Purification Through Sound

Bells and chimes keep away bad luck that could interfere with prosperity.

As I was blissfully blogging about our universal obligation to maintain ch’i, all hell was breaking loose in my neighborhood!  To give you an idea of the scene, there were multiple pedestrians walking up and down my normally quiet, dead end dirt road.  Groups of these pedestrians stood at either end of the block yelling at each other.  A  home owner, who lives near the center of the block, was yelling at the pedestrians in both groups from behind his security screen. 

Eventually, the sheriffs arrived. They spent the next hour or so driving between the home owner’s house, and the pedestrians, who had now moved a block or so up the road.  Then, a fire department rescue vehicle appeared on the scene.  As the evening progressed and darkness grew, the din began to die down—until I suddenly had people who had been involved in this huge blow up, coming to my door!   

There is nothing to be concerned about on the level of physical trauma, nobody was injured.  But there was anger, betrayal, emotional trauma, two people were unexpectedly displaced from the place where they had been staying, and their lives were suddenly disrupted.

The person responsible for most of this chaos is a relative of mine who happens to live nearby.  He has a great deal of negative energy attached to him.  He is deceptive, manipulative, and violent, subject to delusions (seriously!), and does little else with his life but create drama. I’m convinced he takes pleasure in the mayhem he creates.  He thrives off of the negative energy he has devised.  Over the years I have seen him poison the lives of several of those near and dear to me.   I go out of my way to avoid drama, so I generally steer clear of him. I consider this a matter of self preservation. 

Doesn’t it just figure?  I make a significant step in the right direction and opposition comes along to test my resolve.  It didn’t help that Mercury had just gone retrograde.  Fortunately, I keep certain things in place to dispel negative energy before it can enter my home.  I won’t share my entire bag of tricks with you, but I’d like to talk to you about sound, and how you can use it to keep your personal space pleasant.

Since the Shaman of the distant past began shaking a rattle to scare away evil spirits, sound has been used to affect the energy of an area.  Sound can purify a physical space, clear negative energy from a person’s aura, and discourage the presence of discordant energy/ beings.   Before you dismiss me as a crackpot think of the old adage, “music soothes the savage beast.” 

It is a well known fact that playing soothing, relaxing music, especially strings and gentle chimes, has a peaceful affect on the atmosphere.  Hence the easy listening “elevator music” piped into office buildings, grocery stores, restaurants, and, of course elevators, and other places where aggression is unwelcome.  As much as I enjoy music, keeping a stream of gentle, meditative music going constantly would be very inconvenient, so other means are needed to bring melodic sound into the everyday environment.

In medieval times, bells served this purpose. The large bells that announced worship services, royal events, weddings, funerals, and impending disasters from medieval church towers were originally intended to do more than act as announcements.   Their clanging served to dispel curses and chase away “evil spirits”. 

Other examples of bells being used for the same or similar purposes include the bells that adorned the robes of the Levitical priests, Buddhist sacred bells (ghantas), Sanctus bells rung during Catholic, Methodist and other Christian liturgy, and bells rung during evocation in Ceremonial Magick and some traditions of Witchcraft.

One reason bells were ascribed magical power was their elevated position, hanging from the church tower—between heaven and earth.  The other reason was because sound waves affect the movement of air; it stirs things up and begins moving air in waves.   Our thoughts and attitudes, the atmospheres or energies of certain locales, and immaterial beings all occupy the realm of air.  So sound, which moves air, has ruler ship over these things.

If you think the use of sound to dispel evil is no longer a practice today, think again.  You may have noticed that many small shops have hanging bells or chimes that ring each time the door is opened.  Many people assume the bells are there to alert the proprietor when a customer enters the store, but there is an older meaning.   It is believed the bells keep away bad luck that could interfere with prosperity.  The sound of the bells breaks up any negative energy clinging to customers who enter so that it can not take hold inside.

Wind chimes serve the same purpose—the tinkling of chimes breaks up any negative energy near the entrance of my home and move it away so it cannot enter.  

The wind chimes that hang from the eaves by my door and the small bells that hang from the front door knob are more than melodic decorations.  They both have a magical effect. This is what I intended when I hung them.  Sometimes the best magical tools are those that aren’t immediately recognizable as such.

May your homes be filled with serenity and magic.

Blessings and Peace,

Esmerelda