The Miscellaneous Goings On Of Tom - Easter Edition

Sun, Chocolate & Isolation

Happy Easter! or Ēostre for my various pagan readers! The sun has been glorious the past week or so and it really has lifted my morale during these strange circumstances we find ourselves in. I've dwelled on the recent pandemic a bit too much in recent posts but the message remains the same. I've felt very uplifted by the sun in the recent days and just feeling the warmth again (as much as I love the cold, the mild winter we had was shit). Spring has sprung and hopefully the trees will start restoring themselves to a green wonderland in the coming weeks. Of course, Easter is traditionally a time to see in new life and celebrate the longs days. For me it's always been a weird time, as it  doesn't get the same pomp and ceremony as Christmas but is still a significant time of year that I've seen pass me by multiple times without a care. Either way, I hope everyone in the UK makes the most of this sun, responsibly and within social distancing/isolation guidelines, get out in your garden and sink a few beers at least. Today was my first day venture into the sun, I promptly became red like a lobster. Anyway, it's a short paragraph from me today as I am far to chilled out after today, and I'll probably be in a chocolate coma tomorrow. Which reminds me, always buy your Easter eggs after Easter, they're a damn sight cheaper! From Fjordhammer with love, Happy Ēostre everyone! 🤘

What I'm Listening To At This Very Moment

Some Finnish doom metal, and the singer sounds like Ozzy Osbourne with a deeper voice. With the sun out I tend to take life a bit slower and my music also reflects that. Something about all that old 70s Occult stuff in the summer that just fuels my imagination when the sun is out. I do prefer this style of music with a female vocal though, something mystical and witch like about it, bands like Coven, Lucifer, Blood Ceremony, etc. Definitely feeling these vocals though, as many of you know Ozzy is one of my idols. 

What I've Been Jamming To This Week

A nice healthy dose of stoner, doom, psychedelic doom and sludge. Just feeling some weird spiritual energy recently, all good vibes of course I do my best not to piss off Mother Earth so she doesn't send her elemental demons after me. Ever since I've acquired a surround sound stereo system I feed my bass wave habit, so doom, sludge etc., is really heavy in the low end and I'm lapping it up like a crack addict. One album that has stood out to me though is Deranged Pagan Sons by Cardinals Folly (also from Finland). Its got the big riffs, Satanic/cult themes and some death growls, perfect! 

Some Interesting Facts About Witchcraft 

Whilst we're on the subject of feeling mystical vibes and to add a little spookiness to your Easter, here's some interesting things I found out about witchcraft;

I. All the etymology geeks out there may or may not be surprised to know that the word “witch” is of indeterminate origin. The closest and most obvious possible origin is the Old English word wicce, which means “female sorceress,” and is the basic linguistic root for the modern day pagan religion, Wicca. Another more specific possibility is a split meaning coming from the Old English wigle, meaning “divination” and wih, meaning “idol,” both coming from the Proto-Germanic word wikkjaz, which means “necromancer,” or “one who wakes the dead.” (Mentalfloss, 2015)

II. Technically, England’s Witchcraft Act of 1735 was still official and on the books until 1951, when it was replaced with the Fraudulent Mediums Act. The language of the original Act wasn’t about persecuting witches per se, but rather made it illegal for people to claim that others were witches. (Mentalfloss, 2015)

III. Between the years 1500 and 1660, up to 80,000 suspected witches were put to death in Europe. Around 80 percent of them were women thought to be in cahoots with the Devil and filled with lust. Germany had the highest witchcraft execution rate, while Ireland had the lowest. (History.com, 2017)

IV. The publication of “Malleus Maleficarum”—written by two well-respected German Dominicans in 1486—likely spurred witch mania to go viral. The book, usually translated as “The Hammer of Witches,” was essentially a guide on how to identify, hunt and interrogate witches. "Malleus Maleficarum" labeled witchcraft as heresy, and quickly became the authority for Protestants and Catholics trying to flush out witches living among them. For more than 100 years, the book sold more copies of any other book in Europe except the Bible. (History.com, 2017)

As Always, Stay Safe & Stay Metal

As always, stay safe and stay metal! Enjoy this Easter holiday with your loved ones if you are with them, if not reach out and connect. Family or friends, eat all the chocolate you can manage and drink plenty of beer in the garden.

🐰Happy Ēostre! From Fjordhammer🐰

References

Hutchinson, S., (29th October 2019), 10 Weird Facts About Witches, Mentalfloss.com, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/53438/10-weird-facts-about-witches

History.com Editors, (12th September 2017), History Of Witches, History.com, A&E Television Networks, https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-witches