My Pagan Music Book

I’m deep into the process of writing a book on pagan music. I want to tell you, dear Pagan Song readers, about the wisdom I’ve been writing about and how you can use it to enrich your magical practice through music. I’d love to get your suggestions in the comments section. What do you think I should include in my book on pagan music?

I have the first 50,000 words written, and I did that in one month! In November of 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, I turned out 200 pages of my ideas about music in pagandom. I signed up for National Novel Writing Month, and used all its tools and resources to stay focused. (I’ve written novels through NaNoWriMo, but this is the first year I was a nonfiction rebel.) To hit 50k in 30 days, one must write 1,667 words each day. It took me about three hours to do that each day. I generally got a little more than the quota done, so for me, it was 28 straight days of writing, and BOOM I have most of a first draft done. I’ll finish up the rough draft this winter, then edit the monster in the spring. By next summer, I’ll be ready to look for a way to publish the thing. Any ideas?

Here are the main sections of the book. Let me know which ones interest you!

Music in covens and other small groups

I came into my own as a pagan in Crow Women Circle, which started as a Goddess spirituality circle and eventually also became the Crow Women Pagan Choir. We have always been very, very musical in our spiritual practice. This first section of the book is written for a reader who is part of a circle or coven (or is forming a new one) and wants to integrate more music in the group’s practice. I explain how to do a talking circle to see whether the group even wants to pursue a musical path. If so, I’m there with suggestions for assessing where you’re starting from. I give suggestions for first songs to learn and where to find more; the nuts and bolts of learning the songs; and lots of tips for song arrangement. This section of the book contains everything I know about building a musical tradition in a group.

I found myself putting in lots of psychology. I have a Ph.D. in social psychology (Princeton, 1990) and used to teach college courses on group dynamics, psychology of religion, the psychology of music and music and art therapy. My professor self and my priestess self danced merrily together across the pages. I wrote an extensive section about the nature of religious needs and how music fits into that. I even spent one morning designing a questionnaire about spirtual motivations that is tailored to the pagan experience. One friend has already served a beta tester. Anyone else want to try it out and give feedback? Gosh, it was fun to think like a research psychologist again. I’ve been retired for three years and I’ve miss playing with data. The point here is that each person has their own balance of motivations, and their relationship to ritual music flows from that. It’s important to understand the members of a group in order to use music in a way that meets their needs.

Music should serve the spirituality, and I discuss keeping this in perspective. I especially enjoyed writing about how to use music in small group rituals, and all the ways it can support each of the steps of a typical ritual from circle casting to invocation to energy raising, and more.

I offer a ritual a group can use to dedicate to a deity of music, their companion and ally. The ritual I wrote into the book is for Sarasvati, and it’s a really good ritual, very textured and powerful. There are suggestions for other deities, too and how to choose one, and even for “finding” a deity all your own. Then, a group can grow musically together with their patron by their side.

Music in large rituals

I’ve been to many big rituals at festivals and public events, and priestessed my share of them. I have developed strong ideas over the years about what works musically in these rituals–and what doesn’t. In this part of the book I elaborate on my Rules Of Big Rituals.

• Always assess your ritual from the point of view of the participants
• The theme of the ritual should be unified and clear, start to finish
• Involve people actively
• Pageantry is your friend—appeal to the senses

I present an example of a Ritual From Heck, then proceed to show how to avoid all the pitfalls that my example pratfalls into. In the shiny new version of the ritual, my rules are followed, with the help of music, of course. For example, music is used to keep things moving along, so people are not standing around until their feet are aching. A theme song is used, beginning at the gate, and continuing throughout the ceremony, that gives unity and highlights the message of the ritual.

I spend quite a bit of time on tips for getting a big crowd to participate without this leading to a train wreck. And, I am a big proponent of appealing to all the senses and going for drama in large outdoor ceremonies. Music is a wonderful aid to this pageantry. I admit, I did get a little sidetracked in this section into various ways to make big rituals engaging. After all, I was once a theater major, then worked in theater professionally in Boston and New York. (This was before the psychology graduate school.) I have a tendency to view rituals with several hundred participants as being a lot like theatrical productions. It will not surprise you then, that I wrote about how to recruit, rehearse and manage a chorus to lead the songs in a big ritual.

