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The Way of Fire and Ice: The Living Tradition of Norse Paganism Paperback – October 8, 2019
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A Radical New Take On Norse Paganism
The Way of Fire and Ice reimagines Norse Paganism with mystical practices and rituals for today's world as well as tips for building community and resisting fascism. This approach to working with Norse deities and beliefs is a living, adaptable tradition, representing a strong alternative to the reconstructionist perspectives of Asatru and Heathenry.
In these pages, the old ways come alive in a radically inclusive form. You will explore the secrets of the World Tree and the mysteries of the gods, work with the many spirits around us, and feel the deep rhythms that drive all life while creating new songs of power. You will also discover how to make these practices part of your every waking moment, developing your own personal spirituality and building healthy, sustainable communities along the way.
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherLlewellyn Publications
- Publication dateOctober 8, 2019
- Dimensions1.18 x 3.94 x 3.94 inches
- ISBN-100738760048
- ISBN-13978-0738760049
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From the Publisher
A Radical New Take On Norse Paganism
The Way of Fire and Ice re-imagines Norse Paganism with mystical practices and rituals for today's world as well as tips for building community and resisting fascism. This approach to working with Norse deities and beliefs is a living, adaptable tradition, representing a strong alternative to the reconstructionist perspectives of Asatru and Heathenry.
In these pages, the old ways come alive in a radically inclusive form. You will explore the secrets of the World Tree and the mysteries of the gods, work with the many spirits around us, and feel the deep rhythms that drive all life while creating new songs of power. You will also discover how to make these practices part of your every waking moment, developing your own personal spirituality and building healthy, sustainable communities along the way.
Editorial Reviews
Review
"[Smith] explains Norse mythology, symbols, and rituals, as well as how to practice Norse paganism, in his diligent, friendly debut. ... Smith's sensible guide will enchant any reader interested in Norse mythology and paganism."―Publishers Weekly
"The Way of Fire and Ice offers a vision of an inclusive, welcoming, spiritually rich and socially responsible Norse Paganism. Written in a friendly, direct voice, this book presents a guided pathway for developing practice and community in this tradition, with much-needed and clear-headed education to help ensure a foundation in justice and positive core values."―Morpheus Ravenna, author of The Book of the Great Queen: The Many Faces of the Morrigan From Ancient Legends to Modern Devotions
"The Way of Fire and Ice is Ryan Smith's magnum opus; a declaration of how we connect with the Gods while using that fire to transform our world."―Shane Burley, author of Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It
"Engaging, thoughtful, and most importantly inclusive, The Way of Fire and Ice is an excellent introduction to Norse Paganism. Author Ryan Smith includes everything a newcomer needs to get started, but there's plenty here for the experienced practitioner as well. Whether you want a deeper understanding of practice, lore, or the magick of the Norse, you'll find it all in The Way of Fire and Ice. Destined to become the 'go to' book for a new generation of Norse Pagans."―Jason Mankey, author of Transformative Witchcraft and The Witch's Wheel of the Year
"An incredible read for the faithful and the curious alike, The Way of Fire and Ice brings to life ideals and traditions of ancient times and makes them tangible today. Empowering and dedicated."―Richard "Lord Gaylord" Weeks of Blackened Death Records
About the Author
Ryan Smith has been a practicing Pagan since his teens with over fifteen years of experience in inclusive and anti-racist Heathen spirituality. He is the author of The Way of Fire and Ice and Spinning Wyrd. In addition to contributing to the anthologies Bringing Race to the Table and ¡No Pasarán!:Antifascist Dispatches from a World in Crisis, Ryan has been published at Huginn's Heathen Hof, Patheos Pagan, and Truthout. He has presented talks and rituals at Pantheacon, the Gathering Paths presented by Between the Veils, Hexenfest, and Many Gods West. He regularly writes at onblackwings.com and produces a Heathen podcast, The Wayward Wanderer. He also has a PhD in modern economic and social history and can be found online at Facebook, Mastodon, and Instagram.
