I’ve been thinking about developing more my practice regarding music magic, wondering what else I could try, and recently I came up with an idea: a full ritual, only with music. I tried it a few times, changed the music, changed the order, the ideas, until I was satisfied with the result: a Music Ritual Playlist.
I shared this with one of my friends to ask for his opinion, input, suggestions, and any kind of constructive feedback. I do take some liberties now and then, but the structure I’m detailing is the one I stick to most of the time: one day I might start with a different song, and the next few I’ll stick to this order. In the end, do what feels natural. I’ll go into more detail about this later. For now, let me present you some of my favorite tracks.
A DJ wearing headphones with lights flashing ahead [Pixabay]
Pop, by Green Lads
This was the last song on the original playlist! However, my friend suggested that this would be a better opening for grounding, centering, and connecting. And it works wonderfully. It helps me break free from all external influences, cleanse myself of whatever has been happening and enter a state of happiness and gratefulness.
The Upside, by Lindsey Stirling
That feeling of happiness becomes more ethereal when I listen to this song. It gives me the serenity to picture my own mental sacred space, picture whichever images I might need. Usually, it’s a blue sky full of stars and clouds, light everywhere, and a cool wind all around me. Finally, it makes me feel confident about my skills, my worth, and the success of the ritual.
Khan, by The Sidh ft. Marcin Ruminski
I take a deep breath before the beginning of this song, and then try to match my breaths with it, either the rhythm or the voices, and sometimes both. Relaxing all my body, I start praying with simple images, honoring the entities I will work with to ask for their help: my ancestors smiling upon me, picturing the gods in my head becoming one with my sacred space, and also the elements I would need, such as candles lighting up themselves, a cup with water, plants growing around me, or anything else that could be useful. I’m very intuitive here. (Editor’s note: this video has an epilepsy warning.)
Crystalize Mashup, by Lindsey Stirling (Remix by Wild Children)
With all that done, and still trying to match my breathing to the music, I picture all those elements as extensions of myself, parts that empower me and give me their own energy to work with for the duration of the ritual. I start visualizing some scenes about the result I want to manifest: me walking into an office with a new job, me feeling better and healthier, etc. Something that helps me is picturing threads of light connecting me with all those elements: the trees, the stones, the tools, the clouds, even the place itself, affirming that I’m not only a person but a part of something bigger, all that sacred energy going into my chest to then spread through my body.
Rock Me, by Amadeus
This is the part when I finally visualize the detailed outcome. If my mind creates a different image, I force it to change, which is much easier at this point. I remember to relax my body if I’m tense, picture myself in the scenario I want and pay close attention to the details: every shape, color, sound, movement, feeling, sensation, thought, so I can feel in there as much as possible. I want it to be realistic. Sometimes, after the first half of the song, I see my current situation as if it was an image in a crystal breaking down and reconstructing itself.
Vivaldi, by Timmy Trumpet & Mariana BO
For the last part, I enter a state of trance to work with affirmations, gratitude, and wake up from the whole experience. My mind focuses on one single thing, one word or image, and I give it different faces to focus on that energy. I want it to be as perfect and honest as possible, put all of my feelings, my desire, will, until I can’t focus anymore and release all that energy I’ve collected so far into the world/worlds/universe/you-name-it, thanking all the entities I worked with as they vanish from my mental place, and this mental space as well.
Silence
After I’m done, I try to stop the music right away so nothing else plays after the last track. Taking deep breaths to slow down my breathing and start to relax. Usually, my heartbeat is going to be all over the place when I’m done, so this is also an important part for me to calm down and go back to the “real” or mundane world. I try to take everything slow, don’t listen to anything else for a while, forget about the experience, and let it do its thing.
Final words
As a last recommendation, I want to encourage everyone who reads this to give it a try, but also change it to fit your own likes. I enjoy electronic, pop, heavy metal, and rock music, and I’ve found that it helps me more when it’s instrumental music to do this type of work or edited versions without the vocals of songs I love.
Sometimes I move my hands, or just my fingers. Sometimes I stay with my eyes closed the whole time, and others I’m taking the bus while going somewhere else. Also, when I listen to something else, I like to do it several times during a few days until I get a feeling of how my body and mind react, or what images come to my mind, to know what I could use it for. Some tracks are just for meditation, while others are more active, like the last ones in this playlist.
In the end, this all depends on what you like to listen to, and how you combine different styles to have a coherent narrative that fits your needs. I don’t have several different playlists, in fact, this is the first one I worked on, but more like different songs that I select to reflect my mood, feelings, ideas, or needs.
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