We think of an enchantment as a magic spell. In fiction, it’s often the sort of spell that pulls someone toward us or even replaces their will with our own. We know, of course, such a thing, if it were even possible, would be entirely unethical.
But what does the term really mean, among its practitioners.
The root word of enchantment is “chant.” To chant is to speak rhythmically or to sing. In practice, there’s a cadence to the words, be they spoken or sung. They often rhyme. They are often a short line or couplet, repeated over and over. Magical workers generally increase the tempo and even the volume of the chant to raise energy when casting a spell.
But a chant does far more than raise energy, it weaves energy streams from individuals together.
And not just in magic
Speaking the same words at the same time with a group of people has an impact on the individuals. It brings all those individual vibrations a little bit nearer to each other, and it implants the words being spoken deep into the psyche of each of them.
But the intensity of these effects varies from person to person and chant to chant.
Take for example, The Pledge of Allegiance. In the United States, we all learn it as soon as we start attending public school. First thing in the morning, we all stand, face the flag, place our hand over our heart, and recite the words.
I don’t ever remember thinking much about the words or what they meant, I just said it like everybody else. It was just what we did. However, doing it every single morning became part of the ritual that signaled to our young minds that it was time to settle into our school day. Saying the Pledge became a trigger for us, shifting our state of mind from its playful, silly mode before, to its quiet, attention-paying mode after.
That’s quite powerful all by itself.
But now think of a person who has always dreamt of being a citizen, and finally became one, saying The Pledge of Allegiance. The emotions of it would be overwhelming and might even spill out in the form of tears. The meaning of each word would be deeply personal and meaningful. A group of such people saying the pledge together would have a powerful uniting of their energy in that moment.
Another example is the singing of Happy Birthday at a birthday party. Most of the people singing are focused on the same thing, the birthday-person, and wishing them well. This is a step above rote repetition without much no feeling involved, and more than a trigger that shifts one into cake-eating mode. It’s also a little bit of magic in the form of good will wafted toward the recipient. It’s group magic in its simplest form.
Think about it. Singing the song raises the energy. Blowing out the candles with a wish releases the energy toward its goal, and then everyone grounds themselves with cakes and ale. Birthdays are very witchy.
The next level, after birthday magic
Whenever a group of people are focused on a similar goal, and are chanting accordingly, there is powerful group magic at work. Take sporting events, for example. The cheerleaders are the chant leaders. They raise the vibe of the fans, who repeat the cheer, and their energy weaves together and is directed toward the team.
I was at a protest yesterday, and there were a lot of songs and chants being shared. That’s what made me think about this subject, actually. I was once again witness to the power of enchantment in action. Each person there had a different issue foremost in their minds, but their energy united all the same, releasing with each group cheer or passing horn honk.
Chanting or singing together creates harmony within the energy fields just as it creates harmony among the voices.
True Enchantment
I can see where the notion of taking control of another’s will by means of enchantment came from. But true enchantment isn’t that at all. It’s a melding of wills, a voluntary melding of energies toward a common goal.
In group magic this is what happens. And the way it happens is through chanting and song, often combined with rhythmic drumming, rattling, and dance.
In groups that practice together regularly, there are nearly always a set of basic rites that are always done the same way, the circle casting and the quarter calls. The same words are always said when the circle is cast. The same words are always said to welcome the energies of the four directions. There are other well known longish poems in the Craft that are memorized and repeated, The Creed, the Rede, the Rune, the Charge. And there are entire volumes of shorter chants and songs for energy raising.
Here are four that come directly to mind.
Air I am Fire I am Water, Earth, and Spirit I am! We all come from the Goddess And to her we shall return Like a drop of rain Flowing to the ocean Hoof and horn, hoof and horn All that die shall be reborn Corn and grain, corn and grain All that fall shall rise again Isis Astarte Diana Hecate Demete Kali Inanna
The power of ritual
In ritual, we do certain things the same way every time. Even if we are practicing all by ourselves, doing the same things in the same way with the same words becomes a trigger that shifts out minds into the state of oneness with Source, the state of magic.
In the Craft, one of the advanced secrets is that first we learn where to stand and what to say and how to move while we say it, and what tool to use for what purpose. And then we learn that we never needed any of it. The magic is within us and we can cast a circle in the palm of our hand and explode it outward to fill the space in the blink of an eye.
And yet, it’s still extremely beneficial to go through all the steps every now and again. It re-triggers the brain into alpha state, the state for magic and creativity. It re-unites us with the energy of the ritual, no small thing.
We learn the words and rites and tools first because magic is a state of mind we must trigger repeatedly until we have learned how to achieve it without all the triggers.
The change we bring in magic, is a change in ourselves. We shift from being the version of us who wanted the change or experience, to the version of us who has achieved it or is living it. That’s all mental.
Our outer world is always and only a reflection of our inner world. Everything we want must come from within, and the means it comes is by shifting our vibe into harmony with the goal.
Chants and songs can help weave those energies together, as well. In reality, our work is actually and always enchanting ourselves into better alignment with the experiences we most desire.
What songs and chants do you know that match with your best desire? If you don’t know any, try making some up!
Apple, Grape and Strawberry, Grow for me abundantly! Tomato red, and leafy greens, Thrive and grow and feed my dreams!
See? It’s easy.
