Archive for the ‘Hearth & Home’ Category

Everyone knows that scene in Charlotte’s Web when, Pocahontas like, Charlotte throws herself over the body of a young Wilbur about to the get the axe from her father, thus saving his life.

Since time immemorial children have returned home or woken in the morning to discover the runt pig or calf (or what have you) they had been given to raise has been or must be slaughtered. Then likely served on the family table.

When serial killer Robert Pickton was on trial he told such a story as an attempt to gain sympathy from the jury. Farmers and ranchers watching the news coverage laughed bitterly.

I come from a family with a long history of farmers and hunters, complete with many old world values.

My Dad’s side of the family have been raising cattle probably since white people started raising cattle. The fact that the farm in England where my father and his siblings had been born is now a suburb is a family joke.

My Mother’s family arrived in Canada from Scotland some time around the Highland Clearances (The oldest soldier in Prince Charles Edward’s Army at the Battle of Prestonpans in the ’45 was an 80-year-old Ferguson) but you still see men in kilts at weddings and boys still are given names like Robert and Bruce. Working with animals also runs in this side of the family, many of us breed and show dogs, work in animals rescue, work for veterinarians hospitals, own horse ranches and so forth.

As a child we used the same white nylon rope to tie logs together building rafts on the lake that was used to string up a pig or a deer thus letting the blood drain out prior to butchering. The embedded brown stains in the rope fibre didn’t bother my brothers and I in the slightest. After all, Dad did soak it in a tub of soapy water.

I know what bear tastes like, and moose and elk and bison. I’ve had roast lamb, salted deer, and even rabbit stew.

I have given animals vaccinations, de-worming medicine, changed bandages, removed porcupine quills, cleaned up vomit, sprayed antiseptic on a half wild horse, and helped the vet fill the stomachs of four poisoned dogs with charcoal.

I have jumped into disgusting ditches to pull a drowning animal out of one; I have climbed trees for cats, clambered down mountainsides in the snow to drag a hound by the scruff back up it, I have spent all night sitting on the porch calling a beloved dog home.

I’ve gone to the chicken coop to gather eggs for breakfast, I’ve chased escaped goats, been bitten by horses, had many different kinds of mammals born into my hands, I’ve made the hard decision to put a good but injured animal down.

I have battled Parvovirus, Giaridia, Kennel Cough, infections, and fevers. I have faced cancer, liver failure, and birth defects, stillborn babes, Mange, lice, fleas, broken limbs, abused animals, starved animals and animals torn up by coyotes. I have had animals bleed to death under my hands as I do everything I can to stop it. I have given CPR to a dying animal and tasted death on my lips.

I have fought many battles with death, some I have lost and some I have won.

I have also slaughtered a few and taken a life for my own purposes. Then I give a proper portion back to the land.

I am not a vegetarian. How could I be when hundreds of generations before me relied on the raising of livestock to house and feed themselves?

I have had a pet snake that died of old age be turned into a belt as a gift. I wear real leather clothes. I have bags I store my witchy stuff in that are made of goatskin and deer hide etcetera.

I have buried things and dug them back up again a year or two later. I have bleached bones on the roof of my home.

These things have always been done with an understanding of the Land and with respect and mindfulness.

For this I know:

The reason farm parents make you care for something and then kill it is to teach you to value life and also to understand the power over the other creatures, and the land itself, that we humans wield.

We humans are animals; our bodies and our selves come from this Earth as any other creature.

But we are at the top of the food chain, whether we actually eat other animals or not.

We are the Stewards of the Land. Not in the modern pompous way that thinks we own the Land can do whatever we want, but in that old fashioned, ancient way that we once all knew so well when most of us were farmers, hunters, gatherers.

I learned at a young age that:

If we don’t take proper care of our livestock they get diseases (like Mad Cow) and they die, and then we go hungry.

If we don’t rotate our crops then the land gets sucked dry and the crops will fail and we will go hungry.

If we don’t fish responsibly then we will have disease-ridden fish farms and we will go hungry.

If we tromp around in the woods like we own the place the bears will maul us.

If we pollute the water then we will have nothing to drink and we will die of thirst.

My family has been piss poor farmers likely since before Rome invaded the ancestral lands. My Grandfathers ran farms for landowners, much like their fathers and their fathers.

We do not own the Earth; we are not the Landowners.

We are just running the farm.

“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” ~ Joseph Campbell

Throughout history the hearth has had a special significance in the home. For ancient cultures, the hearth was the center of the home. Nearly every household in history had a hearth, in one form or another, which was particularly respected by each member of the family, but typically cared for and safeguarded by the household matriarch. The fire had greater meaning than merely the source of light and warmth it symbolized the lifeline of the family and its ancestry.

In Modern days, the kitchen is still a focal point of the home, as is the fireplace. Even the fire pit out in the backyard is still a place around which humanity instinctively congregates. Personally, the sound of the furnace “firing up” is very welcome in my home during winter.

Finding the sacred in your home is as easy as stopping for a minute, and thinking about the sources of heat, warmth, comfort, food and togetherness in your home. This may be the ornamental fireplace, the stove, the fire pit outside, even if you lack all these things, there is still someplace in your home where you and any members of the household congregate.

It may seem daunting to select a windowsill in the kitchen, a place on the mantle etc to create a new shrine. It doesn’t have to be. Are not the family photos on the television a kind of shrine? Is not the collection of knickknacks and oddball items on the microwave stand full of sentimental value and fond memories?

Choose one such place in the home and finding a way to signify the importance of the spirit of hearth and home. This spot will be shrine to family, home and the hearth flame. It will be a place to honor household gods and invite helpful household spirits to bring protection to your home.

“To this very day fire is sacred to all Lithuanians. No other phenomenon fits religion so well as fire. Only the flame turns wisdom to the path of spirituality” ~ Vydunas

Lets take a look at what Sacred really IS:

Sacred:

* Dedicated to or set apart for the worship of a deity/In the service or worship of a god

* Worthy of religious veneration

* Made or declared holy

* Dedicated or devoted exclusively to a single use, purpose, or person

* Worthy of respect; venerable/ Regarded with particular reverence or respect.

* Of or relating to religious objects, rites, or practices

* Protected from violation or abuse by custom, law, or feelings of reverence

* Given over exclusively to a single use or purpose

A lot of what is Sacred boils down to perspective. Making the conscious decision to treat your kitchen, fireplace, woodstove etc as something sacred. An electric range or modern stove can have a dual purpose, to provide food and to act as a ritual object in its own right. Even the most modern oven can be home to the ancient hearth flame.

The simple act of placing a candle or lamp in a corner of the kitchen or living room can bring the sacred into that room, if done with the right will and intent.

Take a second look at your kitchen, or around the area of your chosen “hearth”. Sometimes something as simple as painting or wallpapering a border, putting an attractive piece of fabric on a shelf or placing family mementos and pictures of your dog can help to encourage a sense of a sacred and magickal home. Hanging something decorative in the window, or hanging a new picture on the wall may seem like ordinary acts, but that is entirely the point. Hearth craft is all about finding the sacred and magickal in ordinary, everyday acts.

Hearth Craft

“An rud a nitear sa chuil, thig e dh’ionnsaigh an teine” ~ What’s done in the corner will come to the hearth.

“No matter where I serve my guests, it seems they like the kitchen best” ~ A decorative plate that once hung in my Great Grandmother’s kitchen.

In these modern times, in Western society especially, the home of today is centered on the television. The furniture is placed strategically around it; the couch or sofa faces it and the faces of the family are also turned towards it. Often our most prized family photos, trophies, mementos and the like rest on or near it. Surely if archaeologists one day dig up the bones of our civilization, they will think the television was our God.

