Table of Contents Back Issues Homepage March 5, 2001       The Magick of Musick by Anne Hill       Subscribe to our free e-newsletter!   Magical practice changes our entire vibration, letting Spirit resonate through all levels of our being. Unlike other spiritual paths, we have no holy book, no scripture to turn to for authority or inspiration. For Pagans, music is our liturgy, our "sacred writings," the actual vehicle through which we encounter the Goddess and feel our connection to Spirit in all things. It carries our history, teaches our outlook on life, our principles of action and belief. Music is like water: it can go anywhere, can be soothing or thundering, sweet or sour, bitter or healing, and over time it can dissolve even the toughest obstacles. And like water, it is something we are made of; the resonance of sound and vibration in all the deep spaces of our being is what makes us who we are, and keeps all the particles of our body working together harmoniously. Like water, we can choose to work with it in a glass, a nice warm bathtub, a still lake, a wild river, or the surging ocean. On whatever level we invoke music in our lives, it will change us and help us become more fully alive. Many people enjoy doing ritual with music playing in the background to get them in the mood, and keep them "in tune" with their purpose. Part of the magic of this approach is actually picking the music you want to use. The music becomes a participant in the ritual, so it is important to match the energy of the music to your magical intent. Most people listen to their selection all the way through beforehand to make sure it will work, but there's always the intuitive approach of picking music. Some people like a certain artist's music so much, they just put on any album by that person and are use that musician's energy to help with the ritual. There are whole threads of conversation on the Pagan newsgroups centered around sharing ideas for music to work with as background for magical practice. Loreena McKennitt is a big favorite here, as is Enya. There are also two wonderful albums by Jennifer Berezan, "ReTurning" and "She Carries Me," that are long-playing, meditative pieces perfect for extended background support. And for those wanting a bit of a Northern European flavor in their musings, there are several incredible, little-known musicians who have plumbed the depths of their native folk music, mixing it with ambient and instrumental sound for a haunting, evocative soundscape. Wimme Saari and Tapani Varis are excellent examples of this new music. If you want something spare and resonant that is not coming from your stereo, consider a nice set of wind chimes set up nearby. Their sound can be both relaxing and centering, and has the added bonus of working with the wind, which brings an elemental awareness more fully into your work. Choose carefully, and find a set that has a sound you really like -- you'll be listening to it for a long time! For spellwork, I always find it helps to "have a little hum," as Pooh would say, to focus my mind while I gather the herbs, talismans, cloth, and what have you for the spell working. When the work of your hands is the main focus, you want a simple, repetitive chant that you can sustain for the whole time. I often find myself singing a chant with words at first, but then as time goes on, the words start to get jumbled or disappear, and it is the tune itself I work with. When this happens, I know I am getting to the core of my magical intention. Any chant that you are particularly fond of will work nicely here. You may have a couple lines that you want to keep repeating as you work. If so, try setting them to your own tune. It's a wonderful way to free your voice to find its own pathways through music and magic. Pay attention to your use of melody and rhythm, and try not to judge your efforts by "normal" singing standards. If you already have a ritual script and just want to add a little music to get people participating a bit more, consider substituting song for a grounding exercise, circle casting, or invocation. Examples abound, and Internet bulletin boards and newsgroups are wonderful ways to get ideas from a wide range of people. There are some great songbooks that will help you, particularly Songs for Earthlings by JulieJess Shoup and Circle of Song by Kate Marks. Each is divided into sections covering the elements, invocations, the seasons, the sun, moon, and circle castings. Recordings I recommend include "Chants: Ritual Music" and "Second Chants", both by Reclaiming. Each of these recordings has widely sung chants, easily learned, with all lyrics included. Also, on my website I have a link to Ivo Dominguez' "Chant of the Month" webpage, an incredibly rich resource which features not only sheet music you can print out for each chant, but sound clips of each one, so if you don't read music you can still learn plenty of chants to call your own. Sometimes all you need is some light music to greet people as they enter the circle. You can do this yourself with bells, windchimes, an autoharp or kalimba (mbira) -- all instruments that sound good without any training. I love to go to yard sales and flea markets to expand my collection of slightly battered but great-sounding instruments that anyone can play. The mbira has a particularly magical sound. If you will have drumming before the ritual and want others to join in, take some care with the rhythm instruments you set out for others. Make sure none of the instruments are really loud or jangly sounding, which can really disrupt the harmony you want to create. Soft-sounding shakers and chimes, sticks with a round, not sharp, tone, and small wooden drums (avoid metal drums -- they are very loud and piercing) all contribute to a sense of harmony, without dominating the sound so much that it throws the beat off or hurts people's ears. Albums of vocal or instrumental music may also fit the bill for pre-ritual use, as well. If you choose recorded music, listen to the whole thing first and make sure that all the tracks you will be playing have the same mood. My favorite for pre-ritual music is Jami Sieber's beautiful albums of cello and vocal music, "Lush Mechanique" and "Second Sight." For a gathering where food is involved, consider a song of blessing or prayer over the food before it is shared. An excellent example is "The Giving Song," on the "Circle Round and Sing!" CD, which is simple enough that people can join in right away, but the lyrics get right to the heart of a food blessing. "Harvest Chant," on Reclaiming's "Second Chants" album, is also a possibility, and if your group likes to sing rounds, the "Lammas Bread Blessing," (also on "Circle Round and Sing") is a very beautiful way to bless cakes and wine. Sometimes the perfect place for a song is as a closing to the ritual. A song such as "Through All the Worlds Below," (on Holly Tannen's "Between the Worlds" CD) "When We Are Gone," (on "Second Chants") or "We Are a Circle Within a Circle" (from the cassette "Welcome to Annwfn") can create a harmonious ending and open-hearted feeling amongst participants. "May the Circle be Open," from Libana's classic chant album "A Circle is Cast" is a big favorite, and it's also handy that it's simply music set to words many of us already know. A closing drum circle can also work really well, especially if you have one or two people in the group who play well together and can get a nice groove going. Whatever type of song you have chosen for your ritual, don't make the common mistake common of thinking you have to control where the chant goes. By choosing the right chant in the first place, and starting it off right, you have done your work. The rest is up to the group's energy, and the power of the song you're singing. Don't be afraid to let the chant go on longer than you planned. In fact, it is an excellent practice, when working with music as a magical tool, to purposefully avoid trying to end the chant. Our conscious minds (which we're trying to change at will, remember) have a funny way of resisting change. Often in ritual singing, I will suddenly get completely bored with the song, and fed-up at how long the singing is taking. This is a clue that the energy of the song is working on me, but my mind is resisting going with it. Because I trust in the healing power of music, I can choose to to ignore my mind, and instead focus my awareness on what the sound is doing internally. How is it resonating in my body? What is my energetic response to the motion and stress of the syllables in the song? What colors does the melody remind me of, and which harmonies am I drawn to? Suddenly, the song has become a fascinating landscape that I've just landed in, and I want to spend some time exploring this strange and beautiful new place. Then the song really opens up for me, the blending of voices touches me in a deeper place, and my spirit is free to come out and play. This for me is where I get the most benefit from my magical practice. Afterwards, I have the satisfying feeling of having engaged my imagination, my body, and my voice, with others, in something that was transforming. Music can help us all get to this place, and over time, can transform our world. With practice, and with lots of play, you will get better at letting the magic of song work for you. Anne Hill is the co-author with Starhawk of Circle Round, a book of doing ritual with children which may be ordered from Powell's or Amazon.com. She has also made a tape, Circle Round and Sing. Visit her website at http://www.SerpentineMusic.com