Path to the Gods: Anglo-Saxon Paganism for Beginners

This book is simple and to the point. Anyone needing a primer on modern Anglo-Saxon heathenry should read this. This isn’t an advanced book. That’s the point. It’s for individuals with little understanding of heathenism. It’s a short and simple read. It’s not daunting like other heathen books can be. Especially for beginners.

As to getting a basic understanding of Anglo-Saxon Paganism this is a great book to start with. I own it in Kindle and Soft Back editions. I really liked the samples of rites, etc. Now that I have read this book several times I can go back and read my copy of Swain's book Hammer of Gods: Anglo-Saxon Paganism in Modern Time 2d Edition of which I also have the soft back and Kindle editions of, and have a better understanding of what is in it than I had before reading Path to the Gods. Thanks Swain for a job well done as usual.

Unfortunatley, there are few books available on the Anglo-Saxon Heathenry and even less for beginners so I jumped at the chance to read this book. Swain Wodening is an excellent author and gives the reader a clear, honest and insightful look at Anglo-Saxon paganism. This book contains everything from information on the gods and goddesses, explaining concepts such as wyrd, the thews of Anglo-Saxon paganism, holy days and simple and effective rituals and lots more. Everything a beginner would need to begin practicing.I highly recommend this book. It's worth every cent.

The book is sufficient as an intro to Heathenism and as a basic how-to.However, the book is a rambling mess. It is full of spelling and grammatical errors, and parts of it sound as though it was written by a child. Take the following example:"While you may ask the gods and goddesses for help, they are not your best friend, big brother, big sister, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, or even kindly uncle or aunt." pg. 18.We got the point several relations ago. To continue:"It is important to remember they are very powerful beings that help us because we give gifts to them. Some folks think they can develop very personal relationships with the gods and goddesses. This is highly unlikely. There are thousands of Heathens, and were the gods and goddesses to dedicate time to each one daily, they would never get anything else done " pg. 18.That reads like a fifth grade school report.The author also tends to go in circles, repeating the same point or bit if info when it is unnecessary to do so. For example:"The songs of praise no doubt would be sung again and again at symbels (ritual drinking rounds, symbel will be covered in a later chapter." pg. 32Then, in the next paragraph:"In addition to this activity of gifting grain to the dead, they were remembered in symbel (symbel will be covered in the chapter on rites.")The book has its value, but, it would have benefitted from a good proofreading and a more diligent editor.

This book is exactly what the title says it is. I have been a fan of Swain's work for years. Whilst I am an experienced A-S heathen, I read this to see if it fitted the bill for an intro book and it does exactly that. I will be, and have, recommending this to newcomers.

This book arrived in great condition and very quickly. Thank you!

All I can do is echo the previous two reviewers of this fine book. A book theat presents the "Anglo-Saxon" path in a understandable way. I have the authors three previous books which are equally well done. If you are a beginner on the path or want to review the basics, this is the book to pick up.

For someone who wishes to understand what Anglo-Saxon Paganism is I cannot recommend this highly enough. I have been a member of the Heathen community since 1986; specifically Theodism and I wish this book had been available then.This is going to be required reading for any member candidates.

For those looking for a how-to guide concerning Anglo-Saxon Heathenry, this book will do the trick. A simple, easy to understand introduction for those who are absolute newcomers to the religion. If you are looking for something a little more in-depth, Wōdening's Hammer of the Gods might be a better fit. Essentially anything written in this book can be found in HotG as well.

This book provides some historical references to Anglo-Saxon heathenry though very little documented evidence exits. It explains what it is today - a reconstructed religion - and then takes the reader through it step by step, for example: who some of their Gods and Goddesses are; the Thews (Virtues) by which each person lives by; together with rites, rituals and what is termed 'Holy Tides' (festivals/sabbats). There is emphasis on the responsibility of the individual to himself/herself and of the individual to their immediate community and wider community. It isn't a scholarly work (the author states this) and is offered as a handbook for beginners. The style of writing is simple and uncluttered and reading it is easy. It's not a large book and when I first received it I thought I would get through it quite quickly but I found it made me pause and think about things and I was pleasantly surprised that I not just enjoyed it but learned some important things too. Overall I found the book well written, very informative and would like to read more on Anglo-Saxon heathenry by this author.

The book is short and straightforward with references and a reading list though that you can go off learning when you've finished. It was ideal for a beginner like myself. The only drawback is that a few of the sentences in it are incorrectly punctuated. Not a big deal though.

In this book Swain Wodening gives a concise overview of all the basics in Anglo Saxon Heathenry in an easy to digest package. This work will be most suited to the complete novice and provides everything one would wish to know in starting their journey of ASH, whether that be as an aspiring practitioner or simply for scholarly purposes. I particularly enjoyed the sections on Frith and Wyrd as these are subjects that other writers tend to over complicate, Wodening's writing style is far more approachable.

A true book for beginners. Very, Very lite in details, probably more basic than it should be. For example, the section about Saxnot, the one god that is unique to anglo-saxons pagans is basically just a few sentences - I'd have expected more detail on this deity even if it was just the authors opinion, as most element of heatherny books are, just opinions.