Domestic prayer is the most important kind. The great festivals come and go, the Moon circles the Earth, the Sun rises and sets, but their celebrations are done against the background of home worship.
There are divine beings of various sorts who watch over a family and its home, and they like to be recognized. Domestic worship is made up of those practices through which the deities, Ancestors, and Spirits who preside over the family and protect the home are worshiped, honored, and propitiated. We do this, as usual, through prayers and offerings.
A householder is responsible for all who dwell in the home, but especially for guests. Even if they are unwelcome, treat them with kindness until you have escorted them off your property. It is then your responsibility to patch things up with whatever Spirits have been offended. This obligation holds for the uninvited as well as the invited guest—the neighborhood children, the salesman, the evangelist at your door. Greet them pleasantly. Offer them hospitality. If you invite them in, offer them something to eat or drink. Your home will develop a reputation for hospitality, which will please the household Spirits no end.
The most important sacred places of a household where worship is performed are the hearth and the threshold. If the home stands on its own property, the yard and the property's border are also sacred. Each of these places has its own Spirits and traditional ways to honor them.
The hearth was originally the multipurpose fireplace—it cooked our meals, warmed our homes, and boiled water for washing. Although today these functions have been split up between the stove, the furnace, and the water heater, they're no less sacred, and no less worthy of honor. There is a Spirit living in the hearth of each home; in fact, often that Spirit is a great goddess, perhaps the most important of the goddesses, since she is the heart of the home and the home is the heart of our lives.
You should honor this goddess primarily at the stove, since that is where our nourishment—that which fuels our own inner fires—is prepared. Keep a candle or oil lamp next to the stove, and light it when you pray to her. Don't forget to honor her at the furnace or water heater, though.
At least once a year, on a day appropriate to your deity, make special offerings at each of them. For instance, honor Brigid on February 2 (Brigid's Day) or Vesta on June 9 (Vestalia). Alternatively, you could choose the anniversary of the day you moved in.
The threshold is also a place particularly appropriate for worship, marking a point of transition between one place and another. In-between places throb with power; they're like circuits formed through the flow between positive and negative forces. Like electricity, their power can help or harm. The purpose of threshold devotions is to make sure that the positive forces are directed to family and friends, and the harmful ones to intruders.
The yard is a place where wild things can roam in safety and do you no harm. By letting them move about on your “turf,” but outside, you give them a secure haven, while ensuring your own safety. Through them you can approach the outside world and introduce yourself to it, while still keeping one foot securely inside your home. Many Spirits roam this outdoor space, and all are worthy of prayer and praise.
The boundary line of your property is the threshold of your household world, and has the same meanings your house's threshold has. It is where what's yours finally ends, and the common area begins. It is where you must say goodbye to the familiar. There you can ask that border Spirit to prevent anything harmful from entering your property while you are away.
Besides the Spirits of place, there are deities who watch over individual members of your household, their patron deities. Worshiping them should be part of your home practice. There are too many deities, each with their own worship requirements, to cover them all here. Suffice it to say that the usual rules for prayer and offering given in part 1 apply for these deities as well—purification is good, fire is great, prayers have a traditional structure, and everybody likes presents.
Just as a house has its protective Spirits, and individual members of the family have their patron deities, so, too, the family as a whole has its protectors. These are often the Ancestors. In the case of family worship, they are primarily the genetic ancestors, those who founded the family and those who kept it going. Of course, families can grow by adoption as well as reproduction, so those who are adopted into a family are also adopted into the line of its Ancestors.
Many of our ancestors would be appalled to learn that we are praying to them. At least, that's how they would probably have felt when they were alive. But they're dead now, and we can hope that their perspective has changed, that they have acquired the wisdom granted by distance. Even if they don't want worship, technically we are honoring them rather than worshiping them, and they can't mind that much.
Samhain is the day on which the ancient Celts honored their ancestors, and many neo-Pagans have adopted it for this purpose. Most cultures have such a day, and you should use whatever one is right for your ancestry. If you are, like so many of us, of mixed ancestry, Memorial Day makes a nice compromise.
