SELENE candle from MARVEL + MOON. Stay Strong Mama mug from Betty Ragbag.
If you follow MARVEL + MOON on Instagram, then you’ve probably seen me mention the word ‘hearthcraft’ often.
What is this cozy word you may ask yourself? What does it have to do with candles? How can I incorporate hearthcraft into my home?
Chances are you already do.
So, what exactly is hearthcraft?
First off, I don’t claim this word as my own. I first stumbled across it while reading Arin Murphy-Hiscock’s book, The House Witch: Your Complete Guide to Creating a Magical Space with Rituals and Spells for Hearth and Home.
Murphy-Hiscock describes hearthcraft as “the belief that the home is a place of beauty, power, and protection, a place where people are nurtured and nourished on a spiritual basis as well as a physical and emotional basis.”
Hearth, of course, being of Old English in origin meaning fireplace, the part of a floor in which a fire is made; sometimes called “the burning place.” This space symbolizes the heart of the home. It is where, once upon a time, meals were possibly cooked, or families gathered to socialize. It provided heat to the entire house. The hearth was the center in which the rest of the home revolved around. It provides comfort, protection, sustenance, and entertainment.
A person who practices hearthcraft, therefore, is someone who finds meaning and gratification from performing an “intuitive ceremony” or executing a task “set apart from everyday action by mindfulness and conscious intent” within the home.
Hearthcraft does not have to be complicated, formal, or require elaborate undertakings. The practice favors simple, practical, and every day. Although, if you enjoy a little bit of grandeur (I do!) in your life nothing is stopping you from creating some domestic decadence as you see fit.
Something as simple as lighting a candle with dinner, while you read, when you sit down at your desk to work, in the bath, or your bedroom as you get ready for the day adds a touch of ceremony to your actions and your home.
Here are just some ways I perform hearthcraft—
Light a candle when I sit down to read or write to shift my environment into a creative space
Selecting a vinyl record to play and choosing that day’s coffee mug from my collection before grinding my beans
Decorating my fireplace with the seasons
Constructing a small kitchen altar before I begin to bake
Burning incense and arranging plants and stones around my tub before a bath
Daily tidying and having a designed space for objects to return to after use
Cutting fresh flowers for my dining room table
Caring for my husband, baby, and dogs
See. Simple.
Perhaps you are thinking that this list reads pretty normal and routine. Perhaps you are thinking, I already do these things. What makes it so special?
Well, if you focus on your daily practices with intent then you realize that something special is already there. You begin to become more aware of the magical-ness of your home and the objects within through focusing on your daily tasks.
Hearthcraft doesn’t necessarily mean you have to add anything extra to your daily life. With dedicated attention to the rituals you already do you begin to appreciate just how sacrosanct your ordinary actions and spaces can be.
Murphy-Hiscock says, “living your life is a spiritual act.” While the very word spiritual can be quite divisive and I tend to cringe a little bit at the term, I do like the author’s suggestion that you acknowledge that something is spiritual when “it moves or touches you deeply in a very specific way, evoking certain feelings that may be indefinable.”
Everyday things can be magical.
I tend to believe that our homes are symbolic representations of ourselves. When we consciously control it through organizing, decorating, curating, filling it with personal sacred objects and the comforting scents of candles, baking, incense, and flowers it influences how we feel.
We are enacting something special. We are shifting the energy of our environment. We are altering our emotions. We are generating creativity. We are making the ordinary…sacred.
Right now, we are doing that more than we ever have been before. We are acutely aware of everything we do within our homes.
We wash our hands while singing a song. We wipe down our counters, doorknobs, and light switches with intention. We are more aware of the objects we bring into our homes. We sanitize the cardboard packages our food comes in before placing them in the pantry. We are in our kitchens cooking more. We are preparing our coffee instead of going out to grab a latte. We are designating new workspaces, clearing away spots on tables or forgotten desks to build makeshift work-from-home offices. We’ve developed more focused routines to be mindful of our hygiene. We’ve developed new rituals to bolster our mental health or to break up the monotony of the days.
I keep seeing this quote circulating on online—You are not stuck a home, you are protected at home.
Yes, I am also being more mindful of my language in using words like stuck or trapped. I am not stuck at home. My home does protect me and my family. I am honoring that daily. But I am privileged to have a home that does protect me.
Many do not.
Many are, indeed, trapped, at home with abusive partners or parents.
Many may be home alone and struggling with mental health and isolation for them, in this regard, is scary and dangerous.
Many do not have access to the Internet or possess technology that enables them to virtually connect with loved ones and find solace in online community.
I cannot fathom how on top of worrying about staying safe from an invisible invading force like a virus also having to worry about staying safe in your own home.
It is so much.
It is too much.
Now more than ever, I possess an immense appreciation for my home and what it affords me and my family. I am honoring it. I am practicing hearthcraft. I see, hear, and feel the very real hum of protection it provides daily.
Each day I recognize the ceremony I enact through the ordinary motions of seemingly mundane life and I observe the magic in them. I marvel at my domestic settings with renewed gratitude. I find beauty in little nooks and objects that I previously overlooked. I tidy and clean with a more direct purpose. I look for new ways to bring joy to my spaces and chores.
I am grateful.
Shine bright,
Trista Edwards
Founder & Owner
For more on Hearthcraft check out:
The House Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock
HausMagick by Erica Feldmann
Hearthcraft & the Magic of Everyday Objects by Trista Edwards
5 Gentle Work From Home Tips When Times are Tough by Lisa Marie Basile
Follow along at @marvelandmoon on Instagram for my weekly ‘ Hearthcraft Around the House’ installment in which I feature a different space in my home every Wednesday as a way to honor, appreciate, and show gratitude for the warmth and protection it provides.