Miroslav Švický (born in 1967), best known as Žiarislav, is a Slovak musician and organiser within modern Slavic paganism. He writes and performs music inspired by Slovak folk music. He has written books about Slavic paganism and is the founder and leader of the modern pagan organisation Rodný kruh ().
Early life and education
Miroslav Švický was born in 1967. He was trained as a geologist and lived in Bratislava and Trnava where he wrote for the nationalist weekly Zmena and the children's magazine Ohník. He began to write books on spirituality and ended his journalist career to be a farmer and musician.
Slavic paganism
Švický is active in modern Slavic paganism in Slovakia as a teacher, writer and developer of rituals and calendars. He has adopted the name Žiarislav, which roughly means "Slavic person who promotes or celebrates light or that which illuminates". He is the founder and leader of the Rodný kruh (), with which he hosts religious celebrations at his farm and other locations. The group does not have a formal organisational structure and describes itself as a "community for the spirituality of primeval nature". Since 2000, it publishes the magazine Diva.
Žiarislav has presented his conceptions of ancient Slavic culture and pagan religion in several books, including Návrat Slovenov (1997), Čaro štyroch živlov (1998) and Čaro prírody (1999). He rejects the idea that folklore is something that only concerns outdated lifestyles and emphasises the need for creativity when dealing with folkloric material. Common themes in his works include patriotism, environmentalism, personal health, respect for traditions, creativity, anti-consumerism and rustic aesthetics.
The Slovak mainstream media have been ambivalent about Žiarislav and his religious activities: he is typically portrayed as a romantic character who lives in harmony with nature, but also as a manipulative and bigoted eccentric. The sociologist Miroslav Tížik describes his teachings as a combination of some immutable beliefs concerning knowledge, Slavic identity and nature, and a dynamic approach to doctrine and vocabulary, which continuously change in his publications. Tížik connects Žiarislav's rhetoric to the New Age movement, to the period of the Slovak national awakening and to the Romanticism of Ľudovít Štúr. Žiarislav has inspired other modern pagan groups in Slovakia, including the Perúnov kruh and the Slovanský kruh.
Music
Žiarislav is a songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist who makes his own instruments. He performed with the group Bytosti until it disbanded in 2009 and continues as a solo artist. He draws inspiration from Slovak folk music and contemporary pagan folk. His religious views are integrated in his music and he rejects the distinction between religious and musical activities. His music has been a major part of his religious outreach.