Product details
- Publisher : Llewellyn Publications
- Publication date : October 8, 2019
- Language : English
- Print length : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0738760048
- ISBN-13 : 978-0738760049
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 1.18 x 3.94 x 3.94 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #58,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12 in Paganism
- #56 in Comparative Religion (Books)
- #58 in Folklore & Mythology Studies
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Ryan Smith has been a practicing Pagan since his teens with over fifteen years of experience in inclusive and anti-racist Heathen spirituality. He is the author of The Way of Fire & Ice: The Living Tradition of Norse Paganism and Spinning Wyrd: A Journey Through the Nordic Mysteries, has contributed to Bringing Race to the Table: Exploring Racism in the Pagan Community and No Pasaran: Antifascist Dispatches from a World in Crisis anthologies, and been published at Huginn's Heathen Hof, Patheos Pagans, and Truthout, and presented talks and rituals at Pantheacon, the Gathering Paths presented by Between the Veils, Hexenfest, and Many Gods West. Ryan regularly writes at onblackwings.com and is currently producing a Heathen podcast, the Wayward Wanderer, which is available at wherever you get your podcasts. He can be found online at Facebook, Mastodon, Instagram, and Patreon.
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2022Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis book is extremely well written and I've recommended it to quite a few people since purchasing. Gave my original copy away to someone new to the path and intend on buying another copy to keep just because it's a really good book to have as a Norse Pagan. I see a few reviews mentioning how they didn't appreciate the politics. The political side of this book is important and needs to be discussed, even if you'd much rather it didn't go there. Our symbols, runes, Gods, and ceremonies are being taken and used by neo-nazi's and fascists every single day and this has been something that's been going on for a long time now, popularized in WW2 by you know who. Sure, you don't have to run out and join ANTIFA if you don't want to, but it's important we know how to recognize and stand against hate in our own faith so that we don't allow it to fester and grow like the disease that it is. I'm glad this book brought up politics, because a lot of others are too scared to. 100/10 I love this book and highly recommend it to anybody interested in Norse Paganism/ Heathenry.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2026Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI heard a lot of good things about this book so i finally checked it out and it is very insightful this will definitely help new comers and people who are interested in learning about norse paganism
- Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2019Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis book is excellent and very informative. The tradition itself is very interesting. I appreciated that the author gave his thesis upfront. I felt like the book could be read straight through, or gone through at the reader's choosing after the first chapter.
As a Norse Pagan Witch who has been practicing for a decade, I appreciated that this did not really feel like a beginner book, but could still be quite usable for beginners. I was very happy to see the chapters on Seidr and Rune magic. Also, it was great to go back to basics in some parts.
The chapters in the book related to community added to a conversation I do not see enough. "How do we identify and what do we do about those people in the community who use these practices and beliefs to promote bigotry and racism?" I really appreciated the way it handles an ever changing world.
All in all I would say this is a must have book for anyone on a Norse path.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2021Format: KindleVerified PurchaseI bought a physical copy of this book as a gift for a family member awhile back, and have been curious to read it for myself. I've since spent some time in an online Fire and Ice group and encountered only pleasant surprises. Modern paganism has a long and contentious history of being co-opted by bigots, so it's really encouraging to see folks who are actively centering inclusiveness, awareness of historical context and willingness to tackle hard questions as part of their practice. Coming from an Evangelical Christian background has made me really cautious about whether a religious community cares about matching their actions to their rhetoric. From what I've seen so far, Fire and Ice Norse Pagans are the most inspiring and spiritually comforting group I've encountered so far. To me that's a relevant way to judge a religious text. This book gives encouragement and actions knowledge to people of integrity and conscience, and provokes the ire of people who want to take advantage of others.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2020Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseWell written and thoughtful. Decent information. Does address the attempted hijacking of Nrthern Tradition by Neo Nazis. The writing works , it is an engaging read. The author also follows up with live discussions on line and study.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2021Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThe author presents a well-researched interpretation of a modern renaissance of an ancient belief structure, and does not pretend that a perfectly reconstructionist worldview will work in today's society, for today's heathen.
They also provide practical advice for recognizing, confronting, and expelling neo-Volkisch and other fascist movements from the community.
Radical Norse Paganism does not pretend to be "politically neutral;" nor should it so try.
