There is nothing quite like being
able to come into a room of your very own, shut the door, and with one long
breath, take in the essence of everything meaningful to you. To say
that such a space has a positive impact on your magic is an understatement!
Unfortunately, too many rooms are sadly wasted when their owners set out to make them magical. Proud witches will show you photos of spaces full of cheap, pretty knickknacks and handfuls of vaguely occult cultural references from around the world. That doesn't reflect them. Hell, that doesn't reflect anyone; it's only scratching the surface of what they think they should be doing.
So
that you don't become another practitioner who knows only how to technically
meet the base requirements for a workroom, we're going to go over some simple
tips to make something special, personal, and functional that will set your
magic on fire the moment you open the door. You ready?
Step
1: What's Your Function?
Here's where we just ask ourselves a
ton of questions, some of which are:
- Is this shared space? If so, how often will both
owners be using it? If it's shared by function (such as in a
bedroom), at what times of day will the room be engaged in each?
- Do you need room enough for rituals?
- Will you host guests or clients here?
- Do you have coven items that need to be stored?
- Are you making and/or selling items out of this
space?
Each of these questions opens up new
needs for space. Think carefully on the kinds of work you do and what is
really required for each of them. Will you need a table for divination, a
permanent altarspace, room for candle burning and petitions, and somewhere to
meditate? Carefully plot out your floor plan to house all of this
comfortably and manageably.
And that's not all. What kind
of furniture do you need? No, I don't think spindly end tables and
display cases are real furniture here. This is not the time to just plop
in any little bric-a-brac that doesn't fit in the rest of your house.
Make this space really work for you. Pick one or two solid,
functional pieces that you'll need all the time. Because of my
writer/librarian/antiquarian vibe, mine has always been my roll-top desk.
Everything else revolved around it and it set the tone for the whole room.
Now that that desk has found more featured space in our new home's library, the
focal point of my workroom is its wall of built in glass-front cabinets (the
perfect way to showcase my occult book collection!). This means that the
tone has changed even though I have most of the same stuff otherwise.
Step 2: Plan Your Storage
No
matter what you plan to do in your room, you will need to store a bunch of
things you're not using at
the moment. While open baskets and plastic tote boxes might
look good in a magazine, it doesn't take long for them to look dusty and
drab in real life. This is especially true of a room that you won't be
showing visitors. How often do you dust your closet? How tidy is
your basement? Because these spaces aren't shared with visitors and we
don't spend much living time in them, they can quickly look as insignificant as
we treat them. You don't want this to be the future of your magical
workroom, so plan accordingly to make it easy to clean, organize, and keep
looking smart.
Consider carefully the space
directly around the main pieces of furniture you'll be using. How
far can you reach--above, below, and on both sides--from the seat of your
desk? How about your meditation space? Or the table you use for
consulting with clients? What will you need when you're sitting here? Combine
this information to get an idea of the kind of storage you can arrange close at
hand.
Think sturdy, simple,
stylish storage: drawers, labeled boxes, files, folders, shelving, pin
boards, blackboards, bookcases. You can stick to muted colors and
finishes that go with everything (black, earth tones, wood, etc.) or you can
work within a theme of colors that go with the walls and flooring.
It isn't necessary to become an interior decorator for the sake of this one
room, but you do want to evoke a specific feeling as well as utility.
Step
3: Keep It Clean. No, Really!
This pairs with the last step.
You don't have to scrub until it shines, but your space should be easy to work
in, move around in, and feel light when you step in that door.
Remember that the goal of creating this room is so that you can get
inspired and then get to work. Don't let this be just another
source of stress; it's your vacation from stress.
One of my favorite things to do is
tidy up my workroom. Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but it's surprisingly rewarding
for a fairly simple task. Every three months or so take some time out to assess
how the place looks. Put away what you've been using, straighten the
books and arrange the components on your shelves, dust and wipe down
surfaces, polish a bit of wood, sweep the floors and clean the windows. I
guarantee you'll feel the difference immediately!
Step
4: Make It Yours
What kind of caster are you?
This might be an easy question to answer if you only look at the surface.
"I use a lot of herbs and herbal formulas" would be my answer.
But now you must go deeper. What's the vibe you put out? How do you
appear to others (or how do you want to appear)? What are you most
known for? What impression do you give about your innermost self?
My own might be that I'm a combination of librarian, counselor, research
scientist, and artist. I'm a rule-follower with the exception of
moral rules, which I find highly subjective. My space works with my love
of beauty and ugliness, order and chaos, and lots and lots of knowledge.
These are really great thoughts to play with as you explore the potential in your
space.
Step
5: Fill It with Magic
What
really sparks your magical flame? Think about all the possible sources of
inspiration: the colors that excite you, designs and patterns that have that
certain something, dreamlike images and objects, people you admire, cultures
and time periods that find their way into your work. Try to cultivate a
physical representation of the way strong magic feels to you, an atmosphere of
occult luminescence.
And
speaking of light, this would be a good time to figure out what kind
of lighting your space will need. Not only is the right lighting
important for preventing eyestrain when reading (something we practitioners
spend a lot of time doing!), it's also got quite a power to set the
mood. Think of it as the setting for a jewel--complementary and
accentuating. Whether your magic prefers a soft, ambient glow,
a single fireside-style radiance that forms dynamic shadows, or the cool
bright glint of a schoolroom, you can find lamps that hang, recess, dim,
pivot, and sparkle just right for your space.
Step
6: Make Room for the Future
So now that your space reflects
where you are, you'll want to keep a little opening for where you will
be. Doing so in this physical way can inspire you to do the same
in a mental, emotional way. Life should never be so full that there's no
place left for wonder, dreaming, possibility, or adventure.
The most obvious way to do this is
by having more bookshelves than you currently have books to fill, as well as sparsely
decorating other spaces like tables and shelving. Maintain corkboards and
"inspiration boards" with ideas for new forms of magic to try,
objects to make, places to visit, and the like. Create space for writing
in your BoS and working on long term projects. Make this a place to allow
your mind to wander about what kind of witch you will be someday.
So now it's time to get out pencil
and paper and start working up your own plans. Remember to go with what
gives off the right feeling. Follow that up with the right function and
you will have a space that can easily be the envy of who you were yesterday and
the foundation of who you'll be tomorrow.
Images from:
Photos of my own workroom
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