Song As Ritual

I have spent the past 20 years of my musical career in awe of the power that song and chant have to transform a singer, a group of singers, or an audience.

I began writing, singing, and performing pagan spiritual song and chant in 2001. The act of integrating a love of singing with my spirituality was a game changer. Little did I know how far that single decision would take me! But two decades of workshops and performances, 6 CDs, a book trilogy, and a world of travel under my belt, solidify the belief that song is an integral and necessary addition to a magickal toolkit.

Spending copious amounts of time alone on the road touring can be very prohibitive when it comes to committing yourself to a magickal working community. Because of that, I have spent the majority of my time as a solitary practitioner. Although I have had the honor of standing in ritual circle with many people over the years at festivals, events, retreats, and workshops, my personal practice has been done alone for the most part. Because I was working alone, I moved my personal workings in a very eclectic direction. I started singing my rituals.

Photo by Peter Paradise of Ravenwolfe Photography

Singing is powerful

The physical act of singing and chanting produce the same endorphin rush as an exercise session would. The production of these chemicals floods your body with a “feel good” sensation. If you spend an extended time singing, you can’t help but feel fantastic afterwards. Not only does the act produce endorphins, but the sound waves emitted help to loosen any blocks or resistance that you might have in your chakra line, releasing or loosening anything that might be stuck.

I have experienced this as fact: Singing transforms a person, in body and mind.

After a couple of years spent singing my rituals, I decided to share the practice with groups of people through workshop offerings. I created Wheel of the Year Ritual Chant Circles with Kellianna and began leading these circles at local shops in New England, and at festivals and conferences that I would be booked at in the US and abroad. Singing a ritual myself was powerful. Singing ritual with a group was an off the charts energy explosion! I mean the energy was thick and tangible, building in the space until we released it with the cone of power chant, and practically blowing the roof off!

The power of a chant circle is undeniable. Also undeniable is the clean and joyful energy that is raised by a group joining their voices in song to manifest intention. A shared energy with a common goal results in fantastic manifestation. There is no negativity or toxicity to the energy that is being raised and shared. This results in a purity in the magickal work that is unlike anything I have ever experienced. These circles pack a punch!

Designing a sung ritual

I would now like to walk you through the creation of a ritual chant circle, using song and chant from my repetoire, and from some of my favorite pagan artists. You can make yours, alone or with your own group, using your favorite artists and chants, or by writing one or all of your own! (Stay tuned for my upcoming blog and workshop on chant writing!)

You create this ritual as you would any other:

Opening the circle
Calling the quarters
Calling in the Goddess and/or God
Setting intention
Raising, focusing and releasing the energy
Releasing the Goddess and/or God
Releasing the quarters
Closing the circle

A sample sung ritual

Here is a Ritual of Gratitude that I have put together as an example!

Opening the circle:

There is no Time – From my Elemental CD, written by Veronica Appolonia

Calling the quarters:

The Direction Song – From my Elemental CD, written by Terri Rivera

Calling in the Goddess and/or God:

I Walk with The Goddess by Kellianna

Setting intention:

For this I would use three songs in combination by Jana Runnalls and Kat Brown as a way to ground and journey to the in-between place where magick happens

Gateway – Jana Runnalls from Lady of the Lake

Sacred Grove – Jana Runnalls from Sacred Home and Return to the Goddess albums

Bloodwell– Jana Runnalls from Lady of the Lake

Intention – Song of gratitude: Shares Her Love – From my I Walk With The Goddess CD by Kellianna

Raising, focusing and releasing the energy:

For this section I use a lot of fire chants to transform our “Thoughts” into “Things”, or our intentions to be transformed and manifested. Think alchemy. Using fire to turn lead to gold! Finish this section with a fire chant that you can speed up as a cone of power to build the energy, and release the intention to the universe to become manifest. I include a few examples here.

Dancing Fire – Jana Runnalls from Sacred Home

Fire Transform Me – From my Elemental CD, written by Alisa Starkweather

Pele – From my Elemental CD by Kellianna

Releasing the Goddess and/or God:

Goddess and God Chant – Jana Runnalls from Sacred Home

Releasing the quarters:

Thank You Mother – From my Ancient Ones CD written by Pamela Gerke

Closing the circle:

May the Circle Be Open – From Robert Glass’s Ancient Mother

So take this concept and make it your own. It may be a really fun way to explore what is out there for pagan chant, and find some new great artists to love in the process!

Here are links to some of my favorite artists:

Check out My Elemental Chant CD on Bandcamp!

And find my entire discography at: Kellianna.com

cover photo: Kellianna at the opening circle of the Lorelei Vrouwen’s Festival, Netherlands