Moving between Animist & Panentheist, Druid & Heathen, Bard & Philosopher, Anarchist & Autonomist, James Lindenschmidt has embraced the word “Pagan” for more than twenty years. He feeds his spirit by bonding with his ecosystem, and learning to work with it in better and better relationship. He views fermentation as a devotional practice, with mead being the highest alchemical expression of an ecosystem. Read more at http://www.jameslindenschmidt.com.
First off, apologies for the long delay between episodes. Producing this episode was a struggle on many levels; Heidegger readers will not be surprised. Thinking about Heidegger evokes numerous struggles, one of which is Heidegger’s relationship with fascism and anti-semitism. Despite this history, interest in Heidegger’s thought remains strong. To find out why, and to more closely examine Heidegger’s (probably quite short-lived) seduction by fascist ideology, we interviewed three Heidegger scholars (in order of their appearance in the episode): Jeremiah Conway, philosopher, teacher, and author of The Alchemy of Teaching; philosopher, teacher, and Gods & Radicals writerKadmus Herschel; and Susanne Claxton, philosopher, teacher, and author of Heidegger’s Gods: An Ecofeminist Perspective.
Music for this episode came from Gin Mill Julep and Lani Thompson. Gin Mill Julep, at the time of this recording several years ago, consisted of Greg Bjork on mandolin, Ann Murray on accordion, and Paul Mattor on upright bass. The song in this episode is called “Mettsa Kukkia,” which is a single live performance (no overdubs) recorded in an old church building alongside the Saco River in Maine, and was remixed and edited for this episode. Lani’s performance of “Song Of The Nesting Bird” is on the kantele, an 11-stringed Finnish instrument that reminds me of a dulcimer with an utterly enchanting sound. Other background drone sounds and percussion were also added throughout the episode.
Translations
In the episode, there are three excerpts of Heidegger himself speaking in German. I found the following translations for them, but since I do not speak German I cannot vouch for their accuracy. They seem coherent to me, and are consistent with my very cursory understanding of Heidegger’s thought:
0:17 – 0:30
“The relation of human beings to language is undergoing a transformation, the consequences of which we are not yet ready to face.”
23:55 – 24:38
“I would say that men – for example in communism – have a religion, because they believe in science. They believe unconditionally in modern science. And this unconditional belief in science, that means the confidence in the certainty of the results of science is a belief and is, in a certain way – something that exceeds the existence of a single person, and is therefore a religion. And I would say: no one is without a religion, and everyone is in a certain manner transcending themselves.”
36:07 – 37:09
“The decisive experience of my thinking and that means at the same time for western philosophy the meditation on the history of western philosophy has shown me, that in the past one question did never appear: the question of being. And this question is relevant because we determine, in western thinking, that man is in a relation to being and that he exists by corresponding to being.”
This episode came together out of love and gratitude. Quite literally, the piano music by Zoë Knight comes directly from a love song, and provides the musical structure of this episode. In working with the elements, my favorite Water devotional practice is gathering my own drinking water at a spring near my home, where the cleanest, most refreshing water I’ve ever tasted flows like love from the ground. I recorded the sounds of the spring (and a water blessing) on one of my recent trips, and it’s a perfect sonic backdrop for this episode.
The brilliant “Like A Dragon Newly Woken” poetry & performance narrative comes from Guests of the Earth, a performance group in the UK consisting of Nicolas Guy Williams, Peter Dillon, and Gods & Radicals writer Lorna Smithers. They were kind enough to send me an original sound recording of their performance by Terry Quinn.
NOTE: It’s best to think of this episode as a guided meditation. Set aside some time (13 minutes), and do whatever you can to maximize your listening experience with the best sound system you have access to. Nice speakers or headphones usually provide a better listening experience than earbuds or phone/laptop speakers. If you like, you can follow along with the words (reproduced below).
This episode is dedicated with love and gratitude to the Aquifers and Water Protectors across the planet.
