Witches Dance: Magick in Movement
“Ritual dance” can spawn criticism. Images of women dancing naked in the woods. There’s merit to that cliché. Dance is a powerful contribution to sacred occasions, offering praise to goddesses, gods, and ancestors.
Movement is undeniably powerful. Opening the circle with clockwise motion, or gesturing to the four directions with the right hand, are symbolic choices that incorporate movement into ritual practice. Dance kicks it up a notch, adding manifestation and emotion, rhythm, full-body involvement, enacting energy exchange. Through dance we can raise our energy in the physical world to reach and connect to the spiritual realm.
Every civilization uses dance to promote community interaction, meditation, celebration, joy for life, honor death, and commemorate unions. Ancient Egyptians recorded on wall paintings and pottery, as early as the 4 th millennium, nude dancers in funeral processions. “Bellicrepa,” “the war dance,” once taught to soldiers by Romulus to ward off plague during wartime, 3 rd Century BCE, is performed today to honor Roman heritage. Dance was considered THE language of communication between humans and gods in ancient China, documented 4,000 years ago. Arguably the oldest, most widely used dances in Native American culture, the “grass dance,” pays ohmage to the land. Australian Aborigines have similar traditions to ensure plentiful supplies and good health.
Perhaps the negativity stems from Euripides, 405 BCE, depiction of “The Bacchae,” “maddened women who sang, danced, and suckled wild animals with joy” until disturbed by man, at which point they turned into murderous savages. Though Catholicism often demonized dance, the Bible tells us, Samuel6:14, that “David danced and leaped before the lord with all his might.” Some translations describe David as “naked,” symbolizing union between man and God.
Ancient dances like Middle-Eastern belly-dancing or Tahitian and Hula-dancing embody hip circles, shimmies and dips, now seductive entertainment, were originally designed for fertility and birthing. Wedding dances are embedded into many cultures from traditional Yiddish, to ancient Greek, throughout Europe and Africa. War, battle, or sword dancing are expressions of bravery and requesting protection. In funeral processions mourners express grief through dance. It’s used to accompany rites of passage or protests.
Agricultural, the most common of all, practiced in every culture, can incorporate the Elements; rain dances to ensure crops are well fed, wind dances to pollinate seeds, earth dances of gratitude for harvests, fire dances to usher in warmth and light.
Procession, line and circular dances are the oldest kinds still performed throughout the world. Often dancing or marching for travel, moving a group from one place/direction to another. Partnered dances appeared in the 17 th century.
Whatever culture or purpose, dance serves important functions. For centuries, people believed dance would protect them from harm, disease, dark magick or the wrath of vengeful gods. They danced to protect crops, encouraging the goddess to keep livestock healthy, for divinitation, connecting to spirit.
Traditional pagan dances are communal, the most common “sun dance” is performed within a circular formation, clockwise for joyous occasions, counterclockwise for times of mourning, and includes repetitive foot tapping in rhythm to music.
Winter Solstice (Yule) dances pay tribute to the returning sun and rebirthing the horned god. During Imbolc, ritual dancing encourages fertility and honors Brigid. Spring Equinox (Ostara) dances usher in life and honor Eostre.
Beltane’s “fire leaping” protects the herds and crops. Flames represent cleansing and purification, and is meant to awaken passion and desire, bringing luck. Maypole, the original pole-dance, honors the marriage between Maponos and the flower maiden. Ribbons attached atop of a pole are braided throughout dance celebrating masculine and feminine unity, fertility, beauty and youthfulness. An even number of dancers circle around the pole and, in time with music, take 4 steps towards the maypole, 4 steps back and then circle for a count of 8. They raise their arms approaching the pole and lower them as they back away.
Summer Solstice (Litha) dancing celebrates the goddess’s victory over the horned god, giving thanks for the fruitfulness of their union. Lughnasadh (Lammas) is celebrated through play-dance incorporating the story of Lugh, who seized the harvest for mankind. Giving thanks for the ripening of the grains, the “corn dance” is performed for the Autumn Equinox (Mabon). Dancing is a Samhain (Halloween) tradition to honor the death and welcome the new year.
In “The spiral dance”, Starhawk describes the popular dance, first performed in 1979, is meant to “reclaim the witch within” and “involves drumming amongst a group that chant or sing in addition to dancing.” Members hold hands and follow a leader in a counter-clockwise motion using a “grapevine” step. As the leader comes near closing the circle, they whip around moving clockwise, to face the other dancers. This formation continues so each dancer will be face to face with every other.
Through circling of dancers, kinetic and psychic territories of witchcraft and state interpenetrate. Formal steps are quite unnecessary. When we truly forget ourselves, allow movement and music to rise within, we offer the best of ourselves to higher powers of the universe.
The drunken, drumming, howling, jumping about kind of dancing, is like the masculine aspects that pour out energy all over the place, versus the feminine aspects of grounding, swaying, listening, and absorbing energies. We are both. C&C Music Factory taught us dance is liberating! “Unfold your body, free to behold, and dance till you can’t dance till you can’t dance no more.” #NudityOptional
Lords of dance, dancing deities, goddesses and gods with a special attachment to dance include but are not limited to…
Habonde, the witch goddess, represents abundance of joy, health, fertility and luck.
Pan, who plays his pipes and skips across the land awakening the fairies and ushering in the springtime.
Shiva Nataraja, responsible for creation or destruction through dance.
One of the Nine Muses, Terpsichore’s domain is choral song and dance educating others with that form of communication.
The apsaras of Cambodia are nymphs that appear in many Asian myths, and performing apsara dances in their honor is still very popular.
The Egyptian goddess of fertility, Bastet, is also associated with love and dance.
Dionysus, the god of agriculture, fertility, nature, wine, song and dance.
Ares, the Greek god of war, known for fighting, was known as the first to dance in order to woo Aphrodite.
Leprechauns are well-known for their love of traditional Irish music and dance.
The Tuatha de Danann, and its notorious processions are associated with entranced fairy ring dances.