A hedge witch鈥檚 home supports them spiritually and in life. And you can have a magical household of your own! If you care for it and fill it with the right intentions, it will care for you back. For example:
- Your bedroom will be the calm respite you need from the world.
- Your dining room will fill your friends with the warmth of your hospitality.
- Your bathroom will be truly cleansing.
- And your home office will be an energetic source of abundance and creativity
In this book, hear the stories of hearth goddesses from Hestia to Brigid. Learn about crystals that match the energies you鈥檙e looking for. Journal to set your intentions for each room of your house. Cast a protection salts spell on your threshold, make a spell jar in the kitchen, bless your office for prosperity, and more!
A hedge witch鈥檚 home supports them spiritually and in life. And you can have a magical household of your own! If you care for it and fill it with the right intentions, it will care for you back. For example:
- Your bedroom will be the calm respite you need from the world.
- Your dining room will fill your friends with the warmth of your hospitality.
- Your bathroom will be truly cleansing.
- And your home office will be an energetic source of abundance and creativity
In this book, hear the stories of hearth goddesses from Hestia to Brigid. Learn about crystals that match the energies you鈥檙e looking for. Journal to set your intentions for each room of your house. Cast a protection salts spell on your threshold, make a spell jar in the kitchen, bless your office for prosperity, and more!
The threshold is one of the most spiritually significant parts of your home. Out in the world, you can鈥檛 control what you come across. Negative and positive energy, people who need you or want you, and worldly obligations come your way.
Inside your home, though, you have more control. You have some control over what energies, ideas, people, and obligations come across your threshold鈥攜our spiritual and literal barrier to the outside world.
The spells in this chapter, therefore, have dual purposes. First, they are protective. This is your safe space, your home. You should feel comfortable and secure inside. Your comfort and security are important considerations as you do healing, growth, and magick.
We will focus on helping your home become a protected, sacred space. Within your walls, you will be able to learn and grow and bloom in peace and support. Then you can take your gifts to the world.
We will also focus on what鈥攚ho鈥攜ou choose to invite in. The threshold signifies welcome to the lucky guests whom you invite across it. While they stay, your guests will feel part of your home and community. You will create joy and community together. The moment you welcome them into your home is the beginning.
It鈥檚 a balance. You can be like Rapunzel in her tower, so protected she eventually has to break out. With boundaries that are too firm, you can miss out on the community and relationships that will serve your highest good. Sure, negative energy will stay out too, but eventually you will be stifled. Don鈥檛 be afraid to invite in the energy and people you want and need.
On the other hand, too permissive a threshold can lead to problems too, such as a house guest overstaying their reluctant welcome鈥攜ou know who we鈥檙e talking about. Even a dinner guest you normally love might come in bearing too much frustrated energy.
Now, take care of your loved ones when they need you, of course. Life is full of ups and downs, and your guests won鈥檛 always arrive with just the ups. But truly caring for someone when they need you, even if it鈥檚 just with tea and a listening ear, is a holy act. Help your friends through their downs.
But if your friend just had a bad day at work? With the right protections, you can help them vent and let go. And you won鈥檛 have to spend the next two days energetically cleaning your entire house.
Threshold Essentials
For each room or area discussed in this book, the first step is to think about how the space supports you and your life goals. Are the things you need where you need them? Does the space accommodate what you want to do in it? Then we think about how you can support your room (and your goals) in return.
The practicalities vary depending on your life and your goals, so we won鈥檛 get too detailed in every chapter. But let鈥檚 practice on the threshold! Here goes.
