Spotlight on Pagan Music

A weekly feature highlighting the best music from Pagan, Pagan – influenced, and occult artists. You can hear many of these artists on my weekly radio show and podcast, or you can check out the annual “Darker Shade of Pagan” music special available for download online.

NEBELHEXE

Andrea Haugen of Nebelhexe

Band Bio:
Nebelhexe is the charismatic artist Andrea Haugen, who has mesmerized the alternative music scene since ‘94. Her early love for British gothic, new wave and underground music brought her to London in ‘90 where she soon became part of the subculture scenes. Always searching, and always having had a fascination for the supernatural, life’s mysteries and animals, she connected with various magic/pagan/witch circles. Seeking to explore and upgrade the understanding for the shadow side of the self, Andrea was soon involved with notorious magical and artistic performances.

Nebelhexe web site.
Nebelhexe MySpace page.

Song download:
Sample clip of “Totems”
Sample clip of “Hel – Goddess of the Underworld”

Nebelhexe’s song “Celtic Crows” appears on the 5th annual “Darker Shade of Pagan” special available for download, here.

Video download:
“Wake to Wither” (.mov file)

Reviews:
“Haugen was originally known for her more folk-oriented endeavors with Hagalaz Runedance and for the more brooding sounds of Aghast. She is also involved with occult and pagan groups and her writing and art has been published in these circles, and those interests are clearly the principal influence in her music. The result is ominously dark quasi-traditional folk with gothic and pagan elements.” – Sea of Tranquility

“The majority of the songs use subdued keyboards, tribal drumming and anonymous, strange noises. Several of the songs feature distorted guitars, hidden underneath the dark cloud of atmosphere provided by Andrea Haugen?s ghostly voice. It?s not a deep voice, but it?s not quite high either; it is both enchanting and inviting, yet simultaneously unsettling.” – Ink19

“Andrea Haugen formerly known as Hagalaz’ Runedance begins a new chapter of her musical career by reviving her previous name and releasing a new album as Nebelhexe. On Laguz ? Within the Lake, Andrea does not completely abandon the realm of acoustic folk but reaches back into the 80’s and the early 90’s gothic and synth pop scenes for some inspiration. Thus, while the music still retains the qualities of Hagalaz’ Runedance due to Andrea’s unique voice and minimal instrumentation, The Cure, Dead Can Dance, and Sisters of Mercy all serve as influences on the new compositions.” – Deadtide

My Two Cents:
Most Pagans will know Haugen by her work as Hagalaz’ Runedance. While her new project “Nebelhexe” shares some similarities to the tribal folk of those earlier CDs, she has branched out into electric and electronic musical forms. But no matter the musical backing the draw of Haugen’s music is the passionate voice she brings to her work. A voice that is inspired by ancient European paganism and its revival. Nebelhexe has a new CD entitled “Essensual” due out soon on Black Lotus Records. The newer work promises to be more “pop” in its approach and Haugen has developed a perfume to be sold along with the CD.

Further Reading:
ADSOP Interview with Andrea Haugen, older blog entry on Nebelhexe.

Broadcasting The (Pagan) Faith

Syndicated radio program “Speaking of Faith” interviews Pagan scholar and environmentalist Adrian J. Ivakhiv for the “Pagans Ancient and Modern” episode.

“An environmentalist who pursued the ecological impulse of Paganism, from its ancient roots to its modern revival in Europe and North America, discusses his observations about the spirit of Paganism and its influence on everyday Western culture and even on old-time religion.”

This is an excellent program! Well-informed and in-depth. You can download an mp3 of the entire show, here. You can also download an unheard clip about differences between European revivals of Paganism in the Ukraine and American forms of modern Paganism.

Nine Nights For The Mother Goddess

Tonight is the first night of Navratri, the Hindu festival in honor of the supreme goddess and her aspects. The nine-day festival is split into three sets of three nights. Each set is dedicated to the adoration of a different goddess; Durga for the first set, Lakshmi for the second set, and Saraswati for the third.

Durga: embodiment of feminine and creative energy

SS Sundaram, writing for DNA India, uses the coming of Navratri to talk about the importance of goddesses for our modern world.

“Mother Goddess has been prominent in cultures throughout history. But during the past two millennia, the female aspect of the Creator has been excluded by a world that has focused exclusively on the male dominated religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But lately the Goddess is reasserting Herself. She is telling humanity it is time to clean up our act. The survival of life as we know it depends upon our willingness to listen to Her and honor Her. To worship the Goddess is to honour the Earth and all the creatures.”

