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About Themis Wicca Rock Music
Posted On 12/30/2008 13:51:56

The Music Genre: "Wicca rock"

Wicca rock follows an earth or nature religion, one that sees the divine manifest in all creation.

Not necesarily the music used to create ambience for various Wicca rituals, Wicca rock is certainly alternative rock and is perhaps arguably a subset of Gothic rock but not to be confused with Pagan rock.

Wicca rock has a message that  "each of us depends on the well-being of the whole and so we of Wicca have respect for the community of living beings, for people, animals, and plants, and for the preservation of Earth, the air, water and soil. [creed]"

Wicca rock sings praise for Wicca, vegan (herbivoroushabits), feminism and ecology.

It is not about witchcraft. The largest proportion of members in Wicca are known as eclectic practitioners. That is, they are not a part of any specific Wicca craft and often not part of any coven. Instead, these eclectic Wiccans draw upon several sources to form their own individualized and innovative religious practices. That's what the emerging Wicca Rock is all about. Even Christians feel comfortable. "Live the life you choose for yourself" is a mantra of Wiccan rock, "but be responsible for your actions".

The feminism aspect of Wicca and Wicca rock is not to be confused with Dianic Wicca which excludes men almost completely.

It's more about the focus on Gaia (Mother Earth), a female quasi-deity. Females are respected as equal but have a slightly higher rank to males perhaps owing to the importance of several Titans who while being female are truly deities for both genders equally.

Originating in Canada, Wicca rock emerged when Canadian band Themis began touring Canada and the America with a repertoire promoting the divinity of nature; the "Lord and Lady in the forest of life" and an ethical credo that resembles Wicca philosophies as much as it does the global ethic standard adopted by the United Nations and by the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago.

Wicca Rock Subculture

Evidenced in lyrics of Wicca Rock songs like "I am The Shadow", "Love of Life"; and in publicly promoted events like a Black Swan (Toronto) Halloween event posted for October 31, 2008 in which the promoters declare that they have invited a Toronto "Wicca Rock Band", Wicca rockers advocate a culture promoting ecology; of non-violence and respect for life; the divinity of mother nature; solidarity with 'earth' and a just economic order; tolerance and truthfulness and equal rights and partnership between men and women (although Wicca women have a higher rank).

According to an article published by Web Radio Canada "[Wicca rock is] Still a fairly new genre of music ... [Wicca rock is] catching on quickly in North America. ...With the public's growing awareness of the harmful effects of polluting and abusing the environment, more and more people connect with the Wicca message of respecting the beauty and mystery of nature. Wicca's and non-Wicca's alike can experience and appreciate Mother Nature's precious earth and every drop of life each of us is given."

Wicca Rock and Religion

Wicca Rock may not be religious neutral to many of the Christian faith. While there are some quasi-Wiccan Christians, the past history of Wicca is associated with dual deities and hence many Christians balk at the thought of Wicca.  In these circles Wicca rock might only barely be acceptable. Some conservative Christians feel that even gospel music or Contemporary Christian Music is unholy.

On the other hand, perhaps less about political correctness and more about ecology beliefs which are common to all religions, Wicca Rock, according to Themis and Wicca, advances a more eclectic Wicca wherein the earth is the true temple; and the plants and creatures their musical partners and inspirations.

 

"We respect life, cherish the free will of sentient beings, and accept the sacredness of all creation. Our bible is the wind and the rain." - Ruffian Angel song writer and lead singer of Themis

"We thrive in the song and spirit of the birds and other creatures of the wild -- our music is written from a love of all life."

Light over Dark

Unlike much Gothic Rock, and even alternative rock, Wicca Rock is bright and cheerful, promoting positive ideals. Converse to Gothic rock which comes from the dark, Wicca Rock comes from the light side.

Wicca Rock's Musical Style

Wicca rock vocals, chorus, and some spuriously added wind instrumentals are the re-creation of the sounds of nature.

