🏠 Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Of Hearth & Home

[Artemisia]

Challenge Entry - Of Hearth & Home
I got this done earlier but dinner and other things got in the way of me posting so I’m doing it now before the weekend is over!

I chose to make my own set of Witch’s Bells. I already found these cute little bronze bells in the holiday section a few weeks ago and bought a few with making this in mind. I deconstructed the ornaments and started to work on my grapevine wreathe.

I braided ribbons (sheer white, satin white, and silver) to attach the bells to the wreath and wove a charm into each braid. Then I decided to use strips of leftover Moon & Stars fabric, with sterling silver beads, metal bells, and a charm or two to complement the bells.

I wove my intentions in with each knot and braid. Honestly. it was really enjoyable and satisfying to create. At one point, I thought to myself why are you using sterling silver beads in this? And then I thought, well, why not? What else am I doing with them other than storing them?

(Kitty in the moon charm - above the bell)

(Deer charm and a silver Bali bead)

(Crescent moon charm)

(Metal clapperless bells and a leaf charm)

I’m pleased with the color combination of blue, silver, white, copper, and brown. It looks fantastic on my office door!

You know me, anytime I can make something, I’m happy
Enjoyed this challenge!

[Sivonnah]

@Artemisia
It’s beautiful I love it!

[AIRAM]

I’m really glad you like it!
Yes! first we clean and then we open the magic wings of the intention

[EvaCVM]

Challenge Entry
Unfortunately, I do not have yet a place to call home. I lived at my parent’s house until I graduated University, I was already 25 y.o. I move to my boyfriend’s house, but we had some issues, as there also lived his family. And we moved again… We rented a one bedroom apartment, very small, but seemed pretty cosy. Until the weather started to change, and because that place was near a forest as lot of bugs started looking for a warmer place, they were everywhere, I could not keep the windows and doors open as they would get in.
So we are moving out yet again.

The words Home and Homey, for me are still unknown… Buying an apartment is impossible, for now, and the rent is only going higher. But we will figure something out.

I imagine my home in a 3 room apartment, wide, high and shiny, one room for every member (me+my partner, and a future baby) + a living for meeting friends and having dinners, nightouts and game nights. A rich kitchen for my cooking habits and a corner for my witchy ingredients and altar.
I want everything to be gray-blue-black themed, with natural greenery. I really want to grow my own basil, thyme, sage, mint and many other useful plants by the window. I want a little tomato and spicy pepper bush, and a lemon tree in the balcony.

As a way to make everyplace more homey, I use candles and incence. I adore nice smells, and the help me relax and feel safe. I like scented baths, with salt, oils, bath bombs.
I hope next place will be more homey and I will eventually find my place.

[tracyS]

CHALLENGE ENTRY

Wasn’t sure how to approach this, as we don’t own our home, we rent. So I decided to approach this from my heart.

I have three sayings:
Home is where the heart is
Wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home (Paul Young)
When in Rome do as the romans
The first and the last, my mother always lives by, and taught me the same.

I’ve lived all over the world. And felt at home in every house/flat, and every country/culture.

In Cyprus, we lived with the locals even though being RAF we were offered accommodation with the ex-pat community, my mother said no. When in Rome … We mixed with locals, ate what they ate, drank what they drank etc. They became our family. When the war came, it was the locals that got us out.

When we moved to Iran and by then my mother had remarried and my stepfather worked in oil, we again were offered ex-pat accommodation. Again my mother refused. When in Rome again … I went to a local school, in a beautiful small town, and we lived amongst the locals. Again, they became our family. When the revolution hit, it was the locals that got us out.

When we were in Egypt, many tourists around us would get sick with dysentry. Again, my mother said, “we eat what and where the locals eat, we drink what they drink, they know the land better than us”, we never got sick!

This has been the case when we moved around the middle East, we made each community our home, until we finally returned to England.

Here I’ve rented flats, and now our house, which is rented. One of the first things I do, is get to know our neighbors and community. I think it’s here in the community that I feel at home. It’s not the place, the house, or even the country. It’s the people. They are what make a home. They are the heart of a home.