But before primetime TV and soaps operas took over our lives, before Nintendo and Xbox, the household and everyone in it would gather around the family stove, and before that, the hearth. The hearth was such in integral part of European (and Colonial) culture that there was no separating hearth and home, fireside and family. In fact, the word for “hearth” in Latin is “focus”.

Hearthcraft is working with the magick and spirit of hearth, home, kith and kin. In Hearthcraft the entire house and the land it sits on is sacred space, the home the family’s temple, centered on the hearth. Be that hearth a fireplace, a woodstove or modern electric range. In Hearthcraft, the home is hallowed.

Even cleaning can become a ritual. In fact, life is made up of a series of little routines we go about day by day; hearthcraft is the practise of recognizing the magick in every day routines and traditions. There are many spells involving the use of a mop or broom. Many “cleansings” that Pagan practitioners do, involve literally cleaning the space before doing the spiritual cleansing.

The hearth plays an important part in folklore and the traditions of the family home. A large part of most holidays and festivals throughout history is feasting, as well as lighting the hearth.

Hearthcraft is grounded in commonsense and practicality; it is using what is available to you. A healing spell is a bowl of chicken soup; a purification ritual is sweeping the floor; a ritual to honor the gods is cleaning the fireplace.

Hearthcraft is finding the sacred, the spiritual and the magickal in everyday things. It is bringing that “special something” into a house that makes it a home.

You say that you feel the most connected with the divine and the land when you are working in your garden.
You’re happiest when you are doing things like repotting your geraniums.
But you are frustrated when standing in front of that altar, candles burning and all, while trying to pray because it has no real meaning to you, you just don’t feel it.
So
Why aren’t you praying when you are repotting your geraniums?
Why are there no geraniums on your altar?
Why isn’t your altar in the garden?

~ Juniper

Dancing with the Ancestors

“Some people are your relatives but others are your ancestors, and you choose the ones you want to have as ancestors. You create yourself out of those values.” ~ Ralph Ellison

“Everyone has ancestors and it is only a question of going back far enough to find a good one” ~ Howard Kenneth Nixon

Contacting the ancestors is about a few different things; it is about honouring our beloved dead, it is about being connected with our roots and heritage, and it is about seeking the knowledge and wisdom of those who have gone before.
Also In many cultures, including many ancient European cultures, there was a belief in ancestors who would stay connected to the family, acting as guides, guardians, as well as “go-betweens ” for the family and the otherside. It was believed that if the dead were taken care of, they would in return protect the homestead and its people, and provide for its fertility. Telling the tales of tribal or cultural heroes is also a way to honour the ancestors.

It is believed that all people have ancestral memories that lay deep within our unconscious minds and by contacting our ancestors; we can better connect to these memories. There is also, in many magickal traditions, a belief of a wellspring of knowledge, a reservoir of all that humanity has learned, and that by contacting our ancestors, we can ask them to impart some of that knowledge.

The ancestors we contact with may be family members or friends who have passed over, and it is common to honour their memories, especially around October 31st and on dates special to the family.
While other ancestors may not be relations by blood, but cultural ancestors, or those who have walked a similar spiritual path before you, your spiritual ancestors. From these spiritual ancestors we can glean lost or near-lost lore and practices to help us advance and flesh out our spiritual and magickal practice.

These customs flourished among the Celts, who honoured ancestral spirits as well as legendary heroes. In Brittany it is said that the dead seek warmth from the hearth at night, and a feast is spread for them on All Souls’ eve, or crumbs maybe left for them after a family meal. In Ireland, after a death food is traditionally placed out for the spirits. In some parts of France, milk may be poured out on the grave.
Whatever ancestor worship existed in ancient Rome was a family affair, not a public one. The diseased joined the manes, the household gods. They visited the families and received offerings and watched over family events.
The tradition of putting out food and beer has survived into modern times, in some parts of Scandinavia.
In ancient Greece attention was given to spirits of household heads and political leaders, and the spirits of those whose deeds were heroic.
In many parts of the world, the dead are supposed to partake of the funeral feast.

