#penates

Roman Household gods

* 1st-3rd century CE

* British Museum

Cidades: Leandra

Protegida por Lares e Penates, que “Em comum têm isto: sobre tudo o que acontece em família e na cidade acham sempre motivo para dizer mal, os Penates vão desencantar os velhos, os bisavós, as tias-avós, a família de outrora, os Lares o ambiente como era antes que dessem cabo dele”

I have always believed that there are spirits of the land, of my home, and I have made occasional offerings to them.  But I didn’t really know much about the subject at hand - I couldn’t seem to find any books that mention land spirits, or if they did, how to honor them in a daily or seasonally fashion.  

And then, not too long ago, in a book I’ve had for about a decade, I found an entry for Lare while looking up something else.  It was the Encyclopedia of Wicca and Witchcraft by Raven Grimassi (a really old version).  

Once I had that description and name, I did what I always do: I turned to Google.  And from that, I developed my own idea of what the Lare are to me, and how I work with them in my practice.  

Lare

The Lare (lar-ray) are ancestral spirits that protect and preserve family lines and family knowledge.  They are the bridge to the past, connecting the present to all that has come before.  

Originally spirits of the fields, and after the rise of agricultural knowledge they became associated with plots of farmland.  In this aspect, they guarded specific places and were honored with small towers that served as altars.  Lare were associated with planting and were also linked to the seasons and to time itself.  

Janus was associated with the Lare as spirits of the heart.  Janus was the Roman god of doorways and the threshold, and served to protect the home.  The Penates (pen-AH-tays) spirits that protected the food supply, and were also associated with the Lare.  So too were the Mane and the Lemures (lay-mur-rays.  It was generally thought that the Lare brought offerings of spelt grain or cakes to the Mane (spirits of the dead) or the Lemure (veangeful spirits of the dead who were neglected, and thus caused bad luck and ill events).  

A shrine is generally set up in the home, typically occupying the west quarter, or on the hearth mantle, or wherever you have a household shrine erected.  The Lare were honored with special offerings and a lit flame (usually an oil lamp) whenever important events occurred in the family: birth, marriage, death.  

When I picture the Lare, I visualize a serpent, something along the lines of a garden snake.  

My Practice

Personally, I honor the Lare as part of my household worship, along with Hestia, and my ancestors.  I consider the Lare to be the guardians of my household, a sort of link or messenger to my ancestors, the spirits of my small courtyard guardian, and an entity that I should honor regularly through ritual, but also on a daily level.  For me, the ancestors, Lare and Hestia work and exist so closely together that when I honor one, I generally consider all to be honored.  

Ritual:  I honor the Lare and give formal offerings (grain, corn meal, or baked goods) to them during the Dark Moon in a Deipnon Ritual.  

Daily:  I’m a believer that a practice is as good as the effort you put into it.  I struggle with maintaining a daily practice (mostly because my sleep schedule gets so screwed up that it makes it difficult to create a solid daily practice), but I put forth my best effort.  I usually honor the Lare with an act of service, or a simple prayer.  

Devotional Acts:  

Household maintenance, like fixing leaky sinks, replacing dead light bulbs, cleaning the track of the patio of the patio doors, etc.  

Gardening, landscaping, yard maintenance 

Calling (or texting) a family member every week 

Keeping an updated and detailed family tree 

Passing on knowledge of the family to the family

Participating in family traditions (think stuff like Sunday dinners, Thanksgiving meals, birthday cakes, etc).  

Prayer:  I like to stick to historically accurate prayers, if at all possible, but have not been able to find anything along the lines of “traditional” prayers for the Lare.  So, I make it extremely simple.  

Hail Honorable Lare, Guardian of the Home, Spirit of the Field.  Accept these [offerings], made in your honor.  Continue to bless this home with your gifts of bounty, peace and good luck.  

"Yeah, they're like sacred lawn gnomes."