Using songs in magic

[garlicandmint]

Does anyone else here use songs in their magic? I don't just mean overtly 'pagan' songs, but pop songs, classical music, and so on.

I use music to get me in the right frame of mind. And stereotypical or not, Loreena McKennitt usually does the job splendidly!

[Liadine (dragonflyeyes)]

I almost typed a really long elaboration about how I might evaluate the balance, when I posted last night, but decided it was going to be a long enough post without that:).  It's complicated - not that it's complicated for me to do, exactly, since most of it is reflexive (but I learned the hard way that if I don't do a conscious check of what my gut is telling me, I might have a face-to-face encounter with the Law of Unintended Consequences), but explaining in words to someone else how it happens would be.

 
All of what you wrote makes sense to me - I also have my own this-is-impossible-to-explain system of figuring out what would make things go sideways and what's okay. My problem is not being able to cancel out what's not okay to leave in, which is probably just a combination of lack of experience plus my general tendency to throw myself headfirst into songs if I know them well.

[Liadine (dragonflyeyes)]

I use music to get me in the right frame of mind. And stereotypical or not, Loreena McKennitt usually does the job splendidly!

 
I don't care if she's stereotypical, I love her work Not so much for using in magic, but otherwise, totally. My name (Liadine) comes from a poem that she set to music as 'Moon Cradle'.

[Garnet]

Does anyone else here use songs in their magic?

I made a playlist for my Holy Guardian Angel/Godsoul that I use for devotional work and preparation for ritual. (And sometimes job interviews.) I have a Tarot playlist (mostly Rider-Waite derived), and I use some other songs devotionally. And I have music I like to dance to to raise energy.

[SkySamuelle]

Does anyone else here use songs in their magic? I don't just mean overtly 'pagan' songs, but pop songs, classical music, and so on.

Music is important to me in a lot of contexts, and I've found that certain songs are useful while doing magical work. Usually it's just there in the background, but sometimes I incorporate the song into the work itself by putting the song on repeat and singing along with some of the lyrics while I work as a way to 'say' the spell.

For example, I've used 'Get Out Of My House' by Kate Bush while doing work to keep certain things (not necessarily people) out of my actual or metaphorical home. I've also used 'Night Terror' by Laura Marling while doing a protection spell for a loved one. I find that very few songs lend themselves to being used this way (it's a combination of lyrics and music that happens rarely), but I can usually spot good songs as soon as I hear them these days.

Thoughts? Experiences?

 
I am a music junkie so my ipod has a playlist dedicated to respectively Hekate and Dionysos - i like listening or dancing at them as devotional activity.

In addition to this, I love using thematic pop or rock songs to raise the power during spellworking. I find it helps me to visualize how I want to shape the energy while I dance - the movements of my body become the music, and the music is symbolic of my intention.

[Catherine]

Does anyone else here use songs in their magic? I don't just mean overtly 'pagan' songs, but pop songs, classical music, and so on.

Sometimes I'll use music to set the mood, help me focus, and keep me in the right frame of mind. Though it usually has less to do with the lyrics, than the overall feeling the song inspires in me.

For example, a few years ago I was doing a pretty intense protection spell for my son. I played songs that reminded me of him, songs he liked as he was growing up, that sort of thing. It helped me keep my purpose in mind and kept me from going to an ugly place when I thought about why he needed protection in the first place.

It's harder to inadvertently curse someone when you're listening to a, They Might Be Giants song, or the theme from Ghostbusters .