About the Book
Personal revelations on living a magical life
• Examines the rise of Paganism in Europe and the U.S. from the late twentieth century
• Explores numerous pagan and esoteric practices, including Stav (a form of Nordic Tai Chi), sacred gardening, breath work, and many seasonal rites, rituals, and ceremonies
• Includes rare personal accounts of the author’s friendships with pagan luminaries and occult scholars
For millions of people, the spiritual journey is focused on a God in heaven. But what if the answers we are seeking lie in the re-enchantment of life? In this illuminating work—part memoir, part meditation—scholar and Pagan practitioner Christopher McIntosh takes readers on the deeply personal quest that led him to paganism, illustrating how forming stronger connections to the world around us awakens the magic that lives within us.
There was a time when McIntosh believed that a spiritual path should fulfill four centers: the soul, the mind, the heart, and the belly. He later discovered, however, that there was a fifth component to this mystical equation: the feet. The land on which we stand and to which we feel a profound relatedness is the key to wholeness and inner peace. These subtle but significant realizations about connection to the land and nature inspired McIntosh and ultimately led to his following of what he calls "the Fivefold Path." He also recounts pivotal meetings with Pagan luminaries and important figures from esoteric scholarship, the arts, and the occult renaissance of the twentieth century, including Colin Wilson, Joscelyn Godwin, Keith Critchlow, and Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, as well as offers an evolving portrait of the occult scene of the late twentieth century.
Woven throughout with examples of seasonal rites and rituals, reflections on sacred gardening, and the practice of energetic breath work as well as a deep dive into Stav, a form of Nordic Tai Chi, this book provides valuable insight into the world of paganism as both a field of study and a system of practice.
Table of Contents:
Preface A Spiral Journey
Prologue A Spiritual Homecoming
1 A Hermetic Baptism
2 Magic and Mystery in Oxford and London
3 Meetings with Remarkable People
4 Restless Years
5 Second Marriage and Oxford Revisited
6 Life in the Big Apple
7 Experiencing Sacred Space
8 Key Encounters
9 The Gods on Forty-Second Street
10 The Fivefold Path
11 Witchcraft in Hamburg
12 Books, Travels, and Crises
13 Aspects of Mercury and Odin
14 In the Footsteps of the Old Ones
15 A Garden of the Mysteries
16 In Search of the Northern Gods
17 Civis Germanicus
18 California Ho!
19 The Gods Give and the Gods Take Away
20 The Rose Cross and the Internet
21 Excursions into Enchantment
22 Celebrating My First Eighty Years
Notes
Index
About the Author :
Christopher McIntosh is a British-born writer and historian specializing in the esoteric traditions of the West. He has a doctorate in history from Oxford University, a degree in German, and a diploma in Russian from the United Nations Language School. The author of many books, including Beyond the North Wind, Occult Russia, and Occult Germany, he lives in Lower Saxony, North Germany.
Review :
“The Call of the Old Gods recounts a personal odyssey through decades of spiritual exploration en route to the author finding his home in Norse paganism. Along the way, we are treated to many lively encounters with some of the most important figures in modern esoteric studies and the insights of a passionate soul devoted to living the ancient ways.”
“Throughout his multiple careers in diplomacy, academia, and publishing, Christopher has never lost sight of higher realities. His many books celebrate the companions of this vision: Rosicrucians, astrologers, monarchs and magi, occultists and creators—like himself—of symbolic gardens honoring the old gods of Europe. They now culminate in one of the great spiritual autobiographies and a paragon of the soul’s navigation through the troubled waters of modernity.”
“Part spiritual autobiography, part exploration of ancient and contemporary pagan spirituality, this vivid and intensely personal memoir by one of the most respected esotericists of our time is required reading for anyone interested in today’s lively renewal of polytheistic faiths.”
“Christopher McIntosh is the Forrest Gump of the esoteric world. With Taoist, almost magical abilities, he has been everywhere and met everyone in the 60+ years he has traversed the field of arcane studies. His fascinating autobiography is not only a documentation of his personal path and studies but also a riveting account of how he and a handful of others have transformed and rehabilitated the esoteric field. Endlessly fascinating!”
“Written by a highly respected member of the occult and heathen community, The Call of the Old Gods is an inspiring narrative showing how paganism is not a relic of a bygone era but has a meaningful place in our modern world. It also has a much broader social message, for the encounters, spiritual conflicts, revelations, and practices the author describes are those that all free-spirited seekers of deeper truth must engage with on their own individual paths.”
“The path of Christopher McIntosh’s rich and varied life meandered over and under the threads of Wyrd. His journeys through numerous countries and countless terrains created a tapestry of varied textures and hues, some gentle, some intense. In this deeply personal memoir Christopher connects the dots. He has been truly called by the old gods.”
“Christopher McIntosh’s eighty-year journey on the pagan path offers enthralling insights by a master storyteller. To read this book is to take that journey, to share his magical moments and beautiful rituals, and to experience the profoundly re-enchanting powers of the pagan revival. This book will change the way you see and feel our world. Io Pan!”
“In an age when science now recognizes the widespread role of intelligence and intention in many living species, McIntosh’s gentle, humorous, yet respectful pagan path makes perfect sense. The old gods are renamed and rediscovered, and this very personal and original book is a start to taking a look at those millennia of practical communication with natural spirits.”
“In The Call of the Old Gods, renowned author Christopher McIntosh invites us on a unique journey through the occult of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, featuring many remarkable people and places, as he shares his distinctive path rediscovering the gods and ways of ancient Europe.”
“The Call of the Old Gods is a well-written memoir from one of my favorite Pagan and Occult authors, Christopher McIntosh. Instead of telling you what to do, he relays the experience to you, as well as the academic background, to inspire the reader to form their own practices, etc. I have no critiques, and I thoroughly enjoyed this break from the usual style of books I read to review; as such, I give it 5/5 Pentagrams!”