When we look at the recent fruits of faith without the goddess; threatened deaths for apostasy, a majority faith roaming the halls of power yet pleading persecution, and the media black-out of dissenting faith voices, it is clear we need the goddesses now more than ever.

Shamanic Voices Above The Treeline

The Toronto Star has a lovely profile of Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq Gillis. Gillis, since breaking out on the folk circuit for her unique form of throat-singing (Inuit throat singing is usually performed in pairs) has gained international recognition and has worked with artists like Bjork and The Kronos Quartet.

Tanya Tagaq Gillis

“In only six years, this astounding singer, whose vocal power has been compared to that of Edith Piaf, has given new meaning to the term “world music.” And she won’t turn 29 until later this year…Her music derives from a centuries-old tradition, but this singer is on the cutting edge of world music…Listen to a track from her CD on her website and you’ll immediately recognize a voice that expresses primal urges and emotions, and speaks to all forms of human existence.”

Gillis is currently on tour through the UK and Europe. For those of us unlucky enough to not live near a live show you can take a listen to her music on the singer’s MySpace page.

Happy Blogiversary

Today marks this blog’s second anniversary. I would like to thank everyone who reads, comments, and links to this site. This project has been a labor of love from the beginning, and I hope to continue for years into the future.

A (Shamanic) Bee In The Bonnet

Looks like there may be some trouble in the shamanic community. Simon Buxton, author of the book “The Shamanic Way of the Bee: Ancient Wisdom and Healing Practices of the Bee Masters” is being accused of fabrication and having the book ghost-written. This might not be a big deal if it was from a disgruntled fan, but the accusations are (allegedly) coming from his former writing partner and fellow shaman Ross Heaven. Heaven, author of “Vodou Shaman: The Haitian Way of Healing and Power” (more on that in a moment) has posted (or allegedly posted) a review claiming he wrote most of the book.

“I notice some questions here from reviewers about whether this book is a true story or not. Since I actually (ghost)-wrote most of it for Buxton, allow me to answer the question and advise potential purchasers categorically that if you choose to buy this book, you will purchasing a work of dramatic fiction which, furthermore, was largely unwritten by Buxton himself. Buxton’s major contributions to the book as I recall them, in fact, were his accounts of how to keep bees and if that is what interests you then you should enjoy this book. Other parts of the story, however…came directly from my imagination…I am disappointed, therefore, to see Buxton presenting this book as a work of his own and, moreover, describing it as a non-fiction book of his personal shamanic experiences. Had Buxton pitched this as a fantasy novel or a work of shamanic fiction, it wouldn’t have made a bad read. Had he presented it as a semi-fictional account which included the dramatic embellishments of a ghost-writer or even a ‘collaborator’, it would be accurate. But he did neither.”

Buxton’s book, which won an award from Ash? Journal and the praises of pop-star Tori Amos is the current heavyweight on the neo-shamanic scene. It should be interesting to see how Heaven’s allegations play out. Depending on the ghost-writing deal (if that is indeed the case) Heaven may be prohibited from legal action regarding the work, and there is always the possiblity that this is a case of sour grapes (or bitter honey if you prefer) since he isn’t pulling in a percentage of sales and isn’t credited on the book.

Heaven himself isn’t free from controversy however, It seems there is an ongoing dispute between Heaven and Mambo Racine an American convert to Haitian Vodou who makes money performing initiations in Haiti for curious seekers (including Heaven at one point). Racine posts the following in the review page of his “Vodou Shaman” Amazon page.

“Helllo! I am Mambo Racine Sans Bout, the same Mambo Racine about whom Ross Heaven has so many nice things to say in his book, “Vodou Shaman”. It is with some regret that I must warn the prospective reader that most of what is in this book never actually happened – Ross is willing to say anything for a buck, apparently. He never let me see what he was writing until the book was published, and I never imagined he would make up so many stories! Now that I have refused to support his activities he is very angry with me, but the fact remains that this book is 99% BUNK.”

Another reviewer named “AE” on the page calls Racine a charlatan and re-posts a scathing letter from Heaven about Racine.

