The sound of silence…or noise

The sound of silence…or noise…Sounds provoke all kinds of emotions and feelings but they also inspire magic and can be used to raise energy.

There will always be particular sounds that you associate with a memory, person or place and these can be incredibly powerful.

Seagulls and fog horns

I am lucky enough to live five minutes from the ocean so most mornings I am woken by the seagull ‘dawn chorus’ especially when they nest on the roof because their babies are noisy little beggars!  But the sound of seagulls is one of my favourites, not just because it reminds me that I am very close to the sea but also the childhood memories it carries of holidays spent at the beach.

New Year’s Eve also brings a lovely sound (well lovely to me anyway); at the stroke of midnight all the ships and boats in the harbour sound their fog horns and it has become a bit of a tradition to wait and listen for them.

The sound of silence

The sound of silence is also a precious one.  Albeit that we never really achieve complete silence because there will always be faint background noise whether it is neighbours, the road outside or even in the middle of the forest you will catch the quiet sounds of the leaves rustling in the breeze.   I actually like to sit and meditate in silence sometimes and just allow my mind monkeys free reign.  To pick up on the sound of next door’s TV, people chatting as they walk past the house, birds in the garden or someone mowing their lawn – these are the sounds of life happening.

Apparently real silence that is completely devoid of sound is unbearable.

However whether it is the sound of silence or your favourite noises it can be used to create a meditative state, energy in a ritual or magic for spell working.

Drums of all kinds

Drumming is the first noise that springs to mind.  A couple of years ago I had the honour and pleasure of birthing my own stag skin drum.  I absolutely love the sound of it especially to meditate to or create energy in ritual. It also works very well to clear negative energy around the house.  But you don’t need an expensive drum you can achieve the same kind of beat by hitting an old biscuit tin or even just clapping your hands.  My particular favourite drum sound is the big timpani drum but I don’t have the room at home to keep one…

Crystal or singing bowls seem quite popular for clearing negative energy or meditating to, each one has its own very unique sound but I don’t seem to have found one to suit me yet.

The sound of your voice

Singing of course works really well especially if you are chanting to raise energy in circle or for a spell, repetition is particularly effective and you don’t need a good singing voice (which is a relief to me) just go with the flow.  You don’t even have to sing or chant a pagan song or rhyming words for your spell – follow your intuition.  A good belted out version of an ACDC track works just as well to raise energy.

Nature sounds

It probably won’t come as any surprise to you after my seagull confession that I love the sound of the ocean; it soothes and cleanses my soul.  If you can’t get to the seafront then there are plenty of You Tube videos and phone apps that can provide the sound of the ocean.  The same goes for any sound from nature such as the rain falling, forest background or birds singing.

Whatever works for you

You can raise energy in ritual using any sounds that work for you and also use the magic of noise to tie in with your spell work.   For instance play a song that has a connection to your intent so for a prosperity spell you could play ‘money, money, money by Abba’.  For love spells you might pick any number of love songs, there are plenty out there.

Songs in themselves can bring up particular feelings and memories, if you are working magic or performing a ritual then use music/bands/singers that make you feel particularly witchy.  I love the soundtrack from the film Practical Magic; it always makes me feel ready for magic.  And there are some amazing pagan bands and singers that write and perform tracks that can be used for specific sabbats and spell work.

The songs or sounds will be personal to you, if you like to have a soundtrack of rain playing when you work magic then go for it, if you like to play a bit of Bon Jovi to make your ritual magical then do it.

And if you prefer silence then do that too…