Have you or someone you know ever uttered the words, “I’d like to have more music in my ritual, but I can’t sing”? If so, you are not alone. We run into many circles and solitaries who love hearing music far more than they are comfortable making it. My own mother swears she could drag an entire church congregation off key (although I have to give her credit, that didn’t thwart her enthusiasm with the hymns).
Even the Crow Women occasionally run into a ritual theme that for some reason or another has not lent itself to the creation of pagan song. Half the time we just write one. The other half of the time, we improvise.
What follows is a ritual we did during a recent retreat when the Crow Women got together for a weekend of ceremony and relaxation at Ardantane. It serves as a good example of how to incorporate music into ritual without having to sing (or play) a note.
The theme of this ritual was exploring the spiritual side of our sexuality. Sexuality is more than just the act of sex (though that’s a really fun part of it). Spiritually, sexuality is the spark of energy that draws us out of ourselves. It connects us to others, to the divine, to nature, to our creative, fertile selves. And paganism has thankfully given us a plethora of goddesses (and gods!) who can serve as excellent role models for the flame of our sexuality. This ritual welcomed nine of them, but that was the tip of the iceberg. What sex goddesses (or gods!) would you invite to your ritual?
Casting—In this particular instance we were in a retreat where the circle had already been cast and in place. I presume most readers of this blog already have a circle casting process, so I expect you would just do that.
Crow-pening song—That Sings of Love and Pleasure by Sara and Susan on their album Inanna. This was a new song for most of us, so I played the CD and we sang along. Fortunately, it’s a long, repetitive chant, so we had time to pick it up and play with it. If you have the technology handy, there is no shame in singing along with previously recorded music!
Sharing our sexual selves—Before the ritual, I’d invited all of my sisters to come dressed in what makes them feel sexy. Some of us dressed in costumes we’d wear in places we feel sexy—fire circles, belly dancing, singing—while others shared their sexuality through clothing that felt comfortable and creative. It was so fun to hear what made this group of spectacularly strong women feel sexy and delicious.
Goddess choosing—On the altar were nine envelopes, each containing information on a different goddess. Participants selected an envelope, familiarized themselves with the goddess within, and then went to a pile of costume pieces and props to start to “become” their chosen goddess.
Becoming the goddess—Once we’d taken on the role of our goddess, we shared her with our sisters, telling tales, exploring props, and making goddesses of desire come to life in our circle. During each sharing, we played background music for the goddess, either a hymn dedicated to her (such as the Song to Inanna) or songs from her country of origin (such as Saraab for Astarte). Here’s a list of the goddesses I chose and their associated music, but you should feel free to follow your own inspiration:
- Astarte—Saraab by Simon Shaheen and Quintara (on Hookah Café)
- Hathor—At the Gates of the Citadel by Hossam Ramzy & Phil Thornton (on Immortal Egypt)
- Bai Mudan—Main Theme (The Last Emperor) by David Byrne
- Freya—Frey and Freya by Sharon Knight and T Thorn Coyle (on Songs for the Strengthening Sun)
- Aphrodite—Amorgos Passage by Kristi Stassinopoulou (on Hookah Café)
- Rati—Pukar by Najma Akhtar (on Hookah Café)
- Inanna—Song to Innana by Lisa Thiel (on Journey to the Goddess)
- Erzulie Freda—Erzulie by Voodoo Sound Club (on Mamy Wata)
- Oshun—Love & Happiness-Yemaya and Ochun by River Ocean
Goddess Magick—Once we were good and familiar with our goddesses, we were ready to ask their help with some magick. First, we used an elemental star exercise to help us figure out where in our sexual lives our goddess might support us. (Check out details on the Elemental Star in Amber K’s Wiccan classic, True Magick.) Before the ritual I had prepared small images of the goddesses for each sister to paste to a box of matches. Then we wrote our requests on the back of the matchbox. We blessed the matches and lit candles. Now any time we need to call upon the magick of our sex goddess, all we need to do is light a match!
To end the ritual, we shared Damiana (what could get more sex goddessly than that!) and danced around the room to more sexy songs, like:
- Do Ya Think I’m Sexy (Rod Stewart)
- Let’s Talk about Sex (Salt-N-Peppa)
- Let’s Do It (Eartha Kitt)
- The Sweetest Taboo (Sade)
- A Kiss to Build a Dream On (Louis Armstrong)
- Pretty much everything by Leonard Cohen, but particularly the entire “I’m Your Man” album
What songs would be on your playlist to raise your sexual energy? If you try a similar ritual, we’d love to hear about it!
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