I’ve moved almost twenty times. Most recently, I moved into a new house that I will be leasing with my boyfriend for the next two years. Upon getting the keys, my first instinct was to go there and do my usual home blessing. Of course, this was odd to my excruciatingly pragmatic boyfriend, so I found myself explaining it to him. I expected him to laugh at me, or at least give me that “I don’t really understand you but I love you anyway” look. Instead, he listened, and when I was through, he said, “You should do that. I want our home to be blessed.”

Which was a lesson to me – if you take the time to explain the intention behind something, almost everyone will appreciate a blessing, prayer, good wishes, etc. So I thought I would share my simple ritual that I repeat every time I claim a new space as my home. It is a mish-mash of traditions handed down by my mother, Feng Shui, and my own twist relying heavily on the four elements.

As I stress with anyone I talk to about using magic, the key is ALWAYS about intention. Magic is not inherently good or evil. Magic is focused intention. The witch determines the magic, the magic does not determine the witch.