When we speak of psychic protection and protective magick our minds can automatically drift towards the act of stopping or preventing ‘psychic attack’ from a Witch or fellow Occultist.

Or perhaps we remember the grounding techniques, or boundary exercises that we did when we first started treading the path that is Witchcraft.
Or maybe we just roll our eyes, because we remember some of the books that we have previously read that were droning waffle, and left us feeling as though we had come away learning little to nothing that could be practically applied in our individual daily practice.

As someone who regularly holds talks and workshops on the topics of psychic protection and protective magick, I encounter various preconceptions and attitudes towards this broad, expansive, and if I say so myself- fascinating topic. One of the things I try to do at any talk or workshop, is begin by attempting to dispel some misconceptions and myths.

Namely the following:

1. Psychic and magickal protection is not all about combatting attacks of an occult origin. It is also safeguarding the self from any negative influence. Whether those are intentionally orchestrated by another, are within our everyday lives, or are organic in origin.
2. Practically anything can attack the psyche, including ourselves (self attack stemming from hysteria and paranoia are not uncommon), social media, psychological warfare (such as gaslighting) or even being over exposed to the news can cause psychic intrusion!
3. Protective magick is NOT black magick. If someone is genuinely wishing you ill will or outrightly casting against you, you have EVERY right to protect yourself (physically, emotionally and spiritually) in any way necessary. One analogy I sometimes offer is “If a person was physically attacking you, and running away was not an achievable option, you would not usually hesitate in defending yourself for fear that others may construe it as ‘unethical’. I believe that the same principle can be applied to protective magick. Even if that means binding another for your own, or other’s safety.

Now that we have cleared away some of the clutter that can crowd the table of this topic, let’s move onto what this blog is all about…

1. Protecting ourselves from the combination of modern lifestyle and the sheer chaotic collective trauma that we have experienced over the last two years.
2. How we can potentially protect ourselves (energetically and emotionally) from this, as well as filter out it’s influence by implementing some basic psychic and emotional protection tools.

Let’s begin by having a quick glance back over the last two years.

Since the start of 2020 we have both witnessed and lived through…

1. A worldwide pandemic.
2. The financial hardship that the Coronavirus pandemic has in turn caused.
3. Devastating Australian bushfires.
4. Stock market crashes.
5. The tragic and senseless death of George Floyd.
6. Revelations (Though sadly, perhaps not that much of a revelation to many) of Hollywood moguls, business men and women, and even royalty being involved in a web of the sexual abuse and exploitation of Children and young women.
7. The Beirut explosion.
8. California fires.

2021 also saw…

1. The continuation of the Pandemic.
2. Pro-Trump rioters attacking the American capital.
3. Afghanistan falling to the Taliban.
4. Further escalation of the Israel-Palestine crisis.
5. The news that various countries apparently failed the Climate change challenge.

And in some ways, 2022 is not looking so peachy either, as the world turns a concerned eye to Russia and a heart of solidarity to Ukraine.
Not only this, we have soaring energy costs here in the UK, living standards dropping, and poverty sky rocketing.

Now, that, although far from comprehensive, was quite a dizzying list wasn’t it? I can imagine a good number of my readers went through that list and either clicked off the blog or felt a deep sense of anxiety and overwhelm. For that, I completely understand.

We currently live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with screens. They are everywhere.
In our homes, in our pockets, in the supermarkets, in our colleges and universities – they are even in our children’s classroom! Granted though, teachers are very cautious about what content students reach during class time, the point still stands that screens are there.
The Coronavirus pandemic saw everyone’s screen usage increase, hardly surprising really when most lessons went interactive and many people were relying on Zoom and Facetime to keep in contact with loved ones and work colleagues.

In a world where social media immersion is encouraged, socially as well as from a capitalist standpoint, social media is increasingly becoming ‘unsociable’. Sadly this is because we are viewed as consumers only, with our time and clicks being converted into money for those host platforms.
And what sells (via clicks) the most? What grabs our attention the most? Bad news.

I hate to say it, but bad news sells by generating clicks, and those clicks often increase fear, anxiety and depression in the reader.
Be honest, how often do we look at bad news and then trundle off to Instagram so that we can scroll through and distract ourselves?

