Sacred Spaces

"My next house will have an office!" I yelled from my spot at the kitchen table where I tapped away at the keys of my laptop as my son and husband talked right behind my chair, getting themselves drinks and snacks, as I desperately tried to find the right words for what I wanted to say next in an article.

This has been par for the course here in my house for, oh, maybe a year. I abandoned my old work space, a desk in my dining room but a very peaceful spot, when I got the lap top. My desktop just was not working well for me anymore but is the "storage" space for all of my family's cyber-life. It holds years of pictures, old but maybe eventually needed e-mails, some of my writing, several school reports, and a library of music, none of which, may I add, has been accessed in a very long time. I used to love writing the day away at my desk, surrounded by my bookcases of magical books, my altar a few steps away, with candles lit and emanating positive and creative energies. So there sat my desk, the old desktop and all of that energy in my dining room, unused and untapped, until Sunday night.

The full moon rose that night, although the clouds obscured it from full view, and I set about my usual January full moon ritual, working to bring renewed creativity for my writing, financial recovery after the holidays, and good energy for the second half of the school year for my son. As I created the sacred space for my ritual, something began to nag at my brain. I kept hearing the words "sacred space" echoing in my head, calling to me. asking me to look at it more closely. It dawned on me about half way through my magical workings. Sacred space is everywhere, all around me, within me and without, wherever I am and whatever I do.

Sacred space, for me, is so much more than just a circle cast for magic, that place in between worlds, in between time. It is a feeling generated by a place, by a time, by an action. It is that feeling of peace, acceptance, safety and love I get when I walk through the door of my home at the end of a long day. I am home. It is that leap of joy my spirit does when I am in the garden, planting, sitting, strolling or harvesting. I am one with Mother Earth. It is there when I am curled up with a good book on the sofa, all sense of my own world drifting away as I enter another world. I am living a different life. Sacred space is created when I draw that hot bath and slip into the lavender-scented water to soothe my aching bones on a cold night. I am at peace. It is there when I cook a meal, adding a dash of this or spoonful of that to the simmering pot on the stove, for my family. I am brewing up love. It is there when I am wrapped in my husband's arms. I am one with him. It is around me when I am writing, deep in thought and typing away at the keys. I am in my mind. Sacred space is there around me at all times. I am.

My sacred spaces have just been a bit cluttered, a little frustrating, and a little less energetic lately. They needed some tweaking, some fine-tuning, and some clearing. Last night, I asked my husband to clear off the desktop monitor, speakers, and mouse. After he did that, I dusted, straightened up, and smudged the room. I placed a few crystals and a jar with two feathers - a crow's and a hawk's - on my desk, to help the creative energies to flow. My sacred writing space is now back up and running smoothly. Ahhh, that feels so much better! Soon the holiday decorations will be down and away, which will restore the balance of my home's energies and will make things around here feel less cluttered. Slowly but surely, my husband is working his way through the basement, organizing, repurposing, recycling, or trashing, section by section, shelf by shelf. Just knowing how much stuff is in the basement throws off the sacred space of my house for me! We are back to healthy eating and exercising after all the sweets and carb-loaded foods that were synonymous with the holiday season. That will make the sacred space that is my body feel less bloated, less achy, and more energetic. I have started making herbal products, like teas, facial toners, aftershaves and bath salts, as a test run for a possible future home business. This has allowed me to continue working with the herbs from my garden in these colder darker days of winter, restoring my connection with the earth until spring arrives. I am back to a decent schedule of writing obligations, creating a sacred space of my time too.

So sacred space is more than a circle cast for magic. It is there always, just waiting to be cleaned up a bit to feel sacred and empowered again. Make this month about clearing up all of your sacred spaces, whether it be your home, your office, your body, your mind or your spirit. All of it can use a good cleaning out, a smudging and a little attention. It's made everything around me feel sacred again!

Happy New Year and blessings!