Post by Allan on Aug 2, 2007 0:20:59 GMT -5
Fireplace Magick
The fireplace has long been regarded as the magickal portal of a
home. It was through this opening that Witches were said to fly away
on their broomsticks, and in modern mythology it is the opening
through which Santa Claus comes and goes. The fireplace once was the
center of home life. In it food was cooked, clothes washed, and by
its light, families gathered to visit and tell stories. Due to its
vital importance, people developed ways to protect the fireplace,
such as tossing a handful of oak leaves, cloves, holly, rosemary,
frankincense, cinnamon, or nettles onto the already smoldering fire.
Setting a Witch's besom (broom) near the fireplace or crossing the
andirons were also ways of blocking negativity from entering the
house. Keeping a cauldron boiling on the hearth was another. Some
fireplaces were decorated with three concentric circles above the
opening. This probably harkens back to a very old belief that the
Triple Goddess protected any home wherein a fire was kindled. The
sun god Lugh could also be called upon to protect the hearth by
hanging a pouch containing the first grain of the harvest on the
mantle. This was also a charm for fertility.
Other herbs were often hung to dry near the hearth, the heat and
dryness curing and preserving the plants until theywere ready to be
used. These herbs could be enchanted and hung up as an additional
talisman of protection.
Scrying by hearth light is a relaxing pastime, and gazing softly
into a roaring fire to catch glimpses of visions is an age-old
practice. You can predict the future by the manner in which the
coals, peat, or wood burns.
The fireplace can be as magickal as your imagination will allow.
Here you are working directly with the transformative element of
fire, and how you choose to utilize it is up to you and your inner
self.
The fireplace has long been regarded as the magickal portal of a
home. It was through this opening that Witches were said to fly away
on their broomsticks, and in modern mythology it is the opening
through which Santa Claus comes and goes. The fireplace once was the
center of home life. In it food was cooked, clothes washed, and by
its light, families gathered to visit and tell stories. Due to its
vital importance, people developed ways to protect the fireplace,
such as tossing a handful of oak leaves, cloves, holly, rosemary,
frankincense, cinnamon, or nettles onto the already smoldering fire.
Setting a Witch's besom (broom) near the fireplace or crossing the
andirons were also ways of blocking negativity from entering the
house. Keeping a cauldron boiling on the hearth was another. Some
fireplaces were decorated with three concentric circles above the
opening. This probably harkens back to a very old belief that the
Triple Goddess protected any home wherein a fire was kindled. The
sun god Lugh could also be called upon to protect the hearth by
hanging a pouch containing the first grain of the harvest on the
mantle. This was also a charm for fertility.
Other herbs were often hung to dry near the hearth, the heat and
dryness curing and preserving the plants until theywere ready to be
used. These herbs could be enchanted and hung up as an additional
talisman of protection.
Scrying by hearth light is a relaxing pastime, and gazing softly
into a roaring fire to catch glimpses of visions is an age-old
practice. You can predict the future by the manner in which the
coals, peat, or wood burns.
The fireplace can be as magickal as your imagination will allow.
Here you are working directly with the transformative element of
fire, and how you choose to utilize it is up to you and your inner
self.