Only, once on a social media platform we are battered with advertisements tempting us to buy things, to treat ourselves, or, lift our mood.
Perhaps I am overreading this next thing (though I doubt it), but I have begun to notice a rather disturbing trend, and that is whenever I have clicked on a news article that could be deemed as ‘distressing’ or ‘upsetting’, as soon as I click off that article, my newsfeed will be flooded with ads for snuggly blanket type nightwear designed to reduce anxiety, weighted blankets (also designed to ease anxiety), or some kind of self-care tripe that isn’t really of a self care nature at all.
Put this to the test the next time you open a news article on Facebook. You may be surprised…

Another form of negative social media immersion that is having a detrimental impact upon many is the whole “influencer” trend.
Now, don’t get me wrong, i’ve nothing against content creators.
There are some fantastic accounts out there who act with incredible integrity. However, for the most part, it all seems to be largely about narcissism, trend setting, and making a lot of money from doing it.
It’s now common for people (especially young people) to feel completely lacking and inadequate because they feel that they cannot achieve the often unachievable looks or lifestyle that their favourite influencer has. This can sadly spiral into depression and eating disorders.

But what can we do about all of this? What can we do to protect our mind, body and psyche from this onslaught that is all around us via screens?

Are we to burn our TV’s and Smartphones in an act of rebellion, like the way our feminist sisters burnt their bras in the 1970’s?

You’ll be pleased to hear the answer is no. (Was that a collective sigh of relief I felt there…?).

The truth is, there is no cure all or magick spell to sweep away all of the absolute crap that is going on in the world right now.
There are however, some techniques we can implement to help ease some of the modern bombardment that encroaches upon our emotional wellbeing and sanity; that is Psychic Protection.

For the remainder of this blog, I am going to share with you some of my tips, techniques and daily practices. All of which keep me sane (well, somewhat sane lol) as well as protecting me energetically.

Where I have attempted to make this list as informative as possible, it is by no means exhaustive.
However, it does seek to set out some useful tips that can be implemented fairly quickly if you or someone you know needs it.

In order to make this section of the blog as accessible as possible, I have arranged the following into two categories;

1. Every day boundaries and tactics.
2. Spiritual techniques for psychic protection.

Every day boundaries and tactics.

1. Use Social media mindfully. I know, I know. This sounds so cliché and is a bit of a no-brainer. However, in all seriousness, how many of us use social media and the internet mindfully?
   How many of us genuinely set limits on our screen use and stick to those limits? The truth is, setting reasonable and achievable screen limits can help lower stress and emotional burnout.
   Especially if our newsfeeds or TV’s are full of bad news, ads, bickering, conflict, bad politics, superficial influencers and celebrities.
   When we protect our mental and emotional self, we simultaneously go a long way in protecting our psyche and spiritual self too. Therefore, it is well worth looking at how much you are using screens and whether or not you can use them in a more strategic and meaningful way that benefits, rather than costing, you.

2) Ignore the ads, you probably don’t need that item anyway.

Advertising and algorithms have really upped their game in the last year or so. Especially as many platforms now cross-communicate.
For example, when you search for something on Amazon or Google, that item will often turn up on your social media newsfeed.
Ad immersion is insidiously everywhere, and it’s whole point is to make you shop. At any cost.

Ad browsing and scrolling through shopping apps has become the new ‘window shopping’, and it is costing us a fortune. Not only this, it is putting money straight into the hands of questionable companies who care nothing about the environment, it’s employees, or you as both a customer and as an individual.
Do yourself, and your bank balance, a favour, avoid clicking those ads or boredom scrolling through the likes of Amazon or eBay.

3) If you need to, adjust your phone settings.

This is something I have done and seriously do not regret it.
Disabling google voice alone has probably halved the amount of targeted ads I now see on my social media platforms.
I can’t tell you the amount of times I would mention something aloud and then see the exact same item come up on my newsfeed as a targeted ad. That’s because phones do listen. But the good news is, it’s easy to remedy.

Adjusting your notification settings can also help de-stress you as well. In 2020, I took the BBC news app off my phone, as the constant notifications about Covid were increasing anxiety (especially as I was grieving the loss of three family members and a friend to Covid). Now if I want to watch the news, I have to go off to Google or Ecosia in order to do a news search. Strategies such as this really help give back some power over what we are notified about, and what we are not.
Your awareness is what feeds your being, your awareness can be massively influenced by the tantalising snippets, digested at a glance, that notifications can throw our way.

