If you have been listening to the Magic Mess on KZUM for any length of time, you are probably familiar with our Sabbat Ritual Soundtrack series. On the Sunday closest to the Sabbat, we present to you a ritual soundtrack that can be used for a solitary or group ritual. It is presented in such a way that you can participate live during the show or use the YouTube playlist as your own ritual inspiration. I hand the reigns over to a special guest ritualist most of the time.
We began these ritual soundtracks as a means of creating sacred space on the airwaves before COVID-19. The pandemic prompted us to continue with them and to build upon them. To make them something truly special for the listener. Even today, three years after COVID hit the hardest, there are many who are remaining more solitary than they once were. These ritual soundtracks give them and others the opportunity to participate in a ritual experience from the safety and comfort of their home as well as share that experience with others.
Lady Rhiannon Dragcruin of the Covenant of Kernunnos Tradition is my usual “guest programmer” for the soundtracks. She and I developed the idea of taking her ritual soundtracks onto the radio and using YouTube to make them available any time you may want to use them. Her daughter, Lady Gabrielle Dragcruingra, and the Crow Women’s own Alane Brown have also put together soundtracks for the show. Lady Gabrielle provided an entire year’s worth, and Alane has done one ritual so far.
Ritual soundtracks are an important part of the Covenant of Kernunnos Tradition. Most of us can either sing or at least pretend to. (I can’t carry a tune in a bucket with the lid welded on.) We use music and song to focus our intent and to further build the energy we raise for that intent. We sing the circle, we call the quarters with song, and entreat the Gods to join us with hymns to them. All in all, we make a joyful noise – to borrow from our Christian friends. We also use songs to establish the intent of our rites. Sometimes those songs are not Pagan in origin – okay, honestly, they are rarely of strict Pagan origin. We use songs and melodies that invite the feel of our intent to build and grow within us. (See my article on “What is Pagan Music?”)
We can do all of that with ritual pageantry as well. And we do. We incorporate music, song, and spoken word with action. For CoK, the music ties it all together.
That being said, putting together a ritual soundtrack for an in-person ritual is a little different from putting one together for broadcast.
| In-Person | Broadcast |
| Group Energy | Sense of Group Energy |
| Definite Sacred Space | Visualized Sacred Space for the individual becoming part of the whole |
| Ritual Pageantry | Use of Song and Spoken Word to experience the Ritual Pageantry |
| Community | Shared Experience in Virtual Setting |
| Fellowship | Global Fellowship |
As you can see, much of what is done for an in-person ritual soundtrack is used for broadcast, but there are some distinct differences. For broadcast, we must set aside the idea of being physically present for the ritual. We instead embark into the world between worlds in a much more literal fashion than many might have experienced before. To do so, we start with new age or meditation music and then a spoken description of the purpose of the ritual before we “call” everyone to circle with a specific song.
In the beginning, Lady Rhiannon left it to me to make the meditative selections. Now, she does it herself. The meditative music generally helps to ground and focus the listener and prepare them for the ritual experience. Most often, the music is without lyrics, allowing the individual to prepare themselves as they deem fit. It is not until the ritual itself begins that the music and words shape an experience that may be shared by all who are listening.
With typical Wiccanate ritual structure, our soundtracks call the listeners to circle followed by a circle casting and elemental invocation – usually in one track. From there we call upon the Gods in whatever form chosen for the ritual and pay homage to the fey. Then we establish the purpose of the ritual and build the energy. The first half of the ritual often explores the plight or situation/feeling that we wish to transmute. At some point in the building, we reach a plateau and focus that energy before continuing to build it to the release. At this point, we switch to an “answer” or “response” with equal intensity. Once the energy is released to the intent which has been established, we bring things down a notch or so and begin the process of grounding the remaining raised energy or implanting that energy into the listener for their own use. The ritual is closed with a song or two of feasting and celebration before the circle itself is closed out and the Gods and elements are thanked, “go if you must, stay if you will.”
You may be asking; how does the listener know at what point or song certain things should be happening? It is up to me, as the host of the show, to set things up for the listener. A typical soundtrack format on the show:
1. Intro song followed by a greeting to the audience.
2. A few new age or meditative pieces to set the tone or mood of the ritual.
3. A brief interruption to back announce, play station requirements, and provide a “guide” of how we will proceed. This is also where I let them know that the only interruption during the ritual is for a legal requirement at the top of the hour. Usually, this is so brief that someone in the ritual experience will hardly even notice it.
4. The call to circle commences after the break and there is no other interruption until the circle is closed and the audience is brought back to the “here and now.” At this point, I review the listing of music played throughout the ritual and another station break.
5. Ending the show with some grounding or celebratory music.
I hope that the listener gets some sort of ritual experience out of these playlists. It is a labor of love for those who put them together. I do get feedback from several listeners after each one airs. It is one of my goals to help build these ritual soundtracks into something that can be used not just once on the air, but over and over again for those who are inspired by them.
The biggest challenges in putting together these ritual soundtracks are 1. Choosing different pieces than the Sabbat before for circle casting and God/dess calls and 2. Coming up with unique themes or intents for the rituals. 3. Finding uplifting and empowering Sabbat-specific songs that aren’t the standard A-minor, E-minor, here’s-another-Pagan-song. Let that be a challenge to the musicians out there…
Harmonious Blessings upon you all!
For more information about Phil, including his collected articles here on Pagan Song, his bio, and links to Phil’s sites on the web, check out Phil’s page here on Pagan Song.
cover photo of radio by Alex Blăjan
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