A household ward

Protection magic in this house means attention, boundary, and practical safety. It does not mean aiming harm at a neighbor. If you are in danger from a person, a candle is not a plan. Use locks, friends, and, when needed, the law and local shelters.

Timing. When you move in, after a scare, or at the turn of the year.

Materials

• A little salt in a dish, not poured into soil.
• Water.
• A ribbon or a piece of string.
• Optional: rosemary from the kitchen, or nothing.
• Your actual keys.

Steps

1. 1Walk the threshold you mean: a door, a room, or the edge of a bed if that is the only private edge you have.
2. 2Touch the frame. Say who is welcome: named people, or “those I invite.”
3. 3Touch it again. Say who is not: “anyone who wants me smaller.” Do not list a neighbor’s name as a magical target. You may name a behavior.
4. 4Tie the string loosely to an inconspicuous place, or keep it in a drawer if visibility is unsafe. The string is a reminder, not an alarm system.
5. 5Set salt in a dish by the door for one night if you can do so without pets eating it or guests being confused. In the morning, throw the salt in the trash, not the garden.
6. 6Speak the words while holding your keys.
7. 7Perform the practical act before you sleep: check the lock, change a code, tell a friend where you are, block a number, or repair a latch.

This door is a door, not a mouth. I keep it. I do not send harm out of it. I do the ordinary thing that makes the night safer.

Close. Untie or discard the string when it becomes dirty or meaningless. A ward you forget is clutter.

The practical action, which is not optional if you want the rite to be honest. The practical act named in the steps is the spine of the rite. Do it.

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