Pagan Living Room

Although there is a movement away from using the Living Room, if you have one, it is a good idea to use it -- even if it is for an entirely different purpose. Rooms that aren't used feel 'dead' and 'stale' and can drain the positive energies from other rooms.

If the room is seldom used, make sure you place protective, energizing talismans in the room to ward of negative energies. They can be in the form of framed pictures or blessings (a cross stitch I made hangs in the living room. It reads "Bless this house, O Gracious Lady, that we may worship you.") Protective sachets, circles of wheat or dried flowers are efficacious as well.

Magical House Names

From the treetop nests of apes to high-rise condos of modern humans, one
thing remains true. We harbor strong feelings about the places we call home.
Home has been called "the place you hang your hat" and "the place where they
have to let you in," but home is more than that. Our homes become extensions
of ourselves, a repository of our memories and our dreams.

To many Pagans, home is also a place of worship. Anthropology tells us that
the Goddes was evident in the earliest homes, which often included a nitch in
the wall bearing a statue of the Goddess, conceivably to bless the home and
its inhabitants. This was the first known house magic. As the first Gaia
figures evolved into specific deities involved with the home, we saw
Goddesses such as Hestia occupying the household altars. Modern Catholics
with crucifixes above their beds and statues of Mary guarding their front
doors are only a step away from the ancient Pagans and their Gaia figures.

Giving your home a magical name is one way of using magic to protect your
house. It was a much more romantic and creative system than today's
dehumanizing addresses. Naming one's home is still a practice so common in
England as to be considered conformative. In North America, however, it is
still rare enough to be considered a refreshing idea.

My husband and I have named every home we have lived in. First we got to
know the house, its quirks and graces. Then we found the perfect name.
Finally we hung a carved wooden sign with the new name on it near the front
door. When we moved out we left the sign because it belonged to the house,
not to us. We were delighted to see that long after we moved out, each new
tenant retained the name and the house name signs still swing overhead,
welcoming friends.

While the thought of naming one's house is quaint and creative, what
practical purpose does it serve? Many. In searching out magical names for
our homes, we look inward and explore our own expectations of what we hope
this living situation will afford. That helps to fine-tune goals, and
sometimes acts as a catalyst for better communication between dwelling
partners. Mostly, in assigning a house a magical name, we can combine that
act with protection and blessing rituals to draw good fortune into the lives
of its inhabitants.

How To Pick A House Name

You can use the following criteria in naming your home:

***Descriptions of the house: House of Seven Gables, Red Gate Cottage, The White House

***Location of the house: Bay View House, Gothamview

***Distinctive vegetation growing near the hosue: Holly House, Fir Manor, Cedar Cottage

***Fantastic elements connected with the house: Elfin Estate, Avalon, The Hobbit Hole

***Mythological aspects: Valhalla Hall, Diana's Den

***What the house is used for: Covenstead Corner

When you decide to give a magical name to your home, try looking at the house
through fresh eyes. Ask yourself some questions:

***What did the house look like when it was new?
***What will it look like when it's old, if it's new?
***What sorts of people have lived in it?
***When you first saw the house, what made you decide to live there?
***What is your favorite spot in the house?

Those questions help determine what the house is like now. Next, ask
questions to determine what you'd like the house to become:

***What role do you want the house to paly? (sanctuary, power base, lover's
getaway, family nest, animal's den, covenstead, hobby place, office,
springboard to a nicer place, retirement home, nursery, etc.)

***What element do you want to improve to become the most noticeable about
the property?

***What do you want to attract into your home?

***What/Who do you want to repel from its doors?

***What do you want to convey to others in the name?

***If this is a temporary house, what sort of permanent dwelling do you want
to attract into your lives?

This last list is the most imortant in formulating the basis of a house
blessing ritual. Getting these goals and expectations clearly in focus helps
you to achieve a clear direction in your house magic. Each person can have a
hand in name choosing, perhaps in carving or painting a sign for the front
door as part of the ritual. Anointing it with oils or passing it through the
elements as you weave a protective spell around it, will make it a talisman
that hangs outside your front door attracting and/or warding off energy. You
can do this as part of your house cleansing ritual. Cleanse it first,
physically and spiritually, ridding it of all past negative energies. Then
do the house naming as part of the protection spell that seals it from future
negativity. I usually paint a little pentagram on each of the house's
windows with clear nail polish during this ritual. The nail polish is mostly
invisible except when the light is right, then a crystalline-looking
pentagram emerges to shine in the Sun before becoming invisible again. Very
good ju-ju. At the end of the ritual, hang the house name sign near the
front door. Then you will have more than a charming sign that greets all who
come to your door. You'll greet them with magic!