The volume provides a comprehensive perspective on the main themes of the mythical tradition of the Norse peoples. The objective that Marco Maculotti and the other authors have set themselves, in fact, is to offer a complex overview of the original Nordic religion, proposing where possible parallelisms in a comparative perspective with the wider Indo-European sacred tradition. The mythical corpus, the cosmogony and the cosmic order, the otherworldly realms, the theme of occult wisdom and the Ragnarök, or the "Twilight of the gods", are analysed. Hand in hand, the Nordic pantheon is deepened, from the celestial divinities (Óðinn, Þórr, Baldr, Heimdallr, Loki) to the guarantor powers of fertility and fecundity (Freyr, Freyja, Njorðr-Nerthus), without forgetting the heterogeneous supernatural entities known from tradition Norse, from guardian spirits to the Norns intimately connected to the theme of destiny, passing through the giants. Finally, the appendix deals with particular issues of the Nordic myth and tradition, also from an archaeological point of view. WITH THE UNPUBLISHED CONTRIBUTIONS OF: Andrea Anselmo, Fabrizio Bandini, Alessandro Bonfanti, Alberto Brandi.

Born in Cremona on 14 July 1988. Founder and editorial director of «AXIS MUNDI», magazine of history of religions, anthropology of the sacred, traditional studies, folklore, esotericism and fantastic literature (online digital edition from December 2015, annual paper edition from 2021 ) and of the newborn publishing house Axis Mundi Edizioni. In February 2021 he published his first long essay by Mimesis Edizioni, Carcosa revealed. Notes for an esoteric reading of True Detective, a work that found a'unanimous attention from critics and the public, while in March 2022 he published for Axis Mundi Edizioni The Angel of the Abyss. Apollo, Avalon, the Polar Myth and the Apocalypse, essay on the history of religions focused on Apollonian eschatology. His last effort is the collective work Nordic Myths. Northern European Gods and Traditions (Diarkos 2023), of which he is editor and co-author. In recent years he has also focused on'work of the Welsh writer Arthur Machen, on which he drafted seven contributions published by various publishing houses in collective publications and magazines. He collaborates with various journals of traditional studies («Arthos», «Atrium», «Golem», «Il Corriere Metapolitico») and literature («Studi Lovecraftiani», «Zothique», «Dimensione Cosmica»).