The Pagan Experience: "House Cleansing"

Wk 4 - Apr. 29 – Any writing for the letters G or H -I am keeping this familiar format on week 4 for those who have joined me from the Pagan Blog Project.

Be sure to check out my previous post on the importance of cleanliness!

Here is the House/Property Cleansing ritual that I use.  It is thorough and a bit long (if you have a big house and/or a big property) but it has proven to be most effective.

Anoint yourself with holy water and/or protection oil before you begin.  You can also wear hematite or obsidian, or something protective like a holy symbol or amulet.

Start in the center of the home.  State your intention to cleanse your space, such as “We are here to cleanse this home and property and anything within this space. This space will be cleansed of anything baneful, harmful, negative, or evil.  Anything baneful, harmful, negative, or evil will be banished from this person’s home and from this space. As I will it, so mote it be!”

Going counterclockwise, sprinkle salt, burn sage, sprinkle holy water or khernips, bang loud drums or bells or pots and pans, or spray Florida water diluted with pure water.   Do this around the home going counterclockwise.  Get every single nook and cranny.  Be certain go get every corner, closet, doorway, mirror, window, etc. Say “out out out out out” while you do it.  Do this until you’ve gone in every nook and cranny around the house, paying special attention to any type of entrance or exit.  Go counterclockwise until you’ve gone back to where you started.

Repeat the above outside.  Pay attention to outside windows, doors, ditches, trees, dark areas, etc. Do it especially at the driveway and the fence-line of the property, going counterclockwise.  Do this in both the front and backyard.

Once back inside, state your intention:  “This house is cleansed. This space is cleansed. Nothing baneful, harmful, negative or evil is in this home or on this property.” Or say something similar.

Next, after you have cleansed the space, bless the space. Start at the center of your home and with sage, holy water, bells, protection oil, holy items, or religious statues go clockwise. Repeat what you did above. Get every single nook and cranny and corner. Pay attention to entrances and exits.  Anoint the oil or holy water on every doorway, mirror, closet, window, etc. Say or think or chant “bless bless bless bless” or something similar.  Do this both inside and out, front yard and back yard.

http://www.luckymojo.com

Set up a barrier at the corners of the property.  I use quartz crystals, but you don’t need it. (It just really amplifies the work you’ve done, and can be re-charged later, too.)  At the corners of the property say: “this is a barrier. None may cross this barrier that is baneful, harmful, negative or evil. Only that which exists for my highest good and the highest good of the occupants in this space may cross this barrier.” Place crystals and state your intentions at every corner of the property.  Place another crystal in the center of the home, and imagine the barriers connecting like a protective grid, going all around, above and below. Do this clockwise.  This is a protection shield and when you are feeling under attack you can recharge it with your mind. About once a year or so you can re-do this whole ritual, or if you need a quick recharge, just repeat the actions or words in your mind as a creative visualization.

Once you are done, declare “this space is cleansed. This space is blessed. Nothing baneful, harmful, negative, or evil may enter this space. As above, so below, SO MOTE IT BE” or something similar.

Take a GOOD LONG shower after. Use sage or eucalyptus or mint in the shower. Cleanse and recharge any amulets or stones you have used. Wash your clothes.

Another thing I like to do after the completion of this ritual is give offerings to my house wights and land spirits.  I like to thank any deities I might have called upon, or spirit allies or ancestors.  I even like to give an offering outside of the barriers to the energies I have banished – “you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.”

How do you spiritually, magically, and energetically cleanse yourself, your space, your home, and your property?  What works for you, and what does not work for you?  Please feel free to share your experiences in the comments!

Don't forget to check out my previous post on cleanliness!

Pagan Blog Project - Week 15 - H#1 – Hestia

http://www.majorolympians.com/hestia01L.jpg

a repost from PBP 2013

Pagan Blog Project - Week 15 - H #2 – Hestia

My house is falling down.

We're renting, thank goodness. But since we moved into this place over five years ago there have been serious foundation problems: backed up plumbing, cracks in the wall and ceiling, damp spots on the floor, dirt in the bathroom...