Your entryway is not only a metaphorical boundary, it鈥檚 a physical boundary. Let鈥檚 think about what you will literally be leaving at the door, and what other practical considerations you may want to think about for your entrance.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Hooks. If you have a coat closet, that鈥檚 wonderful. If you have the space to place an armoire for coats, that鈥檚 wonderful too. The rest of us will have to make do with a hat stand or a row of hooks for our coats, scarves, handbags, dog leash, and shopping bags.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Baskets. Come up with some storage options for the items that don鈥檛 hang easily.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽A shoe rack. Taking your shoes off when you enter the house keeps dirt and germs from getting tracked all over. Even if this is not your household鈥檚 rule, you will certainly want to use it on rainy or snowy days. Think about shoe storage that fits your needs.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Somewhere to sit. If you do take your shoes off on your way in, it might be nice to have a bench or chair if you have the space.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Umbrella stand. It may seem old-fashioned, but your umbrella (or walking stick) will be right there when you need it.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽A mirror. When you鈥檙e running out the door, it鈥檚 nice to be able to quickly check your appearance in a mirror.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Inbox. This is tricky. It can be helpful to have a container or small table near the door for your incoming and outgoing mail and suchlike; it keeps the rest of your house from becoming covered with small piles of paper. The trick is not to let anything stay in it for long.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Trash can. A small trash can also helps keep clutter from making it into the house.
What else do you leave at the door? Carefully select what needs a home at the entryway and what needs to live somewhere else. Try not to let your entrance get too cluttered or overwhelming; after all, it鈥檚 the first thing you see when you walk in the door, and it should welcome you home with calm.
Circe: Goddess-Witch of Aeaea
You may have met an ancient Greek witch named Circe if you have ever read The Odyssey. The Odyssey, an epic poem attributed to Homer, is the story of the hero Odysseus鈥檚 journey home from the Trojan War. Unfortunately, because Odysseus has angered the god of the sea, Poseidon, his journey back home takes ten years鈥攓uite a bit longer than it should.
During their travels, Odysseus and his crew land on the island of Aeaea. Odysseus stays with the ship while the others disembark. When they do, they discover a forested island with docile animals and a trail leading to a mansion. There they find someone surprising: Circe sits outside, singing and weaving on a loom.
Let鈥檚 pause to consider the loom she works on. A woman with a loom creates art, or she creates something practical, or she creates something beautiful. Or, sometimes, she creates something magickal.
Throughout mythology, we meet powerful women who are known for spinning and weaving. The Roman Fates and the Norse Norns are each three sisters who rule the fate of men with their twining and cutting of threads. The Greek goddess Athena and the mortal Arachne compete with their looms, telling stories of the gods in the detailed images they create. Is it any wonder that by the Middle Ages, European fairy tales associate witches with looms? Just think of the power in the spindle that pricks Aurora鈥檚 finger and transforms her into Sleeping Beauty. Or look at the folklore tradition of knot magic that survives even to today; with it, intentions are set and spells are worked by the act of tying knots. There鈥檚 something about weaving threads that has power in it.
Despite the loom foreshadowing power, all that Odysseus鈥檚 boorish sailors see is a beautiful woman all by herself. They don鈥檛 see a threat. And Circe could not be more welcoming! She offers them wine and a banquet of their favorite foods, and all but one of them sit down to feast.
The last man suspects something might be wrong and runs to warn Odysseus. Apparently, Circe regularly uses one of her potions to turn wayward sailors into animals. This is especially true when boorish sailors realize she appears to be a wealthy woman alone on an island, putting her in a vulnerable situation. She is welcoming, but she is not unprotected.
And indeed, when Odysseus makes it up the lovely, forested path to the house, his sailors have been turned into pigs and goats. Odysseus confronts Circe. She is intrigued by his audacity, so she invites him to bed for the night. Conveniently forgetting that he鈥檚 married, Odysseus accepts on the condition that his sailors be turned human again and that Circe plot no more against them. She agrees.
One night turns into a year, and Odysseus鈥檚 sailors point out to him that they might like to go home someday. So he gathers his courage and broaches the subject with Circe. Now, classical Greek mythology is full of lovestruck women and jealous women, and Circe even has a reputation for falling in love too easily and too hard. (She once turned a king who rejected her into a woodpecker. That kind of rumor gets around.) But not only does she let him go, she helps him.
Circe tells Odysseus that to get home, he must go to the Underworld and find out how to appease the gods. That鈥檚 not a typical journey for a mortal! She supplies him with protections and the tools he will need to communicate with the dead. If Odysseus didn鈥檛 realize just how much power his lover was wielding, that must have been a sobering moment.
The Witch of Transformation
In Circe, we find a divine enchantress transforming men into beasts and advising mortals on getting into and out of the Underworld. That involves a lot of power.
