Wardruna 2025

Merry Meet and Welcome to you magickal souls!!!!

I can't believe that I have managed to do this but on 18th March 2025, I was privileged to be able to see Wardruna in concert for the second time!

The music produced by Wardruna is what I call my soul music, as in it calls to my soul and my heart in such a way that it feels spiritual all on its own. To be honest, that's what Einar Selvik, founder and leader of Wardruna, has said previously about how he would like people to approach their music.

Something I'm just starting to appreciate about the music that Wardruna have produced is its animist undertones, where anything and everything in Nature has a soul, from the plants to the animals, from the rocks to the rivers and streams. The music also promotes how sacred Nature is.

To help me to connect with Wardruna's music, not that I need it, I chose to create a kind of Florida Water especially for this concert but I could wear it when attending any concert in the future. I chose each ingredient with intention and while I only created a small amount of this, I made sure to write the recipe down so I can tweak it if necessary and make more.

Here are the herbs I chose to use and the associations I paid attention to and wanted to include in this "perfume", although I have yet to find and decide on a name for it:

Patchouli - for passion and communication

Rose Petals - for gratitude and appreciation

Flat Leaf Cedar - for spirituality

Lemongrass - for my Heart Chakra and awareness

Makrut Lime Leaves - for emotional balance

Curry Leaves - for joy

Orange Peel - for peace, calm and renewal

Hibiscus Flowers - for serenity

Something I didn't know is that Vodka has associations just like Apple Cider Vinegar, and any other liquids I might use. While learning this, I was partly surprised about the associations of Vodka but also partly unsurprised because the information makes sense to me. Vodka is associated with the elements of Fire and Water, which makes sense because of how it burns and how it looks. It is also connected with strength, courage (even the liquid kind), motivation, and doing what needs to be done regardless of how difficult that might be or how tired a person is.

Once my Water was done, or more specifically, after the date I chose for it to be done, I strained the liquid from the plant matter and poured the liquid into a little bottle that I kept for this purpose. I'm struggling with a cohesive name for this fragrance but I must admit that I loved wearing it as it smelt so earthy but with floral elements and a bit of spice, which makes me smile because I can be feminine and I speak fluent sarcasm. It is hard for me to describe the scent but it is pleasant and I like that it can be an added element of memory to the concert.

Jo Quail's performance was immense! She played three of her own pieces on her cello using a loop and pedals. The first was Rex, and it felt to me like when Queen Elizabeth II passed and Charles became the latest to ascend to the throne. The phrase that came to mind was "changing of the guard", but this piece could easily be about any person who leads or is seen as a leader.

The second piece was Embrace, a new piece that will be on Jo's next album. This piece at first brought up memories or ideas of being held by my mum in a loving embrace but as the piece moved on, it became more like the embrace of winter (which is still trying to keep hold of England). Certain elements of the piece made me think of the whistling, chilly wind that carries the frost along, or the snow that falls from the sky before dropping heavily from the trees.

The third piece was called Addistone, and it embodied a part of the English coastline where the sea attempts to weave her magick. This piece was full of magick, and while I personally don't live near the sea, I felt this music through my bones. It took me mentally to the sea, just off the coast but not too far, where ships can be wrecked or saved. The music undulated, much as the sea-waves do, up at the peak and crashing down in the trough.

There was a short intermission here, possibly to allow the auditorium to recover from the emotions hidden expertly within Jo Quail's truly magickal music. During this time, I pulled a couple of cards from the Witch's Familiar Runic Oracle deck by Athene Noctua to see what this experience of Wardruna's music would be for me, and the cards I received were Dagaz and Fehu.

Dagaz was first and it just happens to be one of my favourite runes because it's about the dawn awakening or birthing a new day, and the enlightenment that then becomes possible, essentially the return of light to the world on a short-term time-frame.

This is all rather similar to what happens with butterflies, which is the author's chosen animal for this rune. Butterflies go into a dark chrysalis to transform, as the night transforms one day into the next, emerging without fanfare as a butterfly and dawn which are both colourful.

Dagaz is also part of the final group of eight runes or aett, which is dedicated to Tyr, the god of justice and war. The concert happened on a Tuesday which is named after Tyr!!!!

With Fehu, this rune is connected with abundance and material wealth. It is also the first rune in the Elder Futhark alphabet, in the first group or aett of eight runes, which are dedicated to the Goddess of love and battle, Freya.

This connection makes sense to me because I won't allow anything or anyone to stand in the way of me seeing them in concert (essentially, I'll do battle to experience Wardruna live). I also hold an abundant love for Wardruna and have four of their six albums in CD form, so I also have a material wealth of their music.

In this deck, Fehu is associated with the squirrel, and holds an acorn aloft as his reward for doing so much foraging. His hard work and effort has paid off, so now he receives sustenance.

Then came the performance that I was waiting for. Wardruna walked onto the stage but what I couldn't see until near the end was that most of them were either barefoot or only had socks on! This made me love the band even more because it shows how immersed they get into their performances, turning each one into their own personal experience.

The main set list was made up of twelve songs, a selection that ranged from their earliest album, Runaljod - Gap var Ginnunga (2009), to the most recent one, Birna (2025). The order of the songs engulfed me in a spiritual and emotional journey that gave me some really personal revelations, to the point that I was almost crying from the wisdom that I experienced.

After this, most of the audience (including me) stood up and gave Wardruna a well-deserved standing ovation before Einar took to the microphone to talk a little about the inspiration behind Birna and the song they seem to sing for an encore. Einar mentioned that Birna is all about traditions of the earth, which are timeless and universal, especially since so many cultures have their own "ways of the earth". However, he did specify that having a "cultural pissing contest doesn't matter because it's all shite" (that's almost verbatim as I was typing on my phone as he was talking but the main message is there).

Einar did say that Birna is all about history and memory, looking back and learning from the past and doing better now. As an example, he said that singing as a family, tribe or community is missing now but singing is medicine so we should all sing more. At this point, everyone was given "homework", which consisted of going home and singing. This transitioned into Einar mentioning that many years ago, there were songs for all occasions, from birth to sowing the fields, reaping the harvest to baking bread or spinning thread/string.

All of that led to an explanation around how Helvegen came to be, as it is all about honouring and remembering while being a song about singing, crossing over and letting go. Letting go being for both the one passing to the next/after- life, and for those who are left behind in this world. I will say that Helvegen is the first song that introduced me to Wardruna and I have been hooked ever since.

After Helvegen, there was another almost complete standing ovation before Einar asked for everyone to show some gratitude for his colleagues and they bowed before exiting the stage. Einar then mentioned that some of the oldest songs around the world are lullabies, but they can also have a commone theme or subject: Bears. This was how Hibjørnen came to take form and it was the final experience of the night, performed by Einar on his own and accompanying himself with a Kravik lyre.

The whole evening was magickal and so profound, and I recommend looking Wardruna up and listening to a variety of their music. Each "concert" is more spiritual to me, so there's that too.

I hope what I have experienced is inspiring to you, getting you to think about how you connect to music and what it means to you.

Peace and love to all!!!!