Protect This House

Work Very Much In Progress! Just Brainstorming...

Aiming for something between the entire Passover "painting the lintels with lamb's blood" and a sprig of holly over the doors and windows. Too much and too little, respectively. Liking the specific item on the door, rather than blood. Not sure if holly is the right vibe for this, a bit too Christmasy to be taken seriously by readers.

5 You must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats. 6 You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight. 7 They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them. 8 They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over the fire along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over fire—its head as well as its legs and inner organs. 10 Do not let any of it remain until morning; you must burn up any part of it that does remain before morning. 11 Here is how you must eat it: you must be dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover. [...] 13 The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. — Exodus 12

sacrifices
community
doorposts and lintel... signifying the house, or just the entry/passage?
join together and do X that very night, or it doesn't work
eating? yes/no?
does this work without a priest? maybe ritual blessings can be said by "head of household if a sage is not available"?
nature worship needs a bit more nature in it... herbs? incense? plants?

Participants

This is a protection rite designed to protect the entire family; the entire family must be present. While the blessings are most often said by a Druid priest, this is more formality and a sign of respect toward the priest than any requirement. The head of the household can say the blessing just as easily, and it doesn't matter if the head of the household is male or female.

Observance

This rite is observed when the family feels it necessary for their protection. It could be protection from natural disasters, protection from other people, or protection against disease. The ingredients may change slightly in each case, but the rite is essentially the same, and after its completion, the blessed branch is hung on the door of the house. The branch can be considered a warning to people approaching, though those meaning no harm can still approach and ask what protection is necessary—sometimes this is all the warning a traveler may get that a disease is sweeping through a region. Someone who attacks a member of the house despite the branch is calling down disfavor from both divine and local powers. Note: this rite only truly protects those inside the house, though someone stepping out the front door should still have its protection. Personal protection is an entirely different ritual. Many a tale is told of magical vengeance laying waste to a murderer after he flees the scene, a bully getting comeuppance, salting of fields of perpetrators, and many variations on the theme, even when events take place far from the protected house. It's unclear how immediate the protection is based on some of these tales, but there are also stories of houses protected so well armies travel by their door without even knowing the house is there. This has muddled the details of the religious rite somewhat, but the rite remains despite the imaginative tales told.

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