Discover the Roots of Norse and Irish Pagan Spirituality
Dyflin, now modern Dublin, was founded by the Vikings in the 9th century. Through archaeological and
historical research, scholar and Pagan practitioner Annie Humphrey explores connections between
Celtic/Gaelic and Norse spiritualties of the time and, by reconstructing local customs and beliefs, reveals
how this cultural relationship still informs Paganism today.
Humphrey shows that Norse and Irish heathen beliefs were uncorrupted by Roman influence and
ultimately syncretized to form a set of deeply spiritual practices. This unique set of practices cannot truly be
considered a religion. Rather, it was a very flexible and highly regional worldview that involved veneration
of ancestors and the dead and enjoyed a transactional relationship with household and nature spirits. This
book follows the spread of this unique Paganism through Northern Europe and the North Atlantic,
identifying Norse settlements in areas that popular history has misidentified as purely Gaelic or Anglo-
Saxon. Humphrey reveals Gaelic influence in the settling of Iceland and shows its presence in magical and
spiritual practices. The author also looks at Irish incantations from Icelandic grimoires and shows how
Norse influences reshaped Irish writing. Exploring Manx folklore and magical traditions of the Isle of Man
and remote areas like the Orkneys, this book reveals the presence of this Pagan synthesis in modern
folkways and practices that have gone largely unnoticed by mainstream scholarship.
Combining expert scholarly discipline with personal gnosis, Norse-Gaelic Paganism brings ancient
traditions and wisdom to the contemporary practitioner.
Author Bio: Annie Cúglas Humphrey, PhD, teaches history at Kean University and Ocean
County College and wrote a dissertation on the depiction of the Norse in Ireland found in
Medieval Irish dynastic narratives. Humphrey is the goði of the Kindred of Mann, a Norse-
Gaelic fellowship founded in 2009, and is on the executive board of the Northeast Thing.
Humphrey lives in New Jersey with their husband and two children.
