Enumeration

This list came as a result of me being greatly inspired by Taylor Hood’s simple, yet very effective method of listing his most treasured, favourite, eye-opening and close to heart books, movies, music, works of art and video games. This is a showcase of me doing a similar thing like he did on his blog over at Thitherword. The list is quite extensive and most of my favourite things are gathered in chronological order based on the various “levels” and stages of my life. This list is a subject to change and it will be constant work in progress. I will be adding more and more as the time goes by. I hope you get something out of it and use it for self-betterment or for whatever purpose you find useful.

What’s past is but a mere prologue.

• The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Lord of The Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Children of Húrin, J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, J.R.R. Tolkien
• Beowulf, J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Fall of Arthur , J.R.R. Tolkien
• Tales from The Perilous Realm, J.R.R. Tolkien
• Defending Middle-earth, Patrick Curry
• The Discworld novels (yes all of them), Terry Pratchett
• Science and Spiritual Practices, Rupert Sheldrake
• The Prose Edda (edited and translated by Jesse Byock), Snorri Sturluson
• The Saga of the Volsungs, Jesse Byock
• Sorcery and Religion in Ancient Scandinavia, Varg Vikernes
• The Golden Bough, Sir James George Frazer
• Reflections on European Mythology and Polytheism, Varg Vikernes
• Panparadox, Vexior 2018
• Gullveigarbók: An Investigation of Gullveig in Old Norse Mythology & Her Anti-Cosmic Nexus, Vexior 2018
• Nightside of The Runes: Uthark, Adulruna, and the Gothic Cabbala, Thomas Karlsson
• Myths and Legends of the Celts, James MacKillop
• The Poetic Edda, (translated by) Carolyne Larrington
• The Book of English Magic, Philip Carr-Gomm
• The Call of Cthulhu (and the entire mythos), H.P. Lovecraft
• The Shadow Over Innsmouth, H.P. Lovecraft
• At The Mountains of Madness, H.P. Lovecraft
• The Stand, Stephen King
• The Shining, Stephen King
• The Outsider, Stephen King
• Everything’s Eventual, Stephen King
• 11/22/63, Stephen King
• Hearts in Atlantis, Stephen King
• Revival, Stephen King
• The Dark Tower (series), Stephen King
• Falling Cars and Junkyard Dogs, Jay Farrar (memoir)
• Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back), Jeff Tweedy
• NOS4A2, Full Throtle, Joe Hill
• The Great God Pan, Arthur Machen
• Liber Null & Psychonaut, Peter J. Carroll
• The Witcher (books series), Andrzej Sapkowski 
• Puzzling People, Defeated Demons, Thomas Sheridan
• The Druid Code: Magic, Megaliths and Mythology, Thomas Sheridan
• Sorcery: The Invocation of Strangeness, Thomas Sheridan
• The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell
• Pathways to Bliss, Joseph Campbell
• The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Metaphor as Myth and as Religion, Joseph Campbell
• The Masks of God (4 Volumes), Joseph Campbell
• Malazan Book of The Fallen (book series), Steven Erikson
• The Miracle Club, Occult America, Mitch Horowitz
• The Chaos Protocols and Pieces of Eight, Gordon White
• The Super Natural, Whitley Strieber and Jeffrey Kripal
• Sun of GOd, Gregory Sams
• The White Goddess, Robert Graves
• The Mabinogion
• The Outsider, The Occult (trilogy), Colin Wilson
• Futhark, Runelore, Edred Thorsson
• The Secret Teaching of All Ages, Manly P. Hall
• High Magick, Damien Echols
• The Way of Wyrd, The Real Middle-earth, Brian Bates
• Myth & Magic, John Howe
• Forging Dragons, John Howe
• A Middle-earth Traveler, John Howe
• The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings sketchbooks, Alan lee
• The Hammer and The Cross, Robert Furguson
• The Vikings, Else Roesdahl
• The Children of Ash and Elm, Neil Price
• The Age of The Vikings, Anders Winroth
• The Sagas of Icelanders, Jane Smiley and many other contributors
• River Kings, Cat Jarman
• The Wanderer’s Hávamál, Jackson Crawford
• Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Carl Gustav Jung
• The Red Book, Carl Gustav Jung
• To be continued…

English Ale, Birthdays, Slow-burning Incense, Paganism & Early Gnostic Heresies

I wrote this article yesterday (18.08.2023)

I am celebrating my birthday today and I am usually a very quiet, modest, humble, low-ley (and sometimes very shy and reserved) type of guy. I don’t like telling people, being loud and vocal about it, and I don’t really enjoy throwing big parties with lots of people, booze, food, loud music and presents, or to seek out or invite people to come and pretend as if they care about me while wearing their weekend persona re-usable leather masks. Birthdays in general are supposed to be private gatherings with close family and kin. They need to be private, because it’s like a personal sacred ritual to honor the person you love and care about. Instead, lots of people these days are inviting half of their colleagues at work, school mates and neighbours, employees and bosses, drinking buddies and comrades from the local gym, random “friends” or the friends of their friends of their friends. It’s a hell-of-a circus with a dark twist. It’s as if birthdays are some kind of an extraverted charity meetings to fill in the void of those participating. I cannot understand this whole mindset and hive mentality. I honestly would’ve felt like I am being hunted like a wild animal if I was at the very center of the crowded birthday party instead of “playing” the role of the person who needs to be honored, respected and given the needed attention. Early kings, jarls and chieftains of the bronze and iron ages, or later the so-called “Dark” and “Middle” Ages were very strict about these matters and birthdays were more like honoring various patron deities, instead of the person him/herself directly. In this day and age, it is mostly scaled to an inversion on all things sacred. Certainly, being hunted is not a nice position to be in, and in order for a person to keep him/herself from being violated, humiliated, unsanctified, defield or one’s psyche “raped” and shred to pieces, then that person must somehow reverse the role of the sacrificial animal (of the hunted), and develop ways to shield the harmful elements and interract and develop ways to filter transcendent consciousness on much higher levels. Those levels are like countless steps on a steep hill. Those who succeeded at climbing that hill were hunted or persecuted by the rulling “elite” at that time, or flat out wiped from the face of the earth. I consider myself like one those people. Yes, Paganism is the at the very core of my so-called “spiritual” beliefs and personal philosophy, but I am also a Heretic and have always been one, like those early Gnostics immerging from the mists of time. And so, I feel that it is important to learn, know and understand how it all begun. Take your archaeological tools and notebooks out. Lecture time!