Definitely feeling autumnal

I seem to be geeting in to the swing of autumn this year, perhaps it is the growing of crops that has done it, but so far the autumn has brought the brewing of the first batch of beer for me, stewing of apples, baking of bread & thoughts of jam & chuntney making. it also means that the likelihood of walking home in the dark or in the rain has increased & I shall look forward to kick about fallen leaves. This year I have felt more connected than I have previous years, possibly because I have felt more connected to the land having more opportunity to work the land. It has made me feel as sense of accomplishment as I get the I grew this feeling which makes your food all that more sweeter. Am I being all nostalgic as to what the wheel of the year means to people? Maybe, but I do like the feeling. Autumn is very much my favourite season, rich in colour & food from the land & to that I am greatful. But also it means it is yet another year when my PTSD related depression has not got the better of me through the summer months.

Music in Magical Practice

Something struck me a couple of weeks ago, though I never got around to posting it for some reason, which is I'm never usually doing magical practices in silence, whether it is to the accompaniment of birdsong or if it is at home something to drown out the everyday noise. It was after watching a documentary on catch up about David Attenborough & Bjork & how music works did it make sense. I tend to pick music that I feel appropiate to the cause, for instance A Brand New Me by Bitter Ruin for dealing with my post traumatic stress disorder (though it is not the original meaning of the song it helps me deal with the events that lead to it in my head). The tone of the song is just as important as the lyrics the afformentioned song makes it clear about the kind of message it is about by both its tone & lyrics, other songs don't do this, for instance if you sing Eternal Flame by the Bangles in a creepy voice, it becomes very sinister indeed. Does this mean the tone is the more important than the lyrics? Maybe, but some music can be subversive in it's sound to it's message for instance Baby Come Home To Me by the Scissor Sisters may sound cheery but the lyrics are antything but. So some music that I like makes the cut magically where as others do not. Music doesn't need to have lyrics to become appropiate, Adaggio for Strings by Barber brings peace for me if I need for the pace of life to slow down. So going back to the lyrics thing I have weaved them into magical workings, Feeling Good by Anthony Newly (always tend to have the Nina Simone version in my head when using it) I use to bring in the positive in my life. To me I have found singing albeit not very well more powerful than just saying something or if if it isn't something to be sung chanting it more than merely saying helps me focus my intent. It is said that song predated structured language & if you put yourself in extreme circumstances quite often what noise you make will still communicate feelings even if there is words there. I'm interested if any of the other people who read this are the same & what music they use.