Like A Dragon Newly Woken
Red River Rushing
by Nicolas Guy Williams
deep in the heart ran the rusting river red earth mother rushing //
under bridge leaping stone past old dripping wood bones //
carrying the water out to far ocean earth bearing shoulder touching the knowing //
cold as a whisper over grass leaping twilight ground keeping //
hard the rain’s weeping stand upon cloud drenched land moans //
deep in the heart ran the rusting river red earth mother rushing //
through city’s soul shivers drenched by the cleansing //
left handed path bouncing and bounding echo of rain on glass making tones //
carrying the water out to far ocean earth bearing shoulder touching the knowing //
the mud brown sliver shivering river bed broken and hushing //
ocean’s demand to break over land like ice creaking over glacial stones //
deep in the heart ran the rusting river red earth mother rushing //
through moist eye surface oh come hither dry wither cease thy shivering //
upon soaked sand ending dry land’s hold upon songs long forgotten by the wisdom of crones //
carrying the water out to far ocean earth bearing shoulder touching the knowing //
the feet of old mister dark coat floating memory of boating //
through hardship unplanned by death and the sound of ships and their bones //
deep in the heart ran the rusting river red earth mother rushing //
carrying the water out to far ocean earth bearing shoulder touching the knowing
Spirit of the Aquifer
by Lorna Smithers, voiced by Lorna and Peter
In eighteen eighty four
a monolithic feat of engineering
shifts the Ribble’s course: no water to the springs.
From the hill’s abyssal deep
a rumbling of the bowels,
a vexed aquatic shriek: no water to the wells.
Breached within the chasm
a dragon lies gasping
with a pain she cannot fathom: no water to the springs.
Water table reft
her giving womb unswells,
surging through the clefts: no water to the wells.
Unravelling inside
her serpent magic streams
to join the angry tides: no water to the springs.
Culverted and banked
her serpent powers fail,
leaking dry and cracked: no water to the wells.
The spinning dragon-girl
tumbles from her swing
and slips to the underworld: no water to the springs.
Her spirit will not rise
through the dead and empty tunnels,
disconsolate we cry: no water to the wells.
The hill, no longer healing
stands broken of its spell, no water to the springs,
no water to the wells.
Four Wells
by Lorna Smithers, voiced by Peter and Nick
Four wells at Little Plumpton.
Four wells at Roseacre.
Four wells in the darkness
between drilling and decision.
Four wells of steel meets shale.
Four wells boring into the mind.
Four wells of screaming poison.
Four wells of deadly sands of time.
Four wells? A gaseous question
scorches ears of invisible skies. Four wells? An uneasy whisper
from underworld gods.
Four wells to decide the future.
Four wells of choice. Four wells of trembling.
By word on four wells our land
will be saved or destroyed.
Drill Rig
by Nicolas Guy Williams, voiced by Nick and Lorna
it is like a metal horse
eating the earth
that drill
stood still
and chewing
through layers of my stone skin
it is like a robot mosquito
sucking the earthblood
that drill
stood still
and sucking
through the veins of my flesh
it is like a metal tick
consuming the lifeforce
that drill
stood still
and feeding
all bloated on the stuff of my soul
it can’t hear me screaming it can’t hear me screaming
it can’t hear me shout it can’t hear me shout
it can’t hear its poison it can’t hear its poison
dissolving me out
to a gas not worth breathing
it’s burning it’s burning
i’m screaming i’m screaming
its waste is my doubt
Anti-fracking Soliloquy
by Nicolas Guy Williams, voiced by Peter
the time of winter’s love does come
upon the hearth and on the stone
it creeps in moss and through the trees
the portal of the dead to see
the whispering wind doth stretch its hand
to claim the passion of the land and thus
curl around lost summer’s leaves
to shake the branch the sun to breathe
and pierce the bones of all the folk
of forest fell of hill and mount
the love of ice the love of frost
whose cold caress creeps in the dark
around the house around the hill
the rivers rise the rain comes down
the sun grows pale the moon demands
that earth to cold doth turn its hand
but summer spirit seeks still its turn
the air may learn the air may learn
that by the hand of man and sun
the atmosphere alerts
as do the chemicals in the earth
and now they seek
oh yes they seek
to gather more unto the bleak
they seek to frack
the hypodermic toxic jack
and spill the winter’s love
but spring is strong inside our hearts
and the fight against fracking is our fire
as deep as our old sun
we start
in the love of winter
in the love of glistening mother earth
and from our heart we start
Proud of Preston
by Lorna Smithers
The voice of Belisama, goddess of the Ribble:
Proud of Preston heed my entry
Hear the call of ancient memories
Hearts purloined by Roman sentries
Like a river shining bright.
