Energy Work 101: Basic Shielding

Energy Work 101: Basic Shielding

"Shielding" is an energy work technique that puts a protective sphere of energy around you. This technique is basic at its core, but can be continually evolved and upgraded to become very advanced and powerful indeed.

Concepts & Theory

Most all shields are spherical or egg-shaped.

Shields are often sized to be an outstretched arm's length away from your body, plus a foot (30cm) or so extra all around. You can make them any size you like. Because they are made of energy, the bigger they are, the more energy they take.

Shields fade away. Depending on how stable they are when you make them, they may fade within hours or days.

Shields can and will affect your mood and how people perceive you.

It is a good idea to practice dismantling/undoing shields as often as you practice creating them.

While the most basic shield is a bubble of white light, they can be endlessly modified.

You can have more than one shield at once. They can be stacked concentrically. Think about which shields you want to be closer to you and which you want on the outside next to others.

One of the most useful ways to modify a shield is to specifically choose what kinds of energies you want to bet let in, and what kinds you want to keep out.

The basic technique used for energy shielding can also be used for other techniques such as glamours, energy cleansing, object charging, and some forms self-care. Because of this, shielding is a good place to start practicing practical energy work.

Shielding is a cousin of aura-imprinting. The technique I am talking about here puts a bubble of energy on the outside of your aura. Aura-imprinting/strengthening techniques refer to changing your aura itself.

Methods of Shield-Raising

There are as many methods to accomplish shielding as there are people. Here are a couple:

1. Make one hand into a fist and place it over your heart. Place your other palm on top of it. Gently push down on your chest to create pressure - not so much that it hurts. Imagine, feel, believe, or know that within your chest is a wellspring of energy. This energy pools around your fist as you create pressure there. When you are ready, move your fist away from your body (experiment with both fast and slow motions). Imagine, feel, believe, or know that an energy sphere grows from that place in your chest and expands until it surrounds you. It stops expanding about a foot away from your outstretched arms.

2. Breathe in. As you breathe in, consider that you are pulling pure energy out of the air and into your body. Hold your breath for a beat and decide that when you exhale, that pure energy is going to start forming a sphere around your body. As you exhale, imagine, feel, believe, intend, or know that this energy flows around you to start forming an energy shell. Continue breathing in and out with intent until you can easily imagine, feel, or believe that the shell has become solid and complete.

3. Consider a pop-culture method that a character uses to shield themselves. Steven Universe can do that rose quartz thing, for example. Or, imagine Captain Picard of Star Trek saying, "shields up!" and the Enterprise being surrounded by powerful protective energy. Copying a pop-culture technique can be extremely effective for shielding. Put your intent towards causing real power to flow, and let culture be your guide.

4. Consider that your body is permanently connected to your environment and there is always free energy exchange passing between you and the world around you. This process is automatic, but like your breath, you have the ability to take control of this process if you so choose. Feel the parts of you making contact with the world below (your feet, or bottoms of your legs if you are sitting). Decide, intend, choose, or will that the energy passing into your body at those points will instead rise up and surround you in a shield. You may need to actively stay with this process and continually will it to occur; with practice you may need to only check in every now and then.

A Method of Shield-Dissolving

1. Consider that you have placed energy around yourself which exists there whether or not you can feel it. Decide, intend, choose, or will that this energy breaks up and dissolves. You get to choose what to do with the energy. Options include:

Drawing it back into yourself

Pushing it down into the earth

Releasing it into the air around you

Would you like to do a fun experiment? Release the energy into the air around you in a closed room with no open doors or windows :)

Consider drawing energy back into yourself until you feel your storage containers are full, then pushing the rest of it downwards and into the earth.

Basic Shield Programming

For practice in raising and putting down energy, the form or shape your shield takes doesn't really matter. If you need to know what form it will take in order to complete the exercise, the most basic shield is considered to be a smooth bubble of white light; you can choose to practice with any form you like.

Programming a shield basically means to choose its effects. Common effects include limiting emotional intake from others, and blocking out environmental energy.

Form should follow function. If you want an energy shield to totally completely block out 100 of environmental energies, its form may take an opaque, solid black orb. If you want the shield to limit some energies but not others, it may take the form of a chain-link fence, be semi-opaque, or be like vines with gaps-inbetween them.

Experimenting with what forms work best for you is worthwhile. You do not necessarily need to choose a specific form: simply putting willpower behind your intent will also suffice.

Two Methods of Programming

I recommend trying the first technique for initially creating the shield, and the second technique for making adjustments once it exists.

