Witch chants, curses, and rhymes

ANOTHER article by Tami Jackson


For some time now, I have been YEARNING (note: that word has the word, "YEAR," inside of it!) to create more witchy chants and healing spells. I want to create such poetry that it will change the world just by speaking the rhythmic WORDS with the proper intention, intonation, and inflection. 

For far too long, the ancient body of wise-woman knowledge (the famous "witches CHANT" medicine for working with HERBS) has been lost to those who ache to remember their European (ancestral Pagan) familial roots. Chanting has such life-altering mystique!

While chanting continues to appear in diverse cultures worldwide (e.g., from the evocative Gregorian chants of Western Christianity to the Chanting of Norse Runes and the meditative mantras of Hinduism and Buddhism), Witches chants have served as a cornerstone of spell work! In witchcraft, Chants are as unique as the Witch that utters them. Yet they can be stronger than the influence of "The Power of Three."

Appalachian witches, (aka "Granny Witches") who live here in the Eastern United States since the first Pioneers arrived, are notorious for HEALING their neighbors and kinfolk just by chanting their mystery words! They are documented for uttering spells from the Appalachian Mountains, from back far as when traditional doctors were scarce and not trusted by the clan peoples. These "Granny Witches" incorporated their European/Germanic Supersititons with survival gardening added to the local wisdom of shrubs and roots, shared with them by America's Original Peoples.

SECULAR CHANTS:

In secular contexts, a chant can do magical things that the casual observer might see as "mundane." Familiar chants can rouse cheers from sports fans or help school children jump rope rhythmically in the play yard. Either way, they MAKE PEOPLE DO THINGS! Throughout time, children would have chanted many types of spells, most probably unwittingly, thanks to the rhymes that they'd been taught by peers. Just take a moment to recall some of the rhyming curses or blessings that your parents may have taught you when you were but a child. NOTE: I learned most of the following from my own childhood simply by playing with siblings, if not with classmates or neighborhood children. Hand clapping chants or protective spells that could also be spoken while jumping rope.

• "Apples, peaches, pears and plums, Tell me when your birthday comes!"
  
• "Yellow belly custard, snot nose pie. All mixed up in a dead dogs eye....."
• "I am rubber, you are glue, what you say bounces off me and sticks on you!"
• "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me!"
• "Nanny nanny boo boo, stick your head in doo doo!"
• Say, Say, Oh Playmate . 

Say, say, oh playmate.
Come out and play with me.
Bring out your dollies three.
Climb up my apple tree.
Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door.
And we'll be jolly friends
Forevermore, more, more-more!

While most cultures, including the Appalachian witches of North Carolina, protect their strongest spells through an oral tradition (curse or healing chants were only shared with trusted family members) no Wisdom is ever truly lost. Not when you or I can spend time in mediation to connect with our Ancestors or glean remembrances from the Akashic records to gain vital survival/healing magick from our own Spirit-Ancestors and Guides. 


POWER CHANTS FROM ANCIENT HISTORY TO MODERN LIFE:

Chants have echoed throughout history, carrying mystique in the kinds of Words that have healed, cursed, or united/divided communities. Always stirring emotions, a witch's chant is far more than just rhythmic sounds or poetry. A Witches Chant is a powerful tool that requires intention, a clear and strong resolve, and a unique voice calling out to the Sun or to the Darkness.(Whatever the situation of the spell requires.)

The Appalachian Witches would: Blow smoke on serious burns and would chant the right words to heal the skin! (Don't try that at home. Please seek medical attention from an established medical care provider. That is, unless you're a respected Shaman and are acknowledged by your tribe or clan and genuinely know what the heck you're doing.)

Here's an example of an original self-healing chant (written for this blog):

SELF HEALING CHANT: (Begin with slow, deep breaths, focusing on each word)

I breathe in peace

I breathe in peace, I breathe out pain. I breathe in peace, I breathe out pain. All that aches, I gently mend, Inner peace, I now ascend! Body weary, spirit low, Healing light begins to flow. I breathe in peace, I breathe out pain. I breathe in peace, I breathe out pain. Breath by breath, I set pain free, Strength and health flow back to me! Mind at ease, worries no more! Hope reborn, strength galore! I breathe in peace, I breathe out pain. I breathe in peace, I breathe out pain. ... I breathe in peace.

So MOTE it be!