Music, Magic & Meditation K.S. Harkey (Storyteller, Spiral Cult Circus)
Introduction Meditative techniques are practiced as parts of many different religions, as well as in secular philosophies and traditional movement arts. Yoga, Qui-gong, Catholicism, Zen Buddhism, and many indigenous traditions represent just a few examples with a breadth of variety and kind. In some traditions, meditation represents the majority of practice: “In each of these scriptures, the main practice is described as an extraordinary state that is created from the union of (1) 'calm abiding' (concentrated meditation) and (2) 'special insight' (wisdom) (H.H. Dalai Lama, 22).” This is especially true in many eastern traditions. However, the practice of meditation is also considered foundational by many authors on Western magical practice. “There is much in magic which is not too dissimilar with the methods of meditation. That is to say, it follows an interior route, and is a means of dealing with the psyche without reference to any external object, symbol, or piece of equipment (Regardie, 43-44).” Meditation includes a variety of techniques applied singly or in concert by the practitioner to achieve directed, altered states of consciousness. Human beings experience a variety of states of consciousness on a regular basis as a part of ordinary life. For example, when we sleep we enter REM state, identifiable by the measurement of brainwave patterns. An altered state of consciousness, then, is altered in comparison to the way we go about being aware in our daily lives most of the time. This becomes meditation when we deliberately use the altered state to achieve specific desired effects within or upon our own minds. Basic techniques of meditation are well known: breath control, posture & movement, environmental elements, and so on. (The author presumes a basic familiarity with these on the part of the reader.) One environmental element that is commonly used to enhance the effectiveness of meditation is sound. This series will explore the usage of sound and music to bring meditative techniques into the realm of ritual magic.
Intonation The most basic use of sound, and the easiest to use in solo work, is intonation. Any sound may be intoned; intoning refers to the vibrating quality of the sound. When done properly, the sound resonates as fully as possible in the chest, the head, or both. This need not be done loudly, but it may be easier at first to work with as much sense of freedom as possible. The very same work that applies to developing the voice from the theatre and music worlds apply equally well for the magician training his voice. Useful explorations in physical function have produced a world of exercises. The actor aims to develop his own real voice, as opposed to the ones that most of us have been influenced to adopt by cultural expectations and upbringings. Many such practices focus heavily on relaxation and the release of tension, to properly prepare the body to be in its most natural state. “The aim is a body that is organized to move with minimum effort and maximum efficiency, not through increased muscular strength, but increased consciousness of how it works. There is innate physical strength in a body that is functioning normally, and it must be noted that "normal" is not to be confused with 'average' (Linklater, 24).� Following is an exercise developed specifically for intoning work. As with all exercises, the more often it is repeated, the better developed the practice will become; don't just do it the once and throw it away!
Magician's Voice Exercise 1. Lie with your back to the floor, palms down. 2. Systematically work your way through every muscle in your body, relaxing them one by one. Start with your toes and work your way up, little by little, until every muscle is relaxed. When you've reached your head, cast your awareness back over your body. Has any tension gathered while you were working? Consider the small muscles in your face, jaw and neck. Patiently relax your muscles until you are completely relaxed and the floor has the full weight of your body. 3. Begin breathing deeply, letting your breath expand fully down, out, and up into your chest cavity. Feel for the limits of this expansion. Slowly, and without allowing any tenseness, let the jaw muscle fall open. 4. Begin emitting air over the completely relaxed vocal chords on an [a] “ah” sound. Let the tongue be loose and non-obstructive in the floor of the mouth. Support the air with the diaphragm muscle; do not stop until all the air has been expelled from the lungs. 5. Breath in again, completely filling the chest and repeat, several times; paying special care to keep the body and face fully relaxed. 6. Feel carefully for the sense of vibration in your chest. Support and expand this quality with each repetition. 7. Once you feel that you could comfortably reproduce this quality later, try closing your mouth down through an [o] sound to a hummed mgn. Feel the way that this nasal sound buzzes in your nose and head. 8. Breath completely and repeat, expanding this buzzing quality with each pass. Check your relaxation. 9. When you feel comfortable that you could find this quality again easily, open your mouth back to an [a] shape, but try to keep this buzzing quality. Notice that it is achieved by manipulating the very back of the soft palate and the throat to continue the “nasal” quality. 10. Now open that pathway up, and deliberately allow the sound to pass up through that chamber, into the nose and head. This may take some practice, but a subtler kind of buzzing sensation can be achieved in the nose and forehead. 11. Practice moving between these sounds and qualities of voice, periodically rechecking your muscles for relaxation. 12. When you feel comfortable with all of this lying down, try moving to a standing position. When you intone standing or kneeling, it is important to have a posture that leaves your chest as broad as possible without collapsing the back. The knees should be very slightly bent, and square with the shoulders. 13. Roll the shoulders up and back before relaxing them down. Draw in a full breath and practice cycling through the sounds you've just practiced. When you feel comfortable with that, try intoning the sound “om”, which was described in step 7 moving from the “ah” sound to a hum. Try other sounds and words, always continuing in awareness of any muscle tenseness that may sneak up.
