Abstract
This article examines the representation of archaic myths in contemporary culture from the perspective of the postsecular shift. Using the lyrics of the song «Raido» by the Norwegian Nordic folk/neofolk band Wardruna as an example, it explores ways to actualize Scandinavian mythological and runic symbols. The band's musical compositions can be viewed as mythopoetic texts, conveying ancient sacred meanings through contemporary musical forms. Drawing on theoretical concepts by M. Eliade, C. G. Jung, P. Ricoeur, and J. Campbell, it reveals the actualization of the archetypal narrative of the journey and transformation, demonstrating the manifestation of ancient symbols in artistic space, as well as the mechanisms by which mythopoetic texts influence the modern listener. Thus, the composition «Raido» represents a synthesis of musical art and mythopoetic narrative, allowing modern people to experience the sacred through aesthetic form. In this composition, the band «Wardruna» acts not simply as an ensemble, but as a kind of mediator of collective memory, synthesizing words and music into a unified mythical fabric, a «priest» of post-secular action. Synthesizing archaic symbols, rhythmic structures, and contemporary sound forms, the band creates a space in which the listener is drawn into an invisible yet deeply felt journey within themselves and simultaneously into thearchetypal layers of culture. The Raido rune thus ceases to be merely a historical or linguistic artifact, becoming a living channel through which myth continues its movement through time.
Keywords
Myth, postsecular turn, neomyth, runes, band «Wardruna», «Raido».