“Kathy [Mambo Racine] has been spouting for 2 years, without proof, that I revealed djevo secrets in my book, Vodou Shaman. And for 2 years I’ve been saying the opposite and asking for evidence. None has ever arrived…what happens in spambo’s djevo (all these “great and mystical blessings of Guinea” that spambo keeps spouting about), is a big fat boring zero. What you WON’T get are the proper passwords (and, yes, there are more than one), be shown how to call or control spirits, taught any liturgy (or why Vodou is the oldest religion, according to spamflaps), prayers, or songs, shown any magic, the correct use of the asson (or passwords for it) – or, in fact, receive anything of use or value – and no further teachings will follow (I’ve received nothing else from spambo – apart from BS – in the 5 years since I initiated with her). What you will do is lie on a dirt floor, bored, for the best part of a week and maybe if youre un/lucky (depending on your perspective) spambo may drop by a few times if she’s not too stoned to bore you still further with BS. If you’ve got a spare $2,500 lying around I cant think of a better way to waste it.”

Strong stuff. There are two ways you could look at this. Either Ross Heaven is a man of integrity who keeps getting mixed up with charlatans and con-men, or, he is a canny opportunist stirring up controversy to inflate his own status. Considering how little I know of these various controversies I’ll refrain from making any final judgements in the matter. Here you thought our Witch-Wars were bad!

Judge Recused in Subgenius Custody Case

Rachel Bevilacqua, a member of the Church of The Subgenius who was declared mentally unstable and unfit to mother by a judge in a custody case due to blasphemous photos of herself at a Subgenius event, has been cleared to release the official transcript (.pdf file) of the custody hearing. While the alleged “pervert” comments and the final ruling are not in the official transcript (surprise, surprise) there is plenty in the transcript to show a biased judge with an axe to grind.

“Since you’re such a big organization devoted totally to humor, I would really like to learn more about it so find the funniest picture and then explain the joke to me. How about the Barbie doll that’s being crucified with the swastikas on the nipples, is that a pretty good one?” – Judge Punch (p43)

Rachel Bevilacqua with son Kohl

The day after the transcript was released it was learned that Judge Punch recused himself from the trial a week before, and is currently “out of town”. The case will now be re-assigned to a judge from a different county. While the removal of Judge Punch is good news, the case is far from over and it remains to be seen if the new judge will be able to separate a mother’s participation in Subgenius events from her actual ability to mother and provide a stable home. For ongoing updates on this case and contact information see Modemac’s page.

Related posts:
2.21.2006 It Is Happening Again
2.25.2006 Update on SubGenius Custody Case
3.16.2006 SubGenius Mother Silenced by Activist Judge

The Missing History of Modern Paganism

Two recent books have taken a look at religion and spirituality in America; “Restless Souls: The Making of American Spirituality” by Leigh Schmidt and “Knocking on Heaven’s Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture” by Mark Oppenheimer. While they have different focuses and goals they do have one thing in common, they both ignore modern Paganism in America.

Schmidt’s book largely deals with the influence of Transcendentalism and the creation of the “spiritual but not religious” demographic in America. It traces the religious left from the Quakers and the Spiritualists to the New Age movement and Oprah. I was looking forward to this book talking about the obvious influences these movements have had on the growth of American forms of modern Paganism. Several commentators within Paganism (Hutton and Adler to name two) have mentioned the influence of Henry David Thoreau, Spiritualism, and Theosophy in the growth and development of what we now know as modern or “neo” Paganism, topics dealt with at length in Schmidt’s book, yet there is scarcely a mention of Paganism at all. It makes me wonder if it was merely oversight or an genuine unwillingness to look at our history in America?

If Schmidt’s lack of Pagan material strikes me as an oversight, Oppenheimer’s book tries to eliminate the influence of modern Paganism for the sake of “clarity”. “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” purports to be about American religion during the countercultural 60s and 70s but quickly backpedals from this sweeping title to only focus on denominational faiths (AKA religions with buildings and money). Knowing he would be questioned on the oversight Oppenheimer lays out his justification for exclusion in the introduction.

“The alternative groups we identify with the late 1960s were far smaller than imagined, and some historians, easily infatuated with the new and the sexy, have been led badly astray…there has never been reliable evidence of widespread Satanism or paganism…One might argue that by excluding the preponderance of cults, sects, and communes from this study, we are denying them the status of “religion.” That is correct – but for the purpose of clarity not condescension…religion is commitment to a set of beliefs that requires meaningful sacrifice. A belief that you must tithe, or donate of a portion of your income to your church or faith community…religions require sacrifice and exclude other religions.”

