A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

  • Collaboration in Music: Important Aspects of Creation in Art

    Now Playing: Nightfall by Blind Guardian So as an artist, there are a few things to consider in one’s approach to creation. (I will make a note here that within the realm of music, my area of expertise, both performance and composition are acts of creation. I will expand on this later.) One aspect, yes,…

  • Ostara: Spring Equinox

    Now Playing: Gone Epoch by Elvenking So Ostara was a bit ago. (Like almost a full week ago, at this point, get off my ass, my brain sucks.) Ostara is the name most pagans use to describe the spring equinox, especially in pan pagan spaces that involve multiple traditions. A feast of fertility and new…

  • The Western Myth of Classical Music

    Now Playing: Incantations by Elvenking So I’ve talked about how there’s some elitism in Western classical music in the past. (Go read that mini rant here.) Now, I stand by that. There’s potential for elitism and racism basically everywhere in Western classical music, because a lot of the composers that we play and study were…

  • Oaths and Pagan Paths

    Now Playing: Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns) – Remastered 2007 by Blind Guardian Oaths are a concept that are at least loosely known to the general population, especially if they’re in any way familiar with the concept of paladins in TTRPGs and various other fantasy media. (You know, those youth camp counselor types who swear an…

  • Language and People: The Constraints of Society Made Manifest

    Now Playing: Gone Epoch by Elvenking Humans trying to put things in near little boxes is nothing new; we’ve been doing it for centuries and we continue to do it to this day. In some cases, this does help us understand the world in some capacity. However. It’s so rare that anything can fully ever…

  • Faith is Complicated: Being a Pagan in a Christian Society

    Now Playing: The Repentant by Elvenking So personal religiosity is complicated. What it means to each person will be different, and how each person goes about it will be different. But if that’s true, why am I only bringing it up now? I’ve brought up other heavy topics on here before. Recently, I was asked…

  • Pagan Invocations in Metal

    Now Playing: A Prayer to Cernunnos by Elvenking As has been previously discussed here, metal can be deeply spiritual. (Yes, I know this applies to music in general, but I’m trying to make a point here.) But does that extend to making actual prayer a part of metal? I argue that yes, it does. Let…

  • Early February: Anniversary and a High Day

    Now Playing: Live or Die by Apocalyptica feat Joakim Brodén The first week or so of February is always a bit of a hectic time for me. There’s a high day right off the bat, with my anniversary with one of my partners a couple days later. That’s a lot of things happening over a…

  • Pagan Metal: Music Getting Unexpectedly Spiritual

    Now Playing: Moonchariot by Elvenking Spirituality is nothing new in the realm of music, not by a long shot. (See the Church controlling the composing and production of music for centuries across history for examples of this.) Where it becomes interesting is within the realm of modern pagan music and especially within the realm of…

  • Lore in Metal and the Role of the Lorekeeper

    Now Playing: To The North by Elvenking So many metal bands have stories behind their songs, right? But at what point do those stories stop being stories and become actual lore? (A question pondered by many great philosophers.) Some bands (such as Twilight Force or Hans & Valter) will have an overarching story behind the…