4) Unfollow.

In extension to my reference about taking the BBC news app off of my phone, sometimes it helps to go one step further; to unfollow or leave groups, YouTube channels, and pages that do not bring you joy, or have now become irrelevant to your life.
This unfollow method can also be applied to people on your friends list.
I think most of us have one or two friends and acquaintances on our social media platforms that we don’t really want to unfriend, but at the same time, we don’t want to see all their drama or ‘vaguebooking’ either. Don’t feel guilty about implementing boundaries for the sake for your emotional and spiritual wellbeing!

5) Be picky when it comes to the news.

Disabling news apps is one step towards safeguarding our emotional and spiritual wellbeing, but going one step further can be the ‘piece de resistance’.
What do I mean? Well, in part I am talking about making a conscious decision on when you want to check the news, but not only this, what news channels or apps you decide to use.

Why? Well, because where you get your news from matters.
For example, I wouldn’t buy the Sun Newspaper or click on one of their links if you paid me. Why? Largely because of their disgraceful conduct after the 1988 Hillsborough disaster. This, along with other incidences mean I do not trust their reporting.
Instead, I try to source my news from a slightly more reputable source.
Ideally Sky or occasionally BBC News.
But I do so mindfully and certainly not every day. Looking at the news every day can be soul destroying. The News does not make money by reporting on acts of kindness or fantastic community projects.
They make money from bad or sensationalist news, because it sells. Remember, even to News companies, you’re still just a consumer. So make sure you’re not paying with your wellbeing.

6) Do I really need to watch that?

Short videos and reels are EVERYWHERE these days, and they can be a real time gobbler. Sure, most reels are only around 30 seconds long, but what are they actually bringing to you?
Are they giving you valid information or amusement? Or are they just another rabbit hole of time gobbling that is stealing time you could spend on the really important things that truly matter to you? Flicking through reels has become the new channel flicking and that is not always beneficial to our emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Especially as a lot of reels are focussed on some sort of drama or conflict.
For additional research for this weeks blog, I had a scroll through Facebook’s reels…
At one point every second or third reel was some sort of parody or remix of Will Smith’s violent outburst at the Oscars.
The bad news articles that generates clicks for news companies can indeed cross over to reels, and often, the more confrontational or controversial a reel is, the more views it will have.

7) Be friends with boredom.

Boredom is a natural state of human emotion and it can be a wonderful instigator of creativity and opportunity if we allow it to be.
However, plunging our eyes in to the screen world every time we are bored can be extremely inhibiting on our emotions and personal development. I remember as a child, my Nan would say “There’s no harm in being bored. Sometimes the best adventures come from being bored”. She was right.

As a child, whenever I complained of being bored, my Nan would promptly pack me off into the garden or outside to play with the neighbour kids. Looking back, it was often my most imaginative games played in the garden with my siblings or local kids that are now my fondest of memories.

However, as adults, we don’t always have the option of dropping everything to go and play or sit quietly in the garden.
This lack of flexibility can be constraining and tedious. Leaving us feeling stuck and desperately wanting to fill the void. And so enters the smart phone or tablet.

As an adult, I have both re-discovered and developed a new appreciation for boredom. It happened in 2020 when I was in the throws of just having had a baby, and was getting to grips with breastfeeding my son.

For anyone reading this blog, as both a mother and a Birth Doula, I can firmly attest to the beauty and benefits of breastfeeding.
However, I can also be realistic and honestly say that not every feed is comfortable or fun. Some breastfeeding sessions can see you adopt all sorts of contorted positions in order for baby to latch.
Breastfeeding can sometimes take a while too, especially if baby is cluster feeding or very hungry.
This can ground us mothers and prevent us from being up and about. During breastfeeding, I would often boredom scroll through my phone, eagerly hoping to fill the time. For as much as I loved my baby, once he was latched on, he didn’t really need me to do anything other then cuddle him and love him. One day, in the early hours of the morning, I found myself breastfeeding without my phone in arms reach. This ended up initiating my new found appreciation of boredom.

As I sat there, feeding my son in the half light of dawn, and with no phone to scroll through, I had no choice but to sit in the present moment and just ‘be’.

This was extremely uncomfortable at first. After all, as someone of the millennial generation, I have been subconsciously programmed against my conscious will to be dependant on handheld tech.

