Marraskirjat

Lapin tietäjät ("Sages of North/Lapland") is a non-fiction book about the practice of northern magic and a riveting dive into the its folklore, where the dead are raised, "corpse-mould" is drunk, and the spirits of the deceased are recruited as reindeer herders.
 

It tells the story of the Sages of Lapland, who have also been called "the witches" - just like the shamans. Although the shaman drum fell silent in Lapland centuries ago, and the era of soul-journeying shamans (noaidis) was over, their followers who practiced magic were still called "witches" for a long time. However, some elements of the ancient shamanism were inherited by these new semi-professionals of the Otherworld.

​

The northern sage relied on the dead people he raised from the underworld and the faceless folk of the dead ("kalmanväki") in their practice. The power of the death and magic were at the very core of all their activities. This book presents the most important roles, spells, rituals and traditions of these sage-witches, as well as the most significant practitioners in history.

Vanhan kansan seksitaiat ("The Sex Magic of the Ancient Finns") is a non-fiction book about sex, procreation, and magic. In the past, when there were no other means, people needed magic at all stages of life and its different situations. The best-known area of Finnish sex magic is definitely the love magic, which was performed througout all life; starting with newborns and ending with for the treatment of masculine potency problems. Yet of course sex magic was also desperately needed in many other contexts.

This book explores the mysteries of sexuality and the northern magic associated with it. The course of meals is as broad as possible – as sex inevitably involves procreation of the family, pregnancy, and the hope or fear of it. The examination includes omens of one's future spouse; increasing one's own attractiveness; forcing into love; freezing and killing off love; the very secret "nightly visitations", controlling one's spouse's secret visits, etc. Furthermore, the whole spectrum also includes the role of magic in family procreation: how to make a child, how to decide the child's gender, how to make the childbirth smooth - and making a woman "tight" after childbirth - not forgetting contraception and abortion.

The book is created with the values of religious studies: as in all previous collections of Finnish sex magic, the spells are not just quoted, but an attempt has also been made to explain them as far as possible within the framework of the general rules of Finnish magic. On the one hand, the material reveals an astonishing folk logic and, on the other hand, the admirable creativity of the common people of the mysterious North. The book begins with a clear, common-sense introduction to magical thinking in general. The material in the book is mainly gathered from archives over many years of academic research.

The Sex Magic of the Ancient People is both a deep dive into a rare and fascinating area of folk Finnish culture and a book whose material can be used to spice up your own sex life or to create program numbers for a wedding party or toe-tapping party – and of course, nothing prevents you from trying to increase your own attractiveness with a little magic before going to the Saturday dances.

What did the ancient Finns think of frogs, and how was a snakebite cured? What is the mythical firefox known for? How should one behave in a sauna, and why do people take a sheaf of grain out into the yard at Christmas?
 

Suomalaisen kansanuskon sanakirja ("The Dictionary of Finnish Folk Religion") offers a fascinating overview of the worldview of ancient Finns and its hidden logics: sacred animals, divine beings and sacred places, as well as magic and everyday beliefs. It shows how holiness / otherworldliness was present everywhere, how nature was understood as a partner instead of a resource, and how Christianity and paganism were actually quite intertwined in folk thinking. The book also includes the most important names, places and poetic motifs from the Kalevala. In addition to Finnish tradition, the book includes basic information about Sámi folk religion.
 

In the book, you can journey from one search term to another or travel in order from Aarni and Ahti to zombie and öylätti. The Dictionary of Finnish Folk Religion is an excellent tool for enthusiasts of literature, art, history and popular culture, travelers and anyone who encounters phenomena of Finnishness or history in their work.

The Finnish Folk Religion is a comprehensive and intriguing journey to the world of the ancient Finns; their beliefs, Gods and goddesses, spirits of the nature, magic and different concepts about humanity, world and nature. In the book it is highlighted how a folk religion is not just a collection of curious beliefs and weird practices, but a dynamic system that has functioned both as a theory of the Cosmos and concrete ways to interact with it. The knowledge about it has been preserved in Finnish folklore about Everyday actions and Sacred Rituals that are Deeply bound in a Finnish People's historical deep mentalities and forms of thinking.