A Home Blessing: Hearthcrafting

If you are anything like me, your home is sacred. It's the place where you feel safest, where you nurture your family, where ideas blossom, your garden grows, and everything is cozy, welcoming, and magical. When people are invited into our home, I want them to feel at ease and comfortable being exactly who and where they are (mentally and physically). And while a lot of this is rooted in tangible choices like decor, lighting, and always having fresh coffee brewing, there is also a lot of energy work that goes into creating a home.

Hearthcraft is obviously a big part of my life and I think a lot of people practice this craft without even knowing that it has a name. After all, energy work is at its core is just creating and manipulating the energy or feeling of a place using various methods (there are infinite possibilities)! Hearthcraft is, quite simply, the practice of creating a spiritually resonant, nurturing, and protective home environment through intentional, everyday actions and an appreciation for the home as a sacred space. It involves imbuing daily rituals, from cleaning to cooking, with intention and mindfulness, transforming them into a path of self-care, connection to nature, and a source of comfort and power. It is not based on any religion or creed, but rather is a free and open ended practice intended to be inclusive and personal.

A good place to start is by thinking about your senses. By being mindful about how your senses perceive the space around you, it is possible to completely alter a space into the environment you want.

Smell is a big one! I love how our house feels when we are cooking or baking something that smells delicious and wafts through the house. Candles, incense, brewing fresh coffee, opening the windows on nice days...these are all ways we change the smell, and therefore the feeling (energy) of our home. There are also practices in some cultures that involve opening the windows on windy days to "blow the stagnant air/energy out". When we were in living in Japan this was a regular practice that we would see the neighbors doing, I started doing it too and it was crazy how different our space felt afterwards.

Sound is also a good one! I love having music playing softly in the background. As someone who primarily works from home, I feel much more productive when it's not completely silent inside. I also really love having the windows open on nice days so that the sounds of the nearby school, birds chirping in the garden, and our chickens bagoking around can be brought into the space.

Temperature, texture, lighting - the possibilities are endless. BUT, there is more to it than just acknowledging and working with your five basic senses. Anyone who lives with another person can tell you that if someone is in a bad mood, you can feel it! When your kids are being chaotic and the energy in the house takes on an almost feral shift that makes your chest feel tight, you can feel it. During the holidays, the excitement and joy and comfort is palpable in the home! So maybe this concept of energy seems woo-woo at first, but it is cross culturally known and accepted, by many different names.

Mindful, intentional words (you can call it prayer, meditation, spells, energy work, manifestation, affirmations - whatever you feel comfortable with) are the final piece of the puzzle. Speaking your words into a space to create or manifest the energy you want that space to hold, is a really powerful way to imbue your home with a warm, hygge feeling. So, with all of that being said, here is a simple home blessing I want to share with you. When the world feels dark and scary, your home should be a refuge for you and your family and friends to live, create, and thrive freely.

"Home, our place of rest and peace,

foster love, and anger release.

Let no malice come inside,

but welcome friendship to abide.

May happiness and blessings grow,

like the garden that we sow.

Protection, health, and happiness stay,

and all negativity be held at bay."

The imprint we leave on this world matters. What we teach our children in our homes matters. How we treat other people matters. Your words matter. So, let's keep that energy clean, and share the love wherever we can :)

em