#darkfolk

Blessed Autumn Equinox! 🗝🧹💎🗡⚡️🔨🦂

• Ostara Spring Returned •

No, I never foresaw the war. I have to admit that all those clumsy things we used to do to “pray for our people” never really changed anything. Sure, some traditions in Ukrainian folk witchcraft are still alive. Mostly it’s the protective charms that girls used to make for their lovers — and I’ve done something similar myself for someone dear.

But the point here is different. War pushes everything to extremes — either into despair or into fantasy. I used to think that praying for someone could make things easier. It doesn’t. That’s an illusion that only holds when you’re drowning in helplessness. Real change demands real effort, real resources, real work.

War has stripped away what I thought mattered. The hope for a peaceful life ahead. Now there is only a kind of stoic understanding that if I die — there will be nothing I can do about it.

Out of all the magical tools I once used in peacetime — spells for money, for health, for love — only grounding and centering practices remain. Meditation, some simple visualizations. The present moment cuts away anything illusory, no matter how sweet it used to feel.

The same happened to my methods. Only the essential parts survived — the ones I still have strength for. Instead of dozens of herbs, only those with real, proven effects, and maybe the simple act of holding a warm cup to feel the “spirit of the plant.” Instead of complex ceremonies — small, quiet rituals with three steps at most. Even the seasonal festivals have become shadows of what they were — leaving only reflection, dim light, silence, and my magical journal.

Hard truth is — this kind of test isn’t given to everyone. I see people still playing at being grand witches while everything around them is collapsing. While people are dying. While those who need real support are offered placebo instead of actual help — help that requires strength, time, and money that many don’t have.

I’m tired. And magic, for me, is now only my private practice. Small, simple, quiet, without ornament.

War is always pain. And I cannot afford anything excessive anymore.

Donations to the army and to volunteer funds make more sense to me now — because that is the symbolic gesture that actually changes something.

Maybe this sounds too skeptical. But my point is: help is either real or it’s not. And I’m glad I woke up in time, pulled my head out of the sand.

Magic can transform reality. But the first transformation is always internal.

Hello there, it's a very interesting question! There's plenty of artists who mix folk with experimental/noise/contemporary. Here's a list of few I can think of right now:

There's Księżyc [x], a 90s experimental classic from Poland - it's a whole band, but fronted by two women.

Adela Mede [x] is a Czech artist creating contemporary sound collages with some folk vocals

Maryana Klochko [x] - an Ukrainian artist, her style ranges from more electroacoustic to more trip-hopy/electronic, worth checking out few of her tracks to get a range (I like the song Kvity, which kind of changes from one to another)

Tomoko Sauvage [x] - Japanese artist hugely inspired by various music folklore traditions, such as Carnatic water-bowls instrument

Julia Ulehla / dalava [x] - Czech vocalist, composer, ethnomusicologist "With her husband guitarist Aram Bajakian, she initiated a new line of performance research based on the ancestral song tradition of her father’s lineage, sourcing folk songs collected and transcribed by her great-grandfather, biologist Vladimír Úlehla".

Daina Dieva [x] - from Lithuania. Her works aren't maybe the most folklorish, but their closeness to the world of nature makes me put her in the mix

Audrey Chen [x] - Chinese-American artist mixing cello, voice and analogue synthesizers to create hauting compositions

Sainkho Namtchylak [x] - is a Tuvan experimental singer, known for using Tuvian throat singing and overtone singing named Khöömei. She mixes elements of east asian culture with genres such as avant jazz or electronica.

For more Slavic avant-folk check out this this compilation by In Crudo: [x] it's not all-women but features some inspiring women artists (Svitlana Nino and Księżyc included)

Dutch Nordic folk artist Kati Rán released Sála, her first solo album after the dissolution of her former band, L.E.A.F. With 13 tracks, Sála ("soul", "sea") was conceived with the close collaboration of Finnish producer Jaani Peuhu.

Read more:

This next upcoming collection will be available at the Portland and Seattle Expos and the online release around Samhain.

"Oh, I see."