And that power is actually how Circe ended up on Aeaea in the first place. The Olympians are not notoriously keen on witches. Zeus was afraid of the power that Circe might wield, so he banished her to a faraway island. After that, he tried not to think about her. It wasn鈥檛 the best plan, but you don鈥檛 want to anger a witch.
At her most powerful, Circe goes so far as to change a mortal into an immortal鈥攕omething that usually doesn鈥檛 happen. Once the Fates have decided how long a person is to live, that decree is usually sacrosanct. The Olympians don鈥檛 interfere with it. But Circe can and does.
Ultimately, maybe it鈥檚 the power of transformation that makes Circe so intriguing. What can possibly frighten a powerful god like Zeus . . . perhaps the idea that he might be transformed into something else, something not quite so powerful, maybe even mortal? If Circe can turn a mortal into an immortal, what can she do to a god?
Welcome & Protection
Circe鈥檚 island is fertile, beautiful, and full of every comfort she needs. It can be a restorative resting spot for storm-tossed sailors in desperate need. She is the ultimate hostess, welcoming friends and strangers with emotional and physical sustenance. They find joy and comfort in her halls as well鈥攕o much so that it鈥檚 easy for a night鈥檚 refuge on her island to turn into a year.
But that welcome goes hand in hand with protecting herself. No one harms Circe on her own island. Her defenses, from the protections around her borders to her reputation with the Olympians, are healthy and strong. She protects herself first, which means she can extend herself to helping others and welcoming others from a place of confidence and strength.
Journal Your Entryway
Make yourself a comfortable place to sit in view of your entryway. Clear some space in your schedule and make yourself a cup of tea. Set the scene in a way that makes you calm鈥攑erhaps soothing music or a lit candle. Then respond to the following prompts in your journal.
Your entryway now:
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How do you feel when you see your entrance from the outside when you return home after a long time away? When you return home from running errands or after work?
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽What do you see, feel, hear, and smell when you first come into your house?
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How does the entrance to your home, both outside and inside, support you as you arrive home?
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How do you feel as you prepare to leave your home and accomplish your day in the outside world? As you prepare to leave for a couple days or more?
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽What do you see, feel, hear, and smell when you step outside?
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How does the entrance to your home, both inside and outside, support you as you prepare to leave your home and accomplish your day in the outside world?
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Imagine that you are a friend coming to visit you. What do the outside and inside of your entryway say? How would your friend feel on their arrival?
Your ideal entryway:
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How would you like to feel upon arriving home? Close your eyes and visualize yourself walking up to your home, opening the door, and entering. What would you like to see, feel, hear, and smell?
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How would you to like feel as you prepare to leave home? Close your eyes and visualize yourself walking to your door, preparing to leave, opening the door, and exiting. What would you like to see, feel, hear, and smell?
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How would you like the entrance to your home, both outside and inside, to support you as you arrive home? This can be practically, emotionally, or in any other way.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How would you like the entrance to your home, both inside and outside, to support you as you prepare to leave your home and accomplish your day in the outside world? This can be practically, emotionally, or in any other way.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How would you like your friends to feel when they step inside? Close your eyes and visualize coming into your home through someone else鈥檚 eyes.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How would you like the entryway to your home to offer protection?
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How would you like your entryway to offer welcome?
Your steps forward:
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽What are the practical ways you can make your entryway closer to your ideal?
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Consider the emotions and intentions you want to feel, or you want guests to feel, walking across your doorstop. What symbolizes those things to you? It could be a color, a scent, a physical symbol, or an earth element like a feather or flower.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽How can you incorporate the symbols that are meaningful to you into your entryway, both inside and outside?
Selenite: Peace & Light
Selenite serves the threshold鈥檚 double purpose of protection and welcome with its calm nature. It鈥檚 known for aiding mental clarity and peace鈥攖he breath of relief and relaxation you may be looking for when you walk in the door of your home. Place a selenite stone near your entryway to promote a peaceful atmosphere for yourself and guests.
