A friend recently commented that everyone they knew who is into hermetic and ceremonial magick is also into goth/industrial music. Whilst this is perhaps not entirely true, certainly the interconnected web of Thelemic/Chaotic bands from the 1980s such as Current 93, Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, Coil, Nurse With Wound and Death In June could claim to have influenced and sometimes been influenced by the development of the goth/industrial sound.
Of course the interconnection between music and magic – only 2 letters difference as Terry Pratchett points out, goes back into the mists of time. For me the most interesting interlinking of magick and music occurs in the music of Ficino and in the Biblical Psalms. Ficino’s merging of planetary correspondences with the Orphic Hymns to create true music of the spheres produced a harmony the likes of which would not be seen again until Holst caught some traces of its echo and expressed it in his Planets. Of course it is significant that Ficino also worked on translating classic works by such ancient Greek luminaries as Plato and Plotinus, and stood at the crossroads where the paths of Kabbalah, Hermeticism and Neo-Platonism met. Strangely he is remembered more for his translation work than the musical magick he created, which seems to have faded almost into obscurity.
Also obscure is the magickal use of the musical Psalms. The Psalms which are linked to music, as mentioned at the beginning of the individual Psalm when appropriate, are some of those used to inspire the mind and produce the precognitive states of being where the recipient was receptive to the Ruach haQadosh (spirit of holiness). Thus in II Kings 15, Elisha says “Now bring me a musician. And it was when the musician played, that the Hand of God came upon him.”
Music can strongly influence the emotions, and help create a serene state ideal for meditation. The use of instrumental music, without lyrics (there is no reference to singing) is thus a precursor that can be used to help achieve the state of Ruach haQadosh. Rabbi Moses Maimonides explained this in his writings, when he said: “A prophet cannot prophesy at will. He concentrates his mind, sitting in a good, joyous mood and meditating. One cannot attain prophecy when he is depressed and languid, but only when he is in a joyous state. When they were seeking prophecy, the prophets would therefore have people play music for them.”
This brings me back to the original comment, as goth/industrial could be described at times as depressed and languid, and so not in keeping with opening the psyche. I guess it could be used to close down after doing magick, something that the Sisters of Mercy probably never envisaged!
