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Post by nellie on Jan 11, 2011 6:35:46 GMT -1
I think I've looked through all the older threads (but there's a danger I've forgotten the first ones I read now ;D) and couldn't find any mention of this, though I have read Lee's entry on the household cult on the Dun Brython site. For weeks now I've been aiming for a place in the home to make offerings to the spirit of the home, but that's it's taken me this long indicates there's a bit of a problem. So firstly - how do various people relate to the spirit of their home, if at all? Do you leave offerings? Ritually clean? Secondly, what do you all think about the concept of a house spirit? This is something I struggle to understand. My home was once two homes... and forms a tidy 'L' shape with two other houses. 1 household spirit, 3 or 6?  Is the spirit of a home defined by something that physical, or is it about the people within? |
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Post by potia on Jan 11, 2011 8:57:34 GMT -1
My own expereince tends to indicate that household spirits can vary enormously. Some places seem to have very strong spirits and others don't.
I don't really leave offerings or ritually clean but do sporadically go round with insence.
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Post by arth_frown on Jan 11, 2011 9:51:18 GMT -1
Household chores dedicated to the house spirits. Lighting a candle, offerings of drink and food. Even prayers thanking them for there gifts and protection.
It's all about being mindful of them.
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Post by Rion on Jan 11, 2011 13:17:52 GMT -1
I do a really good clean once a month and afterward light a candle and give a little something to the household spirits and the door guardian. I make a point of keeping the stove clean as a dedication to Briganti, keep her candle lit whenever I cook, and offer her small parts of whatever I make. Of course, I'm not saying you should do what I do! Secondly, what do you all think about the concept of a house spirit? This is something I struggle to understand. My home was once two homes... and forms a tidy 'L' shape with two other houses. 1 household spirit, 3 or 6? Is the spirit of a home defined by something that physical, or is it about the people within? For me, the household spirits are of each particular group of people that consider themselves to be a household. I live in a building with several apartments but I only define my household as my other half, my flatmate and I. My feeling is there are several spirits per household, not just the one. |
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Post by Heron on Jan 11, 2011 16:47:25 GMT -1
I think Arth's 'being mindful' is the key here. Find out what gets a response by what feels right. And, as Rion suggests, there might be more than one and that might require different things in different contexts and depending who is there.
One traditional place to make special for this is the Hearth, which is where I focus my dedications. If there is no hearth as such an equivalent place with candles can be created.
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Post by nellie on Jan 12, 2011 6:19:12 GMT -1
One of the problems I have is with offerings of food. How do you remove such offerings respectfully?
Out of doors I always make sure offerings are biodegradable or that I'm offering something the wildlife finds yummy which means there's no worry about how/when to remove said offering.
But when it comes to leaving food indoors as an offering it seems rude to then take it back..!
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Post by nellie on Jan 12, 2011 6:22:01 GMT -1
As a quirky story about what feels right - the spirit/s in my garden seem to appreciate milk... if I pour wine onto the earth I wake up with a stonking headache lol! I'm still such a newbie!!
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Post by crowman on Jan 12, 2011 9:11:23 GMT -1
i use milk when im out walking if i feel i need to leave an offering (its part of my mobile tea making kit which i cannot be without!)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2011 17:32:30 GMT -1
I'm not sure if household gods are the same as household spirits... but I went to a conference on the legacy of Rome in Wales recently and thought it was interesting that a 'Mr Blobby' type figure ('blobby' shaped stone but with a rough face iirc - we were shown a picture) had been found buried in a ritual way in some abandoned romano-british houses that had been excavated. The theory is that they were household gods which had been buried as part of a closing down ritual when the house was vacated - you couldn't take the house gods with you - they belonged to the house.
It's speculation of course but makes sense and it had the effect of making the household god seem more real - embodied - to me.
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Post by deiniol on Jan 12, 2011 18:08:30 GMT -1
One of the problems I have is with offerings of food. How do you remove such offerings respectfully? Leave it there for a set period- 24 hours perhaps- and then simply dispose of it. That's what I do when I ofer Briganti food when I'm cooking. |
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Post by crowman on Jan 12, 2011 18:09:29 GMT -1
Part of a Zulu tradition as shown in the flame trees of thika is to kiss all four Walls of a house to say goodbye when u leave a house... MAybe this is connected to house spirits?
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Post by nellie on Jan 12, 2011 19:50:57 GMT -1
Gellifach, was 'Mr. Blobby' image thought to be a specifically Roman? It doesn't seem a very 'roman' kind of way of doing things to produce something so unformed and imprecise as to resemble Mr Blobby  The roman representations that I have seen have been more realistic. I wonder if such images are found elsewhere? What was the reason that they believed the image was connected to a goodbye/moving house kind of ritual? You would have to take from that that the relationship with a household god or spirit would be quite an important one then. I have set aside a space. It's simply a white bowl surrounded by small candles. Does anybody have any thoughts on the most appropriate time to make offerings to household spirits? I'm thinking porridge would make a homely offering to such spirits, though I'm not sure why ;D |
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Post by potia on Jan 12, 2011 20:00:35 GMT -1
Porridge is certainly a time honoured Scottish traditional offering for spirits such as Brownies and as for timing - well if it's porridge I'd say breakfast time |
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Post by nellie on Jan 12, 2011 20:09:12 GMT -1
Ah well, porridge has a preceedant then! |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2011 18:33:29 GMT -1
Gellifach, was 'Mr. Blobby' image thought to be a specifically Roman? It doesn't seem a very 'roman' kind of way of doing things to produce something so unformed and imprecise as to resemble Mr Blobby What was the reason that they believed the image was connected to a goodbye/moving house kind of ritual? You would have to take from that that the relationship with a household god or spirit would be quite an important one then. I agree, you'd think a Roman one would have been more representational (although I believe one of the Roman household gods to do with the giving or supply of food was never represented.) It was Romano-British so the house-dwellers could have been British people adopting a Roman life-style but retaining some of their native beliefs and rituals. This is all quite speculative - I think only one or two of these things were found. The period after the Romans left is -well - dark and obscure. I gather that there is very little evidence and scholars have to theorise a lot and there is a lot of disagreement. I don't think the speaker went into detail about how it was found - just that it seemed to have been deliberately placed. There could have been other reasons for its presence - but the theory caught my imagination. It would be interesting if any more turn up - it might have been a very localised thing. |
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Is the spirit of a home defined by something that physical, or is it about the people within?
The roman representations that I have seen have been more realistic. I wonder if such images are found elsewhere? What was the reason that they believed the image was connected to a goodbye/moving house kind of ritual? You would have to take from that that the relationship with a household god or spirit would be quite an important one then.