However, the longer I sat there nursing my son, the more I found that my mind would slow, the more my mind began slow, the more it began to open. The tension I had been carrying around inside me for weeks (largely due to the pandemic and having to navigate giving birth during this plague like time) began to slowly ease.
Now I didn’t have a phone or tablet in my hand, my mind was able to wander and process. I had nothing to distract me. The more I processed thoughts and feelings, the better I felt.

I stopped using my phone or any tech while nursing my son, or while doing any other activity that saw me grounded and yet wanting to move around (For example, Car journeys where I was the passenger).
With this, magick began to happen.

Anxiety began to decrease, as did frustration. I was calmer and slept better at night. Most importantly, creativity began to flow again. A bored mind is like a blank canvas. It has the space to really dig deep within our psyche to find a way out of boredom. Those routes out of boredom are sometimes genius and result in stories, new hobbies, art work or personal resolutions to feelings and experiences long suppressed.
For me, it was my journeying through boredom that in part, led to this blog, Diary of a Folk Witch, being conceived.

8) Shut down the tech before bed!

One of the things that I have found extremely helpful is mindfully shutting tech pieces down before going to sleep. This signals to my brain that it is now time to go to sleep and that I am closing down for the day.

For example, I have an android phone. Before I turn the screen off for the night, I hit the home button and it brings up every page I have had open throughout the phones last use. I then click ‘close all’ and it shuts down every app.

This, combined with setting a morning alarm and putting my phone on silent and away from my bed, has really helped bring peace of mind and a sense of closure to the day.

9) Don’t use tech in bed and don’t open your phone’s apps up as soon as you wake up!

Our bed’s should have only two primary functions… rest and sex.
Bringing phones and tablets into the bed is a really good way of messing up your sleep pattern and circadian rhythm – especially with the blue light within most tech.
Blue light is thought to inhibit melatonin production, and this can really impact upon both your sleep cycles and the quality of sleep that you get. Lots of us like to read a book in bed for half an hour or so before sleep, as a way of winding down. But it might be a good idea to avoid smartphones, TV’s and tablets for that reading time.
If you’re going to read in bed, switch to a good old paper or hardback!
If all your reading materials are on a tablet or Kindle because you’re ‘minimalist’, see if you can put a blue light filter on.
After all, a tired mind is not always a functional mind, and it’s not only toddlers who can be over emotional and cranky when it comes to sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation is an extremely common cause of stress, irritability, anxiety and depression. A lack of sleep can leave us feeling ungrounded (emotionally and spiritually). Not only leading us to make mistakes, be clumsy, or overly emotional, but also, be more susceptible to Psychic intrusion.

Another thing worth noting, is that It can be useful to avoid looking at your phone’s apps as soon as you wake up in the morning.
Our first action of the day should not really be checking social media updates… especially if you open Facebook and immediately see drama or bad news! I have found that a better way of handling screen time in the morning is to get up, greet my family, get dressed, have breakfast, ground and centre etc

Then, and only then, do I log on if I need or want to.
Start your day as you mean to go on! With positive actions and interactions.

Spiritual techniques for Psychic protection.

Grounding and centring.

I get it, grounding and centring is a phrase bandied about an awful lot in the Pagan/Occult/New Age etc communities.
However, the reason why it is driven home so much is because it works! If it didn’t work, folk probably wouldn’t bang on about it so much.
There are lots of G&C (Grounding and centring) techniques out there, and most of them very good (so I will not list lots of examples here, as I am aware this is already a lengthy blog).
I would suggest going off to find what method of G&C works for you and run with it!

I have several methods that I employ.

A) Morning G&C to set me in good stead for the day.

B) Quick methods to use in urgent situations, for example if i’ve witnessed an accident or disturbing piece of news.
One helpful quick G&C is the ‘five senses’. It is quite a simple practice and is widely used, you find five things to focus on while you calm your breathing and ground yourself.
You seek one thing you can see
One thing you can feel
One thing you can taste
One thing you can smell
One thing you can hear.

Once you are beginning to calm and G&C again, you could even add in a particular prayer (If you pray or work with any deities), say an affirmation or recall a fond memory.

C) End of day grounding. This helps to close the chapter of the day and bring it to a calm conclusion. As part of your evening G&C you could do visualisations, prayers, chants, Yoga – whatever works best for you.
G&C reclaims our power and keeps us sitting comfortably within our mind, body and spiritual self.

