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…)

Robert Plant (left) and Jimmy Page (right), Chicago, 1977.

2,100 words

Someone told me there’s a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair

— “Going to California”

Led Zeppelin’s back catalog already includes songs like “Ramble On” from the rocky Led Zeppelin II and the melancholic classic “Tangerine” from the flower-powered III. (more…)

Holger Danske.

1,742 words

Of all the airports I have traveled through, I have probably spent the most time at Copenhagen Airport. During a recent layover there, I kept passing by a souvenir shop that displayed books about hygge, a Danish term that broadly represents “coziness, contentment, and happiness.” Whether I was visiting castles, discovering ancient burial mounds, or attending heavy metal concerts with friends, I have had many experiences in Denmark that gave me the hygge feeling. As a wanderer, dissident, and white advocate, (more…)

Mårten Eskil Winge, Thor’s Fight with the Giants, 1872.

1,839 words

When the average person thinks of Sweden, they probably think of IKEA, meatballs, ABBA, and PewDiePie. When people in the Dissident Right think about Sweden, we often think of a country at the pinnacle of anti-white propaganda and anarcho-tyranny. Nevertheless, Swedish culture has had a great influence on my life, from the music I listen to each day to the furniture I fall asleep on each night. Furthermore, much of our fascination and modern-day perception of the Vikings comes from a small group of Swedish writers from the Geatish Society (more…)

1,718 words

Author’s note: Tomorrow marks one year of my writing for Counter-Currents.

Folklore is Taylor Swift’s eighth studio album. It joined the hallowed halls of other so-called “isolation records” on July 24, 2020, in a surprise release (more…)

Hans Gude, Likferd Pa Sognefjorden, 1853.

1,703 words

I watched American History X with my roommate last night. Watching the film brought back memories and nostalgia for my teenage years. When I first saw the movie as a teen, I was obsessed with Scandinavia due to my passion for heavy metal and my own Danish roots. (more…)

2,021 words

Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave was an exhibition of Hokusai’s works mounted by the British Museum in the summer of 2017. This ambitious event sought to contextualize Hokusai’s famous In the Hollow of The Wave, better known as “The Great Wave,” (more…)

4,208 words

Yomawari: Night Alone is a survival horror videogame from Nippon Ichi Software, released in fall 2015 in Japan before being rapidly localized into English in 2016. It has enjoyed commercial success across multiple platforms (PC, Nintendo Switch, and PS Vita) and spawned a sequel, Midnight Shadows. The player character is a little girl with a red bow drawn in simple anime style; a sort of Minnie Mouse from a more mature world. (more…)

1,703 words

In the summer of 1969 the members of Fairport Convention were gathered together at a country house in Farley Chamberlayne in picturesque Hampshire. There they were to record their most celebrated album, Liege & Lief, the definitive statement in English folk-rock. The country retreat setting was partly therapeutic as the band had earlier that year been involved in a tragic road accident whilst on their way back from a gig in Birmingham. The drummer, Martin Lamble, and guitarist Richard Thompson’s girlfriend, Jeannie Taylor, were both killed. Clearly, the remaining members of Fairport were looking for a new musical direction as they sought to put the past behind them.  (more…)

Pieter Breugel, the Elder, "The Peasant Wedding"

1,183 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…)