Somewhere in your home—by the hearth, or in the entranceway, or on a kitchen shelf—erect a shrine. In it, put images of the patron deities of the members of your household, images of the Ancestors, and a source of fire (a candle or oil lamp). Images can be statues or more abstract. My wife's patron is Venus, and for a long time, I used a star-shaped stone (making it also roughly the shape of a person) that I had found on the seashore as her image. An antler can serve as an image of Cernunnos, a mirror as one of Amaterasu. Ancestors can be represented by generic statues of a man and a woman. This shrine provides the divine beings most closely associated with your home with their own place in it. The fire, which represents divinity, both honors them and is a means to contact them. It is here that you should pray and make offerings to these protective beings.
Before beginning your household rituals, it's good to call on those most holy of things, water and fire. In many other cases, you may have to pray without them, but in your own home, you have them ready at hand. Purify yourself with the water, then light the fire. A short prayer, such as “I light the fire of offering,” would be nice. If you are honoring your hearth deity, you will want to light her flame with a short prayer, such as “I light the fire of [her name].” There is no need to establish sacred space. A home is by definition a sacred space.
If you are praying to the threshold, yard, or border Spirits, go to where they dwell. Leave the fire burning in your shrine during the ritual, though. It's your anchor.
When you make offerings indoors, such as to the hearth, make them into a bowl. If you can, leave them there for twenty-four hours, then take them outside for the Land Spirits to eat. Offerings to land and border Spirits can usually be made right on the spot. In the case of a threshold, if your door opens to the inside, liquid offerings can be made right on it. If your door opens out, put your offerings in a bowl right inside the door and dispose of them as usual.
Remember that you pray with deeds as well as words. Not stepping on your threshold as you come in or go out can be a prayer. With time, it will become a habit; your conscious mind will not notice, but with your unconscious mind, you will be praying.
Household prayers may be said by any member of the family (and if you live alone, you will, of course, be doing all of it by yourself). Traditionally, however, certain people had certain responsibilities. Maintaining these traditions will put you more strongly in tune with your Ancestors.
The worship of the hearth goddess was the responsibility of the wife and mother in ancient times. The father was responsible for performing the rest of the family worship on his family's behalf. He was, in other words, the priest of the family.
You don't have to stick to these roles. The Spirits like to be remembered, no matter who is doing the remembering. As the main cook in my house, I've been the one to maintain the hearth-goddess worship. You can share these responsibilities in whatever way seems fit for your family. Assign some duties to your children as they grow. Learning not to step on the threshold is something that can be done as soon as a child can walk. Honoring their own patrons is something that should be taught to children early as well.
A distinction can be made between the prayers of family members to the household Spirits and prayers to the Spirits on the family's behalf. Someone should be doing the latter. This is enough, but it is very basic. It's good if all members of the family, as individuals, are in a right relationship with the household Spirits. This relationship exists alongside the one each person has with a personal patron deity. Through the worship of a patron deity, each person is established as an individual; through the worship of the household Spirits, each person is established as a member of a family.
About my house, establish your place of warding.
Stand watchfully at the corners.
Be a shield between our house and all that would work evil.
Guard our land and all who claim its protection.
Here on the border, you stand your watch.
I have come out here
to assure you that your attention to duty is appreciated,
bringing not only words,
but gifts to place before your marker.
Watcher on the Borders, the steward of this land offers to you.
This grain is for you, and this beer is for you.
He who sits at the edge of my land
sits at the edge of all I own.
Watchful Terminus guards my space.
Stand firm, stand unmoving, stand strong,
at the edge of our land,
border-stone, Terminus:
protect and defend all my family
and all I own
from all that would harm.
Ward my property well.
I place this stone on the edge of my land,
over which I will pour oil and sweet wine:
be watchful, Terminus!
I place this stone on the edge of my land,
onto which I will sprinkle spelt and white barley:
be watchful, Terminus!
I place this stone on the edge of my land,
at which I will speak words of praise:
be watchful, Terminus!
Be watchful over my land, my home, my possessions, my family, and me.
Ever awake Terminus, be watchful!
Pillar on the border, whether Terminus or Hermes,
mark my passage
and welcome me home safely.
Receive as offering this garland.
The yard Spirits are half wild, and their actions are not always what we would wish. This is especially true when they are ignored. Give the leavings of your offerings to the inside Spirits to the yard Spirits—as well as, from time to time, an offering of their own, such as a piece of buttered bread. And remember, no matter how reassuring order may be, it can be a bit oppressive. Try to keep part of your yard, even a back corner, as a haven for the wild. Leave it alone, let weeds grow there, and don't mow it. Give the Spirits who live there occasional offerings, too. Leave the offerings in place until they're gone.