Audio Sample: “Morning Stretch” provides a backing track for the practitioner to use in exploring his or her voice and intonation. As the name suggests, it may be used at the beginning of the day as a reminder to use one's true voice throughout the day.
Reflection starters: Use these as jumping-off points to journal regarding your experiences with this exercise. ● ● ● ● ●
When I use my voice, I feel... My voice sounded very different/ totally the same... I feel more comfortable vibrating in my... The way I usually use my voice in daily life is... I feel better/worse about my voice now because...
Chanting Chanting is, simply, the repetition of a word or sound, either spoken or intoned, in a rhythmic fashion. Sometimes it can be hard to say where chant ends and song begins, especially where elements are combined. Chanting is often aided and supported by the use of rhythmic instruments such as drums, shakers, gongs, or finger cymbals. Many different traditions use chant to achieve spiritual awareness or heightened states of consciousness. “We always have these beads, just as you have your rosary. You are chanting, but why don't the other Christians also chant?... If we chant the holy names of God, we cannot lose anything; on the contrary we gain greatly (Prabhupada, 117).” Chanting can be performed alone or in a group. It is a very useful group technique because it serves to unite the participants by the tempo and timbre that is negotiated amongst the participants. This sense of group unity can be invaluable when working ritual. It is common ritual design to place a meditative chant to the purpose of raising power to “fuel” a magical working (Cantrell, 142-143). Some sounds make good chants because of the use of breath that they encourage. Part of the enhancing effect from chanting comes from the change in oxygen intake and use involved in producing sound. That is why proper intoning technique is important, whatever the extent to which the sound is “vibrated”.
Experiments in Chanting Following is a list of sounds to try chanting. With each word, consider different speeds; lengths of intonation; quality of vibration (or lack there of), strength or softness, and pitch. With those that involve jaw action, pay special attention to how this affects the sound and the feeling of the chant. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Om (also spelled Aum, Aumgn) Ah IAO (pronounced “ee-ah-oh”) Haumn oui (as the French) Ai-o (pronouced “eh-yo” and cycled) As you are likely aware, some of the above are simply sounds, while others are words that have
a special significance. Symbolic significance is an important factor to consider when choosing chant words, because they will be repeated for so very long. Every meaning is likely to soak in, which is a
strength of the technique. The following are some commonly chanted words with associated meanings. Notice that there is space left for three more. Write down three words of symbolic significance to you; if you can't think of any, ask a friend. Try the same exercises as above with the following list. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum (Behold, the jewel in the lotus) Io [deity, often Pan] (equivalent to Hail to...) Aurora (Goddess of the Northern Lights) Yeshua (the Hebrew name of Jesus; represents god in man) Hare Krsna (Praise Krishna) ........................................................................................... .......................................................................................... ..........................................................................................
Audio Sample: “The Middle Pillar Exercise” comes from the Golden Dawn material. This version is intoned and layered over chanted IAO's.
Reflection Starters: ● ● ● ● ●
My favorite thing to chant was... It was harder to chant when... If there were any words in the list I didn't want to chant, it was because... The words I chose worked/didn't work because... Now, when I use my voice I feel...
