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bay witch musings

~ thoughts on parenting, paganism, science, books, witchcraft, nature, feminism, unitarian universalism, herbalism, cooking, conservation, crafting, the state of humanity, and life by the sea

bay witch musings

Tag Archives: home

Front Doors are for Warding

02 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by thalassa in correspondences, household hacks, paganism

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

home, magical intention

Come along for the party and check out the rest of the posts!!

I’ve written a little bit about greener cleaning from time to time, and I’ve talked about blessing and cleansing the home as well, and creating magical surroundings (I especially love the evolution of my favorite all-purpose cleaner that I can follow in my blog posts). But for today’s blog party theme, I thought I’d talk about the correspondences of our homes themselves, and how that carries over into a home-based magical practice.

Now, not every home will have all of these specific locations as rooms, or maybe even at all….or perhaps your family calls it something else, or you don’t use what the room was designed for as its actual purpose.  That is perfectly acceptable, instead of getting hung up on the name of the space or the item, consider the purpose of that place.  When figuring out what to do with it, what one is actually using it for is more important than what it is labeled as on the blueprints!

  • Doors–The door functions as the gatekeeper of your home.  Its purpose is to let in whom we want, and anchor protection for whom we want to keep out of our home.  The front door, in particular, acts as our formal warning or invitation to the world, while the back door acts as a place of retreat or escape, and the gateway to our outdoor sanctuaries (and often the work we need to do there).
  • Entry way/Foyer–The entryway of your home is the welcome mat for you, your family and friends.  Its purpose is to make those that enter feel safe and soothed.
  • Living Room–The living room (or family room, if your home has a more formal living room) is primarily a place for unwinding relaxation and entertainment…but its a bit of a multipurpose space, which can play a number of roles for a family.  Its purpose is to make those that are in the space feel comfortable, relaxed, and engaged with one another.
  • Kitchen & Dining Room/Area–The kitchen’s role is to sustain and nourish the home, and its inhabitants.  It is a place where the mood and the tone for the day to day routine can be set (or reset) for everyone in the home.  This role is contiguous with that of the dining area.  This space is one of communication and communion (which, in the non-religious sense, just means sharing).
  • Study/Office–The study or office space (whether it be a room, or just a corner desk, or the occasional overtaking of the kitchen table) is the place for the business of those in the home.  In a home with children, that business might be school work, for an adult it might be paying the bills and sending e-mails to the family.
  • Bedrooms–The bedroom is a place of rejuvenating relaxation, healing, and turning in towards our inner selves.  Ideally, it should act as a sanctum of ourselves where we can feel safe and whole.
  • Bathrooms–The bathroom is a place of purification and cleansing.  It is a retreat from the world, and a place where we can be alone in comfort and luxury or reflection and relaxation.
  • Hallways–While an oft forgotten portion of the home, the hallway (if you have one) is a place of connection and separation.  The hallway can be a space that allows us to disengage ourselves from one space and sort of reset our minds as we transit to another area, and another task in the home.
  • Floor–The floor is probably one of the most sacred places in our home–it is the place were we meet and touch the earth.  The floors of our home are what grounds us to the rest of the world, and their textures and colors aren’t just a matter of functionality, but also of  the feeling and the tone of a space.
  • Windows–Windows are for watchful protection–they are the eyes of the home.  They act as both protection and invitation.  Windows can be opened to let in a refreshing breeze, and closed to keep out a winter chill, or they can be covered to keep out prying eyes, and uncovered to allow us to be part of the world.
  • Ceiling–The ceiling (and this includes the airspace between our heads and the ceiling) is a place of expansion.  How much space we perceive exists “up there” (whether that is mathematically accurate or not) can be a reflection of how much space we have mentally and spiritually to expand in to.
  • Porch/Patio/Balcony–These areas of the home act as an extension of the home into the outside, and a space of the home to invite the outside in.  They can be a place of natural rejuvenation and communion with the elements as they appear in nature, and they can be a place of entertainment and communication and play.

