I've spent the past week listening to several songs from Ancient Mother, an album from 1993. We played several of the pieces from that album a lot when I was young. I love both the title song ("Ancient Mother") and "The Circle Is Cast," in addition to "Lady of the Flowing Waters." Playing the songs … Continue reading Playlists as Prayers
Tag: music
A Contemplation of Celestial Data
On Friday, I encountered a BBC program of data sonification feature from Slow Radio, "A Sonic Journey Across the Universe." It got me thinking about the ways that I reach for astronomical concept-symbols when I write hymns and how celestial concepts fit into the ways I engage with the Gods at my shrine and in … Continue reading A Contemplation of Celestial Data
Did K.T. Tunstall Read the Bacchae?
When I pray to Dionysos, I usually read Orphic Hymn 30 or the verses from the Bacchae in the Grene & Lattimore-edited translation that start a few lines after line 70. The section is translated beautifully, with the kind of presence that works well for recitation before doing prayer beads or something. Blessèd, blessèd are … Continue reading Did K.T. Tunstall Read the Bacchae?
In Which I Do Something Platonic to Me Not You’s “Kill the Noise” Lyrics
In my Discover Weekly playlist, a piece by an artist called Me Not You was introduced to me. And Plotinus’ On Beauty has been on my mind because I was part of a private group discussion about it recently. So, my mind was primed when I started listening to this, Muses help me. My laundry … Continue reading In Which I Do Something Platonic to Me Not You’s “Kill the Noise” Lyrics
Platonizing Alan Watts’ “Spectrum of Love”: A Listen-Through
Spotify introduced me to Hælos' Full Circle last year — first, via a song called "Alone," and then a transitional piece called "Intro/Spectrum." Perhaps I had heard the piece before and had just skipped it. I know that it started appearing on playlists in November 2021, when I noticed it for its poignant words — spoken, set to music, from some kind of lecture. This post analyzes that lecture through a mildly Platonizing framework.
KALLISTI 