Pagan Choir

What Is It?

Pagan Choir is a community choir open to all voices in which we sing together to celebrate the magic of the natural world, inspired by folk & pagan traditions of Northwestern Europe. We meet in Weaverville, North Carolina (about 8 miles North of Asheville) on the unceded lands of the Eastern Cherokee, or ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ “Tsalaguwetiyi.”

We meet for 6-week seasons, learning songs themed around earth-based spirituality and pagan holidays such as Samhain, Yule and Imbolc. This is a directed space, where we learn together by ear, singing rounds, chants, folk songs and layered songs with three and four-part harmonies. Our choir includes people with varying levels of experience: some have sung in choral groups before, while others are singing socially for the first time. Pagan choir is open to everyone and is a queer-friendly and anti-racist space. Attendees can join at sliding scale prices. 

What We Do Together

Pagan Choir is a space in which we embrace the power of our voices as a vehicle to praise, invoke, and express wonder towards the living world. In Pagan Choir, we learn songs that express devotion to land and deities, reflect the changes of the seasons, and connect us to nature-based beliefs and folklore from northwestern Europe (with a focus on England, Ireland and Scotland). When you imagine this choir, throw out those images of sheet music and risers! Instead, imagine standing and sharing your voice in a circle, or weaving around other singers while raising joyful harmonies, or chanting in gratitude to deities, spirits and ancestors.

In an average rehearsal, we spend time warming up our voices, then explore rounds and parts songs alongside verse/chorus songs. As we learn and sing these songs, we incorporate movement including walking, hand gestures and other ritual actions. Before we close, we also take time to thank the songs and any beings invoked through the songs.

You can learn more about the choir ideology and FAQs by clicking here

Song Samples

Above: “Lugh of the Long Arm” 3-part layered song by Saro Lynch-Thomason

Above: “Maiden in the Moor Lay,” anon. 14th century, arrangement by Saro Lynch-Thomason

Who Is This For?

All voices are welcome in Pagan Choir (there are no auditions!) and attendees will be bringing varying levels of experience into the space. What is most important is that you be excited about the idea of using your voice for praise and wonder for the natural world and curious to explore songs about pagan deities connected to European folk traditions (and occasionally beyond Europe!). During various seasons, deities we sing about might include Brigid, Demeter, Lugh, or Aurora. 

Pagan Choir is anti-racist and welcomes people of all lineages. Pagan Choir is also designed to be a queer friendly space. Please read more in the FAQ below. 

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About the Choir Leader

When

We meet for 6-week seasons on Sundays from 2-4pm, with a few exceptions. Our Fall Season begins at the end of September 29th and lasts to November 3rd. Our songs will focus on themes of harvest, death, ancestral veneration and more. **Please make a note of the dates and times below, as some times are irregular**

Sept 29th, 2-4pm
Oct 6th, 2-4pm
Oct 13th, 2-4pm
Oct 20th, 2-4pm
Oct 27th, 5:30-7:30pm
November 3rd: Samhain/Halloween Ritual, 2-6pm, Barnardsville, NC.

Where

Pagan Choir takes place at Weaverville Yoga, 3 Florida Avenue, Weaverville, NC 28787. Please note that our last gathering on November 3rd will take place at the SunSong Community in Barnardsville, NC.

Accessibility & Illness Policy

Our venue is on the second floor of the building, and is only accessible via a flight of stairs. If you would benefit from support ascending the stairs, please let Saro know ahead of time (sarosingssongs@gmail.com) and she will do her best to arrange assistance for you. 

We will be physically active during our sessions, doing a mix of standing, walking and sitting- but you are invited to take care of your body in the ways that you need. If you need to limit your movement, chairs will always be available. 

If you have had a covid exposure, have any respiratory illness symptoms (even if it’s just a cold), or are just feeling under the weather: please stay home and come back the next week! Let’s keep our community healthy! Many attendees, including Saro, the facilitator, are immune-compromised. This space is mask optional, but please wear a mask if you prefer! 

Payment

This choir is a commitment for the full 6-week experience. You are asked to register and pay before attending.
Your payment gives you a spot in choir as well as online access to practice tracks for all songs. 

Cost for the season: Sliding Scale $135 – $240
**The cost for the season is $135, but folks who feel resourced are encouraged to pay more.** 

When possible, please pay via Venmo (Saro-Lynch-Thomason), Paypal (blairpathways@gmail.com), or check/cash (checks can be made out to Sara Lynch-Thomason and addressed to P.O. Box 728, Marshall, NC 28753).

Refund policy: A 75% refund will be available up to the end of the first week of choir, after which no refunds will be issued. 

