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Two Quick Rituals for Your New Home, by Gwen Raven

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

I love rituals. I'm especially fond of small, quiet, personal rituals, which have a way of being profound and meaningful precisely because they aren't overly complicated. In my years of practice, I've discovered simplicity nearly always works best for my personal rituals. Don't get me wrong, I do love me some bonfires and drumming and hundreds of gyrating witches making magick deep in the woods, but those rituals aren't always practical on a Tuesday afternoon!

I recently moved into a new home, and I wanted to celebrate the move with a ritual. In different times, I imagine there would have been a big housewarming party. There would have been guests, lots of food, plenty of wine, a fire pit blazing away, well wishes, and a collective house blessing ritual. Of course, with the pandemic, none of that could happen safely. But moving into a new home is an important rite of passage, and I felt compelled to mark the transition with a ritual.

In fact, I did three rituals over the course of a few weeks. Each ritual took less than fifteen minutes and used materials I had on hand. There was no elaborate set up, although if you wanted to recreate these you could certainly add all sorts of pomp and circumstance, fancy circle castings, wear your best ritual outfits, and use liturgy from any magickal tradition of which you are a part. I didn't do any of that but I certainly encourage you to.</p

New Beginnings: A Ritual In An Empty House
The day I got the keys I went over to the house. It was empty. Silent. None of my belongings were there. No pictures on the wall, no favourite pots and pans in the kitchen. Just bare walls and empty rooms.

I'd brought a few basic magickal supplies with me:

• 1 4-inch white candle
• 1 candle holder
• 1 bunch of fresh herbs tied together (rosemary, lavender, mint, and basil)
• 1 little plate to catch any ash from the herbs
• 1 lighter

I stood just inside the front door and gathered my magickal bits and pieces. The candle was securely placed in the candle holder. I lit the candle with the lighter and placed it on the floor. Next I grabbed the herb bundle. I'd made this myself earlier in the day out of herbs I regularly use in spell work and that I love to cook with. These herbs are my favourites, and I have personal associations with each herb.There are traditional magickal correspondences, too:

• Rosemary for cleansing
• Lavender for tranquility and compassion
• Mint for clear communication and abundance
• Basil for love

I lit the bundle of herbs, put them on the little plate so they could smoke safely, picked up the candle holder and walked about my new home. I went from room to room, letting the smoke waft in closets and cupboards and window and doorways. It's well documented that memories are more likely to be triggered by familiar smells than by any other sense. The house began to smell familiar and that was the point.

While smoke filled the house, I spoke out loud to my new home and let it know I was moving in. I told my new home how I would bring love and laughter and joy and compassion and abundance and love and the occasional argument and misunderstandings and great food and beloved friends and witches and magick to this place. I invited the house to share with me the magick it knew and to lend me protection. I asked the house to keep me and my family safe and warm.

After spending time in each room and wandering through the front and back gardens, the candle melted down to virtually nothing and the herbs had given up their smoke. I left the herb bundle remnants in the kitchen, thanked the house, told it I'd be back the next day with boxes, and locked the door behind me.

Making A Home For The Gods
After the hard work of unpacking boxes and finding spots for books and clothes and kitchen stuff, I started to think about setting altars. The ancestor altar came first, then the kitchen altar. Soon it was time to set up altars for the house gods. I think it's worthwhile to introduce the gods to their new surroundings. At the very least, I needed to reset their altars, so I might as well make a ritual of it.

I work with several gods who are important to my practice. Once such god is Cernunnos. I have an amazing statue that puts me in mind of Cernunnos, sculpted by Christopher Orapello. I tuned into the god and asked what sort of ritual he'd like. I listened for a few days, had a dream or two and came up with this simple ritual to honour his wishes. It's a ritual you can repeat easily or adapt to fit your needs. It's one of those, "you can't really do it wrong" rituals. Again, it's not based in any particular tradition, but rather it's a mash-up borne of a couple of decades of practice. It goes something like this:

I placed the statue of Cernunnos on a redwood table in the back garden. I faced the statue towards the back fence, which is covered with grapes and jasmine and other vining plants I haven't yet identified. There are agapanthus and calla lilies and clover and mosses and all manner of plants growing just below the vines. The whole area was verdant and thriving with bees and birds and buzzing things and crawling things—just the sort of place Cernunnos would like.

I grabbed my mortar and pestle, herbs, oils, and essences I thought Cernunnos would like and headed out to the table. Here's what I said next.

"Cernunnos, close friend, trusted advisor, welcome to your new home. I've spoken with you in my dreams, remembered what you love, and prepared a spot in this garden for you."

Then I poured olive oil, scented with lemons into my mortar. To that I added dried patchouli, and fresh basil, and lavender gathered from a favourite plant. I added vanilla extract. I poured in red wine. I mixed these ingredients and a few others I'll keep secret, and pounded them with the pestle until they made a thick paste. I smeared the mixture all over the statue. Then I found a spot on the earth, at the roots of several vines that called out to me. I spread the remainder of the herb and oil mixture around the base of the statue.

"Here is your home among the creatures of this place. Among the vines and plants. You are covered with the herbs and oils sacred to my practice. I offer them as gifts to you. As devotion to you. Stay here as long as you like. There is a spot inside the house if you ever wish to come inside, but for now, please watch over this 'forest' and those who inhabit it."

