Darren Taylor, aka Asbjorn Torvol, actually reached out to me after reading and loving my blog interviews. I interviewed a friend of his earlier this year Jerrod Reader. He has been experiencing great success after publishing several books on magick and calls himself a Norse shaman and magician.
Darren woke up at a young age, in fact, I believe he was born awake. He never took what was taught to him and accepted it. He always questioned it and searched for his own answers. In that way, we have that in common. Growing up Catholic, the teachings never sat well with me. By the age of 14 I actually resented the vengeful God and decided if that was God, then I didn’t believe in Him. Later I started to believe in God once again and you can read about that story here.
Being a Shaman myself I was curious about his views of the world and how we can use magick to help us achieve our goals in life.
SG: Describe you and your business. How did you get started?
I grew up in a Christian family and started exploring other religions at the age of 7. I just had too many questions about Christianity. I was fascinated by all religions. At age 11, I started to practice magick. I was fortunate enough to study under many mentors.
I have a passion for ascension and elevating the self. It was a form of escapism, like a hobby.
I started to share my research with others, including my views on the connection between psychology and magic. I dissect magick. I want to understand why it works and how it works. Magick isn’t mystical, it’s playing with cause and effect and it is psychological.
SG: Who are you helping and how?
A lot of people are lost and don’t have answers.
Magick is everywhere and it is life itself. My job is to give people information to challenge their perspectives. I started sharing information on what I have learned. I did livestreams and videos addressing psychology and dogma.
Spirituality has become so commercialized. There are people out there to make money and complicate things so people can’t do it for themselves. I want to teach people how to use magick for themselves.
My first book Ramblings of an Apprentice Vitki became very popular. I wrote it just to see if people would buy it and to my surprise, they did. I created the Heathen podcast and soon got thousands of followers.
Even though I have a lot of people who read my books and follow me, I also have people who hate me. When you are doing something worthwhile, you become divisive.
For people who know very little about magick, what is the most important thing one should understand?
How do you relate to magick? What do the tools mean? For example, why do you use the color green for healing? What does it mean to you? This is how magick becomes meaningful to you, by individualizing it and analyzing its meaning.
Why does magick exist? What are we supposed to use it for?
You are always using magick. Magick is the experience of life. It’s the mechanics of how life works. Magick is always in motion.
SG: Who inspires you?
S.Ben Qayin inspires me as a friend. He is genuine and worked hard for his success. He is also a mentor and father figure to me. E.A Koetting does what he does and gets it done. He’s not afraid of to be himself.
SG: What’s the most important thing a teacher or mentor taught you and why?
Grant Cardone said “don’t be a little bitch.” This is how I approach my work, I own it and I am not victimized by circumstance. I persevere. I have a vision of myself and I choose to act like I am successful and that I am a rock star. If you embody it, you become it.
I am not afraid to blow my own trumpet.
Timothy Donahue taught me to espouse perspectivism. Mythology is always open to man’s interpretation.
SG: When was the first time you realized you were different, especially spiritually?
I was too young to remember. I have always been the black sheep and a freak. My family calls me the weirdo. I’ve always embraced this about myself.
SG: When did you decide to find out what your gifts were and how to use them?
At 11 I learned that magick and the study of religions was worth my time. Since then I have always been searching for answers.
SG: If you could give advice to your younger self about your gifts, what would you say?
I don’t think I would give my younger self advice. The only reason why I’ve learned is because of the mistakes that I have made.
SG: What advice would you give to someone who just discovered their spiritual gifts?
Keep it simple. Explore the self and don’t over complicate things. If you can’t make it manifest for yourself, don’t offer it others (in a business).
SG: What part of your gift is your favorite and why? What is your least favorite and why?
I love my ability to dissect and observe; to identify things that work and doesn’t work. My least favorite is being able to see who is genuine and isn’t and exposing the scam artists. I have discovered that some friends weren’t real friends this way.
SG: Tell me something funny about your gifts.
I decided to do a dedication ritual and chose the desert as the location. The problem was it was freezing and I was trying to do this naked so I lasted about 60 seconds. In addition, it was next to an apartment building so anyone could see me. Not the best choice.
SG: Why do you think the Creator gave us these gifts? And what are we supposed to use them for?
We are the gift; we are the creators and the destroyers. There are no degrees of separation. We create an individual and collective consciousness.
The universe is a large mind. How did the universe start from nothing? Where do you think thoughts come from? Silence (the infinite possibility).
SG: Why are we here?
Because we are and because we can. Free will and infinite possibility allows it.
SG: What do you wish the world would know or understand about you?
I do genuinely care about people and I love Taylor Swift (laughs). I am not out to make money as my critics would have you believe, I will help people even if they can’t pay me. It’s not about the money.
SG: What do you wish the world would know or understand?
There are no set guidelines to do magick, ascend or be successful. There is no true way, it depends on the individual.
What do you envision the world will be like in the future?
I am not sure. I don’t know if we have a future, maybe we will become extinct?
I would like to have a great future. We have to work together to accomplish anything.
You can contact Darren via his website www.asbjorntorvol.com, Youtube videos and podcast. He is the author of Ramblings of an Apprentice Vitki, Magick: It’s All in Your Head and the upcoming book Heathen: a Viking Grimoire of Norse Sorcery, which all can be purchased on his website.