A few scholarships are available for BIPOC folks- please inquire at sarosingssongs@gmail.com

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Choir Ideology

We honor and recognize the layered legacy of each song, and take time to thank the carriers of the song, as well as the song itself, after singing it.

In the spirit of animacy, we recognize songs as living beings and we also celebrate the peoples and cultures that brought these songs into the world.

This is a space that is affirming of nonbinary, gender expansive and other trans identities.

I am aware that in the last 100+ years, neopaganism has had a strong emphasis on recognizing deities in the binary form of the god and goddess, and that some pagan spaces have also become trans-exclusionary. I teach from a polytheistic perspective that recognizes (as historical peoples often did) many deities and spirits of many genders and sexual expressions. We are as diverse as the animate forces themselves- all are welcome here!

Historical practices deserve to be seen in all of their nuance and complexity.

Most of us have complex lineages, with some ancestral practices worth repeating and others worth examining or discarding. We do not benefit from blanket romanticization of past cultures, but rather from carrying forward the pieces that we find beautiful. My approach to our songs is scholarly and spiritual, and I aim to present what we learn with honesty towards past people’s beliefs.

Connecting to European ancestral folkways can help to foster a sense of place and belonging, and encourage racial equity.

Connecting to European ancestral folkways can help to heal the wounds caused by white supremacy culture that have purposefully shut out a sense of belonging to culture and place. In other words, recognizing the animacy in all of our lineages can help us connect more strongly to the living lands that we currently inhabit and help us approach all cultures with more appreciation and less appropriation. 

I also acknowledge that our choir takes place on the Native lands of the Eastern Cherokee, or ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ  “Tsalaguwetiyi”, near ᏙᎩᏯᏍᏗ, or “Togiyasdi” now known as Asheville, NC. In our choir, when invoking sacred space, we name that we are surrounded by the many Native spirits of place who guard and caretake these lands.

FAQ

How can I come prepared for Pagan Choir sessions?

Please bring a water bottle and wear loose-fitting, comfy clothing for our sessions. Having a layer on hand is important- we need to be warm enough in order to let our bodies be open and easeful with singing. Please avoid eating big meals ahead of time- we will be breathing into our diaphragms and doing this on a full stomach can feel uncomfortable! Also, please bring a sense of play! We can sometimes feel that spiritual spaces need to be somber- but this is a place where we can bring fun and humor alongside grace and reverence.

What if I think I don’t have a nice voice?

All of us are meant to feel the joy that happens when we vibrate our bodies together- and all of us had ancestors who knew this to be true. For me, singing is first and foremost about community and expression of the divine: all voices are welcome here, even if you’ve been told in the past that you “can’t sing” or “don’t have a good voice.” In choir, we will start every session with vocal warmups that will limber and open our voices. And as we sing our songs, we will learn to listen more closely to those around us, to feel how tone and rhythm is expressed through vibration, helping us tune into pitch and melody.

Will we receive sheet music for the songs?

In general, we will not be using sheet music for the songs we sing. We will, however, have lyrics for many of our songs. More importantly, all lyrics and practice tracks to each song we learn will be accessible online!

Does this choir perform?

Currently, there are no plans for the choir to perform in front of an audience. However, we may plan an additional public, participatory event so that friends and family can learn and enjoy some of the songs of our season. 

Can I bring my child?

It’s such a joy when we can start singing at a young age! Children are welcome in the space as paid, full participants. The choir space does need to be one in which participants will not be distracted by folks who are not there to fully participate, so I ask that you not bring non-participating youth or children, unless they are quiet babies-in-arms or if they can self-direct and entertain themselves quietly (or if you don’t have other childcare options- I get it, it’s hard!). There is a side room with a couch adjacent to the yoga studio where youth can spend time. 

Please do talk to me first to make sure the space will be appropriate for your child- either as a full participant or a self-directed guest.

Does this choir follow a particular faith tradition?

No. Pagan choir does not draw from a particular pagan discipline, nor is it a mystery school or coven. We do use the Wheel of the Year (a modern pagan calendar) as an entry point to explore various pagan holidays, and many of our songs will have a general focus on the North Atlantic Islands (England, Ireland, Scotland). Our approach is respectful but eclectic, so expect anything from modern songs about nettles and waterways to Anglo-Saxon charms and Gaelic-inspired invocations. 

How does the choir address cultural appropriation?

I am a diasporic person of many lineages, as many attendees of our choir will be. When we come from diaspora, we are faced with the challenge of learning how to respectfully reengage with cultural traditions that have been lost to us. The spiritual traditions from which our songs originate are open- they are meant for everyone. I take the time to learn from respected and authentic resources concerning the folkways from which our songs are sourced, and regularly consult with Irish and Scottish researchers and singers when learning and adapting repertoire.

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