Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Witches Next Door

Home
Pagan
The Magical Practice Of Singing

The Magical Practice Of Singing

Last updated on: August 31, 2019 at 3:14 pm by Gwion Raven

The Magical Practice Of Singing 2019-08-31T15:14:50-08:00 Gwion Raven

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve been singing most of my life. Singing has been a hobby and, for a short while, I made a career out of it. Singing is part of my regular magical practice. I’ve discovered insights about my magic, how I approach life, and how I enter into devotion. All this by simply opening my mouth and letting the melodies take flight.

Singing With The Land

I stood in a stone circle, leaned against a marble altar, faced the snow-capped mountain that dominated my view, took a deep breath in, and began singing. I sang for thirty minutes straight, repeating the same few lines over and over again.

Picture the same scene, but now I’m deep in a redwood forest, thick with trees. Or, if you like, at the top of a thundering waterfall. Same act, repeated in my back yard.

Singing with the stones & mountain

Silence First, Then Singing

A key component to remember is silence, which might strike you as odd, considering I’m talking about singing. When I find myself in a wondrous place and overcome with the idea of singing with the land, I stop and listen. I fall into silence.

I notice the songs of the place I’m in. It could be bird calls, or a rushing river, or the moving air about the the place. The act of listening brings me present and let’s me know who else is about. It’s a bit like being at a gathering of people, listening to the conversations, and determining what, if anything, I have to add to the conversation. Often, I don’t sing. The place is alive with sounds and my noises wouldn’t add anything.

Singing And The Tingles

Singing and The Tingles, sounds a bit like a band from the early 1960’s, but I’m being serious here. On occasion, when I sing I get all tingly like.

Who knows what it is exactly. Perhaps it’s the presence of the gods descending upon me. I suppose it could be the spirits of place coming to meet me. Perhaps, my body comes alive a little bit more when I’m truly present, exactly where I am in the moment. Maybe it’s a weird resonance thing.

I don’t know, but I love it when it happens. When the tingles happen, I’m frequently overcome with emotion. Sometimes I cry and other times I can’t stop smiling.

Mostly what I do is just keep singing and soak up all the feels I’m feeling.

Me, doing a little singing.

What I Sing

Remember the stone circle and the redwood grove I mentioned earlier? Here’s the song I sang.

Awake, awake, you ancient watchers
Awake awake and let me in
Come down come down, from your waiting houses
Come down come down and let me in

The song was written by Sharon Knight and T. Thorn Coyle and appears on their 2008 release “Songs for the waning year”

Singing And Mortality

Odd segue, I know, but singing reminds me of my own mortality. My voice used to be a powerful instrument. A booming, massive, soaring, turn it up to 11 and fill the arena affair. It’s not that any more. Strained vocal chords, a digestive issue that bathes my throat in acid from time to time, and not being 22 any more, has changed my relationship with my voice.

I sing differently now. I’m still finding a range that fits what my voice can do and what I remember it being able to do. And, of course, this reminds me that I’m fighting a losing battle here. My voice, will continue to change and I and it will eventually fall into a permanent silence.

Which is why I sing whenever I can.

Awake! Awake! indeed.

Previous Post

August 18, 2019

Magick at a Catholic Church

Next Post

September 3, 2019 The Magic Of Mountains

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Ancestor Work Art and Magic Athena Autumn Equinox Being a Priestess Being A Witch Being Pagan Belatane Beltane candle magic Cauldron Cernunnos cerridwen Choosing a magical name Circle Casting Community Coronovirus Coven Curious about magic Daily Practice Deity Depression Earth Ecstatic Practices Elements of Magic Every Day Magic Fae Food Magic Goddess Grounding House Magick Imbolc Ritual Kitchen Witch Knot Magic Lammas Life Ritualized Mabon Magical Healing Magical Practice Magical Teachers Magickal Tools Making Altars Many Gods West Mountain Magic Nature Witch New Year's Tradition Omens Pagan Books Pagan Camps and Festivals Pagan Food Pagan Gods Pagan History Pagan Holidays Pagan Humor Pagan Humour Pagan leadership Pagan Marriage Pagan Music Pagan Parenting Pagan Relationships Pagan Rituals Pagan Rules Pagan Tattoos Pantheacon Peaceful Home Pearl Pentacle Personal Power Politics Ritual Cleansing Ritual Drumming Samhain Samhain Practices saturnalia Skyclad Spells Spiralheart Witch Camp Spirits of Place Spring Equinox spring magic Summer Solstice Tarot The Magick Of Food Time Magic Uncategorized Winter Solstice Witch History Witch Words WitchCamps Work Magic Year End Review Yule

Select a Month March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 September 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz