Music to Craft By

Today’s question is brought to you by two of the witchy type servers that I’m a member of on Discord. Both servers asked the exact same question within a few days of each other and I thought it might make for a good topic here.

Prompt from Server #1: “What song(s) put you in a witchy mood?”
Prompt from Server #2: “What kind of music do you like to listen to when you work magic?

Okay, so I love music. I really do. But, there are a number of activities that I can’t do while listening to music. Because I have sound → sensation/smell/taste synesthesia, music can often have unintended distractionary repercussions, so I have to be careful to what I listen to and when. For example, I have a playlist of music I can listen to while driving because none of the songs cause me physical sensations that would distract me from what I’m doing. I couldn’t guarantee that if I were listening to the radio, where a song or sound might come up that could create a painful pinch in my hand or arm, or a pins and needles sensation in my foot or leg.

For this reason, most of the time when doing spellcraft and different spiritual workings, I don’t use music as it can create “phantom sensations” that can be distracting. That said, I do have a playlist full of certain songs that safely “fit the mood” that I will use when I want to include music. Some of those include…

Terra Firma by Delerium


Silence by Delerium


Dissolved Girl by Massive Attack


Black Milk by Massive Attack


All Mine by Portishead


To Be Free by Emiliana Torrini

Not all of these (or all of those on the playlist) are sensation-free sound. But none of them create unpleasant sensations, smells, or tastes that might distract me from my focus. And, of course, all have the same “vibe” to the music that helps “set the mood” that I like for spellcraft and witchy-type activities. I think that for a lot of people, music can really add another level of depth to their practice, and even another element of “flavor” to the magic itself.

Gideon’s Challenge

Resigned Irritation

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You see that fly up there?   The one buzzing around that young buck’s fuzzy horns?

That is my air conditioner.

At the beginning of the summer, the drone of this piece of machinery in my house is a subtle irritant.  It brushes, prickly and uncomfortable, over the backs of my upper arms and shoulders.  I fight to block it out, to ignore it’s touch upon my skin and go about my day.

As a child, I didn’t realize that not everyone could feel certain sounds.  Feel them like a physical touch on the flesh or a flavor on the tongue.   When I tried to express my discomfort or describe certain sounds, people looked at me like I’d lost my mind and my parents, concerned there was something wrong with me, took me to many doctors and I went through many tests.

I’m a synesthete, though.  And it simply means that the wires connected to certain senses are a bit “crossed”.   Sometimes, I wish that wasn’t the case.

Especially with the air conditioner.

Because by the end of the summer, the need for the air conditioner is still as strong as ever, but the sound of it has become more than just a subtle irritant pushed away to the back of my mind in an effort to ignore it.   It’s a roaring inferno of needle pricks along the backs of my shoulders and upper arms.  Painful and raw and constant.

My “slow crawl through hell” is almost over for the year, but I wish it was already gone.