A person who regularly practices G&C methods will usually:

• Have a stronger Psychic Shield.
  
• Be more able to deal with sudden triggers and emergencies.
  
• Sleep better.

Choose your circle carefully.

Modern lifestyles and social media mean that we are in more contact with other people than ever before!
Prior to signing up to my first Facebook account in around 2009, I probably only had a handful of friends, associates and extended family members that I would talk to on a regular basis.
Now, I have a friends list of over 300 people! A deliberate, yet, drastic reduction to the 700 or so I had in 2019.

On one hand, it’s great to have so many people in your cyber life! Yet, on the other hand, it can be intrusive and both physically and energetically dangerous. It may be time to ask yourself how well do you know everyone on your friends lists?

Not only that, are they truly friends, family or friendly colleagues and associates, or are some of them there for more voyeuristic or insidious purposes?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m neither paranoid nor scaremongering, and in most cases, the people on your friends list are probably absolutely fine!
However, it isn’t unheard of for modern psychic attacks to happen via a screen, and it is an elephant in the room that should, in the very least, be acknowledged.
I remember a few years back (possibly 2016?) a friend referred one of their friends on to me for assistance.
It transpired that the client was constantly having bad luck, nightmares and minor accidents. When I journeyed (shamanically) for her, I saw an image of a woman whispering over a social media profile that contained my client’s photo.
After the journey, I described the person I had seen while journeying, and was told “Oh that’s (name)! We were really close friends in college but she drifted away when she had become confrontational over (my then) new partner. She also kept making snide remarks over other areas of my life”.

The client then went to on to describe how she had forgotten that this person was even on her friends list, and that they never really interacted with each others posts, but she knew who I meant by the description.

The client decided she would unfriend this old college friend, in part because they had drifted apart anyway (and seemingly had no direct contact for a long time anyway) and also for the ‘just-in-case’ potential of if I was right in the conclusion of my journey.

I was contacted a few days later, by the client explaining that within hours or removing this person from social media, they had contacted her and sent a long ranting message. Declaring such things as:

• “How dare you unfriend me!”
  
• “You think you’re so great don’t you?”.
  
• “I see how you show off all the time!”.

I was not surprised by this aggressor’s reaction. Whether an attacker is an established Occultist or not, the modus operandi for psychic attack via social media is usually the same.

• They won’t usually interact with your posts, but will closely observe all of them. This is sometimes referred to as ‘radio silence’ and is designed to seem inconspicuous and not raise attention.
  This modern form of attack, is used to not only concentrate angry and focused energy on the intended, but also to not offer the one they dislike any of the undeserved attention that they feel that their victim is already receiving.
  
• They will secretly seethe and be jealous of your successes and yet, still be overly fixated upon this. Often intentionally looking at yours (and even your loved ones profiles). It’s this fixated anger and obsession that often launches the psychic attack. Whether the person means to or not.
  
• Either intentionally or unintentionally cast the evil eye upon you and this will be intensified whenever they see a post that indicates you’re happy or doing well in life.
  
• Be furious when you claim back power and delete or block them.
  This is because even though they may be jealous of, or despise you, they are at the same time fixated upon you. They will also often resent the fact that you have claimed back your personal power and excluded them from part of your inner circle.
  

Now that my client was aware of her ex-friend’s feelings, I advised her that no magical act needed to be carried out for her protection as it would seem that her old friend was not a Witch or Occultist, but someone subconsciously ill-wishing because they were jealous.
If this had been an obvious and intentional psychic attack by someone who would now try to continue it through other avenues of magick, that would have called for a different course of action.
This sort of unconscious jealousy and anger causing psychic disruption is not unheard of, practically anyone can either consciously or unconsciously ill wish another person.
The concept of ill wishing and the evil eye appears in nearly every culture, and many people still hang a blue Nazar charm outside of their home for protection.

Where this ex-friend may not have been literally whispering curses over the clients profile, as I had seen on my journeying, an attack had still occurred. (Note, often in journeying, you see answers to questions through depictions you will understand. In my case, this was a visual image of someone launching Psychic attack via Social Media. A visual image that my guides knew I would understand)

Where this form of Psychic attack can sometimes happen, the good news is that it is usually easy to remedy.
Regarding the client, I advised them to review their social media friends lists and interactions, to block this old friend on all platforms, adjust their privacy settings, do a full cleansing of her home and dispose of anything she owned that may have ever been given to her by this aggressor. As this could serve as an anchoring connection.