Song Many of us have been trained, unfortunately, to fear singing. Often we are self conscious, and worry that others will think badly of us if we do not perform up to their expectations. Ritual singing is done for other purposes than to impress a crowd, but it can still be just as intimidating nonetheless. If you feel this way about singing, you can at least know that you are in good company. “Many people protest that they are not musical. It's true that those who understand music can be of most value, but persons without musical education can still learn to sing for their own pleasure and to enjoy beautiful songs and stirring rhythms (Buckland, 183).” If you have been practicing the techniques noted under “Intonation” you have a good basis for song. The primary difference between intonation and singing is that in singing, a specific pitch, or range of pitches for harmony, is desired. In terms of vibrational quality, however, it can vary widely from culture to culture. Compare, for example, traditional Hawiian song to Italian opera to the latest top 40. When we are singing alone ritually, the primary purpose of tone quality is the same as with intonation- to provide internal vibration. When we are trying to sing in a group, however, we must negotiate and make room for the uniqueness of one another's voices; or all we get is an unpleasant cacophony. This doesn't mean singing timidly, but it does mean listening attentively to the others singing around you. Trying to keep to harmonious pitches is one obvious choice, but equally important is rhythm: try to begin and end your pitches at the same time as the people to either side of you. Swaying or clapping, depending on mood, may help greatly with this. It may seem like all of this would detract from the experience of meditation. Indeed, if the songs in question were French art song, it very likely would. It is important to create or choose songs for ritual that have simple structures and accessible harmonies, to meet the ability levels of all participating. It may be helpful to have a call and response format, for example, as in Hindi Kirtan; or to build the song on mostly repeating phrases, much like a chant. It may take some time for participants to negotiate into song together; therefore slightly longish songs are preferable to very short ones, as these can get to feel even more repetitive when looped than would a continuous song with nearly every line the same, provided that a proceeding transformation continues occurring in the lyrics. Most importantly, remember to have fun and relax. When song is used in ritual, it can be an exciting, uplifting, and uniting experience wherein everyone cares for and makes space for each others'
voices. Whatever it sounds like, the uniting atmosphere is the true goal. When it is achieved, it can serve as a potent enhancement to ritual and group meditation.
Singing is Fun! Listen to the audio sample and try to sing along. Listen for the structure of the lyrics and the harmonies. If you can, share it with a friend and ask him or her to sing along. Most importantly, have fun!
Audio Sample: “Esbat Invocation” is an example of a song meant to be sung on the occasion of an Esbat, a Full Moon ritual, as part of calling in the deities Hekate and Pan. These two were chosen as a pair because they are both older Chthonic deities, wild in aspect.
Reflection Starters: ● ● ● ● ●
I do/do not enjoy singing because... When I sing in a group, I am mostly thinking about... Listening to this song made me feel... Singing this song made me feel... Now, when I use my voice, I feel...
Esbat Invocation (K.S. Harkey)
[Refrain] Io IAO Io Io Pan Io IAO Io Io Pan [v2] May the Lady ride silver Esbat tonight IAO Hecate May the Lady ride, silver Esbat tonight IAO Hecate [v3] In the starry night dancing pools of sacred light IAO Hecate May the Lady ride, silver Esbat tonight IAO Hecate [v4] Where the storm winds ride with the Lady by our side IAO Hecate May the Lady ride, silver Esbat tonight IAO Hecate
[v5] By the crossroads wait, we shall pass the ancient gate IAO Hecate May the Lady ride, silver Esbat tonight IAO Hecate [v6] In the ochre earth we shall find our next rebirth IAO Hecate May the Lady ride, silver Esbat tonight IAO Hecate
Guided Meditation In a guided meditation, participants are read, spoken, chanted, or sung through a series of visualizations, generally having a story-like quality with a beginning, middle, and end. One oft repeated notion, possibly taken from the practices of hypnosis, is that the exercise should bring the participant back out the way that he came in. Some authors speak about the process of working with visualization in terms of manipulating an astral plane, which is of a substance that responds to thought. “Most visualizations don't work very well because the thought matrix is faulty. The clearer and more accurate the thought pattern, the stronger and more effective the form on the physical plane (Ashcroft-Nowicki, 99).” The language used in writing guided meditations should be poetic and evocative. Due to the spoken-word nature of most guided meditations, they tend to need more length to really allow participants to get engaged in the images being called up within them. Care should be taken to signal transitions before they actually come, so that everyone is ready to come along. Don't be afraid to leave pauses where appropriate-- where words could only detract from the moment of experience. Having a drummer can be useful, but unless one is very sure of the material it is a good idea to have a separate drummer from the guide. Guided meditations are very heady; they function by involving the participant in potent emotional imagery. Don't be surprised if experiences seem overwhelming at first.
The Temple of Rebirth 1. Listen to the Audio Sample. Try to let the images being suggested build themselves in your mind, a true three dimensional world for you to interact with. 2. Record your experiences and the emotions that were brought up in a journal, and talk them through with a friend if you wish.
Audio Sample: A guided meditation, “The Temple of Rebirth” read over interpretive sound and rhythm.
Reflection Starters: ● ● ● ● ●
My favorite part of the visualization was... The most emotional part of the visualization was... I do/do not think I would get out of repeating the same visualization because... It was easier/harder for me to receive sound rather than make it because... Now, when I use my voice, I feel...