With that, I washed my hands, went back into the house, and set up his "inside" altar, which is nothing more than a green cloth on a flat surface in my office.

I've checked in with Cernunnos a few times since then. He still wants to be outside. He's requested meat, boar meat to be exact, and some red wine. And a fire. Those wishes have yet to be fulfilled, but I'm working on it.

Why Are These Rituals Important?
From a very non-magickal perspective, what I did was burn some herbs and cover a statue with pesto.

From a magickal perspective, what I did was introduce myself and my gods to the neighborhood. I asked permission to work magick here. I entreated my gods and the house to meet up wherever it is that houses and gods meet up and get to know each other, so we could form (or deepen) mutually beneficial relationships.

Much like casting a circle or setting sacred space, the rituals I performed were about making a container and asking allies to participate in the magick to follow.

The rituals created space to mark the rite of passage of leaving one place and finding myself in another. The rituals used familiar ingredients and symbols and words. The result of these simple, quick rituals was comfort. I feel more comfortable in this house. I feel like a house has become a home. And that's a good thing.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2021. All rights reserved.

Do you believe that everyone is psychic, or at least has the potential to be? If so, is there any reason someone should not pursue the development of their abilities, or any preparation one should undertake before doing so? I've been interested in this subject for a long time, and am thinking about developing my own psychic potential, but am a little nervous of getting in over my head and not knowing what to do. Thanks!

David

Susyn:

Everyone has psychic abilities or at least the potential to develop them. Some people ignore or explain away their abilities for the exact reason you cite: They have no one to advise them in this arena, and they feel nervous exploring this realm alone. Many people's psychic gifts show up at an early age. How the people around them react to this often dictates whether they embrace their gifts or try to repress them. If they end up repressing or ignoring them, their abilities may reemerge later in their adult lives.

Luckily, these days learning to nurture and promote your psychic abilities is much easier than it used to be. There are endless websites, internet forums and local communities through which you can get guidance as you explore the world of metaphysics.

I recommend you make a list of different methods available for people who want to explore and expand their psychic gifts. Pay attention to which ones you feel drawn to. This will give you clues as to which avenue of psychic development you'd like to pursue. For example, you may be drawn to tarot, but shy away from channeling. You may have had experience with intuitively knowing what is going to happen next, but not much luck trying to interpret dreams. Once you zero in on your personal skills and interests, you can narrow down the field of study you should concentrate on first.

Although you can work to develop your talents on your own, I don't recommend it, for it will limit your growth and can also lead you down some unsettling paths. When we open up our psychic abilities, we also naturally open up to the spirit world. If we're lacking in knowledge and preparation for this sort of interaction, we're inviting trouble.

As you begin to explore your psychic gifts, the first and most important thing you must learn is how to protect yourself. Most psychics begin by surrounding themselves with a bubble of white light to raise their vibration and energetically align with only the highest and best experiences. One common mistake people make when first starting out is assuming that all psychic information comes from themselves. It takes knowledge and training to tap into a specific source of psychic information.

There are many good books on the subject, but it would be much better for you to find a mentor or group of spiritual seekers who can walk with you through this process. They will be able to share their own personal stories and validate what you are experiencing. Like any area of study, the more you learn, the more you will be able to develop and effectively use your psychic gifts. Good luck to you!

*****

Oceania:

No two people are exactly alike, not even identical twins. When it comes to abilities of any kind, each of us embodies a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses. Being psychic falls on a spectrum, just like being creative or athletic: some people demonstrate the ability early in life, others develop it over time with training and practice, while still others struggle or take no interest.

To be psychic is to have keen intuition, which is a combination of awareness, sensitivity, empathy, receptivity to input from the the unconscious and Spirit, and seeing from a holistic perspective. You can begin to exercise your intuition in small, simple ways. When the phone rings, guess who it might be. Before glancing at a clock, guess the time. Before someone speaks, guess what they might say. The idea is not to think, but to merely notice what enters your awareness.

You might choose a tarot deck you feel drawn to and gaze at the imagery on the cards. Notice how each card makes you feel and what message it conveys to you. I recommend you also work with the great spiritual tools in Kajama's Spiritual Toolbox, for the better you get at entering and working with this level of awareness, the more you will be able to consciously access intuitive guidance.

You mentioned that you're afraid of getting in over your head and not knowing what to do. It's true that developing your psychic abilities can lead to some rather unusual moral dilemmas. For example, aspiring psychics sometimes ask whether they should share unsolicited advice with others. If your aim is to be of service, then you should focus on attraction, not promotion: if someone sees you as a role model of how to live a wonderful life, they will proactively seek your input and advice.

You might be similarly worried about getting in too deep if you were developing scientific, business or political power to the point where you could help or do harm to others with it. You can relax and feel confident about moving forward if you commit to using your abilities within the context of your own spiritual values, assuming that you desire whatever is for the common good.

I believe psychic abilities are enhanced when we live by the principle of ahimsa, which is Sanskrit for do no harm. This means avoiding violence in thought, word and deed. Do your best not to impose suffering on your fellow earthlings. To participate in harm, even indirect harm, requires denial and turning off your empathy. I believe your studies will be enhanced if you consider them a sacred journey, and practice ahimsa as your guiding principle.