1. Choose the intent of your shield before you even begin making it. As you begin gathering power, hold your intent in the forefront of your mind. Understand, believe, or know that the shield will not be created in general, but that it will be created within the specifications of your intent, like pancake batter poured into a cookie cutter mold. Hold your intent at the forefront of your mind while energy is gathered and released into the shield. (This is what you're doing automatically if you choose a pop culture technique with specific shield purpose and form)

2. Create a general/basic shield in any way you prefer. Observe, believe, feel, understand, or know that this basic shield is under your control and will respond to your intent. Select an intent. Pour your intent into the existing shield. This may be done through the vehicle of the breath, hand symbols, eye gazes, chanting, or any desired method. Observe, believe, feel, understand, or know that the shield responds to your will like a pond rippling when a rock is thrown in. Maintain your focus until you sense the work is complete, or until you're tired or bored.

P.3 Common Herbs A-Z

This is O-Z of some common herbs and their uses

Olive

Fidelity

Marriage

Peace

Money

Assures fidelity in love and is used to attract a marriage partner. Inspires fruitfulness and security in love, family, and business.

Onion

Prosperity

Stability

Endurance

Protection

Burn onion flowers to banish bad habits and negative influences. Cut onions in half and place in the corners of a room to absorb illness, then bury or burn the onion halves in the morning. Sacred to the moon.

Orange

Attracts abundance and happiness through love and marriage.

Concentrate on a yes/no question while eating an orange, then count the seeds -- an even number of seeds means the answer is no, an odd number of seeds means yes. Use the leaves and flowers in love rituals to bring on a marriage proposal. Add an infusion of orange to the bath to increase attractiveness and beauty.

Orange peel

Love

Divination

Luck

Money

House & business blessing

Add to love sachets to help someone make up their mind. Use in sachets & amulets to bring luck to business negotiations.

Orchid

Concentration

Strengthening memory

Focus

Will power

Oregano

Joy

Strength

Vitality

Added energy

Paprika

Use to add energy to any spell or mixture. Throw in someone's yard to cause them problems.

Parsley

Calms and protects the home

Draws prosperity

Financial increase

Luck

Restores a sense of well-being

Use in spells to increase strength & vitality after surgery or illness. Use in amulets or other magickal workings to help yourself out of a rut. Eat to provoke lust and promote fertility. Place on plates of food to guard against contamination. Useful for bath magick to purify and end misfortune. Mix with jasmine and carry in your shoe to make you more attractive to the opposite sex.

Parsnip

Male sex magick

Pear

Lust

Love

Eating pears induces love. Use dried fruit in amulets and sachets for love and lust.

Pea

Money

Love

Peppermint

Use to increase the vibrations of a space or in spells and incense for healing & purification. Place in sleep pillow to ensure peaceful sleep and bring about prophetic dreams. Use to anoint furnishings and household objects. Burn in a new home to clear out sickness and negative energy. Use in magickal workings to provide the push needed to bring change to one's life. Carry with other herbs to boost love & abundance wishes.

Pine

Promotes clean breaks, new beginnings, prosperity, success, strength, grounding, and growth; Also used for cleansing, purification, and repelling negativity. Great for house and business blessing.

Pineapple

Luck

Money

Chastity

Add an infusion of pineapple to the bath to attract luck.

Plum

Healing

Peace

Love

Poppy

Fertility

Prosperity

Love

Abundance

Potato

Image magick

Money

Luck

Healing

Pumpkin

Lunar magick

Radish

Protection

Lust

Rhubarb 

Fidelity

Protection

Rose

Divine love

Close friendships

Domestic peace/happiness

Lasting relationships

Great for use in incense, potpourri or bath magick. Place around sprains and dark bruises to help them heal faster.

Rosemary

Carried and used in healing poppets for good health, used in love/lust spells, worn to improve memory, used in dream pillows to prevent nightmares, burned as incense for purification and removing negativity. Wear or carry while reading or completing tasks to improve memory of the material and aid clear thinking (great for students!). Use an infusion of rosemary to wash hands before any healing magick. Use in bath magick for purification. Associated with faeries.

Saffron

Aphrodisiac

Love

Healing

Happiness

Wind raising

Lust

Strength

Burn, wear, or carry for healing and strengthening psychic awareness. Commonly used in love magick, healing spells, and to control the weather. Wash hands with water and saffron or keep saffron sachets in your home to bring happiness.

Sage

Used for self purification and dealing with grief and loss. Carried to improve mental ability and bring wisdom. Used in healing sachets & incense. Promotes spiritual, mental, emotional & physical health and longevity. Removes negative energy. Place near a personal object of a person who is ailing when performing healing spells or rituals. Write a wish on a sage leaf and place it under your pillow for 3 nights -- if you dream of your wish, it will come true; if not, bury the leaf in the ground so that no bad will come to you.