The Temple of Rebirth (K.S. Harkey)
There exists a place, deep within the essence of your being; buried somewhere near the core of who and what you truly are. This place exists before and outside of the influences that have shaped your personality, or your ego-expressions in this world. This space is primal and inaccessible to corruption. It serves us as alchemical crucible; it is the egg of infinite Rebirth. Within it, all the falsehoods that we feed ourselves and that we have been fed may be burned away by truth. Nothing possesses the power to take you there by force, but if you are willing, and whenever you be willing, you may seek out this place of purification. And if you now be willing, seek before you the thin veil of mist separating us all from the deep places. Reach out with your hands and feel the cool beads of moisture condense around your flesh. Let yourself be drawn forward through the veil in the eddies and currents of this dense bank of cloudy iridescence. Feel your particles take on the same formlessness-- the same drifting qualities. Let your essence express as one and the same substance as the veil, and thus pass through and beyond it; where we may journey forth into the deep places.
Now observe before you: there is a path. It leads you onward through this darkened wood, whisper silent in the pre-dawn hours. Above you a cloak of infinite starshine greets your gaze, as it has so many travelers before you. Follow the path and the light of the stars. Pass over the laughing brook that feeds the soul of this place. Feel the gentle night breeze on your face, filled to bursting with warm, green and cedar smells from the wood that is taking you away. Now before you, off the edge of the path only a little ways, find the grey stone archway. Black and white pebbles are strewn before you, sparkling out the way through
the murk and brambles. See how the face of the full moon is captured in the center, making a great eye of Her light, that bathes you in beauty. Beyond the archway, holding the moon it it's boughs, rises a great, twisted tree of unfathomable age: It's root ball alone rivals the height of surrounding maples and oaks. These roots reach right up to the archway, thrusting out and beyond, melding into the earth that supports the wood you've been traversing. The pebble path descends, becoming stairs into the bowls of the earth under the One, World Tree. Nothing possesses the power to draw you here by force, but if you are willing, and whenever you be willing, you may seek out this place of purification. And if you now be willing, follow the path of opal and obsidian pebbles through the great grey archway and down, down; descending into a spiral staircase grown into the heart of the Tree, root upon root, with the pebbles crunching under your feet. You must feel your way along the walls now; the light of moon and stars dims away until not even the bright pebbles may catch their hint. Down and down, the path twisting ever to the right; spiral down and down. Smell the rich, black soil that surrounds you. Feel the smooth roots grown into the walls of the tunnel that is taking you deeper and deeper, into the warm, pulsing depths of the earth. But nothing is forever: here the stairs do not rise up to meet your feet. The roots stretch away to either side, the tunnel becomes a hollow in the earth. You hear the echoing drip of water continuing on into the distance. You have come into a great cave. It is dark here, but fluorescent mosses and mushrooms dot the edges of the still pools of water that dot the cavern. The light from these reflects in the surface of the pools, and shimmers again on the pebbles of obsidian and opal that still faithfully lead you on. You pass through this whispering cavern, following the sparkle of the path and the glowing life that resides here. Giant errant roots thrust down from the ceiling as stalactites and up through the floor as stalagmites. Water drips and runs and trickles, collecting into rivulets that runs along the edges of the pathway.
Finally, the path halts at a great, round set of double doors, posted into the roots and earthen walls. It is rich cedar red, polished to a matte gleam with beeswax, water and age. It is bound in copper and silver, gold, and brass. It's mantle is embossed in every tongue ever spoken amongst man or in any kingdom of the outer reaches: “Be aware ye who would enter the Temple of Rebirth.� The water passes in troughs to either side of the door, and beyond it. Nothing possesses the power to remake you here by force, but if you are willing, and whenever you be willing, you may seek out this place of purification. If you be now willing, take in your hand of power the twisted metal oroboros, the snake consuming its own tail, that joins these doors. See it flash and fill with the power of your will. Now turn the key; fling open the doors and cast wide the way to the temple. The water flows in toughs around the outside ring of this warm, glowing space, and catch the condensation that always runs down the walls from the steamy quality of the air you breath. As you press forward, the chips of obsidian and opal merge together, blending into a glass-smooth mosaic floor. The twinkling spots of emptiness and color form a fractal pattern too blindingly complex for the eye to follow. This floor rises up in the center of the room into a dais. Behind you, the door softly closes. Find your way across the slick, patterned floor through the dim red moist of the temple. A slow, distant thrum shudders through your body and being from the floor up, reaching through your feet to your chest and head. The dais reaches up ahead of you. There are two steps and then... In the center of the dais, you find a well. The pool is deep and clear. The sides are of the roots of the Great Tree that shelters this place. This is the primal womb; it knows you for your truth, and you it; for from it you have been once birthed. Look into your reflection in the surface of the pool. This is a mirror that will show you true, as you have come. Accept what you see with neither fear nor judgment; these may only cloud your vision.