As Odin counsels Loddfafnir:
"Wherever of injury thou knowest, regard that injury as thy own; and give thy foes no peace." (Havamal 129)
- Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2023Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI've been a heathen for years now and finally decided to read the way of fire and ice after meeting Ryan , the author. I now recommend this book to anyone curious about heathenry. There are many good book out there but none of them explain such a broad picture on what to watch out for like Ryan does. Plus the audible is very easy to listen; it is a great read.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2023Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI really appreciate the way Ryan Smith put this book together. I liked it enough that I bought the follow up title, "Spinning Wyrd". I like how it discusses the stance against the White Supremacy prevertion off Norse Paganism. The only reason I would see if anyone would have an issue with the anti-racism and anti-fascist views in this book, would be if they themselves support this mentality. Just a side note, "antifa" is not an acute organization. There is no charter or board or anything of the sorts. Antifa is short for anti-fascist. It is a movement, not an organization.
Top reviews from other countries
KatharineReviewed in Canada on May 3, 20215.0 out of 5 stars The book I wish I had when I started
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in Norse Paganism, especially those who may not see themselves represented in standard books on the path (queer people, people of color, disabled people women...). The book tells you up front what it is - a progressive view of a living religion with no time for the white supremacy and fascism that are, unfortunately, a real problem in Heathenry. It is practical and gives someone starting out a solid foundation, from who the gods and other powers are, to magic working basics, to how to avoid neo-Nazis.
AndreaReviewed in Germany on September 11, 20225.0 out of 5 stars Very recommendable
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseIn this book, the author presents the modern tradition of Radical Norse Paganism, also known as »The Way of Fire and Ice«, which is very inclusive and open to everyone regardless of gender, race, mental or physical abilities, where they are from and so on.
Ryan Smith also not only distances himself from Neo Volkisch, fascist and white supremacy ideologies and groups, but also elaborates about how to fight back as a Norse pagan against people who have such destructive attitudes and beliefs.
There are chapters about the Norse Gods, Developing Spiritual Practice, Core Values of Norse Paganism and in the chapter about Runelore, the author presents the three different historic rune systems: The Elder Futhark, The Younger Futhark and the The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, describing the meanings of each runes and explains how you can use them in divination, magic and more, for instance as bindrunes or single runes.
The author also explains the Norse concepts of Hamr (the body, the physical form), Hugr (the mind), the Fylgja (a sort of spiritual shadow which can be a spirit guide and can also take the form of an animal) and Hamingja (luck, connected to fate).
In the chapter »The Art of Seiðr«, Ryan Smith describes the main three forms of this Norse form of magic: Utiseta (which is similar to meditation, trance, and shamanic journeying or hedgeriding) direct Sorcery and Spae (which is similar to mediumship, a form of possessory trance) and points out that many Norse pagans do not do Spae. And if you feel called to this kind of work you should by all means learn it with an experienced teacher, because Spae can be dangerous if you have not been trained well.
The last two chapters focus on Finding and Building Community, with lots of good suggestions about what to do and what to avoid.
Each chapter contains an excercise, or in some cases, a writing prompt.
Appendix I has Further Reading suggestions and I can very much recommend to read the
Appendix II which is about The Origins of the Pagan Revival since the 19th century until the situation today. In this, the author elaborates again on the neo Volkisch movement, different groups of it and how these finally got more and more banned from Norse Pagan spaces.
At the end of the book, there is an extensive bibliography and each chapter has a list of fotenotes.
Last but not least, here is a tiny detail I liked a lot: The author mentions that the genders in this book have been set to »they/them« where possible, for instance for the description of Loki (a deity which can be seen as genderqueer or genderfluid due to some myths).
Conclusion: From all the books I read about Norse Paganism and Heathenry so far, this has been the one which elaborates the most about the dangerous Neo Volkisch movement and related fascists, its history and what inclusive Norse Pagans do to fight back against it. Thus, this book is very political and the way I see it, knowlegde about these topics is very recommendable for any Norse pagan or heathen.
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Diego ArielReviewed in Mexico on November 28, 20215.0 out of 5 stars Muy completo
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseRealmente es un libro muy completo y bastante detallado, el autor describe de forma muy sencilla y rápida los detalles culturales básicos y sobre todo es funcional para aquellos que les interesa ya sea por cultura o se inicien.
EleanorReviewed in Belgium on January 27, 20265.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseA well-written book packed with information, systematic explanations of key concepts, and well-argued ideas
Keith MahoneyReviewed in the United Kingdom on July 19, 20204.0 out of 5 stars Good condition,quick delivery.
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThe book is easy to read but could do with some illustrations throughout nevertheless a nice presentation of northern mythology.


















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