A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

  • Alienation in Paganism: How Group Pressure can Affect the Individual

    Now Playing: The One We Shall Follow by Elvenking Before y’all get on my ass about this, yes, I know I’ve written about loneliness and alienation in paganism before, but bear with me. The throes of melancholy and pagan solitude have been gripping my soul and I want to talk about it. So overall, there…

  • Runic Tattoos and the Potential Pitfalls therein

    Now Playing: The Horned Ghost and the Sorcerer by Elvenking I recently got a tattoo, and I’m very happy with how it turned out. I got it done at a friend’s studio in my home city, and it’s a bindrune that means a lot to me. Now, getting this done brought a thought to my…

  • Damna: A Passion that Cannot be Ignored

    Now Playing: Twilight of Magic by Elvenking Damnagoras (aka Davide Moras) has been the singer for Elvenking since their conception, with a brief time away from the band for the recording and release of Wyrd in 2003-2004. (During this time, he was replaced by Kleid, who, while not the perfect fit for a band such…

  • Litha: A Day of Sun and Summer

    Now Playing: The Moon and Magic by Elvenking The seasonal patterns of the year are always interesting, but the solstices are perhaps the most interesting part of the year for me. The settlements in the far north and far south see drastic changes in the hours of daylight they get and will see the midnight…

  • Recycling Lyrics and Doing It Well in Metal

    Now Playing: A Cloak of Dusk by Elvenking When writing music, lyrics can get a little tricky. Between balancing the story, the rhythmic quality of the words, and how the words sound together overall, it’s not a task that comes easily to everyone. But there is a trick that some people use to make it…

  • Solitary Practice: Dealing with Loneliness as a Pagan

    Now Playing: The Solitaire by Elvenking Dealing with loneliness as a pagan can get really weird. While one can experience this for other reasons, the loneliness that can come directly from being a pagan is another beast entirely. Now, I’m an introvert, so I enjoy spending time by myself doing my own thing and not…

  • Tarot and Rune Readings: Using Common Sense for Divinations and Signs

    Now Playing: Reader of the Runes – Book I by Elvenking So something I (thankfully) don’t see too often is people taking divination tools as super literal tools of what exactly will happen in the future. This can get really messy when questions can refer to specific situations with answers that are very vague or…