One thing that annoys me in a lot of neo-paganism is the quietness and serenity everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, I sure love my serenity. The quiet, a cup of tea and a good book is my happy place. And sure, lying under a blanket and having soft voices chant to me through the clouds of nag champa is nice every once in a while.
But at the end of the day, I want dirty revolution in my craft. I want to be uncomfortable and to be challenged. We are told not to be aggressive, as ideals of floaty goddesses are overlaid with cutesy graphics on those insipid pagan pages on Facebook, but I want blood, grind and progress in my craft. I’ve been in too many circles where people meekly chant under their breath. We are afraid to take up space. We are afraid of being out of tune and we fear the judgement of others. You can feel the restraint thrumming in the air and nothing gets off the ground. Open your mouth, open your lungs, just sing!
The riot grrls knew how to use their VOICE!
One of the basics of magic is that if you don’t give something, you won’t get something. Friction is fruitful and as long as you own the consequences and you know your shit, step up to that microphone and let others hear what you have to say.
When I meet elders in witchcraft, I always notice how they speak their truth and they speak it clearly. When they talk you just gotta sit up and listen. You can see they’ve been to the other side of the hedge and back so I want to hang on every word. Sometimes I might not agree with everything they say, which might be a product of a time and place gone by and a failure to update the software so to speak, but often I do and I wish I had more chances to listen. Along the way, they have learned how to master their most powerful tool: the voice.
Like fire and water, the power of one is not beheld until we utilise the other: and so, to LISTEN is another important tool, that is essential to learning the use of the voice. When to be passive and when to be assertive are essential skills when mastering the tool of the voice.
The voice is the most powerful tool in witchcraft and we all need to learn how to use it. We need learn the chants and write our own, and sing them lustily into the night. We need to wave the flags of the causes that mean the most and use our voice to talk about the issues that matter. The voice activates so many parts of your body, it resonates with your brain and your emotions, and it summons and stirs Spirit to listen. With intonations and incantations, a circle can immediately be transformed from a mundane space to an otherworldly one, imbued with powers in a way that no athame, chalice or statue could achieve.
The most powerful assets of modern witchcraft are the musicians and the writers, the artists and the leaders who use their voices, whatever medium they choose, to express their craft.
So here’s to the voices, mine and to yours, and our continued free expression of the voice. What a powerful tool. And therefore my favourite.
This has been a #pagansdownunder post!
