Goddess of the Southern Land

Hello – warm and magical greetings from Australia. I want to share with you the creation and birthing of one of my songs ‘ Goddess Of The Southern Land’ and how it came out of my spiritual journey in this country I call home.

The land of my blood ancestors

I am a first generation Australian from Irish and English immigrants. I grew up surrounded by stories and songs of the UK and Ireland and have always felt those places as being home, I was constantly torn between the land of my parents and blood ancestors and the country of my birth. To be honest I never really felt a strong sense of belonging to any one place.

I love the customs, traditions and legends of Great Britain and Ireland and I spent a number of years living in East Sussex UK, following the cycle of the ritual calendar year. Looking at marvelous and strange village customs; painted faced guisers in rag coats, wild men carrying burning tar barrels, well dressings, giants parading along with Jack in the Green, hooden horses, mummers players, dancing around stone circles and ceremonies on hillsides next to giant hill figures. My imagination was fired and I was filled with creative ideas for many years of song writing.

The land I live upon

The myths and legends from the land of my blood ancestors are a part of my DNA, but the land that has fed and nurtured me is also part of my DNA so I needed to connect to that while still holding the land of my blood ancestors close in my heart. I needed to connect to the spirits of this place. Following my path of Druidry enabled me to do this. I had been working on my journey for many years and the song ‘Goddess of the Southern Land’ is a reflection of this journey.

I live in the wild and beautiful Mount Lofty Ranges on Peramangk country in an old cottage surrounded by native bushland, European trees, and regular visits from the local koalas, possums and a multitude of the colourful parrots we have in this country. I always find solace and healing in nature and I have finally discovered my tiny piece of the earth I wish to look after for the time I am on this planet.

There are many creation stories from the first people of this land and I wanted to respectfully include some of their dreamings in this song. Stories that speak to me. The Mount Lofty Ranges were formed when the Giant Ngarno was killed and where his body fell became the mountain range. The kookaburras range through the area where I live and I always think of their laughter as being the sound of Australia.

Paganism down under

Living in the Southern Hemisphere has its challenges for pagans who connect to the old ways of their ancestors of mud, blood and spirit. Challenging to us when our beliefs are steeped in Northern Hemisphere traditions. Traditions that we follow yet we must adapt them to the place where we create our magic and ritual. Adapting how we live with and honour the seasons of the year in this country. I still have trouble with the shops being filled with Halloween decorations in November when it’s our early summer! Easter Egg hunts in March when it’s our glorious autumn. It’s been quite a journey for me.

A vista and vision begets a song

I had begun to write Goddess of the Southern Land a few days before I was due to fly out to the USA in 2014. As the plane flew over the middle of outback Australia I looked out the window and all there was below was the ancient red and ochre landscape marked with what looked like huge a serpent trail.

I met my fellow Spiral Dance band members in Florida and I sat down with Nick our guitarist and song writing partner and we began to noodle with chords and a tune and before I knew it the rest of the words had literally fallen onto the page. It’s musical magic in the making when the creativity flows like that!

Didgeridoo magic

We recorded the song at Nick’s studios ‘Red Dog Sound’ in Willyaroo, (Peramangk name for place of men’s initiation) He had just bought a didgeridoo made from native eucalypt and hollowed out naturally by termites. For me the sound and vibrations of the didgeridoo is the music of this land and whenever it’s played it’s like it’s ‘waking’ the earth. It was perfect for Goddess of the Southern Land. In the recording process Damh the Bard sent some harmony tracks for the chorus and it was lovely to have him sing and be a part of this special song.

Goddess of the Southern Land I’m yet to know your name
I’ve been travelling the pathways from where my ancestors came
But now I long to hear the songlines that are singing in your veins
Goddess of the Southern Land I’m yet to know your name

An inspiration shared

Goddess of the Southern Land is the opening track of our Land and Legend CD that was released and launched in Glastonbury UK in 2017. We had been playing this song to our Australian audiences for many months and now has almost become an bit of an anthem for the pagan community Down Under but I feel many of you all over this amazing planet will connect with the words. You can find the track on our Bandcamp page: https://spiraldance.bandcamp.com/album/land-and-legend

Whenever we perform this song it strengthens my tie to where I am living and reminds me the land has accepted me. Feeling like a visitor for so many years, I wanted to create something to help my roots sink into the soil. I needed this southern land to claim me – I needed to connect with the spirits of place.

I called and they answered.

For more information about Adrienne Piggot, including her collected articles here on Pagan Song, her bio, and links to her band Spiral Dance’s sites on the web, check out Adrienne’s author page here on Pagan Song.

Please subscribe to the Pagan Song blog, to receive our blog post each week. Don’t miss any of the musical magic!