It can also form a cleansing barrier against negativity, especially negative beliefs about yourself. Hang a small piece of selenite above each upper corner of the inside of your front door. On your way through the door, imagine the crystals connecting to form a curtain of white light that clears your mind and burns off any unhelpful negative thoughts about yourself. Then go forth into the world with confidence or further into your home with clear peace.
The selenite on your doorframe will also guard your home against negative outside influences. It鈥檚 a powerful protective and emotionally stabilizing stone. It prohibits malicious intent and ideas from coming further into your safe, calm home, where they are not wanted.
Selenite is a variety of the mineral gypsum. It is very soft (a 2 on the Mohs scale) and is found all over the world. It has a long history of captivating people with its luster; the ancient Egyptians decorated with gypsum, and the ancient Greeks loved selenite for its shine. The selenite variety of gypsum was named in 1747 after the Greek goddess Selene, goddess of the moon (and Circe鈥檚 aunt). You can easily imagine the moon鈥檚 calm light when you look at a piece of selenite.
Selenite is known for being white to colorless, even translucent depending on the thickness, with some ribbing, and it comes in all sizes. But in addition to white, it also comes in a few other colors, which have their own additional metaphysical qualities.
Angel鈥檚 wing selenite: Potent emotional stabilizer, in addition to connecting with angelic energy. It can defuse tension and bring calm.
Blue selenite: Used in meditation, it helps to quiet and focus the mind for a session.
Desert rose selenite: Helps identify and replace longstanding negative self-talk and negative beliefs about the self.
Green selenite: Brings one good feelings about oneself and helps to focus on a higher good.
Orange-brown selenite: Helps one connect with earth energy.
Note: Selenite can dissolve if it gets wet, so be careful when placing it and using it. It can also lose some of its luster if it鈥檚 exposed to prolonged sunlight, so place it accordingly. Dust it with a soft cloth and let it sit on a windowsill in moonlight to cleanse it; don鈥檛 use water. If you have any selenite jewelry, make sure to store it carefully in a fabric-lined case where it cannot be jostled against other jewelry; it is soft enough to scratch. Keep that in mind when wearing it, too.
Spells & Recipes for Your Entryway
Use any of the following spells and recipes on their own or combined with your personal spiritual practices.
Protection Salts
This simple but effective spell can help protect your home from negativity.
You will need:
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽White candle
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Stick of incense
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Mortar and pestle
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Black salt for protection (or substitute white sea salt)
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Fresh or dried rosemary for protection
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Bay leaf for protection
Use your preferred method for preparing for spellwork. Or: Take a few deep breaths and center yourself. When your energy is calm, continue to concentrate on your breathing, feeling your power rise. Light a white candle. Light a stick of incense of your choice and slowly draw a circle around yourself and your working space.
Meditate on the idea of protection for several moments. Think about your intention for your home and those who enter it to be protected, and what that means to you.
Hold your mortar and pestle in your hands, imbuing it with your vision. Add a pinch of salt, a few rosemary leaves, and a bay leaf to the mortar. While you grind them, concentrate on your intention to protect your home. Imagine a white ball of light slowly growing from the mixture to encompass your home.
When you are ready, thank the universe for assisting you. Spin slowly in the opposite direction of the incense and blow out the candle. Carefully sprinkle a line of salt across your threshold.
Entryway Hanging Sachet
This charm pairs protection with welcome, in the dual spirit of Circe.
You will need:
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽White candle
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Stick of incense
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Small white bag for dispelling negativity
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Black salt for protection (or substitute white sea salt)
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Selenite
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Sunflower seeds for welcome
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Fresh or dried rosemary for protection
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Rose essential oil for peace, gentleness, and protection
Use your preferred method for preparing for spellwork. Or: Take a few deep breaths and center yourself. When your energy is calm, continue to concentrate on your breathing, feeling your power rise. Light a white candle. Light a stick of incense of your choice and slowly draw a circle around yourself and your working space.
Meditate on the idea of welcome and protection for several moments. Think about your intention for your home and those who enter it to be welcomed and protected, and what that means to you.
Hold the small white bag in your hands, imbuing it with your vision. Add a pinch of salt, a selenite, a few sunflower seeds, a few rosemary leaves, and a couple drops of rose essential oil to the bag. Close the bag and hold it while you concentrate on your intention to protect your home and to welcome your loved ones.
