Word Nerd Journal Prompt
Don't bother me. I'm anchorite-ing.
1/14/25 Word Magic: Anchorite
Coming in hot from my weird, new obsession with Julian of Norwich is the word “anchorite.”
An anchorite is a religious recluse from the Middle Ages. They were men or women who chose to live a solitary, simple life of prayer and devotion. If they had the resources to do it, they’d give their money to the church to put them up in a tiny cell on the church grounds to house them and people from the church, their family, or village would bring them necessities to live off of. Looking something like this, forgive the Medieval lack of knowledge of perspective drawing, which, honestly I think makes it all that more charming:
I think the connection to the word “anchor” is that they took a vow of “stability of place.” And that’s where I think there’s some functional magic lurking in this word.
As a super-sensitive introvert, I’m dangerously attracted to the idea of the extreme withdrawal of that anchorite life. Don’t bother me, I’m anchorite-ing, I want to tell my family, the news, and demands to be productive out in the world much of the time. But, until my church builds little cells and offers them up for rent, I’m not sure that’s an option for me. Plus, I have these kids I made that I want to take care of. And that’s probably for the best.
I think the vow of “stability of place” might offer some word-magic to those of us who feel the call to withdraw. Here are a few prompts inspired by the word anchorite for our non-medieval lives:
What values, dreams, or practices provide a stability of place for you when the rest of the world feels noisy and crowded?
What physical places or people provide an anchor of stability and restoration of peace when the currents of life are overwhelming you?
I’ll leave you with some anchorite words of wisdom I found:
My cell is so narrow,’ you may say, but oh, how wide is the sky! -Goscelin of St Bertin
Where do we begin? We begin with the heart. -Julian of Norwich
with love,
Tricia of Atlanta