Tag: folklore

Pieter Breugel, the Elder, “The Peasant Wedding”

1,196 words

Thanksgiving Day is America’s incarnation of the traditional harvest festival, a celebration of the end of the summer harvest, often marked by lavish feasts. (more…)

7,156 words

1. Introduction

The thesis of this essay is that it is wise to be superstitious. To put it differently, I will argue that my readers should be superstitious — or that they should embrace the superstitious nature they already have (for most of us have it), rather than try to disown superstition. (more…)

1,565 words

From my political praxis, I find that whenever I speak to mainstream conservatives and mention that some titular Leftist leader — be it Joe Biden or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in America, Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand, or whichever stuffed shirt they have heading the United Kingdom’s Labour Party these days — is smarter than they look, I’m immediately assayed with people insisting that I affirm that, yes, Joe Biden is obviously senile; and yes, Jacinda Ardern is obviously insane; (more…)

Philosophy Consoling Boethius and Fortune Turning the Wheel, 15th-century France

1,569 words

As part of an effort to better understand, and if possible, return to tradition, I’ve been plumbing the depths of folk tales, reading accounts of oral traditions, stories, legends, myths, sayings, epic songs, and other linguistic cultural artifacts of times past. One significant understanding I reached in my explorations is that pre-modern man placed a great value on luck as a factor in success or failure. Contrasting that is the modern view that chance plays a lesser role in the world. But what if the old folks had it right? (more…)

3,018 words

The singer Édith Piaf famously, and throatily, regretted nothing about anything. But the poet John Betjeman wished that he’d had more sex. And the economist John Maynard Keynes that he’d drunk more champagne. Me? I regret two things much more important than recreational sex or champagne. (more…)

William Powell Frith (1819-1909), A May Day Celebration (private collection)

6,740 words

Throughout Europe and the United States, the chill mornings and blossoming trees of spring are giving way to summer’s warmth and abundance. As the midway point between spring and summer, the month of May has historically been a season of great importance to the peoples of Europe, a joyful time of sowing, revelry, feasting, and courtship. (more…)

Ernest Henri Griset’s cover illustration for Michel Rodange’s Reynard the Fox, 1869.

1,517 words

When I took the garbage out earlier this week, I saw a fox crossing the street. We stared at each other for a prolonged moment before it ran off. During that encounter, I felt a strange connection with this wild animal. As much as I related to wolves in the past, I think that modern dissidents share some characteristics with foxes. Just as every fox looks after its own tail, each person in our community can outfox our enemies and adapt to our changing environments. (more…)

Caspar David Friedrich, Greifswald in Moonlight, 1817.

9,130 words

As men and women of the Right, we are searchers for Truth. We believe that by finding Truth and living by Truth, we might know Beauty, and we might know ourselves. Essence is our mission and with it, survival. And so this essay will try to surface and then sketch three fundamental “lifeways,” (more…)

J. C. Leyendecker, Cú Chulainn Riding His Chariot into Battle, 1911.

1,705 words

If you were to ask the average American about Irish culture, they might talk about leprechauns, shamrocks, Guinness, and St. Patrick’s Day. While these might be silly tropes and marketing gimmicks, they sparked my interest in Irish mythology and folklore. From Táin Bó Cúailnge to the Annals of Ulster, there are many stories of Irish heroes who protected their land from invaders. As I walked along the Ulster coast this week, I thought about those heroes. (more…)

Lucas van Valckenborch, View of Antwerp with the frozen Scheldt, 1590.

1,761 words

As I have gotten older, I find myself thinking about the fleeting nature of time. I often ask myself whether I have wasted too much time playing video games, reading fantasy books, or attending heavy metal concerts. Yet without these hobbies, I would have never visited Antwerp (more…)

Lāčplēsis

1,918 words

On my way to a heavy metal concert last year, I had a layover at the Riga Airport. While having a beer and a shot of Black Balsam at the airport bar, I was talking online to a Latvian woman that also liked heavy metal. I told her that I had always wanted to visit Riga (more…)

Juliusz Kossak, Kmita’s Companions on a Ride, 1885.

1,763 words

When I first moved to Eastern Europe, I did not have any friends in the region. Thus, I spent the winter of 2017 in solitude. To avoid any feelings of loneliness, I set a goal to finally read Henryk Sienkiewicz’s trilogy of historical novels. I also set a goal to go for a walk each evening. Whether I was in Lviv, Rzeszów, or Minsk, (more…)