ways | Metal Gaia

Burzum – Lost Wisdom

Genre: Black Metal

Country of Origin: Norway

Themes: Rediscovering the ancient Pagan ways

For many people, the old school black metal is difficult to listen to because of its low production quality. However, for others, this is a big part of its appeal. After metal music became over commercialized in the 1980’s, the scene of Norwegian Black Metal that emerged in the late 80’s/early 90’s was appealing in a primordial, and natural kind of way. The music seemed a sort of dark, pagan magic re-emerging into a world that had become fake and synthetic.

Burzum evokes a gritty brutality that is quite captivating. Burzum itself means ‘darkness’ in the Black Speech, a fictional language from Lord of the Rings. The song above came from the album ‘Det som engang var.’ The album cover was visually inspired by Dungeons and Dragons. So there is obviously an interest in fantasy at work here.

Varg himself, the man behind the Burzum solo act is quite the controversial figure. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the murder of Mayhem guitarist Øystein ‘Euronymous’ Aarseth and the arson of three churches. What’s interesting is that Varg stabbed Euronymous a few days after the release of the album listed above.

After Varg’s release from prison in 2009 he recorded three further black metal albums.

Varg is also a controversial figure for his racist and anti-semitic views. However, amidst a lot of his rantings about race and the Jews, he does sometimes have some pretty brilliant things to say about the return to the ancient wisdom and truth.

Here is piece of an interview with him from the movie ‘Until The Light Takes Us.’ (The background music is Bathroy’s ‘One Rode to Asa Bay’)

November 4, 2015 | Categories: Black Metal, Music | Tags: black, Burzum, lost, metal, Old, pagan, ways, wisdom | 1 Comment

Ways to Celebrate the Autumn Equinox

Autumn is a magical time of year. Not because of Pumpkin Spice lattes and the eagerly awaited release of the last Hunger Games movie…but that’s exciting too. Fall is a time when the natural world begins to transition towards death. The leaves are falling from the trees, a chill grips the air, animals begin collecting food for the winter, and the harvest is winding down (not that many of us are farmers anymore, but I guess this could be a metaphorical point as well). Most of all though, it’s a time for gratitude, a time to appreciate the fruits of your labor. (See that…I made the metaphor work, ;-D)

Gratitude is perhaps one of the most important parts of any spiritual practice. A lot of people like to think religion is about getting God/The Gods to give them stuff. But this is not so. Gratitude for what you already have results in much more happiness than focusing on your wants. And more often than not, when we take the time to appreciate what we have, we realize that we are pretty lucky. So if there is one thing you can do to celebrate the coming fall, it’s to think of all the things/people in your life that you are grateful for.

Ten Ways to Celebrate Mabon (Pagan-Wiccan)

September 21, 2015 | Categories: All, Celtic, Spiritual, Wicca | Tags: Autumn, celebrate, Equinox, top, ways | Leave a comment

Iceland to Build First Temple to Norse Gods Since Viking Age

ORIGINAL ARTICLE (More Information Here)

Ásatrúarfélagið website (The group for which the temple is being built)

For the first time in 1,000 years, a temple to the Norse Gods will be built in Iceland. Most pagans these days tend to worship in each other’s houses or outside somewhere, since our numbers are pretty low. So this will definitely be a historic landmark for Iceland – if not for the whole Pagan community in general.

Icelanders will soon be able to publicly worship at a shrine to Thor, Odin and Frigg with construction starting this month on the island’s first major temple to the Norse gods since the Viking age.

While the number of Norse Pagans is small in Iceland, the rate of growth itself is pretty large. The number has tripled in the last decade. So it makes sense that a temple will be built to accommodate this growing community.

This temple will be a place where weddings, funerals and initiation rites will take place.

After 1,000 years of oppression the old ways will re-emerge once again.

Amon Amarth – Thousand Years of Oppression