Other simulations of nature's sounds include:

  • a breeze moving through the trees (i.e.: vocals "The wind in the trees of the forest of life sing a song like this..." Themis - Love of Life).
  • the roar of an ocean crashing on jagged cliffs;
  • droplets of rain ("splashed across my cheeks" - Themis - Love of Life );
  • the crackling of lightning (i.e.: the clopped out, over flogged beautiful crash cymbal, Themis Drummer 'The Countess' hauls around from show to show to create the lightning crashes in Themis song "Your Angel".);
  • The cry of birds and roars of animals are some of the "instruments" that help comprise Wicca rock.

In Wicca Rock, the guitar tone is sharp and clear with compressed sustain, and in some songs processed with light electronic effects or sharply overdriven without much fuzz.

A bright overdriven guitar sound with compression is delivered clean or processed with some flanging and analog delay.

Creatively tuned ride cymbal patterns maintain the melodic rhythm of the Wicca song while repetitive closed and open high hat and Snare drum snaps push the beat.

Wicca Rock has a characteristic guitar playing style that resembles early rock and roll styles with percussive, full rhythm guitar chords. There is still a little of the down stroke playing style from punk, to add angular melodic lines instead of heavy chords. Minor keys and minor mode melodies are prevalent, but major keys are also used particularly in the brightest of songs such as Themis's "Love of Life".

References

Tags: Themis - About Wicca Rock Music

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Themis Vegans
Posted On 12/30/2008 13:50:34

Themis Vegans

Until we stop harming other living things, we are savages. Thomas Edison

Some historians record the term 'vegan' as coined in 1944 when Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson, frustrated that the term "vegetarianism" had come to include the eating of dairy products, founded the United Kingdom Vegan Society. They combined the first three and last two letters of vegetarian to form "vegan," which they saw as "the beginning and end of vegetarian.

Veganism is a way of living which excludes all forms of exploitation or cruelty toward the animal kingdom and includes a significant reverence for life as do we Themis Wiccans.

As long as there are slaughterhouses there will be battlefields. Leo Tolstoy

Humans are omnivores and as such have a choice of being herbivores, carnivores or both. Themis Vegans choose to be herbivores. It's perfectly healthy, natural and just.

Veganism applies to the practice of living on the products of the plant kingdom to the exclusion of flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey[1], animal milk and its derivatives (cheese etc.) and encourages the use of alternatives for all commodities derived wholly or in part from animals.

So I am living without fats, without meat, without fish, but am feeling quite well this way. It always seems to me that man was not born to be a carnivore. Albert Einstein


[1] Bees are exploited (starved) in the farming and harvesting of honey. Their environment is heavily manipulated. Bees lose their lives in the commercial honey industry, due to the way in which they are mishandled.



The Countess and her Ruffian Angel
Be the change you want to see in the world - Ghandi

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Themis WIccan Creed - Wicca Rock
Posted On 12/30/2008 13:48:36

Themis Wiccan Creed - Our Music's Ethics Themis

  1. We of Themis shall not support anything in our music that would oppress, injure, torture, or kill other living beings.
  2. We  encourage forsaking violence as a means of settling differences believing Earth cannot be changed for the better unless the consciousness of individuals is changed first.
  3. Knowing that music has great influence on human  consciousness, particularly over the young, we pledge to increase our awareness by disciplining our own minds through education and by positive thinking.
  4. Each of us depends on the well-being of the whole and so we of Themis have respect for the community of living beings, for people, animals, and plants, and for the preservation of Earth, the air, water and soil.

Themis makes a commitment to respect life and dignity, individuality and diversity, so that in all of our doings, every person is treated humanely, without exception. We must have patience and acceptance. We must be able to forgive, learning from the past but never allowing ourselves to be enslaved by memories of hate. Opening our hearts to one another, we the mebers of Themis must sink our narrow differences for the cause of our larger community, practicing a culture of solidarity and relatedness.

