So much of my spiritual path is entwined with coming home to myself and cultivating a sense of belonging within and in the world.
Many years ago, I became interested in hearth craft, which was a way to integrate my witchcraft into my largely home-centered life working from home and as a mom.
On the surface, some might think hearth craft to be a bit mundane or repressively domestic. But this is not the case, and over the years I discovered just how deep and fulfilling this path was, with immense healing potential on both a personal and collective level.
Hearth Craft is the practice of weaving magic into your home and daily life. It embraces being present with mundane tasks, gratitude & simplicity, and creating spiritual sanctuary in the home. The home is seen as a reflection of the self- and caring for it physically and energetically is just as important as caring for yourself. It honors the home as a sacred container for our nourishment and becoming.
(You can learn more about hearth craft in this blog post)
Being a hearth witch is also more than making home-keeping rituals a sacred practice or creating a sanctuary in your physical space. While these are deeply meaningful practices of hearth craft, I feel there is very little discussed about some of the larger spiritual themes of this path, which can be a part of any spiritual practice.
This brings me to the question- what is ‘home’, anyway?
My sense of ‘home’ is not only contained within the walls of my house, or a geographical location, but exists on other planes. It includes my spiritual sense of connection with all of life while also feeling rooted on this earth in my body and in my emotional wholeness- the light and dark within myself.
I feel that my original home is spiritual. It is the feeling of being at one with everything.
The separation from our spiritual connection with all that is, is a separation from our first home.
Coming back to that spiritual sense of home and belonging is not something our modern society makes very accessible.
I would say we as a species are in a crisis of belonging. Due to the industrial machine we live in, we all have a wound around this. Modern life encourages separation from each other, from the earth, and from our spiritual nature.
For me, the hearth witch path is about cultivating the feeling of spiritual oneness within myself and manifesting it in the world around me. I concentrate my magic not only to the physical home, but into becoming a hearth of spiritual remembering for self and others.
Along this path, I’ve been cultivating the art of coming home to myself- to my body, my roots, my ancestors, my spirit, and the land I walk on.
I invite you to explore these 5 spiritual themes of my hearth craft path to help you feel a greater sense of home and belonging:
- Remembering our spiritual home
- Coming home to our body & the energetic hearth within
- Reconnecting with our kin in nature: the elements, plants, animals and other allies.
- Ancestral healing & reconnection to our roots
- Reclaiming the value of home & hearth keeping from patriarchy
- Remembering our spiritual home:
Like many people, I always wished to feel I truly ‘belonged’ somewhere. My instinct has often been to look outside of myself- to groups and communities, to geographical locations, to workplaces, to movements and causes, to even other times and worlds- you name it, I’ve looked for belonging there. Yet, in this seeking, I often missed the real feeling of belonging, because I felt I couldn’t fully be my authentic self in any place. I knew I needed to find belonging within myself first and foremost.
It’s often through taking some time with a nearby tree, or sitting silently by the lake, or reconnecting to one of my spirit allies, that I remember Spirit flows through me every day, and everywhere I go. I am home all the time, wherever I am, it just takes a moment of remembering. We often simply need reminders that our sense of home is not necessarily a place in the external world- our home lives within us.
We all come from the mystical source of life, however you call it- the Universe, the Great Mother, God, Creator- this is our first home, which holds the feeling of oneness with all life that we long to return to. We are just visiting here on earth, and we long for that home our spirit remembers.
This Earth, I feel is meant to be a reflection of our spiritual home. It currently isn’t in great shape, however, because so many have forgotten our original home and have abused this reflection of it. It needs our care and still offers itself to our memory, to help us come back to being in good relationship with it.
Our longing can eventually become our belonging, if we remember where we come from and strive to keep coming home to that memory within us. Then we can weave that memory into the land, into our relationships, work and creations as best as we can, and let it serve as a beacon of remembering and coming home for others.
Questions for reflection:
What if our desire to belong comes from spiritual home sickness?
What if we are meant to re-create that spiritual sense of home here on earth in our own unique way?
What helps you come home in a spiritual sense?
2. Coming home to our body and the energetic hearth within:
The word ‘hearth’ is very special to me and warms me up inside. It contains both the words ‘heart’ and ‘earth’, depicting the sacred connection between both. I feel the hearth is where our heart meets the earth, where our love manifests in physical form to nourish and support us.
I also feel energetically the hearth holds a womb-like quality, reflecting our first physical home in our mother’s womb.
