Roots of Wiccan Music, the Instruments Used

¶ … roots of Wiccan music, the instruments used and how the music moves participants into meditative states.

Use at least five books and articles as references and no Internet sites.

Wiccan music comes in many forms and uses a variety of traditional instruments and incantations to create themes and messages.

Wiccan Music

Red

As a brief introduction, it is important to the subject matter of this paper to understand what Wicca is. Wicca is a neo-pagan religion, a religion of personal experience with several deities, both male and female, of equal powers. Worshippers in this religion are encouraged, taught and expected to develop an ongoing and positive direct relationship with the Gods and Goddesses. It is a very western religion in cultural flavor and very different from eastern religions.

Wicca is full of beliefs and traditions, many of which center around the use of music. Since Wicca has many holidays, festivals and celebrations that are cheerful and fun-loving, they use music and words to celebrate. Dancing, merriment and feasting generally characterize Wiccan celebrations.

Wiccan Music

Let's begin by trying to define what Wiccan music is. Most often, people associate New Age music with Wiccan music. However, other types of music such as Celtic, Gothic and even Electronic fall under the realm of Wiccan music. The key things about Wiccan music are the message and the theme and that would seem to categorize various types of music as Wiccan. Obviously, if the writer is a Wiccan, than chances are the music will be Wiccan in nature Even Native American music and Australian Aboriginal music may have had its roots in Wiccan music.

Pagan music is also closely associated with Wiccan music because a lot of the themes can be very similar. Wicca itself is a neo-pagan religion that draws inspiration from the indigenous, pre-Christian religions of Europe, the America, Asia, Africa and Australia (Blackthorne 2002).

Traditional and modern Wiccan music have not changed that much over the ages. What makes all of it Wiccan music are the themes that tie into the Wiccan religion. The music in either form or function deals with Wiccan ideology.

Wicca is an ancient pagan religion, although it has only been recognized as a legal religion since 1985. It centers around nature and around a single Goddess and her less powerful God counterpart. Some denominations have more deities than that even, and some have less; they don't worship the God at all. The Goddess is really the central point of the religion, and she teaches that everyone should be in balance with nature and with those around them (Poundcake 1999).

A lot of the traditional Wiccan music was used as part of rituals or ceremonies. Chanting is a big part of Wiccan music and ritual. Chanting was used to call on the elements or sung as part of traditional verses from various ceremonies. An example of a chant would be, "Earth my body, Water my blood and an example of a sung verse would be the words that are used to end a ritual: "The Circle is open but unbroken. May the love of the Goddess be ever in your heart" (Blackthorne 2002).

Basically, any type of music attempts to recreate the sounds that we hear in nature, like tones, the sound of birds, wind, and water. We often use instruments to imitate the sounds we have heard. Wiccan music is steeped in nature as is the religion itself. Because Wiccan music also involves rituals, drums are widely used and traditionally have been associated with inducing trances or a calming state in individuals.

Today, Wiccan music takes many elements from classical pieces and contemporary sources using a variety of instruments, including flutes, violins, guitars, harps, guitars and other small instruments. Traditional Wiccan music generally used drums, rattles and bells during and after rituals.

Like any form of music, Wiccan music can be composed for a variety of reasons -- use during a ritual, as an offering to the Goddess or to create a positive flow of energy and finally, just in celebration of life, joy or happiness. What's interesting here is that most people think of the Wiccan religion as associated with evil and negative things but Wiccan celebrates life and creation and much of that theme is evident in the music.

There are some primary instruments that are used in Wiccan music that actually have specific powers and are tied to the elements. Four distinct types of instruments have very specific and identified powers. First, the drum, rattle, xylophone and all percussion instruments are ruled by the element of Earth. Meaning that these instruments can be used to invoke fertility, help find a job, influence a lover and so on. They can also summon the Goddess in ritual or call up energy and send it to the Earth (Farrar 1996).

Next, all of the wind instruments, including the flute and the recorder come under the domain of the Air, which is the intellectual element and is used to increase mental powers and visionary abilities. These instruments can also help discover ancient wisdom or knowledge, improve psychic abilities or invoke the God (Farrar1996).

Stringed instruments such as the lyre, harp, guitar and mandolin are ruled by the element of Fire. These instruments are used in casting spells or in rites that involve sexuality, health, passion, bodily strength, will power, change, evolution, courage and to destroy harmful habits. Purification is also possible using these instruments for an entire area as well as the celebrant. Strings can also invoke the God or Goddess (Farrar 1996).

Finally, resonant metal instruments such as cymbals, bells and the gong are symbolic of the element of Water. Water encompasses healing fertility, friendship, psychic powers, beauty, compassion, spirituality and other energies that can be featured in spells and rites (Farrar 1996).

Because Wiccan is a neo-pagan religion, it is rooted in mythology and the realm of the "spiritual" which is beyond this world. As a religion, it is centered on experiences not beliefs and makes heavy use of symbolism and nature in its practices. Most rituals or ceremonies are held outdoors under the sun or moon.

There is also a great respect for musicians and artists among the Wiccans because many of the rites and rituals can be very powerful and stimulating, releasing creativity and great abilities. Therefore, music, poetry, arts and crafts are an offshoot of this movement. Poets and musicians have the kind of special place at neo-pagan festivals that they did in pre-literate cultures. There is a great appreciation for their ability to compose and improvise and this is considered the mark of a gifted priest (ess) and is very highly respected.

An interesting observation about Wiccans in general comes from Margaret Alder's observation that they are mostly self-made people, supreme individualists not necessarily in the assertive or egoist sense but because they have felt the need to construct their own culture, their own definitions, their own religious paths, out of whatever came to hand rather than accepting the ones that the mainstream offers.

It is worth noting here that singing is combined with Wiccan music in many rituals. Chants and invocations to music are often integrated into rites and rituals. The musician sets the tone and can be incorporated into any Wiccan experience. Very often, the rituals can be very intricate and complex and require the music to set the tone and create an atmosphere.