In other words religion is Unitarian-Universalism on the far left and conservative Catholicism and Judaism on the far right. Anything outside of that equation isn’t American religion or religion at all under his criteria. This book should really be called “The Struggle By Outside Groups For Acceptance: How Hippies Brought Us The Guitar Mass”. The book rehashes issues covered several times in other books, women priests, the struggle for homosexual acceptance, war resistance, and Vatican II. The only unique feature of the book is his look at Unitarian-Universalism, which has prompted a book discussion at the UU blog Philocrites.

How many Pagans were there in the 60s and 70s? Was it just a few people, a smattering of followers? Hard census data isn’t available, but we do know that when Margot Adler started her research for “Drawing Down The Moon” in 1972 she discovered that modern Paganism had flourished into a unique and nation-wide phenomena with thousands of adherents in small pockets across the country largely unaware of its own growth. We know that Gardnerian Wicca was introduced to America in 1964, and that American-grown forms of modern Paganism were already appearing before that. Our family of faiths shouldn’t be swept aside along with the flaky gurus and communes that have long since faded into memory, the authors easy dismissal of Paganism betrays his prejudice and ignorance on the subject.

In the end the only decent histories of our faiths have been written by insiders and sympathetic fellow travelers. Mainstream academia still seems reluctant to engage in religion outside their denominational comfort zone. I can only hope that the efforts by Pagan academics and scholars continue to reverse this trend, and that mainstream writers tackling subjects intertwined with our history won’t continue to overlook or omit us. Eventually our missing history will be included in the history of religion in America.

Embracing The Darkness, Ignoring The Politics?

Beliefnet has a short excerpt up from Ross Heaven, co-author of “Darkness Visible: Awakening Spiritual Light through Darkness Meditation”. The piece details his experience receiving a Haitian Vodou initiation, an experience that prompts him to move past Jungian abstractions and to see the gods and spirits as real and the earth as a living organism.

“One version of reality tells me that my body is lying on a dirt floor in a squalid hut, but in my mythological mind I am in a great temple, surrounded by gods and goddesses, great pillars of gold, wise elders, visionaries, and master physicians. I no longer know or care which, if either, of these versions is true. What is truth anyway? What is reality? Aren’t both simply what we choose to believe?”

While it is a well-written article, and I’m happy that Heaven had a successful initiatory experience, I’m always wondering about what is left unsaid in pieces like this. Haiti has long been mired by political and violent turmoil. The country has recently had to deal with a president being forcibly removed from office, intense fighting, rashes of kidnappings, a recent tense election process, and the ongoing problems of disease and a lack of resources. The country is still patrolled by UN troops and foreign aid seems slow in coming to the worlds poorest nation.

Adopting a land’s religion and culture (which are often deeply intertwined) means also adopting a concern for the well-being of that culture. While some Westerners have taken an active role in Haiti’s well-being, too often articles on Haitian Vodou are completely removed from the political and social realities those living in Haiti face, a situation that doesn’t reflect the reality of practitioners there. One can hope that as the popularity of Vodou continues to grow so too does the concern for the well-being of the nations who birthed it.

Greeks Free To Worship The Old Gods

Back in 2004 a documentary appeared called “I Still Worship Zeus”. The film highlighted the struggles of native Greeks to gain the freedom to worship the old gods of Greece. Greece, despite being a modern democracy has denied their Pagan citizens the same religious freedoms and protections as (Orthodox) Christians, Muslims, or Jews. But it looks like the efforts to de-criminalize the worship of the Greek gods is finally bearing fruit.

Religious leader of the Greek Pagan organization Dodecatheon.

After worshipping in secret for years, a Greek court has recently ruled in favor of worshippers of Greek deities.

“Greek court allowed association of worshippers of ancient Greek deities to be set up. At the moment Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Athens, Hermes, etc. are being worshipped by 100,000 Greeks. Until now Ministry of Culture banned them from conducting public worship at archeological sites and their gatherings were often secretive. Greek Orthodox Church is severely criticizing worship of ancient deities.”

This is a major step in a country that is politically dominated by the Greek Orthodox Church. Finally one of the richest sources of Europe’s pre-Christian heritage has allowed modern Hellenes and Pagans the right to honor the old gods and to practice openly.