The sacral chakra, which is the energy centre that also houses the physical womb, has often been referred to as our lower heart. It is the heart’s sensual, earthly counterpart. In Sanskrit, the sacral chakra is named Svadisthana, which means ‘in one’s own abode.’
My inner hearth is a warm, loving, nurturing energy and tends to feel strong in the sacral chakra and in my heart chakra as well as the crown chakra. Others may feel it quite differently, which is all good and well.
Often, to feel our inner hearth, we can think about what ‘lights us up inside’, and notice where we feel that in our body.
What awakens love, warmth and that feeling of spiritual home within your body? Sometimes visiting a certain place in nature, cuddling a pet, hearing a song or type of music or doing something nourishing helps us kindle the flames within.
It took me a long time to feel a sense of being at home in my body. There are so many factors, especially trauma, which can make this challenging. It can take time investing in a mind-body practice or healing support. It may also spontaneously arise when in the right frame of mind or situation.
Another aspect of cultivating the hearth within is to pay attention to our need for boundaries and self-protection. I take on others’ emotions very readily and have had to learn how to cleanse and protect my own energy field. This is something I practice daily as well and recommend as part of cultivating one’s energetic hearth.
Questions for reflection:
What lights you up inside?
Do you feel a place of warmth and love in your body physically or energetically?
What does ‘being at home’ feel like in your body?
3. Reconnecting with our kin in nature- seasonal cycles, plants & animals, the elements & other allies:
Coming to this earth from our spiritual home can be disorienting. Essentially, we ‘forget’ where we come from to some degree and are not given a clear set of instructions, schedule or map.
We are left to find the breadcrumbs ourselves, to hopefully connect with our kin here in earthly form- our soul family- and allow our memories to resurface.
Our soul family may include other humans, as well as animals, plants, trees, rocks, bodies of water, places on the land itself, and other spirit helpers all serving as reminders of home. We all come from the same place, after all. Our soul family can rekindle our inner hearth-flames of remembering, and help us become a beacon of remembering for others.
There have been many places and beings in nature that have helped me greatly over the years. For example, since I was a child, I always felt most at home when I was near or in a body of water. I always felt the sacredness of the water element. Whenever I am near a lake, ocean or river, I remember that I am part of everything.
Swimming- especially in lakes- is one way that I can instantly feel a sense of belonging again. To a lesser extent, during the winter months, I rekindle that feeling by taking baths. Perhaps it’s the memory of living in surrounded by water in the womb. Or maybe it’s a deeper, more ancient connection to coming from the ocean. Either way, connecting with the water element is a very easy, quick way for me to regain a sense of belonging when I feel alone.
Living in a big city with millions of people, I have had to be quite intentional about seeking out allies in nature to rekindle my sense of belonging. Thankfully, Toronto has lots of trails, parks, critters and sits on the edge of beautiful Lake Ontario. We always have a reminder of home nearby.
Also, the energy of all the humans in the city, while overwhelming at times, can also increase our chance of finding other humans in our soul family. Even if we haven’t met them yet, there are likely others a lot like you who have found their way here.
Questions for reflection:
Is there a place in nature that helps you remember your belonging to this earth?
Is there an animal you’re drawn to or have a strong relationship with? A tree that helps you feel at home?
Who in your life feels like soul family?
4. Ancestral healing & Reconnection to our roots
Learning the stories of my ancestors has greatly strengthened my sense of belonging and feeling at home on this planet. So many of us have been removed from our roots and our elders, displaced for many different reasons. This is one of the reasons I feel we are in a crisis of belonging.
I wasn’t really interested in my ancestors much until around the age of 30. Then, thanks to the internet and a keen aunt, uncle and other relatives who loved genealogy, I was able to find lots of information about my relatives with ease.
Slowly over time, I collected photos, stories, names, and scrapbooks. I am still learning more every day about my ancestors. There are definitely things that have been passed down to me that I feel proud of. And some things, like inherited wounds, I am working on.
For the most part though, getting to know my ancestors not only on paper, but spiritually- through prayer, talking with them, going to their lands, speaking their language and honouring them in my daily life has been a balm to my soul.
Not only has my relationship with my ancestors helped me– by showing me just how loved and protected I am, reminding me of my gifts and helping me feel more rooted with purpose here on the planet- I feel it has helped them, too. I feel their joy and relief when I connect with them. I feel like they’ve been with me my whole life, just waiting for me to hear, listen, pay attention to them. When I do, they get positively giddy, and that warms my heart so much.