Sea salt

Uses include cleansing crystals, purification, grounding, protection magick and ritual. Used on the altar to represent the Earth. Used with water for asperging, sea spells, consecration and casting circles. Used with garlic and rosemary to banish evil.

Shallot

Add an infusion of shallots to the bath for luck.

St Johns wort

Worn to prevent colds & fevers. Placed under pillow to induce prophetic, romantic dreams. Protects against all forms of black witchcraft. Place in a jar in a window or burn in a fireplace to protect from lightning, fire and evil spirits. Used for banishing, protection & blessing. Carry to strengthen courage and convictions or when confronting nasty situations. Burn to banish spirits and demons. Used in divination for the care of crystals. Note: Can be poisonous, use with caution.

Star anise

Burned as incense to increase psychic awareness & abilities. Placed on the altar to increase the power generated. Carried to bring luck.

Strawberry

Attracts success, good fortune, and favorable circumstances. Served as a love food. Leaves are carried for luck. Pregnant women carry a packet of the leaves to ease the pain of pregnancy and childbirth.

Sugar

Love spells

Sex magick

Sunflower

Energy

Protection

Power

Wisdom

Wishes

Sweet pea

Attracts friends and allies; Draws the loyalty and affection of others.

Sweet potato 

Image magick

Tangerine 

Promotes energy

Strength

Vitality

Awakens joy and dissolves negativity

Tea leaves

Use in talismans for courage or strength. Use as a base for lust drinks. Burn leaves to ensure future riches.

Tea tree

Eliminating confusion

Increasing harmony

Thyme

Attracts loyalty

Affection

The good opinion of others

Wear a sprig to ward off unbearable grief or provide strength and courage when needed. Burn or hang in the home for banishing, purification, and to attract good health for all occupants. Use in cleansing baths prior to working candle magick. Use in dream pillows to ward off nightmares and ensure restful sleep. Add a thyme infusion to the bath regularly to ensure a constant flow of money. Place in a jar and keep in the home or at work for good luck.

Tobacco

Promotes peace

Confidence

Personal strength

Banishing

Mix with salt and burn with a black candle to win a court case.

Tomato

Love spells

Turnip

Ending relationships

Vinegar 

Banishing

Binding

Averting evil

Walnut

Access to divine energy

Bringing the blessing of the Gods

Wishes

Watercress

Lunar magick

Sex magick

Witch Hazel

Chastity

Protection

Carry to ease grief over a lost love. Use in a sachet to reduce passions. Use in love spells and spells to ward off evil.

And as always, merry meet <3

Atti

Big changes are underway – and we’re ready for them! Matters of fate, destiny, and spiritual evolution are coming front and center. The universe is giving us a big push forward. The pull towards the future is undeniable.

We’re supported in healing and letting go of our past, and in creating a future we truly desire. We’re getting clear on where we’re going and what we’re leaving behind. It’s time to release old, conditioned ways of being that are out of alignment with who we truly are — and to consciously choose what is in alignment with our authentic truth. And we are beautifully supported in all of this with three powerful trines that are all directly tied into the energy of this full moon.

Great ideas and flashes of insight may dawn upon us now. We are ready to make things real. Something that feels like a well-earned reward could be materializing into reality.The major themes coming up at this time revolve around self-worth, and learning to feel safe, secure, at peace, and grounded within ourselves. We are being gifted with more clarity about what to do with the intensity that came up around the new moon (on June 28th).

However, the push to let go can be quite uncomfortable. Past pain has been brought to the surface because we must see it clearly before we can move on. Emotions can feel intense and heavy. Our heart and mind may feel like they are on different pages. But there is a strong sense of readiness; holding onto the past may feel unbearable or like it isn’t even an option anymore. This push forward is a blessing, no matter how uncomfortable it may feel.

There also continues to be strong support for practicing detachment – being the conscious observer of our thoughts and feelings, and allowing them to be without getting taken over by them. Overall, there is a lot of beautiful, healing, forward-moving, and even exciting energy surrounding us at this time.

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Common herbs and their purposes

P.1 Common Herbs A-Z

This is A-C of some common herbs and their uses

Acorn

Good luck

Protection

Wisdom

Personal power

A dried acorn is an excellent natural amulet for keeping a youthful appearance.

Allspice

Money

Luck

Healing

Obtaining treasure

Provides added determination and energy to any spells and charms. Burn crushed allspice to attract luck and money. Use in herbal baths for healing.

Almond

Wisdom

Money

Fruitfulness

Prosperity

Invokes the healing energy of the deities. Provides magickal help for overcoming dependencies & addiction. Associated with Candlemas and Beltane. Carry, wear, or use as incense to attract abundance.

