At Home with Cottage Witchcraft

Unique nesting and nurturing behaviors have made the female oriole a beloved symbol of the home. This fascinating bird encourages us to move intentionally within our environment: She’s solicitous when building her nest, beginning it only where she feels safest, then choosing her materials carefully. As she works, she creates a haven that provides enduring comfort and protection for her young.

We can take a lot of inspiration from the oriole when practicing hearthcraft—also known as cottage witchcraft, a practice rooted in domesticity, the home, and other apparently mundane traditions. Hearthcraft allows us to engage directly with the spirit of our home and build a practice that’s both intentional and magical each and every day.

When it comes to this sort of crafting, we need to begin with the most basic of tasks, the ones you already perform each day: cooking, cleaning, self-care, textile arts, perhaps tending to your garden. Each of these daily activities can be charged with magical purpose.

My personal favorite way to practice my craft at home is with textiles. Sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, fabric dyeing, weaving, and embroidery (to name just some of the textile arts) are rooted in tradition. They’ve been an essential part of our development and technological advancement— think sewing machines and jacquard looms, which were early forms of the computer in the decades around 1800— and still play a crucial role in our world today.

I enjoy the textile arts because they allow you to work with your hands and create a deep connection with whatever it is you’re making. You literally stitch, weave, and otherwise distill your personal magic into something tangible that others can feel as well, whether you’re piecing quilts, stitching sigils into clothing, or creating fabric sachet bags (like the ones pictured on page 82).

I began my witchcraft practice many years ago, but it wasn’t until I experienced a major transition into parenthood, which brought its own series of challenges, that I eased into cottage craft. I found myself physically unable to keep up with the more ritualistic and structured routine I’d been following, so I began to look at my home with new perspective. I decided to take my practice and turn it into a lifestyle that would imbue all aspects of my day-to- day life with enchantment.

While the foundations of any witchcraft practice are subjective and personal, a few common key elements within cottage witchery are green and kitchen witchcraft, animism, and natural magic.

I’d already started out as a green witch, focusing on plants and herbs to create healing potions and elixirs for common ailments. I added a related discipline, kitchen witchcraft, which uses alchemy to choose ingredients to cast spells, then cook and bake foods that not only pack a punch but taste good too. These two practices combine to aid us in caring for our home itself, with cleaning magic by enhancing cleansers, washes, laundry powders, and more with spells—spreading a nurturing intention throughout the home and its inhabitants.

Through animism, or the idea that all things hold a spirit essence, we deepen our connection to our surroundings. Each home holds its own spirit. The wood in the walls, the bricks in the foundation—they’re all alive with energy. This belief is crucial for the cottage witch, as it helps to establish the deep relationship between us and our dwelling space.

Natural magic asserts that just as our environment ebbs and flows with the seasons, so do our spirits and our home. We can take inspiration from the changes of the Earth to embody these shifts within our dwelling space. We learn from the process.

During autumn, for example, we take extra care in tending to these spirits and connecting with them on a more personal level. Autumn brings about a mystical energy as the veil between worlds thins and we experience the transition into a season of transformation, the shedding of layers, and the cycles of life and death.

These are themes we can carry into our dwelling space as we craft and conjure throughout the season.

This is also the time of year for honoring connections to passed loved ones and ancestors. I like to honor the spirits of my home too, and any lingering energy within my space. For example, I craft an altar, similar to an ancestor altar, and keep it on my dining- room table. I adorn it with flora from the fading garden, fresh-baked goods, and milk or water. I often express a small sentiment before it: “Spirits and souls of this space, I honor you this autumn day. As the veil now thins, I feel your spirit near, with a sudden chill down my spine and soft whisper in my ear. I will honor you here as long as I dwell, until our paths one day separate and I bid you farewell.”

Creating a small, dedicated space for the spirits of your home is not only an act of connection but one of gratitude. You’re showing appreciation for the opportunity to live in that space. This is important for any home you’re inhabiting—whether it’s a rental, an apartment, a condo, or a cottage you own. This space is an invitation to mutual habitation; it means safety for all who dwell there.

I rent my little New England cottage. I’ve been honored to steward this space for as long as I have, and I will continue to do so for however long we’re meant to be here. I know that someday I’ll say goodbye to it, and that brings sadness to my heart. But my craft, my connection to the land, and my nurturing oriole spirit have thrived in this space, and I’ll be forever thankful to it for what it has provided both magically and mundanely. It’s been a safe haven. It has absorbed my tears and celebrated with me. It has sat with me on sleepless nights as my thoughts meandered from one subject to another. It is by far my favorite place out of all I’ve ever had the pleasure of living. I cherish it now and will remember it forever.