Was the milk eaten by the Spirits, washed away by rain, or lapped up by a wandering cat? Who knows? Who cares? Perhaps the Spirits have come in the form of rain or a cat. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you do the right thing. In this case, having a piece of the wild in the midst of your tame yard will bring you a bit of the wildness and peace that true wild can bring.
Roam about our land at will, Spirits,
keeping it holy by your presence.
Guardians of rocks and trees,
of grass and garden,
of wild places and tame,
of outbuildings and outside:
be benevolent to us,
to those who tend your realm,
and we will be benevolent to you.
A piece of wild on the edge of the tame,
you are home to wild Spirits who live with us.
You who live here, be pleased with this offering.
Give us a piece of the wild to keep us alive and fresh.
Snake, little snake, that lives under my house,
I leave you this bowl of milk:
you, my friend.
Silvanus of the wild,
be Silvanus of my land,
and I will pour wine to you as a libation.
Lord who protects borders,
protect me, my household, my land,
and all who enter here as guests.
In return for which, in promise of future offerings,
to establish, maintain, and strengthen friendship between us,
this wine, this spelt, this egg,
willingly given.
Those who dwelt in this land before it was ours, and was still wild,
we offer you our apologies for displacing you,
with this offering of [scattered grain/corn/wheat/etc.; poured-out milk/beer/wine/etc.; strewn tobacco] we complete the cycle of gifts:
our offering for your land.
By the exchange may we be friends,
by friendship may there be peace,
and by peace may we live lives together in happiness.
Door Warden,
living in lintel, in threshold,
above and below;
in posts rising up on either side,
strong supporters:
with reverent touch I worship you,
with stepping over the threshold right foot first,
I offer my respect.
Protector of the Door, be:
closed against enemies
open to friends
welcoming to guests who approach you.
Before opening you for the first time, Door,
let me introduce myself with this gift.
We'll be working together closely from now on,
so let's get off on the right foot.
A little dwarf sits beside my door
and wards away all danger
while welcoming the stranger.
Bes, to you this beer I pour.
Cardea, goddess of hinges,
uphold this door in its protecting role.
Janus, god of doorways,
bless my goings out,
bless my comings in.
Guard my door, Janus,
keeper of the keys.
Watch it with care,
keep my home safe.
[For when you are locking up for the night]
May the blessings of Janus guard this door.
Janus it is who guards our doors.
Perkūnas protects the world from the forces of disaster,
his might opposing with victory that which would overwhelm.
I inscribe this cross over my door that he might know this house is under his protection,
that he might keep from harm all who dwell within,
and all guests we might honor through hospitality.
I'm stepping with my right foot,
over, not on you:
see my respect.
Rise as a wall against danger,
lie still, a gentle pathway,
for blessings.
Lying flat,
we walk over.
Spirit of the threshold,
watch over us.
We go out,
We come in,
Watch over us.
Threshold Spirit, guardian and protector of my
house's entrance,
I honor you as I pass through the door.
Lord of the threshold,
of doors and gates lord,
place where inside and outside meet:
Janus is my threshold.
Upright standers,
we walk between.
Spirits of the doorposts,
watch over us.
We go out,
We come in,
Watch over us.
[Touch the doorpost reverently as you say this. You can say it each time you leave your house or when you leave it for the first time each day.]
The following prayers can be addressed to the goddess of your own hearth. Where appropriate, you can substitute the name of your own hearth deity, of course.
Fire softly glowing in the heart of my home,
Goddess of the hearth, life of my dwelling,
keep my family free from discord,
free from want, free from fear,
free from all that would disturb us
and that would disturb your perfect peace.
The fire from the waters is here.
The fire from the land is here.
The fire from the sky is here.
From below, from about, from above,
Fire has come here to my hearth:
Burn there, Lady of Clear Sight.
[Water (below), land (about), and sky (above) are the traditional realms of many cultures, especially the Indo-European. This is a prayer for lighting your hearth flame.]
A burning point are you, Lady.
A center point are you, Lady.
A place of light are you, Lady.
A place of warmth are you, Lady.
The heart of our home are you, Lady.
To you, Fiery One, I give this milk;
I pour it out in your honor.
[Offerings to a hearth deity should be homey consumables, such as milk, bread, or butter. Wine is too fancy, mead a bit affected. Beer isn't bad, though.]
She burns in the center of the Hall of the Gods,
and around her they gather in contemplation,
in council.
