What is Pagan Music?

As a radio programmer or DJ, I am often asked “What is Pagan Music?” or “What makes this song Pagan?”

What is Pagan music isn’t always as simple to answer as you might think. Of course, you could say that the artist is Pagan or the theme is Pagan. But it is more than that.

Music is a gift of the Divine

Artists and bands like Crow Women, Cernunnos Rising, and Alexander James Adams produce Pagan music, if for no other reason than by them being self-proclaimed Pagans of one flavor or another. But you can also find Pagan themes and closeted Pagans in mainstream music. Heck, some of them aren’t even in the broom closet, they just don’t make it blatant that their songs are Pagan. I can think of names like rapper Kellee Maize and the lead singer of Godsmack, Sully Erna, as examples.

Is Pagan music a specific genre?

Simply put, no. At least not in my opinion. Like any kind of religious/spiritual music, it can be found in several (if not all) genres. Ever heard of Christian Metal? You can find Pagan themes in almost any genre of music. Alt Rock to Zydeco and everything in between. Listeners of Murphy’s Magic Mess are familiar with some of our ritual soundtracks that pull in songs from mainstream rock and children’s albums.

Think of it this way, if you are looking for a song that fits a ritual and you just can’t find one by a known Pagan artist, use whatever feels right to you. As long as it rings/sings right to you and you use it with proper intent, the God/dess/s/es will enjoy the music. They probably will even if you get it wrong. (They do have a twisted sense of humor, sometimes.)

When it comes to recorded music, there wasn’t a lot of Pagan music out there in the early years of the modern movement. There were plenty of songs and hymns that could be used for Pagan rituals or ceremonies, but no one was releasing original content on vinyl or cassette. Gwydion Pendderwin was probably one of the first (1975, 1981/82). Isaac Bonewits was also an early contributor to recorded Pagan music. Gwydion’s music was remastered and re-released on CD in 2005 by Anne Hill of Serpentine Music. (Read more about Gwydion here.)

Since the early days of Pagan recorded music, there has been a number of artists who have released singles and full albums. Many of them write for this very blog. We owe a lot to the pioneers of Pagan music recordings and to the legacy that they have left us. Thanks to them, there is now more Pagan music available for our ritual use and personal enjoyment.

Not all that is Pagan music is Pagan recorded

As I mentioned above, on the Mess, I frequently play music that rings/sings true to the theme of the show. My cohorts and I have used several mainstream tracks for our ritual soundtracks. Those tracks have included songs by MeatLoaf, Crystal Gayle, Disturbed, and others. More than once, we have included something by a Christian recording artist. If it fits the theme or intent of the ritual, we use it.

Two years ago for Samhain, Lady Gabrielle put together a ritual soundtrack for me that included Donny Osmond, Shakespeare’s Sister, and Jim Croce, just to name a few of the non-Pagan artists. The soundtrack also included music from Game of Thrones and Supernatural.

You can catch many of the ritual soundtracks from the Mess on YouTube on the channel for Lady Rhiannon or my own YouTube. Be sure and tune in later this month for the 2022 Samhain ritual soundtrack airing on KZUM’s Murphy’s Magic Mess on Sunday, October 30th at 9am Central time.

Until next time, Gods willing! – Phil K

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.