Proud of Preston born free traders
Made by commerce and hard labour
Merchants gilded artists favored
Like the Brigantes warred in tribes.
Mechanics shift the scene of battle
Raise the red brick smog industrial
Cording hearts like twisting material
On the wheels of the cotton lords.
Step the Chartists to the engines
Pull the plugs release the tension
The rioters face the sentries
Dye the river dark with blood.
Grey arise the business faceless
Fake fulfillment for the faithless
Mass the market for the tasteless
Selling life for capital.
High in the stone fortress
The sentries hold their rule
Beyond the mall and office
Do you hear a river call?
Proud of Preston I have carved you
In my sweeping spirit formed you
Through your veins floods dazzling water
My Setantii shining bright.
Will you hearken to my entry
Drown false dreams in ancient memories
Will the proud of Preston
Like a shining river rise?
The Activist Said
by Nicolas Guy Williams, voiced by Nick and Peter
… is like a bush-break-bead-bone born from what the hurricane missed
this oh so nonchalant idea of distance
sun seared so cerebral tone that crone-corn in the drying field a fist ferocious free fall frozen in street moments
gaze grown atonements of a prize-praised eye
oh so diligent in polite society
here is the bombchord the cold ordered class called
what pierceth earth doth pierceth heart like broken glass like broken glass
do i have to ask which Herculean task this voice must break over the record of a snake sneered volatile habit of wrong thought
ain’t no money-honey in the poor in the poor
and whilst virgin forest is persecuted for gold
whilst industry doth chemical-rape our innocent earth
and whilst bankuponbank can take from folk both home and hearth for their false wealth
we will live in the fierce dawn like that first fire
draw line-carved dont’s across their most hearted won’t-stops
and be in our strong silence stoic grim
where thought and voice are force are force
and revelation is a choice a choice
and stand on stone with stone born mind
with eyes that set their worlds on fire
The first book published by Gods & Radicals was the very worthy Pagan Anarchism by C.S. Thompson. This episode features an interview with the author, discussing the context of his book.
“What I see as the crisis of the modern world is that we are trained, if not brainwashed, to see the world as being dead. Dead matter. Not infused with spirit. And so, because of this mentality which was shared by both the capitalist world and the authoritarian communist regimes… we have done so much damage to the environment that Earth won’t be able to sustain a complex civilization like ours for much longer if we don’t change course. So my argument is that we need to return to a conception of the world as being absolutely filled with spirit, an animistic conception of the world, which is the core idea of pagan religion.”
–C.S. Thompson,
There are several poems in the book, two of which, “To The Goddess Of The City” and “To The God Of The Wood”, were performed by Joie Grandbois for this episode. Music here is “Thieves Oil” by the fabulous Disemballerina.
“We have what we’ve always had, which is each other. We have the ability to come together.”
— Shane Burley
“Pushing back against the atomization of the individual is the bedrock of … solidarity. Once we have that, it’s possible to really push back.”
— Ryan Smith
“A fertile and new American resistance is blossoming, and it needs a magical edge.”
— Dr. Bones
This episode begins with an automated recital of the 14 characteristics of fascism. Next, is an invocation by Kiarna Boyd, performed by Cassandra Boyd, “To Thems What Practice War Magic.” After that is excerpts from a discussion on fascism with Shane Burley and Ryan Smith. Dr Bones also has an an inspiring sermon about the importance of the magical edge of resistance and linking up with people around you.
