A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

  • Deities and their Genders: Hard Mythic Truth, or Something More?

    Now Playing: The Ghosting by Elvenking So as a baseline, most pagans will generally agree that gender is weird. I mean, just look at the average pagan gathering, each one I’ve ever seen has been two berries short of a fruit basket. But what does that actually mean in terms of our experiences and UPGs…

  • Am I Truly Pagan Enough? Imposter Syndrome in Pagan Practice

    Now Playing: Heavy is the Crown of Bone by Crypt Sermon So recently, a friend of mine made a comment that I found interesting and, for better or worse, kind of relatable. The sentiment was that they don’t feel “pagan enough,” and that got me thinking: what does it really mean to be “pagan enough?”…

  • Reading the Runes: Pagan Storytelling in a Christian World

    Now Playing: Reader of the Runes – Book II by Elvenking Stories have been a part of human culture since time immemorial, and nowhere is that more clear than in the realm of religion. Every religion has their own stories, telling of both gods and mortal heroes, as they attempt to make sense of the…

  • 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…

  • 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…