Over the years, I have created rituals to celebrate the Wheel of the Year with my wife and children. Music has been an essential part of the experience. Without it, it would be much more difficult to create the sense of sacred time and space and to evoke the experience I desire for each ritual. So I want to share with you my playlist for each station on the Wheel of Year. Here’s the sixth list. Enjoy! And share your suggestions in the comments below.
The Autumn Equinox/Mabon
Mythologically, at Mabon, the Sun King is interred. The Goddess laments the loss of her Consort and descends to the Underworld in search of him. There she encounters the Dark God and submits to him. The two are united, representing the union of Thanatos (death) and Eros (love). However, the Dark God is sterile, so no child can be born from their union. In anÂother version, the Dark Child is conceived. The Goddess asÂsumes the aspect of the Dark Queen.
“Noon of the Solstice” by Damh the Bard
In times long pastÂ
lived a Man of green,
And his footsteps brought life wherever he’d been.
In the deepest wildwoodÂ
was the place he was seen,
And the people did loveÂ
and protect him.
And they saw his face change,Â
with the turn of the Wheel
of the Seasons,
They heard his voice sing.Â
(Chorus)
I’m the Horned God,
I’m the face in the trees,
I’m the breath of the wind that rustles the leaves,
I’m the Green ManÂ
in the wildwood I roam,
Cernunnos, I’m Pan and I’m Herne.
I shall be as the Dark Holly King,
Darkness and coldÂ
in my cloak I will bring,
And on Winter’s nightsÂ
to me you will sing,
Till the air around me starts changing,
And on the noon of the solsticeÂ
I’ll give up my crown,
To the LightÂ
and the Mighty Oak King.
All Summer longÂ
I shall rule just and fair,
Bring your crops to fruitÂ
with the light that I share,
With fire and water,Â
from earth into air,
But the Wheel it keepsÂ
steadily turning.
And on the noon of the SolsticeÂ
I’ll give up my crown,
To the cold and the Dark Holly King.
T’is now modern timesÂ
and the Summer is here,
The Winter has goneÂ
and the air it is clear,
On a fine day I walkedÂ
through a woods I live near,
When a battle I spiedÂ
through a clearing,
Two giants of leaves,Â
one light and one dark,
Even now the Wheel it is turning!Â
“Rise of the Corn” by Carolyn Hillyer
I sing the ripening corn to youÂ
I sing this pathway to youÂ
that you may come where two hills meetÂ
and I wait at water’s edge.Â
I hear your heartbeat through the earthÂ
sitting in my joy of youÂ
sitting in my joy of youÂ
wind brings your whisper.Â
I watch the horizonÂ
and feel my blood’s deep pulseÂ
I sing the ripening corn to youÂ
that you may come.Â
I hear your heartbeat through the earthÂ
sitting in my joy of youÂ
I sing the ripening corn to youÂ
that you may come.Â
I sing the ripening corn to youÂ
that you may come [repeat 4 times]
“Osiris Lives” by Sharon Knight and Thorn Coyle
Red barley and grape on the vine
Green waters of the rising Nile (sing 2 times)
Osiris lives, Osiris returns, what is true will never die. (sing 2 times)
(What is true will live forever, what is true will always be.)
(Osiris lives, the God returns, Osiris lives, the God in me.)
“Nature’s Bounty” by Thorn Coyle and Sharon Knight
Let’s give thanks for the bounty of the harvestÂ
The Barley King has bowed his headÂ
Let’s give thanks for the beauty all around usÂ
Pour the wine and break the bread!Â
Oh – Pass the horn of plentyÂ
Oh – Thanks be for nature’s bounty
“10,000 Miles” by Mary Chapin Carpenter
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwjIFk2vlrc]
Fare thee wellÂ
My own true loveÂ
Farewell for a whileÂ
I’m going awayÂ
But I’ll be backÂ
Though I go 10,000 miles
10,000 milesÂ
My own true loveÂ
10,000 miles or moreÂ
The rocks may meltÂ
And the seas may burnÂ
If I should not return
Oh don’t you seeÂ
That lonesome doveÂ
Sitting on an ivy treeÂ
She’s weeping forÂ
Her own true loveÂ
As I shall weep for mine
Oh come ye backÂ
My own true loveÂ
And stay a while with meÂ
If I had a friendÂ
All on this earthÂ
You’ve been a friend to me