When choosing how to decorate our homes as a reflection of ourselves and the business and pleasure we plan to engage in while in our home, the purpose of each space and the mood we want it to impart is an important long-term consideration to maximizing the spiritual potential of our homes. We can match the use of each space to the correspondences for the qualities we desire, and use them to help choose colors, textures, patterns, and objects that will give a greater depth to our experiences in each space.  Most importantly, we can look at our individual homes, and add (or subtract) and rearrange what feelings we think the spaces of our homes should evoke…which means you can take my list and make your own if you you disagree!  The most important thing to remember…

If you sleep on it, make it up
If you wear it, hang it up
If you drop it, pick it up
If you eat out of it, put it in the sink
If you step in it, wipe it off
If you open it, close it
If you empty it, fill it back up
If it rings, answer it
If it howls, feed it
If it cries, love it

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How to get kids (and other picky eaters) to eat their veggies. (via greengeekgirl)

15 Wednesday Jun 2011

Posted by thalassa in family, food, parenting

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

cooking, eating, food, fresh-food, hamburger-helper, health, healthy-eating, home, how-to-get-kids-to-eat, kids, picky-eaters, tips, tricks, vegetable, vegetables

Awesome post!  It totally reminded me of our struggles and successes at getting the whole family to eat better…

One of the things we have done is implement a reward chart for trying new (healthy) foods. Chickadee gets a sticker every time she tries a new food, and she has to try each new food up to 10 separate times (at least a bite) before she doesn’t have to try it (research indicated that it takes at least 10 tries) anymore.

How to get kids (and other picky eaters) to eat their veggies.

It’s a struggle that a lot of people are facing these days:  after having grown up on processed food, we’re finding out that eating stuff from tin cans, brightly-colored boxes, and greasy fast-food sacks is detrimental to our health, along with smoking, drinking, and all manner of other really fun things.  In order to keep ourselves and our families healthy, we’re turning back to fresh foods–including that all-time kid-repellent food, vegetables … Read More

via greengeekgirl

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Home Blessing and Cleansing

16 Sunday Aug 2009

Posted by thalassa in cleaning, magic, pagan

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

blessing, cleansing, home, moving, pagan

A home is built with peace and love,
not with wood or stone;
A home is a place where happiness lives,
and memories are sown.

Ah, moving time. That blessed and glorious time of year for the changing of the apartments that comes with military life…or in this case, the end of military life. After six years of indentured servitude to the United States Navy, I am once again a free agent–well, almost…technically I owe two years to the Individual Ready Reserve and could feasibly be recalled to active duty. But I can wear my nose ring, dye my hair and have funky colored fingernails if I want to, so its all the same to me.

The hubby (escaping from the Navy 3 months prior to myself) and I have moved back to my childhood and family hometown, and into a decent and cheap (which is good since I’m unemployed, and he’s still looking for a job where he won’t be out of work half the time) town home. Being that we are in a somewhat stressful family situation, and that the previous tenants left under somewhat auspicious circumstance (she left him for another guy or some such), called for an unusually (for us) thorough home cleansing and blessing (the house feels much better now).

Touch the lintel and touch the wall,
Nothing but blessings here befall!
Bless the candle that stands by itself,
Bless the book on the mantle shelf,
Bless the pillow for the tired head,
Bless the hearth and the light shed.
Friends who tarry here, let them know
A three fold blessing before they go.
Sleep for weariness – peace for sorrow
Faith in yesterday and tomorrow.
Friends who go from here, let them bear
The blessing of hope, wherever they fare.
Lintel and windows, sill and wall,
Nothing but good, this place befall.

from http://www.neworleansmistic.com/spells/whitespells/houseblessingprayer.htm

As a pragmatist, I believe in doing what works…and in my experience, home cleanings and blessing work. Personally, I recommend that anyone that moves into a new space, particularly if they rent or are moving into a place of high turnover (dorm room, BEQ or barracks, etc), performs a home cleansing and blessing–REGARDLESS of religious preference. This isn’t just a Pagan thing. I also recommend that the home should be re-cleansed and blessed after any major fight, bout of illnesses, etc, and if someone is living in long-term digs (yeah for you homeowners!!) on at least an annual basis (spring cleaning anyone?).

So why bother? Well, pardon the UPG, but bother because it makes the space yours. Home cleansing clears the air–metaphysically, philosophically, whatever mechanism floats the boat. It allows the slate to be wiped clean, while the home blessing allows the blueprint for going forward in the space from that moment on.

