Threshold Protection Ritual
“The threshold is a magical place, as it is neither in the house nor out, and yet it is part of both. Using the threshold as a focus for a protective spell is a first defense. This ritual not only cleanses the threshold; it also empowers it to function as a filter to allow positive energy into the home while keeping negative or disruptive energy out. This creates a protective barrier keyed to the threshold of your house. If you have more than one entrance you use regularly, perform this ritual at the entrance you use more frequently, then at the secondary entrance.”
I would use four thieves vinegar. I would also use incense instead of sage, hellhound oil instead of sealing oil, and my own warding sigils instead of the bindrune. Foundation sacrifices are ancient and powerful, and I would bury garlic (or something) if I could, but that’s not always practical if you aren’t living in an actual house. A witch bottle could be deposited in a protective potted plant like aloe) outside the door.
For a new home, I would use this after banishing anything that needs to go (but greeting any helpful or neutral house spirits), purifying, hearth sanctification, and general home blessing, then follow it with individual room blessings once everything was moved in.
Materials:
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Bowl or bucket
• Washing cloth
• Sage smudge (or loose dried sage)
• Matches or lighter
• Censer or heatproof dish
• Sealing oil
• 3 cloves garlic
- Blend the water, vinegar, salt, and lemon juice together in a bowl or bucket. With the cloth, use this mixture to wash the threshold and doorframe. Be thorough: scrub the threshold inside and out, as well as the doorframe on both sides of the door, and both sides of the door itself.
Personal Note: A simple door blessing could be inserted here.
- Light the sage smudge and move it around the doorframe, wafting the smoke so that it touches the area inside and out. Lay the smudge in a censer or heatproof dish and allow it to smolder while you complete the ritual.
Personal Note: Simply burning sage is not smudging, and I don’t feel comfortable appropriating the practice. I would burn benzoin, frankincense, dragons blood, rose, wormwood, and angelica root on a charcoal coal in an incense dish (the ones that look like shallow cauldrons, with handles). Maybe with clove, rosemary, or cinnamon.
- Dip your finger in the sealing oil and draw an unbroken line around the outside of the door-frame. Dip your finger in the oil again as necessary, but begin again exactly where you left off or retrace an inch or so of the line to ensure its continuity. As you draw the line, say:
No evil or illness may cross this threshold.
I hereby bar it from entering.
My home is sacred, and protected.
Personal Note:
I would also say:
Hekate Adamantea!
Hekate Agriope!
Hekate Alexeatis!
Hekate Apotropaios!
Hekate Ephoros!
Hekate Episkopos!
Hekate Limenskopos!
Hekate Medeousa!
Hekate Pandamateira!
Hekate Pasimedeonsa!
Hekate Theroktomos!
Seal this threshold!
Shine your twin torches on all who would enter my space
Illuminate their nature and their intent
Close the gates and deny the keys, preventing entry
To all which would bring harm, sickness, and ill-intent
Send your serpents, hounds, and monstrous dead
To chase them off and keep them from returning
Mighty Hekate, liminal goddess, ferocious goddess,
Add your great power to mine!
Seal this threshold!
- Dip your finger in the oil again. On the inside of the door-frame, touch your finger to the upper left corner and trace a line in the air down and across the doorway to touch the lower right corner. Dip your finger in the oil again, touch it to the upper right corner, and draw a line in the air down and across to touch the lower left corner. Dip your finger one last time and touch it to the middle of the lintel above the door and draw a line in the air straight down to touch the middle of the threshold. As you do so, say again:
No evil or illness may cross this threshold.
I hereby bar it from entering.
My home is sacred, and protected.
Personal Note:
I would also say:
Hekate Adamantea!
Hekate Agriope!
Hekate Alexeatis!
Hekate Apotropaios!
Hekate Ephoros!
Hekate Episkopos!
Hekate Limenskopos!
Hekate Medeousa!
Hekate Pandamateira!
Hekate Pasimedeonsa!
Hekate Theroktomos!
Seal this threshold!
Shine your twin torches on all who would enter my space
Illuminate their nature and their intent
Close the gates and deny the keys, preventing entry
To all which would bring harm, sickness, and ill-intent
Send your serpents, hounds, and monstrous dead
To chase them off and keep them from returning
Mighty Hekate, liminal goddess, ferocious goddess,
Add your great power to mine!
Seal this threshold!
This symbol is a hexefus, or a combination of the runes Isa (a vertical line) and Gebo (an X). Gebo represents exchanges of energy or material objects, while Isa represents a static state (it translates to “ice”). Drawn together in this bindrune form, Isa “freezes” the state of your home and possessions, protecting it from physical and other intrusion.
Personal Note: This would be a good time to add a protective ornament like the Wheel of Hekate, a charmed mirror, witch bells, a door wreath, an enchanted door mat, etc.
- Take three cloves of garlic. Touch each of them with a finger dipped in the oil. Bury them under your threshold or doorstep or as near to it as possible. Bury one at each end of the step or threshold, and one in the middle. As you do so, say again one final time:
No evil or illness may cross this threshold.
I hereby bar it from entering.
My home is sacred, and protected.
Personal Note:
I would also say:
Hekate Adamantea!
Hekate Agriope!
Hekate Alexeatis!
Hekate Apotropaios!
Hekate Ephoros!
Hekate Episkopos!
Hekate Limenskopos!
Hekate Medeousa!
Hekate Pandamateira!
Hekate Pasimedeonsa!
Hekate Theroktomos!
Seal this threshold!
Shine your twin torches on all who would enter my space
Illuminate their nature and their intent
Close the gates and deny the keys, preventing entry
To all which would bring harm, sickness, and ill-intent
Send your serpents, hounds, and monstrous dead
To chase them off and keep them from returning
Mighty Hekate, liminal goddess, ferocious goddess,
Add your great power to mine!
Seal this threshold!
If you like, you can adapt this ritual and apply it to your windows as well. Bury a single clove of garlic in the ground under each window.
Personal Note: I would add vodka to the four thieves vinegar in a spray bottle and use it to clean and ward any windows, repeating the process above. Depending on your windows, protective plants could be added.
Ref: The House Witch (Arin Murphy-Hiscock)