Creating a Safe Place

What are the dangers?

Most people advise beginner Pagans that it is very unlikely they will be haunted, posessed by demons, or attract the attention of shadow entitities, and it is therefore an error to become paranoid about spiritual cleanliness and afraid of everything. In my experience, this seems to be correct.

However, in Fencraft - the night is dark and full of terrors. Our way is drawn from the forests of folklore and cosmic horror. Other Pagans use symbol-systems which are overall friendly and reliable - but we do not. On ours, the Map clearly shows: here, there be monsters!

Therefore our magic is more akin to learning to swim in the ocean - with a deep prudence, knowledge of our limitations and respect for nature. We know fear as a sacred encounter with the wild strange. We must therefore develop techniques for tolerating and managing fear, the daring to surf the crest of a wave and not be swallowed by it, the wisdom to retreat when you see dark undertows, the knowledge of true shipcraft and weather-watching and wave-reading to see us straight, and the courage to endure the storm. Not for nothing is the great bulk of spells passed down to us protective against the workings of witches, elves and doleful fate.

In short - there is no need to become paranoid, so long as one is prepared and make good choices; and yet our way is also drawn from those who make dreadful choices and end up in wild strange peril, and we must be prepared for these experiences also.

A Safe Place

First, create a 'safe place'. Consider the symbolism of either:

the Solar hearthfire

A safe and certain enclosure, sturdy and defended, bringing you back to earth and feet firmly planted on the ground, with the doors to the weird and wild wholly shut - blissfully boring. In Fencraft, the ability to do this is greatly valued because the places we go are truly strange and dangerous - the mortal world has particular weapons against the Stellar, and among them is disbelief and refusing to look.

In The Lord of the Rings, the Shire or Bag End is the hearthfire - not merely cosy and homely, but a place from which adventure is unthinkable.

Alternatively, the Solar can be conceptualised as a stronghold - a castle or great hall, which is not only cosy but confidently walled and filled with hearty fellows who bake as well as they defend.

the Lunar Sanctuary

A safe and controlled, yet still magical, walled enclosure, shut off from outer influences. This suggests energetic styles in other practices where you first, make a clean white empty space, or gain mastery by balancing energies, or having a purified aura.

In The Lord of the Rings, Rivendell and Lothlorien are examples of the Sanctuary - places still otherworldly but representing a place of retreat and refreshment on the way, from which the protagonists can consider their options.

• Learn more: the Sanctuary

Which to choose?

My advice is the Solar Hearthfire, unless you are already coming from a Pagan experience where Lunar-type practices are second nature and hard to avoid, or if your persona is that of the kind of wizard who has a stronghold or tower, or if you have built those relationships on the other side already with the kinds of Masters of Sanctuaries in the Otherworlds.

If you do religious paganism, is there a place or spirit which represents home and protection? Where do they dwell? Could that symbol-set represent a place of safety to you?

Make it personal

Just because it has the energetic qualities of the Lunar Sanctuary or Solar Hearthfire, it doesn't require a particular appearance. It can be a cool computer labyrinth or a smoking room in a rural pub, whatever works for you.

Placemaking

Take some time to construct an inner sense of this place. Consider visual, sensory, emotive and tactile imaginative elements you can add to it. For example, the memory of hugging your dog and the smell of fresh bread could be part of your Hearthfire toolkit.

Now, consider additional techniques to ground you in your chosen location:

• Are there objects in your vicinity you could use or handle? A photo of family, or a river stone.
• Are there actual actions you can take? For example, getting in the bathtub, switching on all the lights, having a snack, doing a calming breathing exercise.
• Do you have a preferred prayer, spell, gesture sequence or verse? It could hallow your location to your desired frequency, or be a spell of safe travel.
• Is there an energetic tool you can employ? A bubble of pure white light, the shadowy but firm presence of a guard of soldiers, a solar shield or lunar stave.
• Is there a door, gate, wardrobe etc?
• Are there spirits in your system who guard or dwell in this place? What words, actions and symbols call to them?
• Any secrets to bolster the strength of walls or hide the secret to your retreat

Don't underestimate that Solar heathfire technique of going oh what stuff and nonsense, switching on all the lights, shoving the magical stuff in a box and putting on a dopey film if it all gets too much. If it's just the heebie jeebies, then adding more spells and robes into the situation amplifies, instead of ends, the problem.

Now, practice accessing your place. Make it real. By this I mean, don't just go through the motions of imagining a place - for it to work, it has to trigger your inner feelings of sanctury, and it may take some time to build up a set of associations which you can access quickly. Think too of the journey to your place - by ways clear and ways hidden - as a key use for the place will be returning to it from afar.

If working with some kind of circle, setting up a second circle you can retreat to where one is your safe place and the other your destination is an option.

When to use this?

Any time you get the shakes; to end simple meditations, journeys and rituals; any time there's a feeling of creepiness you dislike; any time you feel your energies are out of whack and you're too much in a place you don't want to be.

It's a basic tool, for basic situations, but often that's all that's needed.