The Carlford Coven

 About the Chant Group:

          Chantiers at the Creek

At 'The Wicklaw Thing' moot it was decided to incorporate our 'Chant Night' and our 'Full Moon Esbat' into one special event at our outdoor ritual site at Martlesham Creek.         

      Despite the unpredictable weather it turned out to be warm and dry, and it certainly was a very special evening.

           Gathered around an open fire, we cooked bread and made tea and listened to the song birds settling around us.

           The drumming and percussion echoed in the trees, and at the end of each chant session a gusty wind rose in the tree tops as if in approval. At one point when the fire had died down we sang the chant 'Spirit of the fire' whereupon it flamed into life, then went down when we switched to another chant, but rose up again when we returned to 'it's' chant.

           During our chanting not one car or pedestrian disturbed our peace, and the bats came out and swooped amongst the trees, with the Swifts in the sky above the trees as we continued our chants to the sunset.

           The edge of our ritual 'Sabbat Circle' was clearly visable with a blue haze which showed that we had done enough to prepare the site ready for our 'Summer Solstice Celebration'.

 Garfield of 'The Scarlet dusk Hedgewitch Triangle'

         Well done - Garfields Chant article reads very well. Indeed it was a magical (if a sometimes smoky) evening. The fire was amazing it had been burning happily since 4pm, restocked from the same woodpile.

           Later it got VERY dull and smoky, we tried fanning it and there was a breeze anyway, we had rather given up on it, (I was well kippered by then) ten minutes later we chanted the 'Fire' chant; the smoke cleared and the fire burst into life immediately! Two chants later it was getting dull and smoky again, we sang the 'Fire' chant again and without adding any new wood, it burst into flaming 'smokeless' life again!

           I did a sneaky (private) little spell to sap up some of the energy we were raising, and to my surprise as I softly said 'Ka!' to send it on its way, a sudden brief bright flare of flame came up!! Oooh Aaah! Yes we really felt that the woodland spirits were with us. We feel the site is gaining power all the time

Humble Bumble

       A full house of 'Chantiers' once again equal numbers of Female & Male chanters [by chance not design] gathered at the Brewery Tap in Ipswich, with a selection of drums and other precussion instruments. Two new drums made an appearance as did one new member.

       We smoothly linked many of our favourite chants together for a power-raising evening of energetic chant and drumming; sometimes its like that! We continued to learn new chants and experimented with the ones we know.

       A member of the chant group had brought along some 'Coptic Frankincense' which was burnt in the centre of the circle, which lent a mystical air to the evening as the sun slowly sank over the river Orwell.

      Don't forget we always welcome new members at any of these monthly sessions.

 Garfield of the Scarlet Dusk Hedgewitch Triangle

          Over the years that I have been involved in the local chant group it has become more & more evident that the chants in my head play an important part in my life. They influence me everyday, reminding me of the true path of paganism, giving strength in times of stress when one’s beliefs are being tested to the full. I find them coming into my head whilst driving in traffic, walking through crowded streets and in other situations which are alien to my peaceful bucolic lifestyle.

Take for example the chant:

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 dies shall be reborn

Corn and grain corn and grain

All that falls shall rise again

          This reminds us of the eternal cycles pervading all life on earth. Furthermore it has had the effect of deepening our Sabbats and added a new dimension to Esbat meetings. It seems that the chanting ‘brings spirits to life’ and instils an influence on all who take part. The chant group, although open to all, feels like a coven. Those involved in the chant are united in ‘one voice’ and the collective energy of the group.

          During a chant session one can experience feeling hotter and more in tune with ‘other worlds’ and we have on occasion raised enormous amounts of power which we have sent to those in need who have often told us they have felt that power which can also be utilised for any given magical intent.

          Chants work best when they are simple and repetitive, concise yet profound. A complicated song type chant doesn’t work as well whereby a simple phrase, accompanied by percussion is almost instantaneous in its effect. The chant is circular in its form and so the mind does not have to think too deeply about getting the words right which releases deeper consciousness to be involved with the rhythms, patterns and vibrations of the whole exercise.

