopsis Journal, Moon Books, Revelore Press, Llewellyn, Epona Muse Publishing, and others. You have complete permission to utilize the review in any manner you deem useful for marketing and promotion. This review will also appear in the Cengage Learning, Gale interactive CD-ROM series "Book Review Index" which is published four times yearly for academic, corporate, and public library systems. ~ Midwest Book Review, https://www.midwestbookreview.com/wbw/aug_23.htm#metaphysical

Irisanya Moon's work is an enjoyable exploration of the Norns. She combines academic source material with years of practical experience in an effective, engaging guide for working with the Wyrd Sisters. ~ Ryan Smith, author of The Way of Fire and Ice: The Living Tradition of Norse Paganism

The three Norns were a group of female supernatural beings who, within Nordic mythology, weave fate and control the fate of the cosmos, as well as the destinies of mortals and Gods alike. In Pagan Portals: The Norns, Weaves of Fate and Magick, Irisanya Moon introduces the reader to these beings, Urdr, Verdandi, and Skuld, each of whom have their own specific function and purpose that tend to weave in and out of our human lives. An invitation to explore and work with each Norn is offered to those who are interested in diving deeper into working with these beings. ~ Frances Billinghurst, author of Encountering the Dark Goddess: A Journey into the Shadow Realms, Contemporary Witchcraft: Foundational Practices for a Magical Life and On Her Silver Rays: A Guide to the Moon, Myth and Magic

The Norns, Weavers of Fate and Magic by Irisanya Moon leads a reader into working with the Norns through self-reflection, story, and ritual workings. An excellent guidebook into the magic of destiny that any ritualist will enjoy. ~ Jennifer Teixeira, author of Pagan Portals - Temple of the Bones: Rituals to the Goddess Hekate

Irisanya presents a thorough examination of the Norns, rooted in personal experience and research, yet open enough for readers to form their own relationship with them. In The Norns - Weavers of Fate and Magick, she does an excellent job of making the mythical personal, by teaching readers to work through personal wyrd for collective good. ~ S. Kelley Harrell, Runic Book of Days

Pagan Portals: The Norns is a fascinating look at the Norse spirits of fate, which weaves together myth, history, and personal experience to create one nuanced understanding of these complex beings. The perfect book for anyone seeking to learn about the Norns or to go deeper in understanding them and their importance in our lives. ~ Morgan Daimler, author of Pantheons: The Norse