The House Witch: Your Complete Guide to Creating a Magical Space with Rituals and Spells for Hearth and Home - Arin Murphy-Hiscock 2018
Household Spirits
Hearth and Home Deities
A household spirit is a guardian that defends the home or some specific part of it or the family members. These spirits are not formal deities or mythological figures; rather, they are unique to the hearth and family. They may be related to the ancestors, or they may be spirits of place. Household spirits are honored within the home and are often represented by small figures or paintings or engravings on household items. Household spirits are generally acknowledged by the family and are given offerings of various food and/or drinks, or are honored in other ways. In general, the cultural associations made with these spirits are of protection of the home, protection of family members, and prosperity.
The Roman cult of the hearth and family is an excellent example of how household spirits functioned within daily life and the spiritual activity of the family. The lares familiares of ancient Rome were spirits associated with different places or activities. The lar familiaris (literally a “family guardian”) was a household god or spirit associated with an individual family home. A small shrine known as a lararium served as a home for the lares, appearing variously as a niche in a wall, a wall cupboard, or a freestanding cupboard. The lararium was placed near the hearth, the central focus of the home, or in an entryway, sometimes sharing or standing next to a shrine to Vesta. Small statues of the lares were placed in and around the home to protect it, sometimes on the roof or other high places. The lar was an essential part of family life, in both day-to-day events and formal family functions. If individuals within the family honored the lar, then the spirit would protect each of them and ensure they had good fortune. If an individual did not properly honor the spirit, then he or she would be ignored and denied the spirit’s aid.
The lares had their own festival called the Compitalia, celebrated around the fourth of January. The Compitalia is associated with the concept of crossroads, an interesting symbol when you consider how much power the lar held to help or hinder a family. Some records suggest that there were different lares for different zones of the house, such as the doorways, the hearth, and so forth. The penates, for example, were originally spirits of the pantry and storerooms, who, when properly honored, would ensure that the family was prosperous and always had enough to eat. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Aeneas pauses to take the small figures of the hearth gods with him as he flees. This action suggests that “home” is wherever the hearth gods are. Taking the physical representation and focus for the spirits along with him symbolizes to Aeneas transporting the entire ancestry and culture as he seeks a new home and founds a new city.
While the lares were literally spirits of place, remaining in the house when a family moved and protecting everyone within it regardless of station or kinship, the manes were the actual spirits of family ancestors and beloved dead. Di manes can be translated as “the good ones” or “kindly ones.” These spirits protected the family itself, not the house or household servants.
Shinto, the native religion of Japan, has as one of its tenets an honor for family and tradition. A Shinto home will usually have a small shrine or altar called the kamidama (a “god shelf” or “spirit shelf”) placed high on a wall in a central living area of the home. This altar is often a small shelf or a small house-like structure or façade, set up to house ritual objects. Traditionally, the five offerings made at a kamidana are rice, sake (rice wine), water, salt, and evergreen branches or incense. The tiny set of objects used on the altar for these offerings are known as shinki and include white ceramic vases for the evergreen branches, flasks with lids to hold blessed sake, a small dish for rice, a flask with a lid for blessed water, a small dish for salt, and a low wooden platform or tray on which to display the shinki set, as well as miniature replicas of the lamps found in large formal shrines. Before any offering is made, the individual must wash his or her hands well.
While the kamidana is not dedicated solely to the kamadogami or Shinto hearth gods, it is certainly one of the kinds of spirits honored there. Creating a small location such as this in which to focus your honoring of your own household spirits and ancestors is another way to explore the spirituality of the home and to honor it. (See Chapter 3 for more information about constructing a physical representation of the spiritual hearth, and Chapter 6 for more information on constructing a kitchen shrine.)
European cultures have also retained certain house spirits that have been encoded in folktales but are still referred to in modern times and remembered in cultural tradition. These spirits are generally male, often hairy, human-shaped but in smaller proportion or of miniature stature, and are generally benevolent unless provoked by disrespect or open recognition. If one of these household spirits is associated with your cultural ancestry, you may think about inviting one to take up residence in your home. Just make sure to treat it properly!
✵ Brownie (Scotland, England): A familiar household spirit, the brownie is generally described as a small brown human, dressed in tattered clothes or in nothing at all. Sometimes there are minor physical differences from humans, such as webbed hands, missing fingers, or a flat nose. Brownies are perhaps the most helpful domestic spirits one can possibly have, helping and supporting in every possible domestic activity. It is essential that a brownie receive no other sign of appreciation than a dish of rich milk or fresh bread or cake left out for him, or the brownie will leave forever. Spoken thanks and new clothes are especially forbidden. Criticism of any kind is also forbidden, for the brownie will take offense and create a complete mess while destroying household goods. Some brownies also protect their households or use playful trickery to expose household members who are lazy and skimp on their chores!
