Magic and Ritual Techniques for Home Blessing and Protection

This can be done in any area, but the kitchen is traditionally thought to be the heart of the home.

1. Light a candle in honor of the hearth fire (nowadays, this isn't usually a fireplace but the stove on which meals are prepared).

2. Light incense in offering to your own hearth deity (or deities).

3. With hands upraised say:

Spirits of our hearth and home
Watch over all who dwell here.
Protect us from harm and fear.
We trust in you to keep safe
All that we hold dear to heart.

Substitute the names of any deity you wish, and create your own prayer that is in line with your belief system. An elaborate ritual with full circle casting can be devised or you can blend this simple prayer with any one or more of the techniques below. You might also be interested in my review of Ceisiwr Serith's Book of Pagan Prayer. He provides many examples of prayers for the hearth and home. My article Resources for Pagan Prayers has more tips.

Believed to be derived from Pagan roots, this is practiced by modern Pagans and Christians. The term refers to beating or pounding the perimeter of your property with a staff. This tradition has been revived at Cholesbury-&-St Leonard's in England. Learn more about the history of this practice at the parish website and at the Strange Britain website.

You can consecrate a simple household broom for magical use or make your own from the twigs of trees you feel a magical affinity for.

Go around the house sweeping the negativity into one big ball then finally out your door forcefully. You may also hang the broom above the threshold of your home and decorate it with protective herbs.

Hanging garlic in the kitchen isn't just used in B-movies to keep vampires away but also to repel any unwanted visitor. Common household herbs such as cumin, rosemary, lemon grass, dill, and basil can be utilized in protective magic. Sprinkle them around your property dry or make a tea out of one or more of them to be poured out over the boundaries of your land. Holly bushes and mistletoe are also traditionally protective. Learn more about magical herbs in Magic and Ritual Herb and Flower Correspondences A-Z.

In order to charge clear quartz crystals with the purpose of protection, first cleanse them with salt or running water. Hold them in your hands while mentally putting your intention into them.

Bury them at the corners of your property. You can also place some at the doorways and windows of your home. You can also place the charged crystal in water and sprinkle the water around your property. Some people like to combine clear quartz crystal programming with a light visualization and a meditation with a grounding stone like smoky quartz.

Make offerings to the land spirits and deities revered as keepers of your hearth and home. Whiskey and bread with honey are said to be favorite offerings of the fairies. Leaving a spirit plate is the practice of placing a bit of food from one or all of your meals on a dish out for the land spirits. Offerings such as wreaths and other handmade crafts, food, drink, and even coins are given in the spirit of reciprocity to those beings who protect your home. It's important not to forget the indoor spirits as well.

Known as the all-purpose magical tool, sea salt is thought to be very effective in home protection. Kosher salt, black salt as well as plain table salt can be sprinkled around the perimeter of the property for this purpose. You may choose to chant a prayer while you do this such as By Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, my home is secure inside and out.

This is the practice of censing yourself, home and property with smoke from incense or herbs to be cleansed of impurities. Some people use sage which became popular in the New Age movement and was inspired by Native American tradition. White sage is commonly used for this purpose, not the sage used in cooking. Other useful smudging herbs include mugwort, lavender, sweetgrass and cedar.

Incense works just as well. It is believed that the Catholic church's use of a censor with burning incense during services has more ancient Pagan roots.

Inscribe symbols for protection such as the pentagram, runes, ogham or any symbol you have magically charged on the earth around your home or on an object such as a rock to be placed near your doorway. You can incorporate these symbols into a decorative plaque to hang inside or outside an entryway. Learn about different symbols in my articles Pagan Symbols and Rune Symbols and Meanings.

Ground and center yourself in whatever method you prefer. Visualize a sphere of white light above your home that stems from the a deity, spiritual companion or universal source. The sphere gradually becomes larger until it surrounds the top of your home. As you draw down this light, visualize it transforming unwanted energies into light from the source. I discuss another useful technique in Chakra and Flame Psychic Self-Defense Guided Meditation.

Photo credits: Opening: Wikimedia Commons. Broom: hugenot, sxc.hu. Crystal: alee01, sxc.hu.

Sources consulted:
Cunningham, Scott. Magical Herbalism, Llewellyn Publications, 1993.
Serith, Ceisiwr. A Book of Pagan Prayer, Weiser Books, 2002.
yronwode, catherine. Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic: A Materia Magica of African-American Conjure, Lucky Mojo Curio Company, 2002.

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