Rúnahild

Seid is my 10th album and I wanted to make something special to celebrate.

Most of the songs (except for 3 that are new) are from my earlier records, and most of them underwent a significant transformation. It has been a dream of mine for quite a few years to breathe new life into some of my favourite old songs by merging their original folk elements with synthesisers and electronic beats, a fusion of past and present inspiration. A blend I define as witchy folktronica.

I also wrote a book to accompany the CD. It is about the Norse magic Seid. It is about my personal journey with spirituality and healing that has inspired my music since the birth of this project. My intention is to invite you even deeper into the magic and vision woven into my songs.

The book is illustrated with some of my intuitive paintings. In an age when it is all too easy to otherwise generate soulless images with AI, I would rather share my paintings, even though I have no technical skills when it comes to painting or drawing and it might remind more of the work of a child than of a professional artist. For me it all comes from a desire to express a vision based on experiences deeply felt, something AI will never be able to transcribe.

This book is not based on academic or historical knowledge of Seid, nor is it a guide for how to practice it.

The digital album on Bandcamp includes a pdf and ePub version of the book, for all those who prefer that format or for those living in countries where we are unfortunately no longer able to ship, such as the US.” – Rúnahild


 

Bandcamp: https://runahild.bandcamp.com/album/seid 

Of Darkness and Light is released on CD together with a 80 pages book.
 
The book is a collection of personal stories reflecting the healing journey which has inspired the writing of this whole album, illustrated with some of my most favourite nature photographs taken over the past 14 years that I’ve been living in Norway. 



At age 37 I am finally being diagnosed with autism, after a lifetime of navigating this world in the dark. This release is the expression of this journey of self discovery and self acceptance, shedding light on some aspects of how I experience life from the inside. From the desperation at the heart of a meltdown to the ecstatic joy at the heart of an ethereal dream. 

The theme of darkness and light is a deep-rooted concept throughout all my releases. It feels like each album is just an other layer of the same journey ever spiralling inward into the infinite depth of the unconscious. It is a journey to come home to oneself and to one’s core energy by holding space for both the darkness and the light within. 

Although my music always originate from a very personal experience, I feel the way the lyrics come to me keeps the words open to different interpretations so other people may relate to them in their own way. This album, to me, is about autism and how it reflects within me, but it is up to you to put your personal meaning into these songs and words and make it yours.

Bandcamp: https://runahild.bandcamp.com/album/of-darkness-and-light 

I am truly happy to share with you this written interview with Sparky of The Coroners Report where we have an in-depth talk about the new album’s inspiration and my personal healing journey!

 

Free Spirit is about coming home to our very essence and core energy, to journey through our shadows to our inner light to integrate our authentic self, and to hold space for ourselves and for one another in this process. 

It is about weaving together our healing energies to find a path where humanity as a whole reconnects to nature, to remember our connection to all that is and the vital importance of this interconnectivity.  It is about remembering that all life on earth is of equal value and that none is above nor under, for we all exist as a part of a whole within the web of life.

Free spirit is for love and respect, and for the sacredness of all life!

You can stream or buy digitally on the platform of your choice:

I have had a wonderful time talking with Jameson Foster from The Nordic Sound Channel. We talked about my musical journey, about the Midgardsblot festival and what makes it special, as well as music as healing, among other things...

My new album Wounded Healer is out now!!!

Wounded Healer is my own journey and process of healing past trauma. I have spent a fair amount of time spinning my way back to the source of my inner darkness and the reason for the social anxiety and depression that have greatly influenced my life from the very start. 

On this journey I have understood that my own painful experiences have been tainted by the unresolved traumas within my family, that reflected upon me. Whether passed down through genetics or through how their presence, actions and energies have affected my life, I became aware of the ancestral patterns that vibrate in disharmony within me, which needs to be transformed. 

One layer at a time, I have been diving deeper into the inner sea of my unconscious, with Mother Nature to give me a shelter and to always remind me of the magic of this world and with music to give me a way to express myself when I otherwise became silent. 

One layer at a time, I came closer to the source of my aching. The hardships, violence and abuses experienced within my family have left a deep open wound, which has been influencing my own way of coming into this world and experiencing life. 