Music from this episode is “Inside The Forest,” from Eddy Dyer‘s new album, Love Is At The Heart Of This Thing, Right? This album was just released and I’m very excited about it, since I was involved as a producer, recordist, and mixer. It was a pleasure to work with Eddy, and this track had the perfect vibe for this episode. Drums by Charles Greenwood, piano by Zoe Knight. Vocals, synthesizers, and theremins by Eddy Dyer.
Kiarna Boyd is an author, a practicing Geomancer, and a System Administrator. More info: www.blessedandcursedalike.com.
Shane Burley is a journalist and filmmaker based in Portland, Oregon. His work has been featured in places like ThinkProgress, In These Times, Waging Nonviolence, Labor Notes, Roar Magazine, and Make/Shift. He has provided interviews and research on fascism and the far right to places like The Guardian and the Huffington Post, and is currently working on a book on neo-fascism for AK Press. His work can be found at ShaneBurley.net and at Twitter at @shane_burley1.
Ryan Smithis a Heathen devoted to Odin living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the co-founder of Heathens United Against Racism, a founding member of Golden Gate Kindred, is active in the environmental justice and anti-police brutality movements, and recently completed his Masters in modern Middle East History and economics.
October 31st is a good day to tell tales of the dead. For this episode, I recorded Pete Witham & The Cozmik Zombies doing their song “Dancing With The Dead.” Thanks to Jon Wyman and the guys at The Halo for the recording space. Pete Witham wrote the song, sang it, and played lead guitar. Drew Wyman played upright bass. Steve Dunphy played acoustic guitar and sang backing vocals.
Spoken word contributions came from several of my favorite Gods & Radicals writers. In order of appearance, they are:
In this episode, I spoke with recording engineer, music producer, and practitioner of Thelemic magic Oz Fritz. Oz has an extensive credit list in recording, having worked with Bill Laswell, Bernie Worrell, Tom Waits, Oysterhead, Primus, Hakim Bey, and many, many others.
We spoke about creating space in magic & music, consciousness, brain change, quantum physics, and quite a bit about recording and mixing music and audio.
All the music heard in this episode was recorded & mixed by Oz, and performed by Bernie Worrell, used with permission. Songs include:
Never let it be said that one cannot glean political insight from astral projection. This podcast contains 4 astral encounters, some familiar, some less so.
Music is “Seems Like” by Freakwitch; Matthew Shields lyrics & vocals; James Lindenschmidt music, guitars, & production; Yo Bassman acoustic bass guitar; Alfred Lund drums.
This episode was a treat. I was lucky enough to interview A Peoples’ Remembrancer, Peter Linebaugh, on Bastille Day. These comments are taken from that conversation. We spoke about a lot of things, including Bastille Day; the Green and Red struggles of May Day; prisons, plantations, & the factory as locations of struggle; coal miners; the lungs as part of nature; rewilding the cities; welfare as referring to wellness; how the magical Will is a social creation and becomes more powerful when shared collectively; and revolt as a Peoples’ Magic.
The excitement, the joy, the emotions, and the will is collective when it becomes powerful, and then it produces events that are totally unthought of. Who could have possibly imagined that a wall 90 feet high, in parts 30 feet thick, surrounded by a moat deep enough to drown in, who would have thought that such an edifice which had remained for centuries could be brought down in the space of less than 24 hours. That’s what we’re celebrating on the 14th of July, 1789. This edifice of tyranny, this edifice of repression, this action of people who are rewilding it has provided inspiration for every urban revolution that has ever taken place, and it provides us inspiration now that the carceral archipelago, the huge military prison complex of the USA, can be brought down in a twinkling. These are the miracles of history, but it’s just as accurate to say these are peoples’ magic.”
–Peter Linebaugh
Several months ago, I had an opportunity to record Moore, Wild, & Lynch in a living room in Maine. The music in this episode, an instrumental called “The Jig,” is from that session, along with several ambient recordings of city people celebrating and the ocean.
Those of you who wanted to hear more from Dr. Bones, whose masterful sermons and rants have been a big part of our podcasts thus far, here you are. Not much more to add; go listen to the man himself tell his story.
