The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

A basic question, if you don't mind -

I really enjoy having music in the background whenever I am doing any type of ritual.  As someone who is just getting into spells, I am wondering what types of pagan music would be best suited for spell work?  Right now, i have chants on my playlist, but I am looking for something a little deeper.  I like Wendy Rule's "The Circle Song" but I can't stand her other music.  Suggestions, please?

Thanks.

A basic question, if you don't mind -

I really enjoy having music in the background whenever I am doing any type of ritual.  As someone who is just getting into spells, I am wondering what types of pagan music would be best suited for spell work?  Right now, i have chants on my playlist, but I am looking for something a little deeper.  I like Wendy Rule's "The Circle Song" but I can't stand her other music.  Suggestions, please?

Thanks.

 
Some paganish suggestions:

Wardruna. The Moon and the Nightspirit. Mediaeval Baebes. Lisa Gerrard. Enya. Enigma. Fever Ray.

Some not-very-paganish suggestions:

Audiomachine - Phenomena
Florence + the Machine - Ceremonials
Lindsey Stirling - Shatter Me

Generally I make playlists with appropriate music for the work to be done - these tend to feature all sorts of stuff from Prodigy to Natalia Kills to Steeleye Span! You can find some good playlists on 8tracks.com too.

I really enjoy having music in the background whenever I am doing any type of ritual.  As someone who is just getting into spells, I am wondering what types of pagan music would be best suited for spell work?

 
Why pagan music specifically?

If I were doing this - and I've done musical magic explicitly with playlists, actually - I would go with 'what music do I have that supports the process of this specific working'.

Do I want to raise energy?  What music do I have that helps me raise energy?

Do I want to transform one state of mind to another?  Do I have any music that represents the relevant states of mind invovled, and can I chain them in a useful manner to transform?

Etc.

If I were doing this - and I've done musical magic explicitly with playlists, actually - I would go with 'what music do I have that supports the process of this specific working'.

This. (Though I'll also note that I generally avoid music written for other religious traditions in ritual or magical work unless I have an extremely specific reason to do so.)

I also think there's different kinds of applications here, and where I start looking for music will depend on which one I'm going for.

Words or no words?: If I'm looking for mood or for something while I'm meditating, thinking, or something else like that, I probably don't want words. My current go-tos for this include Betsy Tinney's cello loops, Ludovico Einaudi's instrumentals, or depending on the specific piece, some Celtic or Celtic influenced stuff.

(I usually need to be careful to make sure it's not a tune that also has words, becuase my brain will usually attempt to insert the words.)

Is it music to help create a mood or atmosphere: I'm probably going to look at music from Pagan musicians, but also things like Enya or various Celtic and British musicians I like.

Is it music for feeding a particular focus?: In that case, I'm going to be picking a few very specific songs that feed that particular goal. Things I've done with in the not too distant past have come from S.J. Tucker, Seanan McGuire, Sarah Bareilles, various musical soundtracks, an Icelandic rock band, and ... um, yeah. Wide ranging sources.

Are there any other things to take into consideration? I mostly *don't* go for what would otherwise be a really obvious source for me, which is common practice period European (classical) music - I was a music major in college, and it damaged my ability to listen to some kinds of music without going to a highly analytical place in my head.

(I'm finally getting over that, slowly, 20 years later, but there's about 15 years in there where even listening to classical music except in very specific ways made my head go sproing, never mind in ritual.)
 
I've always had an easier time with early music (monophonic and polyphonic chant, and secular songs, but a lot of that either is from a very specific religious perspective or has language that's very specific and focused, and it's usually not the right fit, though I'll sometimes have it on as I'm getting ready for ritual, especially some of Hildegard von Bingen's stuff in both the forms she wrote and some of the more New Age arrangements people have played with.

One thing I have done, in group work, however, is using the principles of polyphonic chant to do energy raising, shifting, and focusing, and I've found it's a very different but sometimes much more effective method for people who have trouble with chants or holding specific pitches (especially if you have a couple of people with a solid musical background and some who are very self-conscious about their singing, because people can adapt to their own preference level.)

This.

Words or no words?: If I'm looking for mood or for something while I'm meditating, thinking, or something else like that, I probably don't want words. My current go-tos for this include Betsy Tinney's cello loops, Ludovico Einaudi's instrumentals, or depending on the specific piece, some Celtic or Celtic influenced stuff.

 
Hanging this here, because I wanted to reply to Jenett, but I wanted to also say thank you for all of the great suggestions.

Ludovico Einaudi is one of my favorite composers.  Are you also into contemporary classical music?  I particularly enjoy Balmoreah (The Winter is my favorite) and Time for Three.