✵ Boggart (England, North Country region): Boggarts can be either helpful or malevolent spirits. They do not tend to have physical forms, although stories exist wherein specific boggarts take physical form to torment or mislead people. Boggarts are mischievous and like playing tricks, often exhibiting poltergeist-like behavior. Benevolent boggarts are brownie-like in their behavior and will help out with domestic tasks. Like a brownie, however, it must be treated well, or it can and will display destructive behavior. The Welsh bwca is a form of brownie.
✵ Hob (England): The hob functions much like a brownie, but instead of providing general help he focuses on one specific task. The name refers to the flat part of a range or stovetop, or the flat place or shelf by a hearth where pans could be heated or kept warm. The same cautions regarding thanking and criticizing brownies apply to hobs. The hob can be attached to a specific house or piece of land or to a family, following them if they move. The hob is also known as a hobgoblin, which is sometimes considered a nature spirit or is confused with the malicious goblin.
✵ Domovoi (Russia): The domovoi is a helpful household spirit much like the English brownie. They are described as little old men with gray beards who live under or near the hearth or sometimes the threshold of the house. While dom means “house,” the domovoi is linked to the family and will move with them when properly invited. Domovoi sometimes help with chores, but their primary focus is on protecting the house and the residents. A portion of the evening meal is always set aside for him, and the family never refers to him by name, only by a nickname such as “old grandfather.” Like most household spirits, the domovoi must be kept happy, or the family risks ill fortune and suffering from poltergeist-like activity.
✵ Tomte (Sweden): The tomte or tomtar is a house spirit, again male and ranging from a few inches to two feet tall, who is attached to a piece of land upon which a house has been built. The tomte’s preferred food is porridge, often with a pat of butter on top, served to him on Christmas morning. The presence of the tomte ensures a smoothly run and prosperous household, sometimes at the expense of neighbors who lose grain or supplies to the tomte as he works to keep the household under his guardianship successful. The tomte is gifted with incredible strength far beyond what one would imagine. In Finland this spirit is known as the tonttu. Images of the tomte as a small man with a white beard and tall pointed red hat are often seen around Christmas.
✵ Nisse (Denmark, Norway): A brownie-like household spirit who likes a quiet and orderly household, the nisse or nis works on household chores at night. Like the tomte he may stealthily acquire goods and supplies from neighbors to supplement his household’s stock of goods. The nisse’s preferred method of being thanked is to be left a bowl of porridge with a pat of butter. His special skill is speed.
✵ Kobold (Germany): A kobold is a household spirit who can manifest as human, animal, fire, or household object. Similar to brownies and other household spirits, they are most frequently described as humans between two and four feet tall. Kobolds live under the hearth or in a less-trafficked area such as a woodshed or attic. They finish what chores have been left undone when the family has gone to bed, keep pests away, and help the family maintain an abundance of food and good fortune. As is customary, the kobold and his efforts must be respected, or the family risks losing his services and suffering dreadful misfortune, illness, and hardship. Like the Romans did with their household spirits and gods, German peasants carved effigies and small figures of kobolds to protect their houses. There are other kinds of kobolds in German mythology as well, specifically those who dwell in mines and those who work aboard ships.
Although not considered gods in a real sense, these more mischievous household spirits had to be kept content in order to avoid ill fortune or obstacles in daily life. In some cases, keeping a spirit content meant not acknowledging it, as in the case of the brownie.
Offerings to Household Spirits
Offerings are a way of honoring your chosen principles, guardians, or concepts of the sacred. The term offering suggests that what you are giving to the entity you are honoring is in some way precious to you. Anything can be an offering.
Every house will have different spirits, and they will all have different personalities, likes, and dislikes. Food is a simple offering that is commonly made throughout the world. In Japan, for example, the practice of scattering rice in the four corners and in the center of a particular site as an offering to a kami or god is called sanku. The basic food offerings such as sake, salt, and water are called shinsen, although an offering may be of any food, cooked or otherwise.
Many traditional offerings tie in to the basic foods prepared at the hearth, especially bread and porridge. A simple way to honor your house spirits is to leave a portion of the meal you are serving to your own family for them, either on your kitchen shrine or in another place. The amount depends on what you can spare or what you think the spirit would appreciate. An excessive amount might suggest to the spirit that you have more than enough and do not need help; too little may offend it. A spoonful may be enough. Leave the offering overnight and dispose of what is left the next morning. While it may not seem as if any has been consumed, the argument is often made that spirits absorb the energy of an offering, and they certainly are aware of the action and appreciate the respect and acknowledgment thus demonstrated.