In the large group ritual part of the book, I also wax eloquent about some of the other musical events that are common at gatherings of pagankin at festivals, retreats and Pagan Pride events. I give tips for sucessful Bardic Circles and Talent shows. I spend many pages on fire circles–how to guide the musical magic of drums and voices and whirling dancers. I’ve taught a bazillion chant workshops, and I share my expereince in a section about how to put on a successful workshop on pagan chant.

Music and the solitary practitioner

In this section of the book, I wrote about music for the witch working alone. A person doesn’t have to be part of a group, or even connected to the wider pagan community, to follow a path of magical music. In fact, there’s enormous freedom in exploring the spirituality of music at your own pace, in your own way.

I provide a plan for discovering your own personal muse by collecting signs and portents. There’s a ritual for dedicating to a personal creative path with step by step instructions for those who wish for them. And encouragement to make up your own ceremony if that’s your inclincation.

I write about using music in personal practice. It was exciting to get to write about spiritsong, the wordless improvisational technique developed by the late Shawna Carol. I have found great personal meaning in creating sacred space and singing my feelings within that space using the spiritsong form. I give suggestions for this and other ways of creating your own landscape of sacred sound.

I write about spellwork, too. There are many spell-songs out there and I talk the reader through their use. One song I discuss is “I will be gentle with myself”. Affirmations like this one are messages to oneself–transformational magic carried deep into the unconscious on the wings of song. I also spend time on ways to create your own spell songs.

Writing pagan songs

I’m a songwriter. It was my pleasure to distill what I’ve learned over several decades of songwriting into something I hope will be of use to others. I wrote about motivations for song creation, such as a ritual coming up, to fill holes in the pagan liturgy, and simply as part of your spiritual development.

One of the things I think is critical for songwriters is capturing ideas, and I give my suggestions for preserving song ideas instead of letting them die away. I talk about inspirations for songs, of course. But, I really think everyone has plenty of good ideas. The trick is taking them seriously, planting those song seeds in fertile soil, and nurturing them into songs. I wrote about the steps of this process and tools to do so successfully.

Groups can write songs together, too. In fact, I’ve used song creation as part of group rituals many times and it can be fun and sometimes quite moving. I give a template for developing a simple new chant based on a well-known pagan chant. I also delve into the wonderful world of filking. Paganizing a Christmas carol or Jazz Standard would be an example of filking. Group songs can be completely original as well. I wrote about how to combine the ideas of a whole bunch of people into a coherent set of lyrics. There’s also my tips for riding the waves of improvisation as a group, either to surface a composition you’ll keep or just for the joy of being in the experience together.

The life of a pagan musician

In this part of the book, I give guidance to those who want to share their musical talents beyond their immediate group or community. I talk about the transformational process of taking on the role of Pagan Musician. I wrote about why a person or group might want to tiptoe into this world, and realistic expectations for how this might work. Then there are my suggestions for forming a band, recording music, selling it, giving concerts, and so on. Now that November is over, I will be contacting other pagan musicians to get input. I’d like this part of the book to reflect the experiences of other bands in addition to the Crow Women. If you’re a pagan musician reading this, please get in touch if you’d like to be involved.

What do you think?

That’s what I’ve got so far. I would be delighted if you, dear reader, would comment on this blog post. Which of these topic interest you? What else would you suggest I write about? What sorts of resources would you use if I included them? It seems like having an audio element would make a lot of what I talk about a lot clearer–any suggestions for a way to do that?

And, most of all–would you buy this book?

Okay, that’s all for now. I’d better get back to writing my magnum opus!

For more information about the Crow Women pagan choir, and access to all the blog posts by Alane and the other 9 crowsingers who have written for Pagan Song, you can visit the Crow Women author page here on Pagan Song.

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