Aki Cederberg (born in 1978) is a Finnish writer, musician and filmmaker. He has written books about

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...

and European

modern Paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

, including ''Journeys in the Kali Yuga'' (2017) and ''Pyhä Eurooppa'' (, 2020).

Early life

Aki Cederberg was born in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland in 1978. He has a university degree in culture and arts. Interested in spiritual matters from an early age, he explored

Western esotericism Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas a ...

and the works of Aleister Crowley before moving into European

, which he defines as having a mythopoetic view of the world. Because he wanted to connect to a living tradition, he began to make trips to India to meet

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

s and explore Indian religious traditions. His first trip to India lasted for three months and he kept returning to the country during the next ten years.

Writing career

Cederberg has written for ''The Fenris Wolf'', a series of anthologies from Edda Publishing. Experiences he had in Asia form the basis for his books ''Pyhiinvaellus. Matkalla Intiassa ja Nepalissa'' () from 2013 and ''Journeys in the Kali Yuga: A Pilgrimage from Esoteric India to Pagan Europe'', published in 2017. At the end of the latter book, Cederberg rejects universalism and spiritual

exoticism Exoticism (from "exotic") is a trend in European art and design, whereby artists became fascinated with ideas and styles from distant regions and drew inspiration from them. This often involved surrounding foreign cultures with mystique and fantas ...

and argues for Westerners to approach spirituality through the gods of their native traditions, in Cederberg's case paganism from the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' called ''Journeys in the Kali Yuga'' a "visceral, evocative memoir" where the author acts as "neither guide nor guru, allowing readers to truly participate in his journey without worrying about what exactly they are supposed to learn". Cederberg's next book, ''Pyhä Eurooppa'' (), was published in 2020 and is a travelogue about places in Europe with a reputation of being holy. Cederberg uses this to argue that humans need a sense of sanctity and significance in life, which he contrasts with

materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materiali ...

and exploitation. The book discusses how European cultural and spiritual heritage has become associated with nationalist and far-right politics, something Cederberg renounces.

A. W. Yrjänä Aki Ville Yrjänä (born 30 July 1967 in Kemi), better known by the stage name, A. W. Yrjänä (), is a poet and the singer, bassist, and primary songwriter of the Finnish rock band CMX. In addition to his musical work, he has published five ...

of ''

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

'' called the book "weirdly refreshing" because of its rejection of irony and direct call for spirituality. of ''

Turun Sanomat ''Turun Sanomat'' is the leading regional newspaper of the region of Southwest Finland. It is published in the region's capital, Turku and the third most widely read morning newspaper in Finland after '' Helsingin Sanomat'' and ''Aamulehti''. Hi ...

'' highlighted and complimented the book's argument about a human need to connect to previous generations, which both capitalism and the Soviet Union have been unable to fulfill.

Other work

Cederberg has been active as a musician and filmmaker. He has been a member of various music groups and made the film ''Taiwaskivi'' (2009) with the audovisiual group

Halo Manash Halo Manash is a project of Anti Ittna Haapapuro originating from Finland. It is dark ambient / experimental music, experimental combining electronic music, electronics, percussions, EBow, e-bowed guitars, bone flute and various other sounds. The ...

. He has worked as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

on several Finnish feature films and made a making-of documentary about the film '' Christmas Story'' (2007). In 2021, Cederberg launched the cultural magazine ''Porvoon Kipinä'' () with himself as editor-in-chief. The magazine is published by with three issues per year. It has a special focus on spiritual and esoteric dimensions of culture and people associated with

Porvoo Porvoo (; sv, Borgå ; la, Borgoa) is a city and a municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland, situated on the southern coast about east of the city border of Helsinki and about from the city centre. Porvoo was one of the six medieval to ...

Selected publications

* ''Pyhiinvaellus. Matkalla Intiassa ja Nepalissa'', Salakirjat 2013 * ''Journeys in the Kali Yuga: A Pilgrimage from Esoteric India to Pagan Europe'', Inner Traditions – Bear & Company 2017 * ''Pyhä Eurooppa'', 2020

References

External links

Personal website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cederberg, Aki 1978 births Living people 21st-century Finnish writers Finnish non-fiction writers Travel writers Finnish modern pagans Modern pagan writers Writers from Helsinki Magazine publishers (people)