What is a Ward?
The setting of wards is a way of blessing your home and the piece of Mother Earth where you live. Creating a ritual for ward setting is especially potent in the spring, when a new beginning is evident all around us in nature. It adds to the energy of spring cleaning, whether you shine every inch of your house or simply shake off the winter blahs; it helps with brightening up your insides and your environment. It sets the protective, supportive, loving energy of your space, so that you can feel comfortable, safe, inspired, part of the seen and unseen worlds, and reminded of what is most important to you.
Many things can become a ward: a sacred object, a vigorous plant, a work of art, a photograph, a beloved item that holds deep memories, or something you have constructed that holds the energy of “home.” Ideally, you will choose several items that are on the periphery of your property or in the edges of your home, so you will be surrounded by your wards. As you contemplate what objects will become your wards, ask yourself what these things mean to you. What values do they inspire? What blessings do they remind you of? Do they seem to bridge the worlds in any way? For example, the face of the Green Man above, reminds me of my connection to the natural world, all the greenies and flowery ones that are in my care.
Another of my wards is the Handfasting Cord that wrapped my hands with my husband, Paul's hands, during our union ceremony and for our wedding, as well. The cord is in a cabinet opposite, on our property, from the Green Man. It reminds me of all the blessings of my marriage.
I also have a Rubber Tree as a ward that has been in my family for more than 50 years, made close to immortal by taking repeated cuttings. The meaning of this ward is everlasting life. We have made a statue of a Moon-Gazing Hare into a ward to bless us in sleep. A Nature Goddess statue, a stone Frog, and a Fig Tree complete our wards this year. I say, “this year” because we rethink our wards each spring. Some come and go depending on the answers to those values and dreams questions that I posed, above.
How to Set Your Wards
The ritual of setting your wards involves composing little poems that charge the objects with their jobs. From my work with the village Wisewomen of West Cornwall (contact information below) I knew about spells that are spoken through rhyming couplets. You might have heard something like…
May the Old Ones bring my wish to me
As I have spoken, so mote it be.
As I have spoken, so mote it be.
I asked, “How do you know what to say to charge the wards?” Their response: “You make it up.” How empowering is that?!
I think of charging my wards quite like a prayer. I am engaging the energy, wisdom, and power of the unseen realms to move my world for my good and for the good of all. In the process of choosing my wards and composing the couplets, I become very clear about the blessings I want to accept from the seen and unseen realms and speak these, aloud, to the ward. Every spiritual tradition teaches that clarity in one's prayers is very powerful. So here is the charge for our Goddess:
Lovely Goddess of beauty and pleasure
Teach us to honor all that you treasure.
Your four-legged, the winged, your leafy sprouts,
Make our hands your hands as we dig about.
Bless our futures that we're dreaming of;
Imbue us with your magic of physical love.
Seasons change, the wheel spins.
Protect this land and all within.
Teach us to honor all that you treasure.
Your four-legged, the winged, your leafy sprouts,
Make our hands your hands as we dig about.
Bless our futures that we're dreaming of;
Imbue us with your magic of physical love.
Seasons change, the wheel spins.
Protect this land and all within.
The ritual would not be complete in the hearts of pagans without giving something back, which I think is such a lovely part of communing with the unseen. We gave our wards a bit of ginger wine this year, touching a drop to the ward or spitting a mouthful over them. This last technique allows some of our own DNA to bless the ward. My daughter, Melanie, helped us set our wards this spring. She had just finished pruning the Fig Tree, a tree that has withstood some great adversity. It looked like the previous owner had supported a young tree with a tire from a go cart, but the tree had grown bigger than the hole and was suffocating. With some difficulty the tire was removed and now the Fig Tree is a symbol of thriving despite adversity. Here is the spell, in couplets, and Melanie showering the tree with ginger wine.
Shrugging off scars is our ancient Fig Tree
May your branches make a fine canopy.
May your figs be plentiful and sweet
Enough for the birds and us to eat.
Seasons change, the wheel spins
Protect this land and all within.
May your branches make a fine canopy.
May your figs be plentiful and sweet
Enough for the birds and us to eat.
Seasons change, the wheel spins
Protect this land and all within.
Now you have all you need to create and charge your own wards. I wish I could describe how intimate, connecting, and powerful this process is. Our wards are our friends and our protectors. They are more than the objects they started out being. We greet them, as we would greet a beloved. May your life be enriched by this ancient practice.
Contact Information: I learned this rite from my wisewomen friends who live in Cornwall, Cassandra Lathan-Jones and Laetitia Latham-Jones. You can find them on Facebook at Village Wisewomen in West Cornwall. Here is Cassandra's website: https://villagewisewoman.co.uk. Here is Laetitia's website: https://laetitialathamjones.co.uk. Both have books you can find on Amazon.
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