Summoning the Guardians in Song

One of the things that brings ritual powerfully alive for me is the combination of symbol and song. The melody of a song pitched just right can create a powerful opening to the Otherworld. And the imagery we choose for the lyrics can guide us to where we are going. 

Symbol and Song

As magic users, we know the power of symbol. A simple squiggle or talismanic focal point tunes our awareness to a living pattern of Being within the field of consciousness. Melody works in a similar way to create the inner landscape – the temple, if you will – wherein we can encounter the spirit of the symbol. To use an astrological analogy, we can see the melody of a song and the bed of music it arises from as the “House” in which the living symbol (or planet) dwells. The lyrics, when crafted intentionally, paint a vivid image in our minds, which takes on a life of its own in the house of melody and music.

In the collection of chants I wrote with T. Thorn Coyle, Songs for the Waning Year (and it’s companion Songs for the Strengthening Sun), we endeavored to craft each chant to be an evocative combination of symbolic imagery and melody, suitable for ritual practice. 

One such I will feature here. It is called “Awake”, from Songs for the Waning Year. This chant is a Calling of the Guardians; kept simple enough for easy visualization, and broad enough to allow room for a variety of traditions. 

Here are the lyrics, and I will walk us through how I like to use this chant in ritual. Feel free to use or modify as inspired. 

Awake, awake, you ancient watchers
Awake awake and let me in
Come down come down, from your waiting houses
Come down come down and let me in

Jewel of the North, whose gates are emerald
Flame of the South, whose gates burn red
Well of the West, whose gates are wisdom
Breath of the East whose gates are still

“Awake”, by Sharon Knight, from the album Songs for the Waning Year

Calling the Guardians

As this is a guardian calling, circle will have already been cast. You’ll see this chant has been written to invoke the guardians in a cross rather than a circle. I was fairly steeped in Thelema at the time these chants were written, and this chant presented itself with a similar energetic flow as the Cabalistic Cross, so I went with it. You can adjust as suits you.

Once circle is cast, I like to stand in the center of this space between worlds, arms upraised and open, and chant the first part of the song. In this, we invite all the Guardians at once, awakening them with song. (You can buy the song here).

In asking them to come down and let me in, I perceive a meeting between us. We have stepped partially into their realm by casting circle. Now we ask them to join us in this between-place; each of us journeying from our realms to meet in the liminal. From here, the guardians may guide us to their realms, rather than we storming their castles right out of the gate. Rather, we stand on neutral ground and ask them to let us in. If their presence is felt to be welcoming (which it usually is), we know we have the invitation to go further.

We then turn to the North, and invoke the Guardian of the Earth as a shining jewel. I envision this Guardian as an enormous emerald, shining luminous light through her many facets. A glorious crystalline structure formed in the deep compression of the earth. We see her emerald gates opening into a fertile garden of verdant abundance.

From here we turn and face the South, and see a red flame burning incandescently. Consuming, transforming, ever moving and changing from one thing to the next. Sexual and spiritual fire meet within us to ignite creative fire, the flame of inspiration. Our inner fire comes alive as we invoke the Flame of the South. 

Then to the West, we hold a great Well in our mind’s eye, a Well that glows with the vitality of Water, revealing the wisdom of intuition and memory. This Well holds all that the collective unconscious has stored within, and we can draw forth what is needed in each moment. Invoking the Well of the West awakens the wisdom of the heart. We open our hearts and allow Water to flow through us, washing us clean.

Finally we turn to the East, the rhythmic breath of life that calms us and allows us to focus. Our minds become still as we slip into the ebb and flow of rhythmic breathing. All falls away but the clarity of a clear mind. Stillness brings presence, and presence brings Knowing. 

With each invocation, we make the imagery and energetic flows as vivid as we can, seeing them, smelling them, feeling them caress our bodies. We want to immerse ourselves as deeply as we can in the qualities of the elements as we chant their phrases.

Invoking these Elemental Vitalities with the simple yet rich symbolism reflected in this chant really brings them alive for me. I hope it also brings them alive for you. 

A Word on Melody

Perhaps you’ll want to switch up the chant a bit; to call the elements in a circular order rather than in a cross for example, or to write your own chants rooted in your tradition. If you want to alter or adapt a melody to your purposes, here are a few things to think about: 

A melody is comprised of spacial relationships between notes, called intervals. An interval is the space between two notes, but there are several intervals within a melody or a chord.  

These intervals cause a variety of emotional responses in us, and thus an effective melody can transport us to a world of wonder and delight, help us move through grief, or stir a deep, forgotten longing that lies dormant within. The most well-known example of the different emotional responses caused by intervals is that of a major or minor chord. In a major chord, the interval between the first and second notes is 2 scale steps, creating a bright, happy sound. In a minor chord, the interval is 1.5 steps, creating a melancholy feeling. As many of us will remember, “D minor is the saddest of all keys”. 

A good way to learn this is to analyze a piece of music that moves you. Learn the melody of a song and sing it slowly, feeling the relationships between each note. Where does the melody take you? What feelings or images arise as you listen? Can you discern exactly where in the song your emotion shifted? Can you feel a sense of tension and release as the melody dances from one note to the next? 

I invite you, when listening to the song ‘Awake”, to soften your hold on the meaning of the words for a few moments, and allow just the melody to wash over you. Take note of the feelings that arise in you as you feel the swell and ebb of one note following the next. 

Does the melody enhance the lyrics? Or does it take away from the lyrics? If it takes away, how might you change it to suit your own style? Does the melody help you find that liminal place, thus making it easier to bring the symbolism to life?  

This is what a melody should do; to invoke the feeling tones compatible with the Spirit you are calling. The mood of the music creates an atmosphere conducive to magic. When the music you create gives you that “seeing sidewise” feeling, and you feel yourself “slipping between”, you know you have arrived at an effective piece for ritual. 

And if you never see yourself writing your own chants, please enjoy the chants Thorn and I have created, as well as all the wonderful music our community puts out. We will happily sing for you for as long as we may live!

You can learn more about Sharon and her music at https://sharonknight.net

You can find both chant albums with Sharon and T. Thorn Coyle on Bandcamp.

For more information about Sharon Knight, including her collected articles here on Pagan Song, her bio, and links to Sharon’s sites on the web, check out Sharon’s page on Pagan Song.

For more articles about using music in ritual, please visit the Pagan Song Book of Shadows.

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