Within a few weeks, the client was doing much better. They were having less nightmares and fewer accidents, and within a few months, all of her seemingly bad luck had reversed.

This story may seem far fetched to some readers, and that’s fine. I always strongly encourage people to question EVERYTHING. If something doesn’t seem to ring true, or you’re not sure it is relevant to you and your practice, simply put it to the test or discard the information. Your path is your own and you certainly do not have to subscribe to every occult teaching or belief.
What I do encourage, however, is an open mind.
If something seems too far fetched for you, look at it from every conceivable angle before you decide to discard it completely.
If you do subscribe to the belief in psychic attack, then why not an attack that can be focussed via social media and cyber technology?
after all, people have been using photographs in magick for nearly two hundred years, and Poppets for longer! Image magick and workings are as old as magick itself! Images serve as a visual anchor for many workings, this therefore, theoretically speaking, could be extended to the images we see over social media.

Where I can attest to the fact that the above story is indeed true, I’m intelligent enough to know that there are of course other potential explanations.

• Perhaps the link between the old college friend and the woman’s run of bad luck was coincidental.

• Perhaps the act of cutting off this old friend only acted as a placebo for the woman in question, and maybe her problems righted themselves in the natural progression of time.

These are, of course, valid arguments. Ones I appreciate and acknowledge. However, I know which opinion or belief I subscribe to, and that is that the client was under Psychic attack.

As the reader, you are of course free to form your own opinion and look at all angles of this situation. However, this example should at the very least serve as a cautionary tale to all.

Be careful of who you let into your circle, be careful who stays in your circle, and never be afraid to implement boundaries by removing people from your circle!

Prayers and invocations.

Prayer has a long history when it comes to calling upon deity for protection. We see it in virtually every religion and culture throughout the world.

The bible even has entire psalms (Psalm 91 for example) that are recited by Christians and Occultists alike (before anyone jumps on me, let’s not forget that the traditional witches/Folk Witches of Europe and even the American Appalachians Folk Witches have been using Christian prayers and benedictions alongside their folk ways for hundreds of years, so lets keep the “Witches don’t use Christianity” blurb to a minimum).

If there is one thing I cannot stand, it’s New Agers claiming Witches cannot be Christian or invoke the use of Christian Prayers. I’m not a Christian (I happen to be a Druid), but even I occasionally draw upon the Christ power, or the power of saints, now and then.
Why? Because I work with my Ancestors, and most of my Ancestors were Scots-Irish Catholic. You’re going to find it really hard to connect with your Ancestors if you’re only looking to connect with ones that share similar earthly belief structures to your own.
Christian prayers and psalms aside, there is a wealth of prayers out there that one can draw on if they want too. You could even have a go at writing some of your own, prayers that involve calling upon whichever deity you work with.
I have prayers that I have written that call upon Brigid, Danu, Cerridwen, the horned one, etc

Failing that, if you’re not comfortable calling upon a deity for protection, you could always try composing a prayer that calls upon your Ancestors, spirit guides or local spirits of the land to protect you. I have also written prayers in such a way, and they have worked really well.

In regards to prayer, one important factor should be noted… and that is consistency.
Personal experience has shown me, and others alike, that only using prayer now and then when you’re in need is not really going to have much of an impact.
You see, prayer is not all about asking for stuff and getting free goodies from Gods and Spirits, it’s about a sacred communion.
A regular and consistent communication and relationship between you and whoever you’re working with.
How would you feel if you had that one ‘friend’ who only ever contacted you whenever they needed something?
I’m pretty sure you would soon get ticked off and eventually either ignore this ‘friend’, or tell them to get lost.
Similar holds true with prayer, it should be consistent and not just asking for stuff. Prayer should also encompass praise and gratitude, celebration and trust! The more you work with whichever deity and/or spirits, the more they will help you when you really need it…

Regular Cleansings.

Energetic and spiritual cleansings are so important!
They clean away all of the psychic debris, negative energy, old ways of thinking and spiritual ties that no longer serve us. Last week, I wrote a premium content blog on the importance of house cleansings and how to carry out your own ritual house cleansing (Titled: Grimoire series: House protection and house cleansing- A Witch’s fortress).

