A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

  • Pagan Leadership and Organised Hierarchy

    Now Playing: Freya by Brothers of Metal When considering the major religions of the world, there are a few things that stick out as common between most of them. There’s usually a centralised text or book (or collection of texts) and a specific group of people who are considered to have a certain authority within…

  • Paganism and Gender: A Trans Man’s Perspective

    Now Playing: The Blackest of My Hearts by Elvenking While not necessarily a “common” concept, gender is something we see come up from time to time in various pagan circles, most prominently in Wicca, where there is a heavy focus on the masculine God and feminine Goddess duality. Before going further, I feel it important…

  • Individuality in the Pagan Experience

    Now Playing: Forest of Hope – Pikmin | Jazz Cover (insaneintherainmusic) Paganism as a religion is incredibly varied. Much of the reason for this, in my opinion, is because the word “pagan” as we use it today is an umbrella term for many distinct pre-Christian European religions, as well as the modern practice of these…

  • Polytheism in TTRPGs: How Well Is It Done?

    Now Playing: The Manifesto by Elvenking Within the realm of tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) such as Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder, we consistently find examples of deities and whole pantheons. Some of these pantheons are taken from real world mythologies and cultures, and others are entirely created for a given campaign by the game master,…

  • A Year of Metal

    Now Playing: Son of a Wolf by Powerwolf 2023 was a solid year for power metal. New albums from Elvenking, Twilight Force, Bloodbound, and Powerwolf (as well as a live album from Freedom Call), several EPs and singles from Sabaton, Rhapsody of Fire, and DragonForce, with album announcements set for next year from several of…

  • Wicca: What Is It? A Pagan Perspective

    Now Playing: Witches Gather by Elvenking So, you’ve stumbled across Wicca, paganism, and witchcraft. You’re curious, maybe because you want to practice, maybe because you have a more academic interest in it, maybe because you’re a fundamentalist Christian and want to discredit those pesky demonic heathens who are just mad at your god. (I don’t…