Take for example the elemental chant:

Air I am, Fire I am

Water, Earth and Spirit I am

          Behind these words lays a complex concept relating to our place in the universe and a representation of the meanings of the five points of the pentagram.

          Chants have been used to great effect by peoples all over the world, in all faiths, and in the modern world we can see the same power being enjoyed in the rhythmic dance and ‘trance’ music of the younger generation.

          Looking at this scientifically we find that the human brain wave patterns in what is known as an ‘alpha’ state give a feeling of a mild trance state. Chants and meditation can induce an ‘alpha’ state [right hand brain] rather than the ‘beta’ [or left hand brain state].

          The earth, with its molten core, is essentially a hollow ball which gives off seismic vibrations of around 32 Hz (32 cycles per second). Above ground this resonance averages between 7–10 cycles per second; higher still in the ionosphere this acts as an electro–dynamic generator dominating all other frequencies. So therefore meditation, chanting etc reduces the monophasic ‘beta’ state of the brain and the light trance produced starts to match the vibrationary patterns of the earth at 7 –10 Hz. What we traditionally call energy, ‘chi’, ‘prana’, which embodies a sense of ‘being’ for us, is actually pulses which resonate sympathetically with the electro-magnetic field of the earth. Armed with this information our rituals and our chants can only get better.

Garfield of the ‘Scarlet Dusk Hedgewitch Triangle’.

      As someone who has never been to or taken part in a chant session in my life, I considered myself a chant virgin, but on the evening of the 21^st May I went along to the Brewery Tap in Ipswich to sacrifice my chant virginity to the group. With a silent plea of ‘please be gentle with me’ and fortified with a pint or two of IPA I entered the fray.

          I was introduced to the other 11 members of the group and led upstairs into a nicely carpeted room not knowing what would happen; next chairs were placed in a circle, one of the members lit a small cauldron and soon the room was permeated with the aroma of incense, and I was given a sheet of typed chants to help me keep up with the rest of the group, but I soon found out that it was not necessary.

          Humble Bumble took us through a ritual that helped us to ease the tensions in our bodies that had built up during the day and to help us connect to the earth and spirit, plus open us and help us connect to the energies that swirl around us, and then Garfield led us into the first chant. The group followed and they strung three or four chants together.

          At first I found it difficult to chant with the group as I was trying to find the written words on the sheet I had been given, in the end I discarded the sheet in order to listen to the simple words and the uncomplicated melodies and for me it worked and I was soon able to chant along with the group even if I was a bit hesitant at first, I was no longer a chant virgin.

          Chants by their very nature are simple and repetitive and I soon picked them up and joined in with gusto, even though my voice is not what I would consider to be melodious in any way.

          During the course of the evening I found that for me some of the chants were more powerful than others, later when I analysed this I found the powerful ones for me were the simple one liners that didn’t need a lot of thought in order to keep the tempo, they were the ones that also had some powerful drumming as accompaniment, whereas I had to think about some of the two three and four liners and thus lost my place in the chant but that didn’t matter, I just sat and listened and I was soon able to rejoin the chanting. After a short break in which I took the opportunity to refill my glass. We resumed chanting again and before I knew it we were through. Humble Bumble again took the lead and led us through a short grounding ritual in which we stood hands linked and sent the power raised as healing energies to someone who we thought was in need. Each chanter was asked to visualise the person they wanted to help with this healing energy and then the power was sent to them. We then retired to the bar again to socialise.

          My thoughts on it! Conflicting? Relief; relief that I had not embarrassed myself: Amusement; amusement at myself for worrying so much: Satisfaction; satisfied that I had done my bit to raise this healing power: Energised; I felt energised even after the grounding, a buzz that remained with me for the trip home: Relaxed; when I eventually went to bed I had no trouble drifting off to a dreamless sleep which lasted until 10am the next day; thankfully I didn’t have to go to work.

Rainbird