It’s funny really how when I was thinking on this challenge, where does Loki fit in. Well it’s a bit like Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, without realising I dragged this beastie all over the world with me. Such fun . I wonder what he thought , or was he involved at all in all our rescues? A key part of heathenism is community! Was he influencing my life even in this?

So as in the song, Wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home.

Blessed be

[Artemisia]

Thank you so much I still need to secure the knots on the wreath and burn off the loose strings but I’m excited about how it looks!

[korvo]

@tracyS

I have three sayings:
Home is where the heart is
Wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home (Paul Young)
When in Rome do as the romans

I love this entry and you adventures and life abroad. I agree with your sayings wholeheartedly. This also makes me think of the Metallica lyrics:

And the earth becomes my throne
I adapt to the unknown
Under wandering stars I’ve grown

Anywhere I roam
Where I lay my head is home

[georgia]

@Ostara & @Medea Thank you both for your compliments <*3

@crystal59 Cool use of a pumpkin. How long does it last? Whenever I tried to use pumpkins, they rotted so quickly! Any tips to help them last longer? Maybe mine didn’t last because of the wet weather while they were growing.

@Artemisia Beautiful! I like how the charms turned out.

@EvaCVM I acknowledge that some don’t like to kill bugs, but have you considered using diatomaceous earth to give yourselves a break? It isn’t harmful to pets or people. Albuquerque is well known for having lots of bugs, no matter what anyone does. I’ve found some peace by putting the dust where bugs like to hide- under electronics, in cupboards, around furniture. There are no bodies to clean up- they simply avoid my space, once they figure out they are not allowed to live here rent free. Since de isn’t a poison, they don’t get immune and infest with the next generation. Just keep it dry or replace it when it gets wet. With the real estate market the way it is, we have to work with what we have until our dreams come true, so may you find peace however you can, for now, and may your beautiful dreams come true soon!

@tracyS Wonderful way to look at life. We are all on a journey, not really natives anywhere; but to see locals as more familiar with the locale is to accept that we don’t know everything and to be open to learn wherever wisdom can be found. Did you acknowledge the deities of place as well? If Loki didn’t want to come along, he wouldn’t have come! It is a blessing to have a friend accompany one along life’s journeys.

[tracyS]

@georgia

@georgia

Did you acknowledge the deities of place as well

Yes, we learnt alot about the local ways of worship, and honoured their holy days and customs even if we didn’t personally practice.

[MeganB]

Hmm… how fitting! I just made a sourdough starter literally less than five minutes ago. I used this recipe here → https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/packages/baking-guide/yeasted-breads/how-to-make-sourdough-starter

I’m hoping to keep it going and actually do it right this time. I’ve done several starters over the last few years and they never turned out that great. Actually, they didn’t turn out right at all! I’ve got my fingers crossed for this one! I even created an entry for it in my grimoire’s kitchen section so I can track its growth!

I’ll be baking some regular bread tonight to go with dinner. Bread is like the epitome of hearth magic for me I love it!

[Cosmic_Curiosity]

CHALLENGE ENTRY

This week, i opted to make my home calm and relaxing. Today i cleared my garden ready for winter and, while doing so, cut back my lavender bushes.

I dried it out in the oven and made a wreath that I have hung above my front door. It doesn’t look the best but the smell when you walk in is divine.

I took the remnants and dried them out in the oven too. I then crushed them with a mortar and pestle and placed it in a bowl. I have put this in my living room.

For my bedroom, I tied together two little bundles and hung them above my bed to create a relaxing and calming space suitable for sleep.

I hope that together, these will create the calm and peaceful home environment that I need right now.

Blessed be

Alan

[EvaCVM]

Thank you so much for the advice, but these are stinky bugs that also can fly, and using dust on surfaces and under electronics for me is useless.

