I have been thinking about changing the title of my blog for a while now. While I love Seiðkona being a compound of Seiðr and Kona, I do not think that Seiðkona really represents me or what I do. I am not really a Seiðr woman.
When I came across the term "hearthcraft" it instantly felt like me. Hearthcraft is a relatively rare term and describes the spiritual path of witches who believe that spirituality begins at home. Often hedge and/or kitchen witches, hearthwitches see the home as the centre of their spiritual work and as the essential element within their practice. Furthermore, hearthcraft is a simple and practical craft. That suits me just fine. I do like big rituals at the right time, but generally I am more a fan of an uncomplicated practice. I like to work with intent in and around the house and garden, making use of what I have at hand.
In my opinion you don't need to buy endless of amounts of different crystals, or all candle colours under the sun. Don't get me wrong, I do use crystals, candles, incense etc. but I buy and use those that speak to me or simply smell nice rather than those that some random book tells me to use. When I started out on my spiritual journey in the early 1990's, my approach was a practical one simply because I didn't have the funds to buy everything that was suggested to me. And it quickly turned out that all of these little pretty gadget are nice but not necessary. Spiritual and magical work works with intent and if the intent is right then it does not matter if your candle is a black one for £2.50 a piece or a white one for 50p a piece.
So in future you will find recipes for spells, potions and the like on this blog that ask for a certain herb, or candles etc. and yes, it is absolutely fine to raid your kitchen cupboard for bay leaves that you bought from Morrisons for a Sunday roast, or to grab a white tealight from IKEA from their value pack. There will be people who wholeheartedly disagree with me, people who like to spend lots of money on bits and bops and that is absolutely fine. This is my path. If you want grab the information that you find useful and if you see something that you don't agree with, then scroll on. Absolutely fine either way. Whatever you do, work with love.
Vildsyster x