Magical Decor: Does Your Home Have an Anchor?
I’m a big fan of making even the most mundane parts of day-to-day life feel witchy. If there’s a story I can tell myself that transforms the mundane into magical, I will choose to create that narrative every single time. Some might call this delusional (or should I say delulu?), but I like to think of it as creative psychology.
Currently, I’m in the process of furnishing my new apartment. It’s the first time I’ve found myself in a one-bedroom solo living space since 2008 and there’s quite a bit of space to fill. Since moving across the country twice in less than three years and selling all but a few suitcases worth of my belongings each time, I’m happy to finally feel like I’m putting down roots and acquiring items that will (hopefully) be with me for the long term.
One of my most recent acquisitions was a dining room table—my very first. As a city dweller living alone, I’ve spent the past decade and a half dining at coffee tables, kitchen counters, or my desk. However, upon finding myself with the extra space, I became surprisingly excited to have a space to gather around with friends and other visitors.
Like most children of the ‘90s, I still believe that a round dining table is all it takes to get my social circle to suddenly abandon their phones and become drawn to my apartment like a magnet alá FRIENDS.
Since acquiring said dining table, I have yet to have friends gravitate to my space (I’m still awaiting the delivery of more than one chair anyway), but I have found that my own orbit around the apartment has changed to center around this newly grounded space. It’s where I eat, where I work, and sometimes even where I succumb to my raging YouTube addiction over tea.
In fact, I’ve felt such a shift in my lifestyle since acquiring this table that I’ve come up with a theory: every space needs an anchor.
While many magical practices involve creating an altar or a meditation space for your home, an anchor is slightly different. Altars are for communing with your guides, paying tribute to your ancestors, and displaying your various magical tools, talismans, and trinkets. An anchor, on the other hand, doesn’t involve any of these things. Unlike the sacredness of an altar, your home’s anchor is the space you gravitate towards for the secular activities that ground you in the real world.
Your anchor doesn’t have to be a dining table, in fact, it can change from location to location given how grounded you currently feel in certain areas of your home. Sofas, work desks, and even outdoor spaces can all make well-suited anchors during different seasons and moods of your life. What matters is that you have mentally designated said space as your grounding location.
Here are some questions to ask yourself as you select your home’s anchor:
Is it in a (relatively) central location?
While the physical location of your anchor does not need to be directly at the center of your home, it helps if the space feels energetically central in that you pass through it often while at home. You might find it hard to get grounded if your anchor is in the creepy basement that no one enters or the shed at the back of your property.
Is it made of or surrounded by wood?
Wood is associated with the earth element and therefore naturally grounding. Metal, plastic, and glass can feel more activating. Choosing an anchor piece that’s made of or at least surrounded by wood will assist in your desire to feel rooted and calm. Bonus points if it also comes with a view of the natural elements like plants and trees.
Is it a color that feels grounding and/or soothing?
When I first purchased my table at a local second-hand shop, the wood had been painted a bright, Pepto-Bismol pink. Granted, I love pink, but this color was offensive. So I sanded it down and painted it a smokey black satin and immediately, the space felt calmer and the piece more grounding. Colors you might consider for your own anchor include black, brown, green, gray, tan, deep maroon, or dark blue.
Is it a space where you can both relax and get things done?
Unlike an altar, your anchor needs to be utilitarian. It needs to function as a part of your secular life more than your spiritual one. However, it also should feel flexible since grounding ourselves in the real world happens both actively and passively. Having a space that invites you to nourish your body, organize your life, and connect to your chosen family allows for more balance than creating a space to constantly be on your grind.
Does it include an element of pleasure?
If you’re meant to gravitate toward your anchor daily, it helps to incorporate an item you thoroughly enjoy interacting with. For my anchor, I purchased a lazy Susan for the table’s center where I always keep my favorite teapot on display. This integrates a bit of dopamine decor + a cozy invitation to relax with a grounding beverage when I’m in the space.