She makes them one family of comrades.
When they gather where she is those who contend are at peace,
those whose nature is constant motion,
rest.
Burner and Warmer,
Dweller on the Hearth,
even the gods continually praise you.
So one would expect me to feel awe when I see you,
but I feel friendship and love coming from you,
and I can only return it in kind.
This fire I sit by is the Goddess of the Hearth.
Not a sign, or a symbol, or an image, or a representation, or a manifestation of a goddess who lives on some celestial, spiritual, unobserved place:
Here in front of me is this goddess herself.
Warmed and lit by her, and eating food cooked through her,
I will sit, and know her here, and thank her for this wonder.
We gather at the fire and the fire draws us in
and holds us in her arms.
She speaks the words our hearts, our hearts must hear.
that ever where she is, we are safe,
safe from fear.
We eat together, home's center,
with the same food on our tables.
It's nice to eat with a friend.
Lady who sits on the throne of the hearth,
who appears to us in scarlet robes,
with golden fringe:
increase our family's peace with your welcome love.
A stove is a hearth,
and the goddess who watches over hearths,
watches over this stove that cooks the food of our family
and is the hearth of hospitality:
with the lighting of this oil lamp I bring you honor.
I bring you into my heart, a heart that loves you.
You are in the shining fire
here in the home's heart.
Stay with me
Stay in our home
And each day I will honor you.
Little fire, I will tend and feed you,
and you will bless me from your vast store.
Red-robed Lady, who is covered most gently to preserve your spark,
I, the lady of this house, in the presence of my family,
strike this match, this small flame
to cause you to grow on the hearth,
and place this bread, this salt, upon the logs that you will also eat,
to warm, to give light, to this home of yours.
Purest one,
the season of fires is past,
the warm time is come.
And so I clear your hearth,
and wash it clean,
preparing it to serve as a pure place
when I shall again lay a fire here.
The home's central point is a glowing fire,
the heart of our home shining brightly.
Brigid, Queen of Fire, bless all of your people,
all who dwell in this house.
A new land
A new house:
the same hearth goddess.
Welcome, Brigid;
with you on the hearth, I'm home again.
Old man behind the stove,
here is some bread:
take as much as you want.
Domovoi, you don't have to be content with the crumbs that fall when I bake,
because I am giving you this piece of bread,
torn from a home-baked loaf,
out of friendship, grandfather.
I place this bread for you, Domovoi, next to the stove:
may this home be prosperous,
this family happy,
through your help.
Dear fire, beloved Gabija, stay with us here,
in the home where you are loved.
You have everything you could need here:
this food, this milk, this bowl of water to keep dirt away,
the pleasant conversation of your family to listen to.
Rest comfortably here in your bed, and share your blessings around.
I light this fire.
I call you, Gabija, to send our offerings to the gods,
to the goddesses.
We promise you we are pure,
fit to come before you, purest one.
Here is today's first offering
of food that will be part of your feast to come.
Bless us, then, as we begin our rites.
So pure, so clean, so powerful,
Gabija sits in our house's center.
In token of her purity, greatest of what is,
I place this bowl of water for her to wash with,
although that is unnecessary.
Salt and food to you, as is right,
Holy Gabija, whom it is right to praise.
Vesta, eat what is offered to you and transform it, as food is transformed, into blessings for me, and for all my household.
Your moving flames are my home's still center,
the many tongues, your tongue, speaking silence.
I will sit here and listen.
Lukipotyā. [Shining Lady]
The next four prayers can be said each time you light a fire in a fireplace, but they are just as good for lighting a pilot light when you move into a new home. With “wood” changed to “oil,” the first prayer is equally good for an oil lamp.
The fire that burns on my hearth is the very heart of my home.
By feeding the fire with wood and with air, I am feeding my home with what it needs most.
I give you these things, fire on my hearth and more gifts will follow as we live our lives together.
I light a fire on my family's hearth and praise the gods of our home.
I burn incense to the High Ones and pour out libations to the Ancestors.
Hear my words, see me as I perform the rites, receive the gifts I offer to you.
See, here I stand,
with flame in my hand.
The fire is laid before me.
Everything is prepared.
The house stands about me.
Everything is prepared.
with flame in my hand.
The heart of the home
is about to be lit.
The house is about to live.
Bright Goddess,
Queen of the Hearth,
The fire that will warm us,
The fire that will cook our food,
The fire that will light our homes.