[Bumblebee]

Challenge Entry

Hi all! I’m new here but house witchery really sings to me. For the challenge, I made witch’s bells with my step-daughter. She’s eight and recently became very interested in witchcraft. I hadn’t really practiced since I was a teenager but her excitement has been quite contagious and now I’ve found myself delving back into the only spiritual path that has ever felt right to me. It was very sweet to quietly work beside my little witchling. She picked out the charms and overall design of our bells from a little craft kit I found online while I mostly helped with tying knots. We talked about protection and the different symbols present while we worked. I felt really happy imbuing our bells with our combined energies. She is so young and sweet and it warms my heart to provide avenues for her to explore this path. I gravitate toward a lot of cleaning rituals and general cozy-making around the house but these bells are the first thing I’ve ever put up that are an obvious and tangible symbol of my rekindled spirituality and commitment to nurturing my home and family.

[tracyS]

@Bumblebee First I’d like to say, hello and welcome. I’m Tracy from England. What a lovely entry. The bells are gorgeous

[Kasandra]

Challenge Entry

To protect my sacred space from negative energy, I like to place black tourmaline on all my windowsills. During the New Moon, I charge and cleanse them with selenite. For my sacred space, I will sometimes take my besom, which hangs by my front door, to “sweep out the old” and spray the corners with white sage smudge spray. But tonight, I plan to burn some palo santo. I’ve been taking the burnt part and drawing whatever feels right to me on my arms to expel and protect my living space from any negative energy that might have latched onto me from work. And there’s been a lot of it for some reason, lately. Customers have been as rude as I can remember in all my years working retail. One called me an “evil b***” the other day because her mother was very sick and I was “intentionally” making her life more difficult by refusing to break a policy that would definitely get me fired.

[Bumblebee]

Thank you!

[Medea]

This is a good challenge for me. I really need to get re-organized and wake up with a morning ritual and before bedtime do a nightly ritual. Maybe in one of these challenges this week I can take some feedback and notes.

I have an excellent blank template (did you catch that? A blank template)

Blessed Be
Medea

[georgia]

@MeganB

I’ll be baking some regular bread tonight

I can smell it from here!

@Cosmic_Curiosity I am so jealous of you and your lavender right now!I live in an apartment complex with no open ground, so I’ve been working with oils instead. It’s a far cry from fresh, but it will do.

@EvaCVM My aunt’s house was invaded by Japanese (orange) lady bugs and shield shaped stink bugs. Happily, the house was old enough and in such a condition that the family has built a new house on the property and may hopefully tear down the old one. The bugs got in through the smallest cracks and took over the house! Good luck with yours.

@Bumblebee Family crafts are precious times children will remember the rest of their lives, even if they forget individual craft items. My crafting memories of childhood helped me through a recent trauma- 40 years later! Blessings Be!

@Kasandra Drawing on arms with consecrated ashes reminds me of a climax scene from the movie What the Bleep Do We Know? It changed the main character so intensely that I’ve tried it, too. I didn’t have much luck- partly because I work more on the mind & Spirit, but I like the idea. I’m hoping the intense negativity all over will smooth out soon.

[crystal59]

@georgia unfortunately because I’m burning things in my pumpkin it doesn’t last very long I have to switch it out every so often but I know if you soak your pumpkins they say it lasts longer because it’s taking in water so it doesn’t rot as fast.

[Ostara]

Challenge Entry

Protection for the Kitchen

I found this information in the book The Magical Household by Scott Cunningham and David Harrington

Grow an Aloe Vera plant in a sunny kitchen window and use it to soothe burns. The magickal properties of Aloe Vera if grown in the kitchen is said to guard the cook against food preparation accidents. You can use the gel to dab onto major appliances, windows, doors and tools to safeguard them.

Another popular kitchen protection is a rope of garlic, onions, or peppers. These ropes can be purchased in gourmet shops and farmer’s markets and are not only excellent protective devices, but they’re also attractive. If you hang one of these ropes in the kitchen expressly for protective purposes, make sure it’s never used for food because the vegetables absorb negativity and spell danger to anyone who eats them.

A bulb of garlic or an onion placed on the kitchen window sill is also a magical ward of protection. Place some alfalfa in a small jar and place it in your food cupboard. As long as it remains there, the family will never know hunger.

A kitchen witch bottle can be used to protect your food from contamination. Put 3 needles, 3 pens, and 3 nails in a jar. Fill the jar with salt, seal it tightly, vigorously shake nine times and drip red candlewax over the seal. Place it in the cupboard where it won’t be seen.