Legends and folktales of old... My main interests are listed in the adjacent 'about me' section, but here are some more to add:
Mythological consciousness in Viking Scandinavia, the function of bard/minstrel/skald through time and cultures, the connection between folk music and the subconscious, epic/historic/fantasy literature as a deeply psychological and transformative experience, Tolkien's creative myth process in his LOTR/Silmarillion, medieval allegory, Jungian theory of types, socionics, intuition, runelore, galdor, meditation, reiki, shamanism, and subjects more esoteric in nature... faith, folk, family.
And now, a practical list:
Blacksmithing (yes, I have my own forge, and I am actually learning this trade), anvils, forging, metallurgy, damascus steel, fullered blades, casting iron, hollow grind, pattern welding, knife making, edged weapons, techniques of the German longsword, reconstructing the Norse art of sword fighting, Northvegr, rune lore, rune carving, etching/engraving...
Honor, mysticism, the power of music to affect the collective unconscious (especially European folk/pagan music), the beauty of nature - lakes, forests, and the harmony of it all -, psychology, socionics, Junginan theory of archetypes, Western Art (Dürer, Friedrich, Bruegel, Magritte, Richter, etc), Medieval studies - culture, history, literature, tradition; good whiskey, rain, late November fog, rolling tobacco, pipe smoking, Germanic/Slavic languages, the Heroic Ideal, Walther von der Vogelweide, classical music, the Minnesingers, the Skalds, bards, minstrels, illuminated manuscripts, the riddle of steel.
Those of similar disposition and inclination. To network and discuss the points above, and share the knowledge and lore. Fellow heiðnar and vitkar within my geographical reach, potentially for in-person discussions and sharing of experiences. Ich glaube in die Kraft der Wissenschaft.
* * *
O Mensch! Gib Acht!
Was spricht die tiefe Mitternacht?
"Ich schlief, ich schlief —
Aus tiefem Traum bin ich erwacht:—
Die Welt ist tief,
Und tiefer als der Tag gedacht.
Tief ist ihr Weh —
Lust—tiefer noch als Herzeleid:
Weh spricht: Vergeh!
Doch alle Lust will Ewigkeit —
— will tiefe, tiefe Ewigkeit!"
~Friedrich Nietzsche
Liholesie, Wolfblood, Gromowladny, Burzum, Perunwit, Menhir, Svarost, Temnozor, Arkona, Folkearth, Volkolak, Einherjer, Summoning, Ogneslav, Eihwaz, Sonne Hagal, Waldteufel, Blood Axis, Butterfly Temple, Svarga, Hvit Blod, Nevid', Melnitsa, Nokturnal Mortum, Thyrfing, Amon Amarth, Ensiferum, Turisas, Equilibrium, Finntroll, German Minnesang, Corvus Corax, Stille Volk, Garmarna, Hedningarna, Wimme...
Kill Hannah, In a Jar UK, Mum, Postal Service, Ulrich Schnauss, Glass Menagerie.
CLASSICAL: Bach, Beethoven, Berlioz, Bruckner, Schostakovich, Schubert Schumann, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, WAGNER; Basil Poledouris, 13th century German Minnesang; Turlough O'Carolan; Flamenco; Medieval, folk, and neo-medieval music in general; ETC... I forgot more than you'll ever know.
EXCALIBUR - my favorite movie of all time.
Of all the filmed versions of the Arthur/Grail legend,
this one is by far the most supreme and truest to the
original myth as it has been passed down through the ages...
Its distinct dreamscapes of nightmarish, haunting beauty
remain unmatched even to this day... Never was the faerie
world of medieval legend portrayed with such darksome, terrifying power,
and never was a more brilliant cast assembled to bring it to life - and beyond.In terms of artistic vision, it may be one of the greatest works of fantasy storytelling the cinema has ever known. "A dream to some...a NIGHTMARE TO OTHERS!"
Lord of the Rings trilogy (extended)
Beowulf and Grendel
Kingdom of Heaven (Director's cut only!)
ALEKSANDER NEVSKY
as quoted by Nevsky himself...
"Those who come to us with a sword will die by that sword!
...On this our Russian land stands, and ever will stand."
Conan the Barbarian
Stalker,
Andrei Rublev (Tarkovsky)
The Seventh Seal (Bergman)
Braveheart
Gladiator
First Blood
Natural Born Killers
Hero
Master and Commander
The Silence of the Lambs
Richard III (bbc, 1983)
Rob Roy
Gettysburg
Patton
Viking Sagas
Stargate
Highlander
Brave Little Toaster (seriously)
B-action flicks from the '80s
24
as well as...
Illuminated manuscripts in venerable archives...
Medieval bestiaries, containing strange and mysterious beings...
Captivating and deeply symbolic - though only they seem to know the secret of their existence - these wondrous creatures face us from the old parchment pages of forgotten chronicles, alchemic writings, and the numerous Bookes of Hours...
They seem to live a life of their own, looking out from the most unsuspecting places and the most unassuming texts, and no two of them are alike... Their existence is entirely independent of the text, and they spread so much that they begin to overwhelm even the manuscript margins...
What was on the minds of the scribes and clerics, when they penned down these shapes? ...What is imagination but reality concealed from everyday view? By existing on the pages, these wondrous creatures were made real and became real. Seeing is not believing, for the medieval mind - seeing is KNOWING... The manuscript pages cannot lie, and this is indeed the way things are in this strange world...
BROTHERS LIONHEART
by Astrid Lindgren
Beowulf
THE POETIC EDDA
Volsunga Saga
Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson
Saga of Grettir the Strong
Heimskringla
DAS NIBELUNGENLIED
Parzival
(Wolfram von Eschenbach)
Memoirs of the Fourth Crusade
(Geoffry de Villehardouin)
Skaldic poetry
Vargsmal
THE HELIAND
The Master Bladesmith: Advanced Studies in Steel
The Orphan Stone: The Minnesingers' Dream of Reich
(Richard Berleth)
Der Untergang des Abendlandes
(Oswald Spengler)
The Silmarillion
The Lord of The Rings
The Wizard of Earthsea (Ursula LeGuin)
The Way of the Sword
(Henry Lyon Oldie)
+Anything by TOVE JANSSON!
Dichter und Ihre Gesellen
(Joseph von Eichendorff)
Wahlverwandschaften
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
Robert the Bruce+
Lord of the Isles
(Nigel Tranter)
ALL of Shakespeare
Ivanhoe
Charles Schulz's Peanuts
Literature and philosophy of the German Romanticism/Transcendentalism
Authors: Augustine, Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Stendahl, Goethe, Schiller, Eichendorff, Novalis, Hoffmann, Heine, Thoreau, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Rimbaud, Rilke, Mat Devine.
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