In many pagan and witchcraft traditions it is common to make contact and offerings to the ancestors at least once in a while. In shamanistic traditions this is especially true, as a shaman will work closely with many spirits, including his or hers ancestors.

Most of these ancient ancestor-worshiping practices culminated at the family hearth, around and underneath which the dead were even buried. Around the hearth the tales of heroes and great-grand parents are told. The belief in the presence of ancestral ghosts around the hearth was widespread.

When a witch works with the ancestors, often one or a few ancestors will work with the witch, acting as a go-between. Common methods of inviting ancestors is to give them a “home” within the home, this maybe be a (probably fake) skull, a hearthstone, a miniature house, or a statute. Or they may enjoy the fireplace, or the stove.

We look to our ancestors to guide us, we build new traditions based around their supposed practises after all. There is a wealth of history, lore and insight waiting for us on the otherside of the Veil. Listen for the words of those witches and wise ones who have gone before.

Modern witches and pagans may light candles with a modern lighter or boil water on an electric range, but the inspiration for our beliefs and practices comes from our ancestry. Yet, how many of us honour those ancestors? Those long dead witches, pagans, druids, shamans, heathens and cunning folk deserve a nod of respect at least now and then.

The presence or absence of ancestor worship relates to the importance of kinship in the societies concerned. Rites of ancestral reverence can help to bring about family solidarity, and in promoting the unity of the clan, coven and community.

 

Gifts and Goodies

“Crafts make us feel rooted, give us a sense of belonging and connect us with our history. Our ancestors used to create these crafts out of necessity, and now we do them for fun, to make money and to express ourselves.” ~ Phyllis George

If you want to communicate with gods and spirits, do so with the utmost respect, it makes more sense to approach the universe with an attitude of respect and hospitality.

It is traditional to give ancestors, household spirits and gods gifts of things you have made yourself. In these modern times, this may be homemade cookies and a poem you wrote yourself, or some piece of art on the family shrine.

Good results can come from making gifts using traditional crafts, such a leather working, weaving, smith crafting and wortcunning. Some witches may find themselves inspirited artistically when making regular offerings to the ancestors.

Something that you put time, thought and effort into is better than something store bought. However, I do find that a store bought bottle of fancy beer or a glass of milk and some honey also make good offerings as well.

For domestic inspired witches and pagans, offering your own cooking, baking, and other gifts from the hearth can have extra significance. Just as for a poet, writing as poem, reciting it once and then tossing the only copy into the fire can be a moving offering.

Many of us, with practise and patience, will find good results communicating with the otherside using divination methods, meditation and trance, as well as shamanic techniques.

Feel free to ask for hints as to what to give, and also watch for signs as to what may be better received. Go ahead and (respectfully) experiment, and don’t be afraid to listen to your gut.

“Humans are not proud of their ancestors, and rarely invite them round to dinner.”
~ Douglas Adams

“The actions of my ancestors, as well as my own actions, direct my steps.” ~ Unknown

They don’t have names yet, two filly quarter horses! yay

and with Beltaine around the corner:

Invocation of the Flower Maiden

Not from mortal mother or father was she created
Her body was made and blooded
By the powers of nine most sacred
From the first of fruits
From the fruits of creation
Of highland primroses
Of woodland blossoms
Of earth and fertile soils
Of the flower of nettles
Of ninth wave waters
She is immortal
She is conjured
By enchantments of sage and bard
By the Druid of Briton
Of Eurwys, of Euron
Of Euron, of Modron
Magick greater than five hundred druids
Mighty and wise as Math
Made the Flower Maiden
Forged in the fires of creation
Made by the Magician of magicians
Made by the Sage of sages
When the world was in its youth

(By Juniper, inspired by the Cad Goddeu)