Thread: Ritual Audio

So...Musicologist's thread about musical magick made me curious about whether I am the only one who uses audio assistance during ritual. By this I am not merely referring to background music.(though I have spent a decent chunk of time creating mix cds in that vein, in particular; Karl Sanders' solo albums create quite the mood for me)

I am referring to anything that may be very specific to your ritual or to your meditations. For example, I have recorded a few tracks with words and various intonations to be played behind the actions of creating sacred space, banishings and even invocations/evocations. My reasoning for this is that I often have many ritual gestures that I'd like to give a great deal of attention to, so that my body can perform them while my mind also soaks in whatever ritual incantations are being spoken from the audio track. I also have a musical inclination so I often get creative and try to add a good soundtrack to suit the mood. Personally, I find that this has improved my focus and clicks my mind into Ritual Consciousness even further, and even more importantly it assists my memorization capabilities.

As a Freemason, I understand the powerful effect of memorizing both ceremonial dialogue and very very specific ritual movements and marching patterns. This translates just as well for when I practice magick, and I suggest the development of this simple technique for anyone else. Sorry, maybe its just me, but when I am performing a grand evocation, I'd rather not be sloppily reading straight from a piece of paper that I'm holding in my hand with whatever other magickal tools or ritual props in the other. That seems to really cheapen things and makes it seem like I am not taking things as seriously when I should be putting as much effort into the operation as possible. Thanks to my hard work within a Masonic setting, I have since looked at my magickal operations as quite lacking in terms of presentation.


Several of my audio tracks are to be used as a template for the ritual segments and the dialogue pertaining to that specific rite. This gives me a chance to develop the ritual's power and memorize its contents, and also in some cases allows me to practice a bit of Tai Chi/Qi Gong as a moving meditation at the same time. (Anybody else try that?? Works wonders during magick!)

Also of similar note would be Peter J. Carroll's audio recordings 'The Cthonos Rite' and 'The Ouranous Rite', which serve as an interesting ritual assistance in the form of Guided Meditations. If you are a fan of Carroll I urge you to try and get a cpoy of the Cthonos Rite.(Amazon.com: The Chaos Magick Audio CDs--Volume 1: The Cthonos Rite (9781561842506): Peter Carroll: Books)

-phew- So, how bout it guys??

One of the best musical project I have heard for what might be called "ritual music" is a group from Texas called Chaoticum...they have a vast body of work, something for just about everyone...contact them, they are very nice...

CHAOTICUM on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

Say this is actually quite interesting to me as well, I myself have only done some overtone mixes (with my own voice, in Sony Vegas) and they had little aim other than some experimenting, to see what will come out.

But I do think any ritual might have a lot to gain from modern day technology, especially if one works alone, and so does not have a whole choir of people to sing, chant or intone anything continuously.

If anyone is looking to get into that, one software tool that I found helpful (and free) is mp3DirectCut - it records mp3's directly, no conversion from .wav type, just press record and you have the mp3. This means you can do long recordings and they won't be huge files on your drive.

Also any edits (like cutting, amplifying or fading the audio) are done instantly, with no .wav conversion, so it all goes fast.

Add an audio editing program (or for me, Sony Vegas) and you're good to go

I have been creating ritual musick for a while now, incorporating many occult principles into the composition.

You can find some here; http://www.wix.com/SIRIUSBPRODUXIONS...2D0f7ffe86e9dc

Originally Posted by EtuMalku

You can find some here; http://www.wix.com/SIRIUSBPRODUXIONS...2D0f7ffe86e9dc

Thank you for sharing that.

I use various audio and music in rituals, depending on the nature of the work. Generally speaking... I like atmospheric drones whether in ethereal, spacey compositions (Geir Jenssen aka Biosphere), or dark, doomy riffs (Sunn O))), Moss). I find some early electronic music such as that of Louis and Bebe Barron, to sound like the "thin, monotonous whine of blasphemous flutes from inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond Time" (imagine that Lovecraft was describing Krell music). For an "epic" feel, I like symphonic and choir music such as "Fortuna, Imperatrix Mundi (O Fortuna)," "Ode to Joy," etc., also pretty much anything by Chaostar. For rapid BPM, dark psytrance such as Blisargon Demogorgon and Ghreg on Earth.

