The Magic of Chant-O-Matics
I bought Chant-o-Matics because I have an interest in chanting and chanting for healing. While it has basic information about the timing, ritual, and color of some of the chants, I found it limited in scope.
It is well organized with categories and related songs presented together. She was very happy to find an index in the back. Something that many books of this nature lack, but which I find essential.
I found the examples a bit like a Roncomatic infomercial: “Forget weeks of preparation. Forget months of study. Forget days of ritual. You can get through anything from nail biting to cigarette smoking.” Or, “How Deirdre C.’s marriage-saving chant turned impending disaster into a second honeymoon. Within 24 hours of Deirdre chanting, Chris was completely changed.” While I believe in singing to effect change, the examples seem too far-fetched to impress me.
Many of these songs are written in an unknown language. I was able to do an internet search for one of them Lo Spirito Palo. I found out what the spirit of the forest meant. I’m not sure why it’s listed as a longevity chant and promoted as a make you look young chant, but at least now I know what that chant means. I tried it out to see what results I could get and felt a slight change in energy. Whether that was simply because of the chant, as the energy will change, or this specific chant, I cannot say. Personally, I would never sing words that I couldn’t verify. If you’re so inclined to use those chants, there’s no pronunciation guide.
Here is a chant to stop overeating. Pcobuvel nashvalyipen, Pcobuvel nashvalyipe. Good luck with that! I couldn’t find any of those words. This is listed as stopping the fever:
ima trava or okolo, ima trava or okolo, ima trava or okolo. The meaning of this chant is “there is grass around”, but
I have no idea how to pronounce it. A chant to bring full recovery:
Sarei always standard; Sarei always standard; Sarei semper il padrone This one is in Italian, and maybe it makes some sense, translated it says “you will always be the boss”. I guess it takes your power back from what ails you.
Chant-O-Matics ends with more background information on rhythm, rhyme, and the power of the spoken word. While this book was not what I expected, it is still a tool to help you change your life through singing.
