Wendy Elizabeth Rule (born 31 October 1966) is an Australian musical artist. She was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

and later moved to Melbourne. She performs regularly and has toured the United States and Europe. She has been based in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

Early life

As a child, Rule was a keen singer from a young age and was described as having "a magical voice" which she would use to "burst into song beneath the blackberries in the backyard". Her

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. Wh ...

tendencies were ended abruptly once she hit

puberty Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy. I ...

and she was turned upon by her sister and mother, making her feel "repressed, unwanted and weird." At the age of 15 while in high school, she started to sing with

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

s, although it did not feel natural to her and she had moved onto

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...

by the time she was in college. While she felt this was OK, it didn't feel like her passion. Once she reached the age of around 26, when her son was born, she had an

epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epipha ...

whereby she was composing songs "about magic and witchcraft". She had always had an interest in fairies,

tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...

and the

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism ...

. After some soul searching, she came across a

white magic White magic has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for selfless purposes. Practitioners of white magic have been given titles such as wise men or women, healers, white witches or wizards. Many of these people claim ...

guidebook in a bookshop, which she described as being "like BANG! This is what I'm meant to be doing!"

Career

Musical style

She released her first album in 1996, around four years after she had dedicated herself to performing and composing. Although her early roots were in

, she moved to the Goth genre. Rule both composes and performs

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music ( arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

on her albums.

Publicity

During the late 1990s, Rule's website was credited for generating interest in her music overseas, particularly in the United States and Europe, with a radio station Germany featuring her compact disc catalogue which was believed to have generated "a massive response". Foreign album orders around 1998 were seeing a 100% increase around every three months, with orders from America estimated at between $50 and $100 each week. A show that Rule performed in at the ''Continental Cafe'' in

Prahran, Victoria Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City ...

had already sold half its tickets through her website prior to any advertising from the press. Her early website assisted in getting information out to a fan base at little to no cost, particularly as emails did not cost anything as opposed to posted letters.

Theology

She is a practising

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

and her lyrics typically address

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. In ...

and

mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

themes. She has publicly spoken about her belief in

polytheism Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the ...

, and her lyrics have been used in

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and wa ...

n ritual. She happily discusses her Wicca faith openly, as she is tired of journalists "giving it a short shrift", noting that it is not a gimmick but her life.

Discography

*''Zero'' (1996) - Her first solo album, which took 9 months to record. *''Live'' (1997) imited Release*''Deity'' (1998) - Established her "lush Gothic sound." *'' A Journey to the Underworld''. A musical play focussing on the

Inanna Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Su ...

mythology. Dibide into two sections, "Death" and "Life". Recorded at Melbourne's Universal Theatre and released on VHS video (1999). *''World Between Worlds'' (2000) *''The Lotus Eaters'' (2003) *''A Night of Jazz'' (2004) *collaboration with Gary Stadler: ''Deep within a Faerie Forest'' (2005, Sequoia Records) *''The Wolf Sky'' (2006) - Produced in a style described as "wild, epic, dark and beautiful." *''Meditations on the 4 Elements'' (2007) *''Beneath The Below Is A River'' (2008) *''Guided by Venus'' (2010) *''Live At The Castle On The Hill'' (2012) *''Black Snake'' (2014) *''Vox Solfeggio'' (with Timothy van Diest) (2017) *''Persephone'' (2019)

Compilations featuring tracks by Rule

*''The Best of Pagan Song'' (2004, Serpentine Music Productions) *with Gary Stadler: ''Celtic Lounge'' (2006, Sequoia Records) *with Gary Stadler: ''Celtic Lounge II'' (2007, Sequoia Records) *''Tuatha Dea'' featuring Wendy Rule. Track: Aradia

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rule, Wendy Living people Australian Wiccans Goth subculture Australian women singers 1966 births Performers of modern pagan music