Regarded as a pioneer within the field of Runic Studies and semiotic analyses of the Northern Mysteries (Northern European and German proxemic regions), Stephen Edred Flowers has delivered a powerful holistic view of magical practices in the Eastern Mediterranean region. His research is based on over twenty years of academic study, including a PhD from the University of Austin, Texas. Flowers has singularly defined the cultural trajectory of Runic studies through a vast output of books, pamphlets, and research papers, as well as developing several institutions for praxis and cultural/memetic propagation.
The book is far more authoritative than many 'New Age' volumes by jettisoning the usual simplistic studies of runes by other authors, and being extensively cross-referenced to other literature.
By referring extensively to source texts and adopting a creative postmodern worldview (which is compared to Traditional and Modernist approaches), Flowers is able to outline the complex Hermetic theories, cosmologies, and symbolic systems (notably the Greek alphabet and Egyptian hieroglyphics).
The value of this work for the contemporary magician, memetic engineer, and Spiral Wizard, is that Flowers has re-constructed psychological and cultural DNA, devising conceptual tools and rituals that can be used for Self-change within everyday life.