I've had a strange relationship with this house. At first I was indifferent and uncomfortable. Haven moved from a really great place in Texas, North Carolina was weird and foreign. A friend visited with us a few months later and he said "oh, you have such a cute little witchy house!"

Hmm… maybe.

The indifference continued until a few years ago when I decided I hated this place. I was tired of it and all of its quirks. I wanted to leave, to rent or possibly by a new place. So, we shopped around for houses, looking at prices and financing. It was just not possible. Moving to another rental was also not really a good idea, either.

I'm not sure what happened first. Was it cocktails with my girlfriend, or my at-the-time Coven's ritual devoted to Hestia? But something changed in both my perception and relationship with my house. Slowly, but surely, it became my home.

As a group we devoted a ritual to Hestia/Vesta. I did a lot of studying on her before the ritual, and included a little lesson for the ritual itself. Though the ritual was focused around creating foci (in this case, a tool of devotional focus), looking back now I realize something else happened, at least for me. I finally bonded with my home. Most of all, I realized my physical space was not the source of my dissatisfaction, but I was depressed about more meaningful areas of my life. Changing my house wouldn't make me happy. I would have the same old problems but in a different box.

I needed to change the focus of my life.

In the center of my crappy little home is a huge fireplace, and while the Coven did rituals together in my living room, the fireplace was a natural center staging area, with the mantle and hearth serving as the perfect altar tables. I had always decorated the mantle with flowers and kitschy holiday decorations. But I found that over the years the mantle was less of a mundane seasonal piece of home decorating, but had become a seasonal shrine. And at some point I had begun using it as an altar, charging items or creating little charms. Over the years, my Pagan tools and paraphernalia weren't just hidden and tucked away, but were slowly migrating into the house and into my mundane life.

It wasn't just this refocus on my hearth that shifted my perception of my home, but the ritual itself and learning about Hestia. One of the ladies in the group was going through transitions in her own life and had suggested we do a ritual and lesson regarding reconnecting to our habitats, and Hestia was a natural choice for this.

Hestia’s domain is within the home. But she’s not just about cooking and cleaning, but about protection and nurturing energy. She’s about keeping our focus, and she’s about making sure our domestic energy translates easily into our public lives, and vice versa. The Vestal Virgins in Rome were priestesses who guarded the hearth and flame (may it burn forever!). Their energy in both a literal and a magical sense were devoted to the protection of Rome as both a micro and macrocosm, and this devotion and attention is a useful reminder to anyone who might be feeling a little scattered, a little discontented, a little out of sorts. In my experience, Hestia’s energy is useful for anyone who is looking for something with which to devote themselves.

After spending some time to Hestia, a shift happened in my life. I began to reconnect with and love my home. There was magic there now, in ways I hadn't realized. (Though to be fair, it's not like magic came out of nowhere. The magic had always been there. I just hadn’t really noticed it yet.) And an added and serendipitous bonus of working with Hestia was starting communication with Hermes, who is Hestia's total bff forever.

Most of all, this moment was a catalyst for meaningful change in my life. I got a promotion at work. I was given a car. I applied for graduate schools and was eventually accepted. I have a room now devoted to my Pagan tools and altar. Now I might even love my little house, even though the molding is coming down and my bathroom wall is rotting out.

Working with Hestia totally and literally change my focus, and that's powerful magic

Signs of Love: Imbolc

(Originally posted on the online religious news magazine, Creedible.) 

Photo by Sonja Bannick

The energy of this time of year is hard to describe. Winter holiday festivities are long past, and it seems like there is nothing to look forward to for the next few months. It’s the end of winter and beginning of spring, but that doesn’t always make sense. Some cities haven’t even gotten cold yet and the bulbs are already popping up, while other places are still buried under many feet of snow with no hope for blooms or sunlight. 
 