It's difficult to name genres or even artists, however, because usually it's a specific composition that suits the work, and may be from anyone or any genre.

I recently experimented with using music to charge conductive sigils.

I love all this stuff! I could talk all day about it!!

I have used binaural beats, rituals to compose the actual music, sigilism within the composition structure, all forms of trance and brain entrainment, subliminal principles, fasting, prayers, hymns, invocations, evocations etc.

I've been studying ancient musics and their spiritual aspects.
I play a fretless guitar in order to hit those quarter tones that make up most of non-Western temperament.

When I create a piece for myself or another, I usually do a bit of research and accumulate a good amount of information concerning the subject I am composing for. I then look over this info and begin drawing conclusions and a path to work from. I have spent days just meditating on certain things, even just words to gain an inner understanding towards the composition.

My understanding is that all of these occult tools are to 'awaken' the archetypal images buried deep in our psyche. Once they are stirred up, then they can be used as inspiration and they allow me to look at the composition process from another angle that I wouldn't normally see it from.

I am creating music these days that is extremely different than the 30 years I've been a musician, I account for this from my use of occult principles in the process.

ink sejem ink maat
EtuMalku

Originally Posted by hyperRitual

Thank you for sharing that.

I use various audio and music in rituals, depending on the nature of the work. Generally speaking... I like atmospheric drones whether in ethereal, spacey compositions (Geir Jenssen aka Biosphere), or dark, doomy riffs (Sunn O))), Moss). I find some early electronic music such as that of Louis and Bebe Barron, to sound like the "thin, monotonous whine of blasphemous flutes from inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond Time" (imagine that Lovecraft was describing Krell music). For an "epic" feel, I like symphonic and choir music such as "Fortuna, Imperatrix Mundi (O Fortuna)," "Ode to Joy," etc., also pretty much anything by Chaostar. For rapid BPM, dark psytrance such as Blisargon Demogorgon and Ghreg on Earth.

It's difficult to name genres or even artists, however, because usually it's a specific composition that suits the work, and may be from anyone or any genre.

I recently experimented with using music to charge conductive sigils.

Very cool, EtuMalku. Are there any specific resources you can name, that have informed the correspondences you have made between music and the occult?

I have read some of Godwin's Music, Mysticism and Magic, and am familiar with the GD musical correspondences, which I have employed in a variety of ways. One project in the works right now is replacing the seven alchemical daily tinctures, with light and sound frequencies based on Paul Foster Case's correspondences.

As a multimedia ritualist, I may also make explicit use of non-musical audio. E.g., one program I designed, named screamEater, involves a sprite that grows larger and (visibly) more powerful the louder and longer the magician yells or screams, until finally it is strong enough to destroy the sigil representing something the magician wishes to be rid of. I have many other examples; like yourself, I could go on for quite a while on this topic.

Wow . . . awesome and inspiring stuff, thanks for sharing! The light and sound frequencies study seems tremendous, do keep me updated please.
Your multimedia artistry also is intriguing.

I have a decent amount of books on musick and occult aspects, Godwin has several books that are good.

I am a member of the Temple of Set and within the Temple we have Elements which focuses on exactly these things, so I have gathered much info from the Temple, but the majority of my studies come from books and 'doing'.


EM

Originally Posted by hyperRitual

Very cool, EtuMalku. Are there any specific resources you can name, that have informed the correspondences you have made between music and the occult?

I have read some of Godwin's Music, Mysticism and Magic, and am familiar with the GD musical correspondences, which I have employed in a variety of ways. One project in the works right now is replacing the seven alchemical daily tinctures, with light and sound frequencies based on Paul Foster Case's correspondences.

As a multimedia ritualist, I may also make explicit use of non-musical audio. E.g., one program I designed, named screamEater, involves a sprite that grows larger and (visibly) more powerful the louder and longer the magician yells or screams, until finally it is strong enough to destroy the sigil representing something the magician wishes to be rid of. I have many other examples; like yourself, I could go on for quite a while on this topic.