As someone who experienced homelessness and hardship in my early 20s, I am grateful to have a roof over my head and a comfortable, attractive roof at that.  In 2007 I made an offering to Ingui asking for the boon of our own home, and an oath that if we had our own home I would set aside one room for altars and ritual use.  A week to the day later the process was set in motion and nine months later we moved in where we live now, a 3-bedroom 2-bath condo with a walled patio with room for a garden.  When we moved in, we dedicated this house to Frey, Freya, and Gerda.  So this is just as much Their house as ours.  (Also amazing: the mortgage is completely paid off… in a time when many people are losing their homes due to foreclosure, in a bad economy with recession giving way to depression, this is quite a boon indeed.)

It’s important when you move into a place to start off on the right foot.  The arch-Heathens knew this well and that was why they did land-taking rituals.  Even if you are moving into a place where you will be in small quarters or sharing with roommates, or are only staying there temporarily (e.g. a military base), there are still subtle and discreet ways to bless your living situation.  Blessing your new home will be a blessing to the life you live there.

It’s important to be on good terms with the local wights.  As I mentioned in my book American Wights, not all houses have wights and this is particularly true of places like California where anything 50 years old is considered really old.  In New England, by contrast, you still have some sites around from the 1600s and the power there is palpable.  (I can only imagine what the land and buildings would be like in Europe, which I hope to visit someday.)  You can attract a house-wight by regularly leaving out some offerings, although obviously if you had a wight in your previous location it is considered good manners to offer him the chance to move with you.

The Vanir are deeply connected to the Land, and from a Vanic perspective the spirits of place are no less worthy of respect than the Gods Themselves.  (This is not saying they are not respected by the Aesir, either.)  When you connect with the Land, your bioregion, the local flora and fauna and the personalities of your local Land guardians, you will notice it influencing you for the better.  I would encourage anyone of a mystical bent to get to know the wights within at least a two-mile radius.  Not only will this help with protection where you live (wights have been known to ward away potential burglars or other criminal types, as well as warn of impending disaster), it will help you be more attuned to the weather patterns and can be deeply physically and mentally healing.  Of course, being on good terms with the spirits in your area is a worthy thing in and of itself.  It’s polite, and it is good to be mindful of the interconnectedness of all things.

As far as the inside of the house, I like things to be clean and organized.  It doesn’t have to be museum-quality perfect like no one lives there but it should be hygenic and functional.  If I can’t find where things are, that’s not good.  If there’s germs and we get sick, that’s not good.  But also having a cluttered and dirty home can affect one’s mood and thoughts, chaos creating more chaos.  And finally, I take pride in my home.  I like things to look nice.  You don’t need to spend a lot of money to fix up a place, if you know where and how to shop and have some skill with crafts and an eye for color and proportion.

And while women and Goddesses are traditionally associated with homekeeping, e.g. Frigga and Holda, by all means men should know how to take care of themselves as well.  It is true that the frithy character of a woman can help energetically balance a house and make it feel like home.  But there is no excuse in the 21st century for a man not to know how to cook for himself or clean, and this is not unmanly by any means.

How you live inside your home is important.  I am very careful about who I let pass through my front door.  There are some times when you can’t control that too much, such as a repairman or delivery person.  But doing things like smudging can help to maintain the proper feeling inside the home.  Fighting with your mate or your family can disturb the wights and “echo” in the walls.  This can sometimes be unavoidable and anyone who says they never fight with their partner is lying.  At the same time, moving quickly to mend things and making sure to also appease any upset wights can do a lot of damage control.

Having violent video games or too much TV or other brainless crap can also affect the vibrations within a home and the way you live within it.  There are many things that can negatively influence your life within the home, and it is the decision of each family to decide how much is too much and what is not acceptable under any circumstances.

Eating together is important.  If you live alone, saying a prayer of thanks before eating and giving a small offering to your house-wight before eating can help with things like loneliness.  House-plants and/or a garden can help with improving the atmosphere of your home as well.  Doing things like reading or other satisfying hobbies is good.  You can have a house and never feel at “home” there if it’s just a place you sleep and you never do anything positive or fulfilling within its walls.

From a Vanic perspective, home is more than just shelter, home is upon the Land and a happy home life helps one to be more productive in the world.  Home is a place of rest, of enjoyment, and love.  Home is a place where personality can be expressed through decor, and where devotion to the Gods, wights, and ancestors can flourish under the rooftree.

It’s also worth noting that while many do not associate the Vanic Deities with war in the way that Gods like Odin, Tyr and Thor are commonly thought of as warrior Gods, the Vanic concept of warriorhood has a lot to do with defending and preserving the home and the Land.  From a Vanic perspective, if you have a home it is your responsibility to defend it.  My husband and I are both trained in weapons (he has more training with this than myself, however) and unarmed self-defense.  We also have some magical defenses set up, as well. I am definitely a frith-weaver and am mindful of this in my daily work around the house, but while a person can mess with me and I may take action or not depending on the severity of the situation, attempting to screw with my home and my family is something where I will show no mercy, no quarter, and this is by both magical and mundane methods.  Like the wild boar defending territory, that is how a devotee of the Vanir Gods should protect their home.



© 2009 Svartesól.