Imbolc, celebrated on the second of February, is the ancient Irish holiday that commemorates this in-between time. Originally a festival celebrating ewes’ milk, this was the time of year that pregnant sheep started lactating, which meant it was a good time to make cheese. Most people, though, have never even seen a ewe, let alone any other type of lactating livestock. Although ancient Ireland is worlds away from the contemporary United States, Imbolc still holds important lessons for everyone.

It’s still cold outside, or if it’s not cold, it’s still grey and brown and dreary. Because of the blustery weather, this is a good festival to spend with the family, focusing on hearth and home. It is a good time of year to start working on spring cleaning and to start thinking of the tasks and projects that need to be done once spring is fully here. 

While Yule is a fire festival that is bright and dynamic and exciting, Imbolc, while still a festival of flames, is more quiet and reflective. It’s a good time to sit in front of the fireplace, or in front of a flickering candle, and focus on arts, crafts and other creative projects that you enjoy doing. 

Many of us have no idea how our food gets from the farm to our homes, but Imbolc might be a good time to honor livestock and crops even if we don’t have any of our own. Traditional holiday foods are milk and cheese, so treat your family to something local, organic, free range and delicious. 

Some Catholics may know this holiday as Candlemass, or perhaps St. Brigid’s Day. Brigid is a clear example of an ancient Pagan goddess who was reinterpreted by Christians and given a whole new life and story. Flames and creativity are sacred to Brigid, who may be related to a northern goddess who predicted winter by the length of the shadows. Bright, sunny weather on Candlemass meant she could gather lots of extra firewood for a prolonged winter. 

February for many is still the winter, but the tradition of Groundhog’s Day has its roots in the ancient Pagan world when people would look to nature for omens to see just how long winter would last. Maybe the groundhog isn’t afraid of his shadow on February second, but rather the cold weather the winter goddess promises to bring in February!

Life's So Sweet

 Ever since my last visit to New Mexico in 2012, I’ve had really strong, nostalgic feelings for the desert. That trip was healing for me in a lot of ways, giving me the chance to reconnect with family and friends, to really feel and experience the energy and magic of the landscape, and to really appreciate the land, the culture, and the people in ways I hadn’t been able during my depressing teenage years. That trip home even inspired me to write a short little article for Witches & Pagans magazine for their Element of Fire issue, and I've even begun to honor the desert in my own personal practices.  

You can’t go home again, and I’m glad. I wouldn’t want to. But I do like having home come to me, in little things like Hatch chilies, Kokopelli all over my house, and most of all, with food. Food is so tied to culture and place, and it can be hard to get good southern New Mexican style food in this area. Luckily for me, though, since my sister has been here she has made green chili stew, sopapillas, and bizcochitos. Oh yes.

Bizcochitos are the state cookie of New Mexico, and these little guys date back to the Spanish colonists of the region, hundreds of years ago. They’re made of lard and wine and anise and are really just amazing, and can be very similar to ginger snaps. My sister made them for the 2013 holiday celebrations – Yule, Solstice, Saturnalia, Christmas, New Years, etc. They’re often eaten during the Christmas season, but also popular for baptisms, funerals, and weddings.

What’s great about these little cookies is that they bring with them the magic of place. I’m not in New Mexico, but I can bring New Mexico to me. I may not be the descendant of a Spanish conquistador, but I am New Mexican, and I can share this unique culture with my North Carolina friends and family.

Some people don’t care for anise, but it really is a wonderful herb. Anise is great for the cold holiday months. It brings the properties of youth, protection, and purification. It spreads greater awareness and happiness. These are perfect for the time of the birth/rebirth of the sun/son, for shelter and security during the uncertainty of winter, and for bringing in the New Year. Anise brings with it mindfulness of flavor, of place, of being, and it is tangy and unique and sweet and joyful.

As many know, cooking and baking can be magical acts. My sister was so excited to prepare bizcochitos, and she made them with love and nostalgia, remembering her own experiences back in the desert. She was adorably eager and nervous to share these regional cookies with my friends here in North Carolina, but we figured that even if people didn’t like them, that would just mean more for us.

So even here on the cold and wet east coast, we can enjoy the taste, flavor, and memory of the desert. I was honored that my sister wanted to share these cookies with me, and we were both happy to share them with others as well.