I feel hearth craft is essentially an ancestral-reclaiming practice, because in a very short span of time-maybe only a generation or two for some of us- daily life went from cooking over an open fire, hunting and fishing off the land, farming, sewing and washing by hand, to modern technology doing most of our chores for us and food sourcing shifted to large corporations. Hearth craft embraces a reclaiming of the old ways, reconnecting our lives to the land and to the crafts and wisdom of our foremothers.
Many of my ancestors on my mother’s side were homesteading pros. Voyageurs, Metis and French Settlers who lived across Quebec, the Great Lakes and the prairies, they knew how to build a home and community from the ground up in various landscapes. They lived off the land, and some even formed a village, St.Leon in Manitoba.
Some of my foremothers bore up to 16 children all the while working hard to survive the harsh prairie winters. Some spoke French, English, Cree or Michif. They had tough lives, a strong faith, a good sense of humor and took great joy in playing the fiddle and spoons, writing, singing and dancing. They put me to shame with my modern convenient life, but inspire me deeply with their joy, resilience and strength.
When I feel lost or lonely, or like this world is too much, I can rest assured I carry their gifts within my blood and bones. They overwhelm me with gratitude.
Questions for reflection:
Do you feel a connection with your ancestors or the lands they walked?
What gifts and strengths were passed down to you?
How do your ancestors help you feel a sense of belonging and home in this world?
5. Reclaiming the value of home & hearth-keeping from patriarchy
While much has changed since our foremother’s times, women are still under immense pressure. We’re expected to ‘do it all’ and somehow do it perfectly and happily, which is humanly impossible.
I sometimes feel the hardship, pain and lost dreams of my foremothers, as they had to make many sacrifices to ensure survival of their families. Having been raised in the 1980s and 90s, I absorbed a lot of mixed messaging around what a woman’s role should or shouldn’t be- as independent woman, mother, wife. Basically, whatever we do, society won’t find it acceptable, and there is always a sacrifice of some kind.
We are always subject to criticism, whatever our choice or circumstances are in regard to having a family, career and value in this world. Patriarchy still has a hold on us, and this requires some unpacking and healing.
Deciding to embrace hearth-keeping as a sacred calling in my life brought up insecurity and wounding. Internalized social conditioning had me belittling the ways I weaved magic into my home and family life. I felt I was not doing enough to save this very messed up world. While I always worked or volunteered in some way serving the community at large, I always felt like what I was doing for my home and family wasn’t considered valuable work and I should somehow be doing more, even though I was exhausted.
Tending the home and hearth was held sacred through much of history in many cultures. While patriarchy designated this area of life to women and devalued this work to keep control over us, the home has never ceased to be a foundation upon which everything else stands.
Our early experiences with home, nourishment and love from our early caregivers deeply influence who we grow up to be. While we and many of our foremothers have known this, having all the burdens of emotional, physical and mental labor placed on women is unacceptable. Social systems are still deeply lacking in support for parents, elders, those in caring professions and caregivers in many ways. These roles are part of the hearth-tending needed in society at large.
Sacrifices have always been part of the package. While sacrifice is noble and sometimes necessary, martyrdom is not. I’ve had to unpack this inheritance from my own lineage and conditioning quite a bit.
I wish to invite us back to an expanded view on what the hearth is. It is very much a feeling of being home and belonging- an energetic quality, which is not limited to the walls of our dwelling. It is an energy we can cultivate within ourselves, and in our interactions with the world at large. We can create a hearth energy in our workplace. We can cultivate a hearth in our intimate relationships, communities and those we care for in various ways.
Whether you bring your love, magic and nurturing energy to your house plants, pets, home, partner, friends, children, co-workers, clients, customers, a cause, passion, art form or a special place on the land, you are feeding the hearth fires that keep us all going!
It’s really about your intention and the energy you bring to what you are doing.
Also, remember that in order to be the hearth for others, your own inner hearth needs stoking first.
Reclaiming the value of home and hearth keeping is about finding out what it means to you, rather than what society or culture thinks. We can experiment. We can use it as an opportunity to heal broken lineages, childhood wounds, start new habits and transform our relationship to it.
How do you feel about home keeping and domestic work? What perspectives did you inherit or absorb from society/culture about it?
How does the idea of hearth-keeping as a sacred act of care for self and others sit with you?
How does hearth-keeping show up in different areas of your life?
As I mentioned before, for me, the hearth witch path is about cultivating the feeling of home within myself and manifesting it in the world around me. I strive to concentrate my magic not only to the physical home, but into becoming a hearth of spiritual remembering for self and others.
May your your inner hearth fires be nourished and burn brightly!
xo
Serena
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