My brother-in-law and his future wife, are pagans as well, but they celebrate a more Nordic tradition to my Celtic, so we’ve been sharing with each other different traditions and some I think I will be adopting for future events, especially the blessing of the meat tradition.

I generally give a minor thanks when cooking something, but what they did was before the “roast beast” as we call it went in the oven anyone who wished gathered around with their hands over the meat, and each of us gave a pledge of ways we were going to try and make our environment better and asked for some thing back in return. It’s sort of a give/get scenario. This is what I’m going to do for you in the hopes that you will thank me in return by allowing something to happen.

So, we each went around, my BIL pledged to be more proactive in recycling and thanked the gods for allowing them to keep their jobs in the unstable financial industry and we went around. I pledged to actually FIND our recycling bin and sort out when it was supposed to be picked up and to make a start on the garden that Kore and I have been planning, in the hopes that I would be thanked by being able to find a job.

I’m going to introduce this tradition at our next “feast” which will be on Christmas Day itself. I’m doing a roast beef, rather than ham, but it’s still an offering from the Gods, which can be an offering to the Gods as well.

You need: paper and a pen, and water or fire.

What you do: Write your wishes and intentions on the piece of paper, speak them or just read them over to yourself while you’re folding the paper three times, and then either burn them or drop them into running water.

I’ve done this ritual a couple of times in college where I actually just flushed the paper down the toilet after reading things out.

I find there is great power in threes, so often times I would read things three times and things like that, occasionally folding it three times and then three times again, or cutting them three times, if it’s a banishing ritual or certain cleansing rituals sometimes cutting is better because it’s symbolizes the cutting of ties.

A few weeks ago a tree fell down in our back yard, and over the past few weeks my husband and a friend of his have been gradually taking it apart, finally this weekend it was all chopped down and the weather was good enough that we could get a fire going. We broke down the bigger chunks of tree and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and Kore and I also did a small ritual for a few friends of the family, praying for them to have easier times coming and better able to find balance. It was nice and relaxed, and the energy was really good. I’m very happy with the way things went, and I’m looking forward to being able to use the fire pit in the future, more often.

We have a lot of wood pieces left over from our recent construction project, and if the weather stays this crisp and nice that we can use it again. It’s a perfect time of year, coming into winter now.

Be confused. All is well. Now you are blessed.
You have life to nurture and nurture you.
Be calm. Be easy. Be comforted. You are blessed.

Alternately if you can identify the cause of the imprint as a previous resident speak directly to them in the most affected room.

It is time to leave here. All is well.
There is nothing here for you. You must be gone.
Go now go. Complete your passing.
Go and with our blessing and farewell.
Farewell!

Make sure nothing has been left behind that carries the energy field of the previous resident, in particular old writings and photographs. If they’re causing issue.

If you wish to keep something of theirs that is imprinted with a previous energy field purify it with salt; if you suspect furniture use incense to purify it.

With this I purify you of the past.
Of hurts and memories, keeping only love.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
And if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

The nicest version of a protection that I’ve discovered in my searches for a small child is this one.

Light without, light within
Let this magic spell begin.
Keep me guarded well, safe to be
Knowing the light walks with me.

The idea with this spell is to have your child mix together a cup of baking soda, a teaspoon of chopped dried mint and powdered clove while saying these things, and then if there’s a day where things are worrying them, you sprinkle a little in their shoes to keep them guarded.

What I do when I’m starting with things like this is get a black candle and get in the closest to the center of the house that I can, and ask that all the negative energy in the house be absorbed into the candle. I visualize the candle acting like a black hole sucking in the negativity, and light it. After the candle has burned long enough for me to feel a strong difference in the energy I take the candle outside and bury it in the yard asking that the Earth will absorb and heal the negative energy and convert it into something useful.

Then I come back inside lighting the smudge stick (bundled sage) and take that into each room of the house swinging the bundle so that the smoke from it goes around the whole house from top to bottom. In each room I will say something along the lines of:

From North, to East, to South, to West, bless and cleanse this room so that all who are in her will have peace

I might change it up a little, like in the dining room I’d say “make sure everyone who eats here is always satisfied” and in the bedrooms that “everyone will rest peacefully and comfortably and be re-energized” different things like that whichever I feel is necessary.

Then once that is done I let the house rest for the night before the next day lighting the candles in the protection totem in sequence, and calling each of the guardians to protect the house and the family who live there, and to keep us safe from outside invaders and the like.

Mother Earth, this salt is purification
We return it to the ground, your ground
With this ring we set the boundaries
Walls to keep this house hold safe

We thank you for the bountiful garden
Which surrounds this home, our keep
We thank you for your guidance always
And your protection while we sleep.

I wrote out a little bit of a ritual last night which I thought I would share. It’s to use with a protection totem, or with a candle set like I’ve made with the green, yellow, blue, red and white candles in a stand pointing to the appropriate directions and center.

(light North) Guardian North, we welcome you to our home, care for us and nurture us.
(light East) Guardian Air, we welcome you to our home, may we always act smartly.
(light South) Guardian Fire, we welcome you to our home, may we be safe and warm in your embrace.
(light West) Guardian Water, we welcome you to our home, may we be cleansed and bend but not break.

(light Center) Mother we welcome you to our home, may our light shine in your stead.

As it was and shall be. Blessed are we.

I found this:

Spell for finding a new house

A house of my own
a house to be free
a house that loves me
and is perfect for me

a perfect house
to rest and to play
where my heart is at home
is now coming my way.

My own home to live,

to love and grow

tis is my will, now make it so!

It’s from Magic Spells and Potions. I used to have another one in my Book of Shadows but I can’t find it.

I’m looking forward to us finding a place, because I’d like to hold on to the white wine we have until a celebratory meal, but maybe it’ll come into use for the ritual to help us get a place instead and we’ll have champagne for our congratulations instead.