When you are prepared, slip into the pool. It is warm and welcoming. It has been waiting for you. Let the sense of warmth spread through your whole being. Feel the water of life begin to permeate your being. Those things that are not of you, that are dead and defeating, let the pulsing eddies of the well carry them away. Feel the water work its way in through every poor. Let it swirl around every particle, returning, renewing. Sink into it; breathe it in. Feel your form surrender to its sustaining influence. You are precious potential, liquid magic, will and desire in a warm sack. Of this substance is humanity made, in the deep places of the earth. Float this way, insubstantial and potent, for forever and a day. Now reach with your senses. Feel the desire that is at your core begin to move in tandem with the potential that is your substance. Feel them writhe and circle, creating streams of shape and energy. With every spiraling pass feel them work together as a dynamo, generating more and more momentum; more desire; more potential. Feel these streams of energy coalesce around you in a glowing, cosmic egg. You float in the center of this potent sphere, a prepared vehicle to rebirth you as a being of will and not destiny. Draw on this energy, and draw your sense of self into a single point within potential; crystalize into a sense of meaning and self. This is you at the core of your essense; feed it upon the potential and energy of the egg. Breath it into that one point. Sense how you now float above the dais, incubated by the warm depths of the red earth. As you draw more and more of the energy into yourself, the egg starts to crack. Continue breathing deeply, filling your point to the edge of bursting. When you think you can hold no more, draw in the last of the energy of the egg, bursting forth to ignite as a phoenix. As you come forth, you bring with you the whole essence of your being empowered and renewed in the waters of life. Feel the flame of
your will burn away all that which is dead or empty. The purpose behind such great temple doors is now clear as they bow open respectfully. Stretch your wings of fire and take to flight, passing back through the beautiful caverns; now radiant with your reflection in ten thousand tiny droplets and in the pools that you ripple and steam with your passage. Follow the now fiery path of opals and obsidian, lit up with as many points of light as the night sky you left behind so long ago. Fly, fly, back up the spiraling stair-roots and out, awaking the dawn over the World Tree, which rejoices in your song. Paint the clouds with your fire, and reach through the whole of creation with your voice. When you are ready, return to the path before the One Tree. It leads you back out through the stone archway, which now holds the newborn sun in its eye. As you pass through, your fiery feathers recede back into your core, into that deep place in which your essence dwells. Neither it nor you are less for it. Follow the path through the beautiful morning, greeted by birdsong and bathed in sunlight. Feel the earth beneath your feet and the free air around you. Follow the path through the greenwood until again the foggy bank rises up to greet you. Feel its substance and your own, so similar in misty quality. You pass through easily, drifting back through the eddies, until at last you start to feel again the weight of your own solidity. The particles that are dense begin to adhere, coming together into a solid form around the core of essence that burns still so fervently within. Feel the floor beneath you, and the weight of your physical body. Stretch through your fingers and toes. Smell the space you are in. When you are ready, open your eyes.
Bonus Audio Sample
Samhain, Midnight (K.S. Harkey) {Written for use in the context of a Samhain Sabbat ritual-- the structure of the song itself is a guided meditation complete with entry and exit from the underworld. May be performed as a seated or walking meditation; or used with ecstatic dance. This track is provided as an example of how to combine the techniques studied throughout the course to achieve dramatic ritual effect.}
[Refrain] Let us let the old year out and let the new one in. Let us let the old year out and let the new one in. (2X) [v1] Let us raise up our voices in praise for the ones who have gone, for the ones who have gone Let us let the old year out and let the new one in (Refrain) [v2] Let us pass through the gossamer veil with the Lord of the Pale and the Pack of old Hel Let us let the old year out and let the new one in (Refrain) [v3] Let us pass on the Ferryman's raft over desolate Styx, over desolate Styx Let us let the old year out and let the new one in (Refrain) [v4] Let us weave up a chant in the deep, for the stillness of death is a secret we keep Let us let the old year out and let the new one in (Refrain)
[v5] Let us toast a ghostly host, in a whispering hall let us heed to their call Let us let the old year out and let the new one in (Refrain) [v6] Let us drink from the well of All Souls; for the journey we come, for the journey we go Let us let the old year out and let the new one in (Refrain) [v7] Let us pass on the Ferryman's raft over desolate Styx, over desolate Styx Let us let the old year out and let the new one in (Refrain) [v8] Let us turn with the spokes of the wheel; with an opening heart and a sharpening steel Let us let the old year out and let the new one in (Refrain)
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