Foxy Witch: Pagan Love Songs
by Sheela Ardrian

Everybody loves love songs. There's just something about being in love that makes people feel like singing. Every musical tradition includes some pieces sung by ardent lovers or hopeful suitors. Even stuffy cultures find ways to hint about romantic and erotic concepts in song.

Pagan love songs are direct: some praise the beloved, or love in general, in bold bawdy lyrics; others meander like a kind of auditory foreplay. Some come from traditional repertoire, folk songs of many different lands; others from contemporary Pagan musicians. All share an unabashed appreciation of sexuality, for as the Charge of the Goddess states, "All acts of love and pleasure are My rituals."

Music plays an essential role in Pagan festivals, especially the sexual ones such as Beltane. In addition to tunes for dancing around the Maypole, Beltane celebrations often feature songs about the union of God and Goddess, as well as folk songs about how to "encourage" the fecundity of crops and livestock. In ancient times fertility rites abounded, and these often used wild music and bawdy songs to create an atmosphere of uninhibited eroticism. Also worth mentioning are those songs in which the object of love itself is divine. Greek, Irish, and other Pagan myths are full of stories about love amongst the gods - and between gods or goddesses and their mortal paramours.

Since we are in the season of love - Valentine's Day, Ostara bunnies and Beltane a-coming, I collected a set of my favorite Pagan love songs. Try these out on a cold night and let me know how it goes!

35 Pagan Love Songs to Share with your Sweetie!

• "Adrift," "Holly Ivy & Yew," "Hunter," and "Up into the Pear Tree" on The Road to Santiago by Heather Dale, Amphisbaena Music, Toronto, 2005.

• "Albion Autumn," "Where the Lonely Souls Go," and "The Home That I Will Never See" on Frigga's Web by Hagalaz' Runedance, Hammerheart Records, Valkenburg, Netherlands, 2001.

• "Before the Twilight Falls (for Blodeuwydd)" and "Queen of Argyll" on Archives of Ages to Come by Emerald Rose, 2005.

• "Beltane Night" and "The Green Man" on Beltane: Songs for the Green Time by Jaiya, Gotham Studios, Vancouver, B.C., 2005.

• "Boys Want Sex in the Morning" on Rite the First Time by Three Weird Sisters, Bedlam House, Atlanta, GA, 2001.

• "Call of the Siren," "The Gladdest Breeze," and "The Sands of Time" on Ocean: Songs for the Night Sea Journey by Jennifer Cutting, SunSign Records, Takoma Park, MD, 2004.

• "Dance in the Circle" on Midsummer by Heather Alexander, Sea Fire Productions, Puyallup, WA, 1997.

• "The Dream of Macsen" on Annwyn, Beneath the Waves by Faith and the Muse, Tess Records International, Santa Barbara, CA, 1996.

• "Ever With Me" on The Hills They Are Hollow by Damh the Bard, Caer Bryn Studios, Southwick, England, 2003. See his site at www.paganmusic.co.uk.

• "Gently Johnny" on Carry Me Home by Todd Alan and Friends, Fireseed Publishing, 1992. See Todd's website at www.todd-alan.net.

• "Missing You" and "Meet Me at Beltane" on Voices of the Goddess by Lady Bridget and the Belladonnas, Kismet Studios, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 2002.

• "Obsession," "Blodeuwedd," "Fith Fath Song," and "Raggle-Taggle Gypsies" on Herne's Apprentice by Damh the Bard, Caer Bryn Studios, Southwick, England, 2002. See his site at www.paganmusic.co.uk.

• "Princess of Flowers" and "Tha Mi Sgith" on Princess of Flowers by Margaret Davis, Flowinglass Music, Oakland, CA, 1998.

• "Red-Haired Mary," "Pagan Girl," and "Merry May Folk" on Bending Tradition by Emerald Rose, Emerald Rose, Murrayville, GA, 2000.

• "Songs from the Wood," "Cup of Wonder," "Velvet Green," "The Whistler," and "Beltane" on Songs from the Wood by Jethro Tull, Chrysalis Records Ltd. Hollywood, CA, 2003. SHEELA ARDRIAN.