When you are ready, thank the universe for assisting you. Spin slowly in the opposite direction of the incense and blow out the candle. Hang the bag above your front door.
Threshold Plant
Plants are a hedge witch鈥檚 friends, so use your intuition to choose the right one for your home. You will need an indoor or outdoor location for it in view of your door. A peace lily represents calmness and luck, sunflowers mean welcome, aloe means protection, and roses can symbolize both protection and happiness.
You will need:
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽White candle
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Stick of incense
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Plant of your choice
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Rose essential oil for peace, gentleness, and protection
Use your preferred method for preparing for spellwork. Or: Take a few deep breaths and center yourself. When your energy is calm, continue to concentrate on your breathing, feeling your power rise. Light a white candle. Light a stick of incense of your choice and slowly draw a circle around yourself and your working space.
Meditate on the idea of protection and/or welcome for several moments. Think about your intention for your home and those who enter it to be protected and/or welcomed, and what that means to you.
Hold the plant in your hands, imbuing it with your vision. Carefully spread a drop or two of rose essential oil around the rim of the pot (or nearby the plant, if it is planted in the ground). Focus on the plant while you concentrate on your intention to protect your home and to welcome your loved ones.
When you are ready, thank the universe for assisting you. Spin slowly in the opposite direction of the incense and blow out the candle. Plant the plant outside or arrange it indoors in view of the door.
Doorway Guardian
This is a protection charm for your home, and for it you will need someone special: a guardian. Find a small (or large, if you want to make a statement!) decorative statue that will stand up to the elements if it lives outdoors. Find something that means protection to you, whether it is a goddess, a cat or dog, a dragon, a knight, or the like.
You will need:
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽White candle
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Stick of incense
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Guardian statue of your choice
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Salt for protection
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Selenite (multiple stones, if you have them)
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Clary sage essential oil
Use your preferred method for preparing for spellwork. Or: Take a few deep breaths and center yourself. When your energy is calm, continue to concentrate on your breathing, feeling your power rise. Light a white candle. Light a stick of incense of your choice and slowly draw a circle around yourself and your working space.
Meditate on the idea of protection for several moments. Think about your intention for your home and those who enter it to be protected, and what that means to you.
Hold the guardian in your hands, imbuing it with your vision. Set it in your workspace and use salt and selenite to make a circle around it. Carefully anoint it with essential oil. Concentrate on your intention to protect your home and to welcome your loved ones.
When you are ready, thank the universe for assisting you. Spin slowly in the opposite direction of the incense and blow out the candle. Find the guardian a place where it can guard you and your home.
Contrary to what the title The Hedge Witch's Hearth: Crafting and Nourishing Your Magickal Home conjures in your mind, spellwork and ritual isn't the overwhelming focus of this book, which makes the novice witch or curious reader the perfect audience. Instead of rigorous demanding recipes, there's a mix of interesting and unexpected information on goddesses known for each area of the home, crystals to amplify the energy you're wanting, and journal prompts to get you thinking about your individual spaces/rooms. The best part is that each chapter continues the hedge witch journey without allowing things to get stale or repetitive.聽
It's easy for this type of book to follow a pattern of recommending spells, oils, or rituals requiring materials not easily found at home. The Hedge Witch's Hearth breaks the mold by providing ways of incorporating easily found materials, affirmations, blessings, and your own personal preferences for spellwork. This makes the process attainable and relatable, encouraging a little bit of magick for everyone.聽
This book provides practical tips and ways to increase your knowledge of hedge witchery while increasing your confidence while reading it. You are encouraged to follow your intuition and put together spaces and spells that make you comfortable. The guidance is laid out in a straightforward way that ensures the reader is not intimidated by the topic or ritual.
It's too easy for people to get in their heads when it comes to magick. The faith required to see eventual results leaves many discouraged, frustrated, and sometimes confused. This book enforces the idea that it is all possible by enriching and caring for the space around you.聽You have the power to make your home a safe space. Do what feels right and makes you feel happy with your environment. For me, a selenite wand and peace lily were the perfect additions to my foyer.