House Blessing

Pirate Jenny

Assemble:

1. Salt & Water
2. Incense (fire and air)
3. Milk & Honey
4. Oil (for anointing)
5. Wine (for offering)
6. Bells, Pots, Pans, Whistles, etc.

Cast a circle in the main room (livingroom) and after casting, visualize the circle expanding to include the entire house. Call upon the spirits and energies living in the house (or apartment). Invite those who will be harmonious with the new household and its energies to remain. Invite/ask those who will be happier elsewhere to depart. Release all "energies" not compatible with the new household. (This may be expressed as a "release" in order to unbind anything that may be stuck.)

Then call upon, greet, and invite ancestors, patron deities, and all harmonious spirits and energies to dwell in the house as they please.

Gather up the pots, pans, and all the noise-makers. Go to each door and window, not forgetting the fire-place and dog-door, making as much racket as humanly possible-to shoo out anything unwanted. (This is hysterical fun, and also raises lots of energy for the next important step.) Go again throughout the house and at each portal (door, window, etc.) sprinkle salt-water and cense, saying: "By the Elements I purify and charge this portal." Then anoint the portal with milk and honey, saying: "By Milk and Honey I ensure prosperity and peace within this place." Finally, anoint the portal with oil, saying: "With Oil I seal this portal and protect all within." At the front door a special prayer is said, asking the guardian deities (God & Goddess) to freely grant entry to all friends and loved ones, and to prevent passage (turn aside) to any who would do harm." Then, if it's a house-pour wine across the width of the threshold; if it's an apartment anoint the threshold with light touches of wine.

The house-holders then each take a sip of wine, leaving some as an offering to the Gods, and the Circle should be closed. The remaining wine, milk, and honey should be offered to the Gods. (In our case to the fruit tree and the oak tree in our yard.)

Addenda: This is very effective if done as part of a house-warming party, followed by much feasting. It has also been done very effectively by two people. It only takes about 30 minutes to do a large house. You can take the time.

Do make certain to "ground" afterward, by closing the circle and by eating. This ritual can "stir" up everybody and make the house feel full of "buzzy" energy.

House Blessing Notes

In the spirit of house blessings, and because I'm basically a kitchen witch at heart, and like little projects over serious ritual, I offer some selections gleaned from Cunningham's The Magical Household. I'm typing these without permission but with the hope that they'll inspire you to pick up the Cunningham book, because it's wonderful stuff...:>

For the doorway:

• Suspend over the door a fresh sprig of dill, tied with a blue cord (or red, if you prefer), to prevent those who mean you harm from entering.
• Cross two needles, and stick into or tie onto a corner of your doormat, to prevent evil from entering.
• Grind Dragon's Blood herb into a powder and sprinkle it on door and window sills, to protect your house from harm.

"Witch Bottles"

• Powder some more Dragon's Blood herb with a small quantity of sugar and salt, and place in a small corked or screw-lidded bottle. Shake and seal with red wax, then place it where it won't be found (or at least not easily seen). This will ensure harmony and peace within the house.
• Place three new needles, three new pins, and three new nails in a glass jar. Fill with salt and shake vigorously nine times. Seal with white wax and place in kitchen cupboard where it will not be seen. This protects your food from contamination.
• Gather rosemary, along with several needles and pins, into a small glass jar with a tight-fitting lid or cork. When full, pour in red wine and shake. Seal with black or red wax, and place in an inconspicuous place in the apartment. If you own your own house, bury this at the furthestmost corner of your property. The book also adds this:

As you're filling the jar, say these words...

"Pins, needles, rosemary, wine,
In this witch's bottle of mine;
Guard against harm and enmity;
This is my will; so Mote it Be!"

Personally, I'm not hip on anything but, "Hey, Gods? It's me again", but I know, I'm CONSIDERABLY less formal than most!

An Anti-Theft Sachet

Mix caraway, rosemary, juniper berries, and elder leaves or mistletoe, and place into white square of cloth. Tie with white yarn and hang prominently. I'd assume either at the place you think thieves are most likely to enter-this being an anti-theft sachet-or at every entrance and doorway. This will require more cloth and more herbs, but most of the above are fairly inexpensive.

Finally, on Moving Day itself:

Bring two things into the house first: a small amount of salt, half to be scattered upon crossing the threshold, and a small loaf of bread. Break the bread into as many pieces as you have people moving in, with one extra piece for the gods' portion. Sprinkle a dash of salt on each piece; share, when you have a moment. (I'd say have water on hand as well-at the very least, to clear the salt!) Next, bring in an apple and do the same thing-Cunningham recommends a fruit and cheese basket-I'd stick with just the apple and maybe a few slices of cheddar, or something. Lastly, bring in a sturdy chair and place it either near the apple and bread bits, or facing the door. This ensures that you will never know poverty, for there is bread and salt, hunger, for there is fruit (and cheese), and instability (for there's your stable chair guarding the door. After that, heave and lift until you're moved in!

A Note: I think ritual is very important, and I do admire rituals I've picked up here and those I've found on my own. In the long run, though, I know myself well enough to think that if I have to wait for a certain day and have a certain robe on, or need a special tool or altar lay-out, it'll never happen. But I can put my hands on needles, pins, wine and spices at virtually any time, and can easily make up witch's bottles for the shelves and cupboards, sachets for the windows, and incenses for household protection and cleansing. These simple items can have just as much power as just about any major ritual, and are sometimes easier to "whip up" for the busy pagan...:>

Cleansing Incense

• 2 parts Dragon's Blood
• 1 part Valerian Root
• 1 part Sulfur
• 1 part Asafetida

In conjunction with any banishing ritual this WILL remove ANY psychic or magical impression from your home. Then you can start fresh filling it with the energies you want. It may sound strange but it works! (Though it WILL GAG a Maggot!)