Threshold Magic (Practical Magic Excerpt)
Life’s first threshold is experienced during birth. You leave a place which was safe, warm and delicious, and move - via water - towards bright light, welcoming arms, cool air, and a much larger world. This transition brings incredible changes with it, the first of many magical threshold experiences to come.
A threshold is a line of demarcation which indicates the exact point of entry across a portal. When a groom carries a bride over a threshold, she is forever changed to his wife, and no longer lives in her previous identity. With her feet off the ground, the groom also prevents her family’s demons from entering with her.
Thresholds are simultaneously the areas of greatest magical potential and extreme vulnerability. We have known that spirits, demons, and entities hover at thresholds since ancient days. Because of this, we mark our territory in many ways, protecting with art, symbols, and bodily fluids. Both living and non-living guards are stationed at thresholds to protect. In ancient Rome, house spirits were known to dwell in courtyards. Not only an old idea, today in Eastern Europe, spirits of ancestors are still believed to inhabit dark spaces beneath the front porch. As a child, you may have even been aware of one living in your closet!
Because people as well as energy enter through thresholds, the state of your windows, porches, and doors affect all who live there with their welcome or lack of welcome. The front door threshold is a primary point of power to protect and enhance your life. This area should be cleaned often (daily is best) and energetically refreshed every six weeks as seasons shift. There should be some symbol or sign which identifies your home’s name or number. This sign will always be a barometer for the energy within the place, so keep it looking spiffy. There should be a mat which people can use to wipe off the rest of the world as they respect stepping into yours. There should be a pair of guardians at your door, whether animals, plants, or stones. Your guardians should be the right size for the entrance, and they should also be well tended. Seasonal color should grace your entrance to indicate that life is bountiful where you live. Your threshold should be well lit, easily seen as well as approached, and at least eight feet from the street (further than a very tall human being’s reach). All hardware at your threshold should be in excellent working order. Any lack of support shown at your door will be echoed throughout the space as well as in your life. A wreath which you have blessed with your magic and hung on your door is one of the most enduring forms of magical protection for home and well-being.
Windows are truly the eyes of a place. They provide light and beauty, but can also let in negativity. Curtains are believed to help prevent the dreaded evil eye from passing through windows. Shiny glass balls (witch balls) have been hung in windows to ward off both evil spirits and bad will. You can hang a glass ornament in your window to repel negativity. The best types have swirl patterns which are believed to render straight line energy harmless. Stained glass pieces and sun-catchers can also be used to protect your windows.
Porches should echo the shifts of the seasons as they provide a magical sanctuary from the elements for all who seek entrance into your space, including you. With each new season, sprinkle salt across your threshold to capture and release negative energy. Sweep away from the door toward the street. If you don’t have a garden, pot some bright flowers chosen for their meaning and magical powers. Add a Green Man, gnome, or fairy to honor the elementals in your space and ask for their protection. A place to sit with a guest is one of the greatest indicators that love will abide behind the doors of your place.
If you are home alone and feeling a bit unsettled, sprinkle salt along the inside of your threshold, then lean your broom diagonally across the inside of your door frame. No one will come in silently.
Mirrors are a threshold for energy. Be aware of what your mirrors reflect and double. If you have a large mirror reflecting the friends and feasts at your dining table, you also have a doubled image of any drama or intrigue that may play out at your table. If you do any kind of work at that table, including laundry, the mirroring effect will double your work load. If your mirrors have lost any of their silvering, then your doubled magic is beginning to wane. Replace chipped or scratched mirrors in short order. Avoid tiled or pieced together mirrors at all costs as they splinter your images and your energy. Whenever you break a mirror, get it OUT of your space within the hour.