So I had a drum journey which I initiated by inviting the spirit of all my ancestors to join me and heal as I heal within. And as I journeyed back in time seeking answers, old wounds and forgotten memories concealed within my subconscious came back to the surface. And so I saw the faces of my ancestors and I could see in their eyes the tremendous and deeply ingrained amount of pain that had been torturing them. I could feel how their own life experiences, their struggles to survive and the wars they had to endure had shaped them. And I could see how this transpired from one generation to the next and how it had been defining a long line of individuals, and in the end, haunting me. 

So I sat among the shadows and I listened to those distant whispers. As I held space for them, it became clear to me that what they had been craving for all along was nurture, safety and care. As this part of me emerged from my underworld, I met the darkness with love, and I breathed in the life energy it had been withholding. And as this transcending stream of energy rises from within, I sing myself free and back into my body, I dance with the wilderness and feel the ecstasy of life spellbinding me. 

My shadows and my light makes me whole on this ever-going process of transformation, acknowledging both the wounded and the healer within.


LINKS:

Available on CD on Grimfrost Records.
Digital streaming and download on Bandcamp.
Links to other streaming platforms (Spotify, iTunes, Tidal... etc).

Sacred Feminine is out now digitally on Bandcamp and on all major platform. 

“Sacred Feminine” is about nurturing and holding space for what once has been wounded and, by doing so, starting a process of transformation and regeneration to re-ignite a life-force from within. 

The writing of this EP was initiated by forgotten memories coming back to the surface. Old wounds, concealed deep within my subconscious, longing for relief. For me, the only way onward has been to listen to those distant haunting whispers. As I hold space for my shadows and darkest emotions, it becomes clear that what they had been craving for all along was the nurture, safety and care I am now giving. As this part of me emerges from my underworld, I meet my wounded self with love and I breathe in the life energy it had been withholding. And as this stream of energy rises from within, I sing myself free, dance with the wilderness and feel the ecstasy of life spellbinding me. 

Sacred Feminine is released independently with Astral Synergy Productions. Astral Synergy is the label Gustav Holberg and I started together to release our own music for our respective projects Astralseid and Rúnahild, as well as supporting other projects and artist friends we work together with. 

Mastered by Kjell Braaten. 

Photography and cover art by yours truly.

I am honoured and deeply grateful to have been interviewed by my friend Júlia Cruzán and her friend NeferShu, who chose today, when we celebrate Women's Day, to release it online. We talk about my lifestyle and spirituality and I share also about my inspiration and personal experience that gave birth to my new EP Sacred Feminine, set to release this Friday, 12th March. 

The interview is both available in Spanish and includes the original English version below.

http://nefershu.com/2021/03/07/entrevista-runahild-interview-runahild/?fbclid=IwAR0rQTK6uGrPXR45--T09IfDewAXYUxxfw-uo-W1gzVXSuUDwMk8vyphYjY

I have had the honour to be interviewed by Rhyd from Gods&Radicals Press! We talked about my lifestyle, inspiration and connection to nature, and I also shared the stories behind the songs Ørnedans, Seidrúnar and Urseid...

​​​​​​​https://abeautifulresistance.org/site/2021/1/3/songs-of-seidr-an-interview-with-runahild-cr9zb-hdkj6?fbclid=IwAR3-MlOygmbMEJ9O7KZh8Wmqr15TGTVeOlGEafCy2pZSXZr1EIJAHi2FE_g

Seidkvinnens Urter released a beautiful video to share her interpretation of a volve through a serie of evocative pictures taken within the spellbinding Norwegian nature. I feel deeply honoured that she chose my song Vardlokkur to accompany her video and I am glad I discovered her art and magic vibe! Feel welcome to check her page where she shares her knowledge and connection to sacred herbs, plants, nature beauty and folklore.

Here is what she wrote about this video: 

“As cited in the Saga of Erik the Red, Vardlokkur, the song of Seidr, refers to that special shamanic song, used to prepare the Volve for trance and to summon the spirits to her. It is used for inducing trance and performing seiðr. 

Runahild, a amazing artist from Norway, has made her own interpretation of vardlokkur! 

And I am so happy to get to borrow her music to my interpretation of a volve! Thank you Runahild!”

You can follow Seidkvinnens Urter here: https://www.facebook.com/seidkvinnensurter/