Books
I’m the author of ‘Gods and shamans in Northwest Europe’ and ‘Breath’ (short stories about death and dying) My third book about ancient Nordic spirituality and seidr will be released in spring 2010. The books are currently only available in Dutch. Hopefully they will be translated in English soon.
Gods and shamans in northwestern Europe
Currently available in Dutch
We Europeans do have an old shamanic tradition. Most knowledge from our ancestors is hidden in myths, fairytales, old lullabies, folklore, and deep in our genes. Who where our ancestors? How did they live and wich gods did they serve? Next to theoretic knowledge of our Northwest European past the book contains new ritual suggestions. A lot of the old spirituality is lost. We do not have to reconstruct. We can learn a lot from our ancestors, our roots. But every ritual was once new. I want to restore the line between ancestors and descendants We still try to live in harmony with our environment, we still worry about health, happiness, our family, just like the old ones did. In this book Linda shows how shamanism still can have a place in our daily, modern life.
The book contains the following chapters:
The Germanic people- The Celts- Scandinavia- The nomadic Sami- Witchcraft in Northwestern Europe-The wheel of life-The elements-rituals- Power-animals-Objects of power-Sacred trees-Magical plants-The magic of dreams-Shamanism and healing- Singing and voice-The ancestors-The realm of the dead- Descendants
‘Breath: stories about death’
Currently available in Dutch
Death was visiting me on a regular basis in my daily and spiritual life. I could not ignore his presence and decided to investigate. I did a lot of research about rites of passage in different times and cultures, especially rites surrounding death and the afterlives. For a while I took care of people in their last stages of life: in a retirement home, where our Elders come to die. My images of death changed, the intimate presence of Death resulted in a careful friendship and mutual understanding. Some stories in ‘Breath’ are based on own experiences, others come from stranger sources. The stories have different cultural backgrounds and are situated in different times.
