THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE

a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | OCCULTISM | MAGIC

Music and the Occult

To: alt.occult.methods,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick,alt.pagan.magick,alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic
From: nagasiva 
Subject: Re: Music and the Occult
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 20:29:21 GMT

50020320 VI

Lady_Duvessa@hotmail.com (Lady Duvessa):
> Is anyone here also interested in the connection between music and the occult? 

I greatly enjoy using self-made (usually drumming or singing, but
sometimes other percussives) and recorded music within magical 
and divinatory rites or spells. I find that something inspirational
and quasi-shamanic, else psychedelic and trance-inducing, works best
(of course this is my favourite type of music at all times). 


ritual music taste (slightly off-topic)

my favourite music for such purposes right now is by early Pink Floyd
(first two albums: "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and "Saucerful of
Secrets" -- collected together as 'A Nice Pair'). for reflection and
meditation I prefer Brian Eno's "Apollo", or maybe some later Floyd
as from "Wish You Were Here" or "Dark Side of the Moon". for a 
peculiar type of urban shamanism I love Meredith Monk's "Dolmen Music" 
and a number of albums by Laurie Anderson (at least "Big Science"
and "Sharkey's Night"). last night I got the Beatles' "Revolver" album 
on a 5-for-1 trade-in (did I get a good deal? unsure yet), only some 
of which seems to me suited to magical work -- particularly "Love You To" 
by Harrison, because I like sitar, and "Tomorrow Never Knows", which was 
the main reason I got the album (establishing a foundational collection 
of British Psychedelia as adjunct to Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd).

I have some wonderful memories of rituals involving both types of
music. several of them included professional musicians and their 
contributions to the working of a group. several of them were what 
I'd describe as 'art-magic' in that the ostensible reason for the 
gathering was a 'concert', but the result *I* (and some of my friends) 
experienced was that the event was a ritual of goodly proportions, 
and that the musicians had directed a congregate energy available 
through the medium of attention (Yes, Robert Plant, and Peter Gabriel 
come to mind).


general, occultism/music

but almost any kind of music can be used for ritual activities. I've
explored everything from Ministry and Megadeth, Throbbing Gristle and 
Skinny Puppy and Dead Can Dance to Enya, and Andres Vollenweider, 
Phillip Glass, and Beethoven! some kind of classical themes and 
variations can be extremely important to the development of a ritual. 

in fact, there are numerous ritualists and spellcrafters who describe
the value of *emotion* in ritual and magical construction. it is thus
a very personal and subjective selection as regards 'the best' or
'the most effective' music for these purposes. suggestions for music
for magic and ritual, therefore, can roughly parallel any discussion
in music forums about favourite tunes.
 

> Does someone have some interesting information about that?

sources

the connection between music and mysticism more often appears in 
text, from what I've seen. Mickey Hart's drumming magic book is 
one of the more recent. there is a longstanding history of 
association between octaves and energy centers, and so some 
investigation into the 'Music of the Spheres' and tonal sync 
with mantra ('intoning' or chanting) and a variety of cosmic
theologies and metaphysics -- particularly Gnostic and, more
modernly, neo-Gnostics and Hermetics, will likely prove helpful.

books on art, such as "Surrealism and the Occult", can prove to
be quite insightful on the cross-over between the *playing* of
music or its expressions and occult arts and sciences. the
intersection between music and occultism spans from music that
is created by occult practices, to music integrated into or
inspiring ritual magic or divination, all the way to music AS
an oracular or magical event/phenomena. the related subject
category of music made *by* occultists, often containing themes
and ideas important to the occult community (e.g. Ministry's
"Psalm 69" after Crowley's chapter in "The Book of Lies", or
groups like "Coil" and "Current 93", who may actively practice
magic during performances, tends to distract from discussion 
of occultism proper as it extends into a comparison of taste.

blessed beast!

nagasiva
==================================================================
(meta)

NOTE:
	Practice Only (divination, magic, alchemy)
	------------------
	alt.occult.methods 

[this is why I typically set the followups on quasi-theoretical
 inquiries to alt.magick.]

	Practice *and* Theory
	---------------------
	alt.magick
        alt.pagan.magick
        alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic
        alt.occult.kabbalah.golden-dawn


The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races