You are the Queen of the Home
and I am your priestess/priest.
I light the heart of the home.
I awaken the house to life.
I place you here in the center of my house:
be the navel about which all turns;
be my home the world you support.
With your warmth enliven the house.
With your warmth enliven those who live in the house.
With your warmth enliven those to whom hospitality is given in the house.
Be, then, the very power by which hospitality is given,
linking those who live here with the greater community.
Be, then, not only the center of the house
but its connection with that which is outside the house.
Be the one we face and the one who faces others.
I place you here in the center of my house,
and I will worship you here.
Enter [my/our] home, and find your own,
for the old ways are kept here
and hospitality is a law all are proud to honor.1
Goddess of the hearth, beat strong and pure in the heart of my home.
Lord of the threshold, keep vigilant guard over the entrance to my home.
Spirits of the land, keep watch throughout the yard of my home.
God of the borders, stand ready to repulse all disorder from my home.
Wicca is the most popular form of neo-Paganism. In its most basic form, Wicca has two deities—the God and the Goddess—all of the other deities being considered manifestations of them. In some versions of Wicca, the other deities are believed to have their own existence, but the God and Goddess are still seen as having the qualities of all the deities. The Wiccan God is associated with the Sun and sky, thought of as dying and reborn with the year, and often called “All Father.” The Goddess is the “All Mother” and is linked with both the Earth and the Moon.
May the pillars of this home stand as erect and faithful as the phallus of the God.
May its floors support it as faithfully as the wide-extending body of the Goddess.
May we, those who dwell in this house,
continually receive blessings from the presence of the God and Goddess.
Come out of your desert, perfumed Bast,
and into my home, where you will be honored,
here receive offerings of beer and of milk,
you who watch over many children.
Cloacina, who has received the leavings of my offerings,
here is your own offering of sweet red wine
to thank you for keeping our pipes clear to carry away our sewage,
and bring us fresh water
for cooking, for cleaning, for drinking.
Cloacina, without you this would be a sad house indeed.
Keep my home healthy, Cloacina;
dispose of waste and dirt through your pipes.
For now, though, what will flow through you is this poured wine.
Cloacina, to you these leavings,
and to you this fresh wine:
your share and your due.
Closely have I read,
and often,
of how you stole Apollo's cattle,
and by clever stratagem sought to hide the deed
and avoid your guilt,
becoming thereby the god of thieves.
Trickster, I ask you to turn your trickery against those selfsame thieves,
and defeat the aims of those who would despoil this house.
Hermes, I praise your intelligence, that will ever find a way in,
and ask that it be just as effective in keeping burglars out.
Hermes Kleptōn, who protects thieves,
instead guard my property from thieves.
Even as you support the Cosmic Order,
you, herald of Zeus who enforces divine law,
you, god closest to men,
enforce the little order of human law,
and the order smaller yet of this home,
my little cosmos,
and preserve it inviolate from intruders with burglary on their minds.
Hermes, god of thieves, this time protect against thieves,
and send them on their way with no gain.
May those who come to my home leave with knives well greased,
their breath smelling of beer.
May I be openhanded and generous, a good host,
Lug, true king who restores and maintains society's order.
Ancestors,
be present in our shrine.
Watch over us, your children,
giving wisdom and guidance when needed,
and linking us together.
Here in this home, the Ancestors are thick about us,
the Dead are thick about us,
but we who live in their midst are ourselves living,
and when we think of them, remembering them with a child's fondness,
they live, too, and we live together happily.
I have chanted your names each Samhain as is my duty.
I have offered thanksgiving gifts for the births of my children, as is only right.
I have not forgotten where I came from, and have kept the old ways, as is only proper.
I therefore turn in confidence to you, spirits of my Ancestors,
and ask your protection for my family and all its property.
Old Ones who grace our shrine,
who grace our line,
who grace our lives:
we honor you with right living,
making you proud of us;
the best offering you could receive.
But today a small offering, a token.
Be under the protection of the Hearth,
House Spirits:
We will offer to you at times.
May the Spirits of the wood and minerals that make up this house
live well, live honored lives.
Aware of your presence, we place ourselves under your protection with this offering,
and promise more in the future.
1 In saying this blessing, a person is taking on the role of the gods themselves and honoring them with right actions. It is a good blessing to inscribe on a plaque and hang by your door. Of course, you must live up to it.