Alexian, Pagan Music, and Dreams – Ep. 5

Alexian is the High Priest of Twisted Oak Coven, a pagan recording artist, musician, teacher, and host of The Alexian Show. It’s been a fun trade because I was on Alexian’s show a couple of months ago.

In this episode, we talk about his background, pagan music, the writing process, inspiration, how to remember your dreams, and much more!

Hey, you know what? You should probably just watch the video. But as usual, here’s the highlights…

A Little Background

Alexian’s mother started taking him to church when he was four years old. His first Sunday School experience was coloring what he thought was a “hippie” — which of course turned out to be Jesus. A humorous story, yes, but this was a significant moment because it was the first time he ever saw someone play the piano.

For years, he begged for a piano… and finally got one at the age of eight! He’s been playing ever since then.

Alexian says he’s always lived a strange life. His mother was psychic and he encountered both ghosts and UFOs while growing up. After becoming the church organist at the age of 14, he had spiritual experiences while playing, frequently seeing stars (stars with circles, to be exact — remember this for later) over members of the congregation.

He says one of his first teachers was a lot like Rafiki from The Lion King (which perhaps means that he was fun and mysterious… or perhaps means that he carried a big stick and occasionally thwacked people over the head with it). Either way, sounds like an entertaining character!

Today, Alexian is the High Priest of Twisted Oak Coven, which is located in Orlando, FL.

Wish Magick

In addition to having a strange life, Alexian says he’s also lived a very charmed one, which in part, he attributes to some very basic wish magick. He can still remember being a kid, wishing on a star, firmly picturing what he wanted, and then getting that “three wheel mini bike” for Christmas.

He’s applied this lesson of visualization and intention to other areas of his life.

When Alexian was in junior high, he started teaching lessons part time(for the bargain rate of $4 an hour). After he graduated from college and moved to Orlando, he worked a series of jobs, like being a waiter at a resort, a popcorn stand attendant at the movie theater, and a Radioshack associate (RIP Radioshack). None of those were paying the bills, so he decided he was really going to have to dig in and focus on teaching music lessons.

To aid that endeavor, he printed promotional fliers and planned to post them on the bulletin board in his apartment complex’s management office. Much to his surprise, they were so excited at the prospect of having a music teacher that they sent out his information to all of their buildings… and he was completely booked almost overnight.

Alexian attributes this success to the same type of wish magick he used when he was a kid. Simple, yet effective!

He currently teaches online, by the way. If you’re interested in getting some lessons with Alexian, you can find out how to contact him below.

What Makes Pagan Music Pagan?

I’ve talked about this before and in other articles, but a lot of times when people say “pagan” music, they’re referring to something very specific, like traditional Irish folk tunes, chants, or festival drumming. That’s just not accurate! Much of my music, for instance, is pagan… and I usually classify what I play as rock, electronic, or alternative.

Alexian asked me what makes “pagan” music pagan. I was not prepared with an answer, but luckily, he was. He says that what’s really important is the intention and the content. It’s not a style or genre, per se, because we’ve got all types of pagan songs that range from instrumentals to rap. And I’m very much inclined to agree with him!

A Little Music Lesson

So now that we know more about pagan music… well, what actually goes into to music in general? Don’t worry, Alexian breaks it down for us. He says that music is just three parts: melody, harmony, and rhythm. There’s an optional fourth part, which is lyrics.

A short and sweet lesson. I dig it.

Cool Kats

The Coven of Cool Kats is Alexian’s exclusive online community. If you’d like to connect with him, there’s probably no better place. He regularly livestreams there when he’s writing and recording music. He also hosts a bardid circle every Tuesday night where everyone can sing, play, and chant along with each other. There’s other cool stuff, like weekly challenges and awards, but you’ll have to go check it out to find out more.

Bast and Musical Deities

Speaking of kats… or well, cats… Alexian is a big fan of Bast, the Egyptian goddess who has the head of a cat.

Merry Meet, Dreams, and Inspiration

One of Alexian’s most recent musical releases is called Merry Meet. It’s currently available as a download on his website, but will be on streaming platforms soon. The entire song was inspired by a dream!

Alright, I have to tell you that I play music and write songs in my dreams all the time. My issue is that I can never remember them once I wake up. When I told that to Alexian, he had a solution for me! If you’d like to find out how to remember your dreams, you’ll just have to listen to that portion of the interview.

Outside of dreams, Alexian’s inspiration seems to mostly come from something he learned in college: “there are no rules, there are only tools.” That is to say… music theory shouldn’t box us in. There’s no right or wrong way to play… just what sounds good to you (and hopefully some other people, too). And he should know lots of tools, by the way, because he triple majored in music!

Finding Alexian

There are plenty of ways to find out more about Alexian, get in touch with him, or be involved in his community.

Music and Magick

Alexian says his coven is one of the most musical covens you’ll ever meet. According to him, they sing all the time, even while calling the quarters, and are constantly using their voices to raise energy through vibration. Aside from that, he obviously lives a very musical life (but you already knew that… because you read the rest of this article, right?)

Want to hear a story? Alexian once sang a magickal lullaby to a giant, angry bull to calm it down. And it worked! Sorry, but you’ll have to watch the video for the full explanation and hear him tell it in his own words.

Conclusions

As usual, I had a lot of fun with this episode. I can’t wait to see what Alexian comes out with next!

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I have. If so, please make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel, press the like button, and leave a comment. But if you really want to support me, you can check out my Patreon page, where you’ll get instant access to interviews as soon as they’re released, plus access to my music.

I’ve got a steady stream of interviews for this season, but as always… if you know anyone who would make a great guest on my show, please feel free to contact me.