Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: House Blessings

[kchung (kchung]

We had a house blessing before we moved into our new-to-us old house in
our new cohousing retrofit community- Riverdale Cohousing in Toronto.

This was pagan-oriented, but included folks of all faiths.

First we drummed and smudged with sage around the boundaries of the
property.

We lit candles in the living room and called the 4 directions and the
spirits of this place.

Because we are a brand new group, we focussed on banishing negatives and
invoking positives.

We did go-rounds: counterclockwise around the circle, as each person
called out what they wanted to banish from community (negative energy,
conflict, mistrust, etc)
and then clockwise around the circle ,  as each person called in positive
aspects they wanted in community (trust, support. laughter, kids
voices, good food, courage to speak up in meetings, etc....)

We smudged and drummed and danced several sacred circle dances through the
whole downstairs,
and then upstairs - dances which focussed on banishing the negative
and invoking the positive. 

(This old house had some spots that felt quite gloomy & negative, 
so it really needed a shift)

We ended with songs and chants, back in the living room.

Dancing in snaking lines and circles all through the house to inspiring
music was a wonderful way of beginning life in our new community.

We had lots of fun while we were at it. What a way to create memories!

Kate Chung
Riverdale Cohousing, Toronto