Solstice season hut tending
December Full Moon Guide
This December we are drawn closer to our homes and hearths as the night closes in and the chill chases us away. This full moon guide is about our relationship with our homes and how we can find joy in their tending through lore, communication and a bit of magic this season.
The home was once a living being. Originally built with wood, clay and stone from the earth, the home took on the spirits of the natural materials in which it was made. The door became a mouth, the windows as eyes, and the hearth as the beating heart of the household.
Not only was it built from living things, but it tended the living things within it. Births, weddings, funerals, celebrations and mournings all took place within those walls. Such a far cry from the separation we have from our homes nowadays. Back then, the home was midwife, officiant, funeral director, host and companion. It saw all of the most vulnerable, fulfilling and painful parts of our lives.
Every corner, threshold, ceiling beam, and stair had a purpose and often a magical significance. Space was much more limited in those primitive homes, but the spaces were all the more cherished because of it. The home was a place of unfolding dramas from the first act to the curtain call. It’s no wonder why a space that sheltered it all came alive.
The remnants of these beliefs now mostly survive in fairytales, particularly those about witches. The sentient home of Baba Yaga grew chicken legs that could take it wherever it pleased. It wouldn’t seem out of place to see a witch conversing with her home in a story.
What would happen I wonder, if we began a dialogue with the home again? What if we treated it as not an endless burden to clean and maintain, or a confinement that isn’t quite big enough or functional enough for our standards, but as a companion in participation with our everyday lives?
As the colder weather and darker days draw us inward, closer to the home and its heart, we will explore the many ways we can connect with that old house spirit again. You may find yourself falling in love with your home, flaws and all.