We of Themis consider humankind a family. We each strive to be kind and generous. We must not live for ourselves alone, but should also serve others, never forgetting the children, the aged, the poor, the suffering, the disabled, the refugees and the lonely. No person should ever be considered or treated as a second-class citizen, or be exploited in any way whatsoever. There should be equal partnership between men and women. We must not commit any kind of sexual immorality. We must discourage all forms of domination or abuse.

We of Themis commit ourselves to a culture of non-violence, respect, justice, and peace. We of Themis in our music, performances, lyrics or promotions shall not oppress, injure, torture, or kill other human beings, and will encourage forsaking violence as a means of settling differences.

We of Themis will strive for a just social and economic order, in which everyone has an equal chance to reach full potential as a human being. Themis band wil ensavour to speak and act truthfully and with compassion, dealing fairly with all, and avoiding prejudice and hatred. We and our music must move beyond the dominance of greed for power, prestige, money, and consumption to make a just and peaceful world.

We of Themis band believe Earth cannot be changed for the better unless the consciousness of individuals is changed first. Knowing that music and various music cultures have great influence, particularly over the young, we pledge to increase our awareness by disciplining our minds, through education and by positive thinking.

We of Themis commit ourselves to encouraging socially beneficial, peace-fostering, and nature-friendly ways of life.

Themis

Themis in greek mythology means "law of nature" rather than "human ordinance". The goddess Themis presided over the proper relation between man and woman, the basis of the rightly ordered family. She stood for justice.
Pronounced like 'FAMOUS' with a "TH" instead of "F" Spelling: tau eta epsilon mu iota sigma.

Themis music: Our singular goal is having a good time together; being happy; and sharing that happiness with you if that is your choosing. :o)

The largest proportion of members in Wicca are known as eclectic practitioners. That is, they are not a part of any specific Wicca craft and often not part of any coven. Instead, these eclectic Wiccans draw upon several sources to form their own individualized and innovative religious practices. That's what Themis Wicca Rock is all about. Live the life you choose for yourself.

A strong thread in the artistic work of Themis is the Wiccan love of life and nature. Lyrical references to the "Love of Life", the "Forest of Life", "the Honeyed Fountain", "the gentle caress of a warm summer breeze" focus on the Wiccan belief in nature's divinity.

Themis Music has drawn nature-loving Wiccans from all over the world (http://www.themismusic.com/).

Themis promotes unity among all peoples through the natural love for music among earth's peoples; and the common need to love earth and her fragility.

The Countess and Ruffian Angel form both a musical and religious partnership: they are a High Priest and a High Priestess who have each undergone the three degrees of Wiccan initiation.

Typically the defining characteristics of  Wicca are:

  • A reverence for all nature;

  • The Goddess and God are seen as complementary polarities and this balance is seen in nature;

  • Most believe in the ability to harness the earth’s energy to work some form of 'magic' be it medicine and healing, health maintenance, food and nutrition ppreparation, and other eco-based 'tricks' . This is not generally viewed as supernatural but as natural;

  • Wiccan Rede states: "If it harm none, do what you will." Members are allowed to follow whatever path they choose so long as no harm befalls others, including themselves; and

  • The Threefold Law state: A person's deeds return to him/her three times over. The repercussions of both good and evil behavior return to their originator three times over.


The two Themis Wiccans promote Wiccan eco-philosophy in their songs and written texts/articles. Embedded in the Canadian duo's music and their published explanations of the Themis's musical inspirations, is a clear adoption of Wiccan ecology and feminism.

The Special Holidays of Wicca are tuned to the seasons of nature:

  1. Samhain - Nov. 1

  2. Yule/Midwinter/Winter Solstice - Dec. 22

  3. Imbolc/Brigid/Candlemas - Feb. 1

  4. Eostre/Vernal Equinox - March 22

  5. Beltaine - May 1st

  6. Litha/Midsummer/Summer Solstice - June 22

  7. Lughnasadh/Lammas - Aug.1

  8. Harvest Home/Autumn Equinox - Sept. 22

New and Full Moons are also generally celebrated with meditation and ritual.

Tags: Themis - Wicca Rock

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