May this home be a place of happiness and health, of contentment, generosity and hope, a home of creativity and kindness. May those who visit and those who live here know only blessing and peace.

one variation of the Birkat Habayit

Cleansing the home starts with actually cleaning. Pick up the broom and sweep. Bust out the bucket and the mop, the rags and the spray bottle. Liberally use elbow grease. Visualize your home clean and clear of negativity, anger, impatience, selfishness, arguments, and all those petty moments and feelings that might have accumulated, whether it be from your occupancy of the space, or from prior occupants as you clean. I would recommend natural cleaning products–lavender, lemon, cedar, rosemary, tea tree and peppermint are some of my favorite essential oils for cleaning products and are easily used with good ole Dr. Bonner’s, baking soda and vinegar…however, if you are not familiar or comfortable cleaning with these, use what makes you feel the space is clean (despite my preference for natural cleaning products, I spend enough time in the pool, that for me the smell of bleach is mentally the most divinely cleansing aroma I can think of, so when I feel that I need the big guns, I go for it).

Once your home is physically clean and mentally cleansed (or in conjunction with the physical cleaning and mental cleansing), feel free to banish/remove/purify/etc (choose the terminology/methodology that best suits your beliefs) the house of stagnant, unwelcome energy/feelings/vibes/juju/entities/etc, in a manner that is keeping with your religious preferences and theological opinions. Smudging, ringing of bells or chimes, sprinkling of salt or herbed water are all ways to cleanse and purify the space of negativity or undesirable energies. Personally, I am fond of a good smudging with some sweetgrass (smells better than sage) and a energetic bell ringing (performed by the munchkins–Chickadee and Sharkbait love to make noise).

After the home is clean and cleansed, invite good *whatever* (spirits/energy/juju/etc that you are a fan of) into your home. A house blessing/protection spell, ritual, prayer, whatever–from KISS to big elaborate ritual can be useful in this regard. We generally keep it short and sweet, and tangible. We sharpie under cabinets and window sills, in door jambs and closets and appropriate blessing verse. “Let love and laughter bless those that live here, May peace and passion dwell in their hearts.” in the main rooms, and “May the hearth and heart of the home bring sustenance to the body and soul” in the kitchen. Another favorite, to fill the home with good energy is a house warming party (if you just moved in), or a gathering of your favorite people in general, to fill the home with positive energy (make sure you don’t invite drama-types).

Home Cleansing and Blessing Variations:
Imbolc Cleansing and Blessing
Multi-faith (with hoodoo tendencies) major house cleansing
Hoodoo Home Blessing
Liberal Protestant (United Church of Christ) Home Blessing
Catholic Home Blessing
Uber-Fundie Christian Home Cleansing/Blessing (included because I found it depravedly amusing)
Heathen Landtaking and Leavetaking

New Links Added 9/10/2011

Roman Door Protections
Roman Doorway Blessing
General Pagan Home Blessing Ideas
Home Cleansing and Blessing Ritual

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None is as free as one born on the wave, Born on the wave to the song of the sea; None can be brave until they are free, Free of all, but the call of the sea.

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About me

*Just an FYI: If you are wondering why there's not been a new post recently, new posts have been a bit slowed down by the new job...*

I am a (occasionally doting) wife, a damn proud momma of two adorable and brilliant children, a veteran of the United States Navy, beach addict, (American) Civil War reenactor and Victorian natural history aficionado, lover of steampunk, canoeing fanatic, science professional (and amateur in my preferred field), graduate student, and semi-erratic blogger.

If you have found this blog, you have also figured out that we are a Pagan family.  More aptly, I would describe my theological belief as a pragmatic sort of pantheism with a polytheistic practice and my religion as Unitarian Universalist Pagan.  I practice a bioregional witchery and herbalism (foraging ftw!), mainly working with domestic and elemental magics, and I have a thing for sea deities. For the most part, my blog covers a bit of all of these things, with a bit of randomness tossed in from time to time.

I enjoy playing with my kids, chillin with the hubster, swimming, being nerdy, the great outdoors, NCIS re-runs, chai tea--iced or hot, yoga, trashy romance novels, singing off key, kitchen experiments (of the culinary and non types), surfing the internet and painting.  I also like long walks on the beach and NPR's Science Friday and Neil deGrasse Tyson.  I love to read, sleep in on the weekend, and make the Halloween costumes for my kids every year. I am passionate about watershed ecology and local conservation efforts and vehemently anti-disposable plastics. But most of all...I'm just trying to take extravagant pleasure in the act of being alive.

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