Wiccan Parenting: Chanting with Children
Singing as a Way to Connect Spiritualy with Pagan Youth
Dec 12, 2008
Chanting is an intergenerational practice that can be shared with the whole family, in ritual and outside of ritual. Young kids especially love seasonal chants and can easily learn new songs. Most chants are short and repetitive and when sung with enthusiasm can raise a lot of energy for spell work. You and your family can even write your own chants, or reword a chant to fit your own practice and beliefs. If you are not familiar with Pagan or Wiccan chants, an excellent resource is "The Pagan Chants of the Month Archive".
Chanting in Ritual
In ritual, chanting helps move energy, and psychically it helps everyone get “on the same page”. A processional chant will help everyone gather and formally enter the ritual on that same page. Because you can chant together, it can help a child overcome his or her fears of participation. Or you can give a particular child a special place in a ritual with a solo chant. Chants can be used to call the elements and invoke deity. The slow beat of some chants, such as “The Pleiades Chant” by Bone Blossom can also help ground and center participants after an ecstatic experience, which many kids need help doing.
Enchanting Everyday Life
Even if you don’t usually include your children in ritual, there are many opportunities to use chants outside of ritual to enchant everyday life. While working outside, a seasonal or elemental chant can bring awareness to the changes of the season, or a particular element. Singing such a chant outside to honor the spirits of the land can connect a family with the subtle beings, such as the faires, who share the world. Chants can be sung together at the dinner table to give thanks for a shared meal. An excellent chant for mealtime is “Thanks Turns the Wheel of the Harvest” by Ivo Domingues Jr. and James C. Welsh.
Chants can be teaching tools, a way to introduce your Pagan faith to the next generation. A excellent chant to start with is an old favorite, “We All Come From the Goddess” by Z. Budapest, written in 1971. Many times after singing a chant, children will begin to ask questions about what some of the words mean, which can lead to interesting discussions about the faith. Grounding and centering chants can also be useful in emergency situations where kids may be scared and need support in remaining calm. Chanting outside of ritual will also give kids a chance to practice the chants together, and be prepared and confident about chanting in ritual.
Perfection Not Required
Chanting can be a rewarding and simple way to share your Wiccan or NeoPagan faith with the youngest members of your family or tribe. Remember that chanting for devotional purposes does not have to sound perfect to be effective or fun. What's important is that it brings your family together and helps you honor your Gods and practice your magic successfully.
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