One of the best things we can do for ourselves, energetically speaking, is to keep up with our spiritual hygiene (so to speak).
One crude way of explaining it might be, we wouldn’t not wash ourselves at all, or even not change our clothes for weeks, as we would get dirty and not only attract flies but likely start suffering from skin complaints.
Well, the same pretty much holds true for cleansing ourselves energetically too. When we do not cleanse ourselves it can impact us spiritually and emotionally, not only this, but it can potentially attract energetic nasties to us and cause psychic intrusion, or leave us open to full blown psychic attack!

There are probably hundreds of ways you can simply energetically cleanse yourself, your home and your possessions (including your smartphone) that do not involve a full in depth ritual!

Below are some of the way’s I maintain simple and effective cleansings on a near daily basis.

• Saining.
  In some cultures, this Celtic custom can be compared to the Indigenous American practice of smudging. Though it is important to note that where both Saining and Smudging do share some similarities in the act, they are not exactly the same thing as the ritual aspects of these activities can be significantly different.
  Depending on who you are, what your spiritual and cultural background is, you may find that you like to use herb bundles to Sain or to Smudge to both cleanse and bless yourself.
  
• Perform a house cleansing ritual to ensure your home is energetically cleansed and protected.
  
• Drumming is an excellent way to not only raise energy, but also cleanse yourself or an area using sound.

Spirit guides and wards.
For those who are able to, another route for Psychic protection may be calling upon a specific spirit guide to step up and help you with protection. However, this relationship is going to be similar to the act of prayer in that this will be a two way relationship.
It may be that your guide calls for regular libations/offerings etc.
So if you’re going to go down this route, make sure you have the time, energy and commitment to fully work with your guides, and don’t expect the relationship to be all ‘take, take, take’.

In extension to this, some of us also work with wards, which can also be known as thought forms, Tulpas or Servitors.
These are entities created by the Witch or occult practitioner on a complete psychic level.
They are designed to have one ultimate objective in mind and their lives purpose is to fulfil this objective. For example, protecting you and sending back any nasty energy sent your way.
However, if you’re new to Witchcraft, this is not one of the first steps that I would recommend as if not properly cared for, Thought forms can take on a life of their own and play havoc!
When I create anything such as this, I always do so with great care and caution. I also do the following:

• Make sure my objective for the Thought form/Ward/Servitor is clear. It’s existence should be tied to it’s purpose as this is a magical tool and not a new life.
  
• That I have an exact method of feeding sharing energy with it- for example, a chant that is spoken aloud once a day so that it’s energy is coming from particular sound magick etc
  
• That there is a life span for this creature. This way it doesn’t go on and on forever and eventually spiral or morph in to something new.
  
• I create a secret word (usually a random word) that can be spoken aloud to end the ward/servitor’s existence. This being would have been programmed from the very beginning to know this word signifies their unravelling. It’s no use trying to implement this word after creation, your psychically created being won’t really respond to that and it can be much more effort to un-work them fully.

For those wondering why you might only have one of these beings temporarily and not indefinitely, this is because our protection needs change over time. What we need today may not be applicable in six months, or even a years time! We grow and evolve constantly, so should our tools and methods of magick.

Watching your own energy
As I begin to wind down this blog, I am reminded of one of the first lessons I was ever taught when it comes to Psychic Protection, and that is the following quote:
“Don’t be a bitch, don’t be a doormat, and you will probably be ok.”
Profound, to the point, and true!
When a person decides to walk the path that is Witchcraft, a certain amount of responsibility needs to be accounted for.
No one is going to teach you all the ropes, you may well have some teachers along the way, or like me, be brought up around Folk Ways etc, but you are still going to have to get out there and do the leg work for yourself.
YOU have to go and do further reading.
YOU have to go and explore, test things out and learn by trial and error.
YOU have to go and connect with your guides, spirits of your local landscape etc
AND YOU have to take personal responsibility for you own psychic protection and energy! No one out there is going to do it all for you, and anyone out there charging a fortune for expensive protection rituals is probably a scammer!

