One thing I love about my home, and that guests have praised, is the temple-like energy of my house. My Beloved, along with our roommate, have had a hand in the amazing energy of the household, also.
I decided this should be my first official post regarding my practices, as I find that a clean sacred space, both spiritually and physically, facilitates a good mood and energy. I always like to treat my house as if it is a temple, and always ready for special visitations from guests on any plane. By treating my house as a sacred space I am respecting myself, my family, the beings that dwell within the house, and my guests.
The Rules/Banishing/Creating Sacred Space
The first thing I do within a new space is set rules for all the beings that will be living in the house, or that I will be working with in that particular space. I say outloud the rules that I expect everyone in the house to follow. These are the basic rules I use as a guideline, or suggestion. Everyone’s situation and level of comfortableness with entities is different, so change or tweak them to your desire.
“To all the entities residing within this space (or household), you may stay and live amongst us as if you agree to, and follow, the rules stated:
1. No physical, mental, emotional, sexual or spiritual abuse of household members or entities.
2. All workings, business, events, conversations, etc. that happen within the household shall not be disclosed to outside sources, including other entities.
3. Between the times of (list time) and (list time), you agree to be quiet and not disturb the household residents. During the waking times of the household, you may proceed with normal activities.
4. You may not hurt, maim, or kill any household resident, or any entity that lives in the house and agrees to the Rules.”
After stating the Rules, listening or feel for an answer. Sometimes the sign of agreement could be as simple as the house lighting up for a few seconds from the sun. You will know if there is an agreement or not. Regardless, proceed with the following steps.
Hold an athame, or your index and middle fingers together on your dominant hand, extended it and draw a circle. Imagine a bright white light coming from tip of the athame/your fingers, and say something similar to the following:
“I make this circle to create a sacred space. A sacred space filled with (add qualities of positive energy you want to bring in). All beings that have agreed to the Rules may stay within the sacred space. Those that do not wish to adhere to the Rules may leave. (Pause for a few seconds to allow those that wish to leave to vacate the premise.)”
While you are pausing to allow entities to leave, gather energy within your body. Some see it as white light, some as an element (such as electricity or fire), or some other visual of destruction. Choose what resonates with you, as your effectiveness will be greater. After the pause and gathering of energy, proceed:
“I now banish all negative energy and all entities that do not agree to the Rules.” Imagine a supernova of energy spreading out from your body destroying all negative energy and the entities not bound by the Rules.
The next step is to set boundaries of who is allowed in and out of the circle:
1. State all the full names of the members living within the househould, followed by the statement that they may invite other corporeal guests within the household. By being specific about what kind of beings members may invite, this will reduce what is allowed in the house, including feeders, negative thought forms and dybbuks.
2. Next allow for all personal Gods and guardians to walk in and out of the circle at will. A circle will not keep out the Gods, no matter how much one tries to convince one’s self of this, but it is a courtesy to let the beings you work with know that you respect them and that they are always welcome.
3. State that all entities that reside outside the circle are not allowed in without your (or other household members, be specific with full names) express permission. This will keep out any piggy-backers that may see the opportunity to follow a guest in and penetrate the circle.
Lastly, bless and sage the house. The sage is used mainly to create a sacred, calm space and destroy the rest of the negative energy that may still be lingering.
Holding Sacred Space
There should be little maintenance regarding the circle itself, though it should be at least reinforced once a month and checked for holes, occasionally. Many witches I know like to reinforce the circle during their Full Moon rites. Another suggestion is to reinforce the circle and include a banishing ritual during the Dark Moon, something I find very effective. Any time the circle needs to be reinforced, don’t wait based on the Moon cycles.
Here are some additional suggestions in holding a sacred space:
1. Keep your house clean, regardless if you are expecting guests or not. This includes doing dishes after meals, vacuuming once a day, picking up, all the normal maintenance of the household, every single day. Maga Kronia commented that she noticed, circle or not, that a dirty space attracts nasty entities. I have noticed this myself, and I believe that it is the Law of Attraction. Attraction is not just spiritual, emotional and mental, but also physical.
2. Keep altars for those you work with the most. I find that burning incense every day, along with keeping clean altars, brings in a certain spiritual energy. I also find that gratitude, not praise, to the beings that I work with every day brings in additional positive energy.
3. Everyone argues, but keep it to a minimum by either having a family council or open forum. Also, “Rules of Engagement” are important. Screaming, yelling and violence can bring in a very negative energy. This isn’t that one should not bring in discipline and boundaries, but allow for an environment conducive to open discussions and maturely handling potentially explosive situations.
By showing respect and gratitude in your space, you will begin to notice that all household members will be happy and share more positive energy. You may even notice a boost in energy as you will not be spending time in a space that is gathering overwhelming negative energy.
Ritual and Ceremonial Sacred Space
Now that your house has become your family’s sacred space, what about rituals? I know there are some traditions that do not use circles for protection or magick, but have other controls for safety. If you prefer to do a circle during ceremonies, however, it is a great way to reinforce the household circle and raise energy.
You may reinforce the current circle around the house, or create a smaller space to retain the energy and create a different state consciousness. If you are only reinforcing the household circle, do not worry about “taking down” a circle.
If you are doing a smaller circle for rituals and ceremony, here are some suggestions. As always, follow your intuition on what you feel is the correct way for you to create your mini-sacred space:
1. Take an athame, or your index and middle finger, and draw a circle. Similar to creating a house circle, imagine white light (or whatever you see as a barrier) coming from the tip of the athame/fingers, and make a mini circle around your altar and the space you are using. Remember to cut a door and close it if you need the leave the circle quickly, but are returning. Otherwise, take down the smaller circle as it retains the energy and the consciousness shift within it.
2. I usually add words to command the circle to act in accordance to my wishes. I was taught in the Temple of Hermetic Mysteries, a Wiccan temple I was a member of, to specifically tell the circle to create a space from the mundane into the realm of the Gods, along with adding the words for protection and helping to raise and aid the magickal working.
Here is an example of something you may say, “I now a draw a circle/sacred space from this world to the next, from the mundane to the realm of the Gods/astral. I draw this circle for protection and to help aid and/or raise the energy of my magickal workings. So Mote It Be/So Shall I Will It.”
3. Another suggestion, is after creating a circle to call in beings for the “Four Directions/Corners”. I don’t feel this is necessary if doing a simple ritual or ceremony, unless it requires protection or secrecy. A person may call in the elements, the Watchtowers (Archangels Michael, Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel), demons, or personal guides/guardians that one works with. It is suggested not to call in the Gods, as they are not messengers and generally not personal guides, and it may be seen as an insult.
4. It should be remembered if a formal circle is drawn, and guards are called, to release the guards then the circle. I have had experiences where the circle was not taken down properly and it created havoc for everyone that had participated. Also, if a circle is left up, a door should be created to open/close the circle every time someone needs to step in and out of the formal circle. Animals and children are generally voided naturally from the rules of a circle, as they are natural and innocent beings.
These guidelines are very basic, but should help with the energy of your sacred space. More details regarding calling guardians, smudging, and opening one’s self up for energy work will be discussed in other posts.
Remember to do whatever works for yourself regarding your sacred space, and Hail Thy Self.
-Arachnia Stoneskull
Photo Credit: “Snail 1” by Bulldoggenliebchen at Deviantart.com
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