 

Bizcochitos

1 ½ cup lard

1 ½ cup sugar

3 eggs

3 teaspoons anise seed

6 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup sweet white wine (plus ¼ extra if needed)

½ cup sugar + 1 tablespoon sugar

Plus plenty of cinnamon and sugar

Cream together lard and 1 ½ cup sugar. In separate bowl, beat the eggs and wine together. Add the lard and sugar and mix well. In separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry and wet mixture together. Your dough should be slightly sticky. Divide the dough into three large bowls and keep in the fridge overnight. Preheat your oven to 350. Roll the dough into little balls and roll these balls into a cinnamon and sugar mixture. Cook the little balls for 10-15 minutes in the oven. After they are done cooking, roll them again in cinnamon and sugar so you get a double coating. Enjoy!

(My sister doesn’t remember where she got this recipe. It’s written in her journal. But if you own this recipe, let me know and I’ll give you credit! Other recipes and variations can be found all over the internet, and they’re really super easy to make!)

Rock the House

While taking my sister around town, we stopped by one of my favorite places on our way to get coffee. This little, cute, new agey store is right around the corner from the coffee shop I used to manage, and the owner is this super sweet lady who always has the best crystals and gemstones in town. 

Digging through a little bowl of hidden treasures, my sister found little points of smoky citrine. I’d never heard of this gemstone before, and knew right away that I needed to have one to keep on my keyboard. At the advice of a friend many years ago, I’ve been keeping a piece of smoky quartz on my keyboard to boost my writing, creativity, confidence, and to prevent writer’s block. These days I cleanse it on my altar between semesters or when I’m on holiday or break, and keep it up on my keyboard when school is in session or when I’m working on something creative (which is most of the time, to be honest.) I’ve really come to enjoy having a piece of smoky quartz around me. It’s a calm, steady, grounding, and gently enlightening stone, at least in my experience with it over the years.

Citrine has always been one of my favorites. I have a lovely citrine necklace that was gifted to me back when I lived in West Texas. It’s a sterling silver flower with five petals and a large, glowing citrine stone in the middle. Back when I was a Baby Pagan in the Bible Belt of West Texas, I’d wear it rather than wearing a pentacle. (five petals, five points… and isn’t a flower a lot like a star, anyway?) These days I don’t wear it as often as I used to, but I love wearing the citrine when I need something bright, happy, uplifting, and invigorating. A good piece of citrine is so warm and inviting and solar. It has almost buttery quality about it, and I particularly love it during June and December – that is, during the summer and winter solstices.

When we moved into this new home in August I knew I needed to set aside a special place for a household altar, since this new place doesn’t have a mantle like the old house did. And while establishing this new household I also felt strongly drawn to Ganesha, probably due to his ties to family, community, and loyalty (as well as marking new beginnings). So I went to my favorite little new agey store because aside from crystals, she always has great statuary from India. I found the household a little golden Ganesha, and for some reason was drawn to these large, beautiful citrine points. So bright! So happy! So our Golden Ganesha sits on the household altar near our hearth/focus/chimenea, along with a few other stones.

Right now my keyboard smoky quartz and brand new smoky citrine are sitting with Ganesha and getting some good energy before I start my fourth and final semester of graduate school. Ganesha is also helpful in terms of the mind, study, and intellect, and he brings blessings to busy students. (like me!)

I read that many citrine pieces are actually just amethyst or smoky quartz that has been heat-treated to enhance the lovely golden yellow color. So it makes sense that smoky quartz and citrine would work well together and have complimentary qualities. 

In addition to the qualities of smoky quartz and citrine individually, smoky citrine is said to be a stone of transformation, helping with transitions and gaining access to deeper self-knowledge and intuition. It is smooth and gentle and kind. It takes negative and unwanted energy and transforms it into something that can be useful and positive. 

These all sound like great energies to bring into my life, especially when I return to school later in January. But most of all, I’m just excited to have something so lovely to decorate my working space!