Responsibility and accountability are important within Witchcraft.
I don’t believe in the Wiccan threefold law.
However, I do believe in the scientific belief of cause and effect and I quite like Sir Isaac Newton’s third law, which is “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”.
Magickally and spiritually speaking, this can be translated a few ways. Mainly, that we need to take responsibility for our energy and what we do with it.
For example, If we are going to try and curse someone or give them the evil eye, we can’t be upset when that other person casts back bigger and harder!
Also, if we are going to constantly show off and gloat over our good fortune in life, we can’t really be surprised when someone takes an energetic swipe at us. That isn’t excusing the other person’s actions, but humans will be humans. And If we are going to show off, gloat, and basically act like a precocious pain in the arse, someone will likely get fed up in the end, and either tell us to ‘button it!’, or just intentionally or unintentionally fire at us. Especially when so many people are now experiencing financial hardships and poverty due to the pandemic, being furloughed, energy and fuel cost rises, cost of living rises, benefit uplifts being abandoned, and Brexit

When we as Witches act with integrity and compassion, we get a lot less drama and psychic hits to deal with then the noisy Witches and Pagans who just love to be confrontational. Watch your energy and observe where it goes…

• Is you attention drifting off to your phone constantly and mindlessly scrolling through?
  

• Where might your attention be better served in your life?
  

• Are you constantly opening upsetting news articles that are draining you energy, vitality and joy?
  

• Are you allowing yourself to be bored, and thereby process deep emotions or bring forth creative ideas, or are you cramming every spare moment with social media and apps?
  

• Are you living with integrity and compassion, or are you always trying to be the centre of attention? Thus not always attracting positive energy your way.
  

Asking yourself the above questions, and more if you have the time, can really help you take stock of where your energy is going. Once you know where it is going, you make any necessary adjustments that will ultimately help your wellbeing. In my above quote of “don’t be a bitch, don’t be a doormat and you’ll probably be ok” it raises the point of not being victim.

As Witches and Occultists, we can often face animosity from well meaning ‘New Agers’ who have hijacked Wicca’s ‘harm none’ ethos. Granted, I am not an initiated Wiccan (I am a happy, grubby little folk Witch who prefers natural folk ways to the ritual of high magick) but from the discussions I have had with initiated Wiccans, I am fairly certain that Gardner’s Wiccan reed was never meant to be used to make Occultists defenceless and submissive. It was probably meant as a ‘don’t fire first’ guideline.

After all, Gerald Gardner was no stranger to defensive magick as he himself is said to have taken part in a ritual called ‘operation cone of power’ during World War 2. The objective being to prevent Hitler’s army invading mainland Britain.

The “don’t be a doormat” reference is all about personal boundaries and the ability to implement them and defend oneself.

We live in a dog eat dog world despite our ideals, it’s no use being ‘love and light’ and passive all of the time. Love and Light is beautiful sentiment, but it’s unlikely to protect us if someone does mean us physical, emotional or spiritual harm. An aggressor is not going to care that you’re a good person, if anything, they will likely smirk and think you an easier target for being so. By all means, be a good person! Act with personal integrity, look after the ones you love, your community, the earth etc. Just don’t ever be afraid of implementing personal boundaries and defending yourself if and when you need to. I don’t have a personal or religious law, but if I did, it would probably be something like…

“Do good, but take no shit”

Place an Obsidian crystal over your phone and other tech overnight.
Now, for my last piece of advice, and that is all about Obsidian!
Obsidian is believed to have a strong protective quality and is used by many to draw upon this energy.
Some like to wear obsidian based jewellery, others may use it in Crystal therapy sessions to help extend protection to the client, others like to sleep with Obsidian under their pillow or keep it about their person while travelling.
For me however, I like to use Obsidian Pyramids when doing protective work (either on myself and others).
Pyramids are often associated with death and the afterlife, naturally because of their association with Egyptian tombs. However, one theory for the Pyramid shape of these mighty Egyptian tombs was so that it would protect whoever was interred within as well as connect them to a higher force.
Today, within New Age and Neo Pagan visualisations, people are often asked to visualise bubbles or spheres around them. Another of course is the pyramid as the top of the pyramid connects us to the divine, where the base connects us to the earth and so encourages us to ground!
If your are looking for a way to simultaneously cleanse your tech’s energy and bring about some energetic protection, you can look at placing a piece of Obsidian over your phone, laptop etc, overnight while you sleep.

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From the time, mists, and distance between us, blessings from me to you.