Aloe

Protection

Luck

Place on the grave of a loved one to promote peaceful energy. Thought to relieve loneliness and assist with success. Hang in the home to attract luck and protection for those who live there. Grow in the home to provide protection from household accidents. Burn on the night of a full moon to bring a new lover by the new moon.

Apple

Love

Garden Magick

Immortality

Friendship

Healing

Place seven apple seeds in a bag with Orris Root to attract sexual love. Use in rituals to give honor to gods and goddesses of fertility. Considered the food of the dead, which is why Samhain is called the 'Feast of Apples'. Symbolizes the soul and is burned at Samhain in honor of those who will be reborn in the spring. When doing a house blessing, cut an apple in half -- eat half and put the other half outside of the home as an offering.

Apricot

Love

Add leaves and flowers to love sachets or carry apricot pits to attract love.

Banana

Fertility

Potency

Prosperity

Basil

Love

Exorcism

Wealth

Sympathy

Protection

Dispels confusion, fears & weakness. Drives off hostile spirits. Associated with Candlemas. Carry to move forward in a positive manner despite perilous danger. Strewn on floors to provide protection from evil. Sprinkle an infusion of basil outside of the building where you hope to be employed for luck in a job interview or in your business to attract money and success. Wear or carry to aid in attracting money and prosperity.

Bay leaf

Protection

Good fortune

Success

Purification

Strength

Healing

Psychic powers

Write wishes on the leaves and then burn the leaves to make the wishes come true. Place under the pillow (or use in dream pillow) to induce prophetic dreams. Place in the corner of each room in the house to protect all that dwell there. Carry bay leaf to protect yourself against black magick.

Black pepper

Banishing negativity

Exorcism

Protection from evil

Blackberry

Healing

Protection

Money

Sacred to Brighid. Leaves and berries said to attract wealth and healing.

Bluebell

Luck

Truth

Friendship

Incorporate into rituals of death & dying to comfort those left behind and ease their sorrow.

Blueberry

Protection

Though not recommended, blueberry is said to cause confusion & strife when tossed in the doorway or path of an enemy.

Burdock

Used for cleansing magick when feeling highly negative about oneself or others. Use in protection incenses and spells. Rinse with a decoction of burdock to remove negative feelings about yourself or others.

Cabbage

Fertility

Profit

Good luck

Lunar magick

Money magick

Cactus

Chastity

Banishing

Protection.

Bury with other banishing symbols for protection. Grow in the home or garden to prevent unwanted intrusions. Place in all directions of the home (north, south, east, and west) for full protection.

Cardamom

Lust

Love

Fidelity

Carrot

Lust

Fidelity

Cashew

Money

Celery

Mental powers

Psychic powers

Lust

Fertility

Male potency

Chamomile

Love

Healing

Reducing stress.

Add to a sachet or spell to increase the chances of its success. Sprinkle an infusion of chamomile around the house to remove hexes, curses and spells. Burn or add to prosperity bags to increase money. Burn as incense for de-stressing, meditation, and restful sleep. Wash hands in an infusion of chamomile for luck before gambling or playing cards. Use in bath magick to attract love. Keep a packet of the herb with lottery tickets for luck.

Cherry

Love

Divination

Gaiety

Happiness

Chestnut

Love

Chilli Pepper

Fidelity

Love

Hex breaking

Scatter powder around the house to break hexes and spells against you. Use in love charms & spells.

Chives

Protection

Weight loss *weight loss spells can be dangerous*

Cinnamon

Spirituality

Success

Healing

Protection

Power

Love

Luck

Strength

Prosperity

Burn as an incense or use in a sachet to raise spiritual and protective vibrations, draw money, and stimulate psychic powers. A popular herb for use in charms to draw money & prosperity. Wear in an amulet to bring passion.

Citronella 

Draws friends to the home, customers to the business. Promotes eloquence, persuasiveness, and prosperity. Protects and cleanses the aura. Encourages self-expression and creativity (great for writers & actors!) and brings clarity to the mind. Repels insects and deodorizes

Clove

Exorcism

Love

Money

Protection

Coconut 

Chastity

Protection

Purification

Coffee

Helps to dispel nightmares and negative thoughts and to overcome internal blockages. Provides peace of mind and grounding.

Coriander

Love

Health

Immortality

Protection.

Tie fresh coriander with a ribbon and hang in the home to bring peace & protection. Add to love charms and spells to bring romance or use in ritual work to ease the pain of a broken love affair. Promotes peace among those who are unable to get along. Throw the seeds in lieu of rice during Handfastings and other rituals of union. Use the seeds in love sachets and spells. Add powdered seeds to wine for an effective lust potion. Wear or carry the seeds to ward off disease and migraines.

Cucumber

Chastity

Fertility

Healing

Cumin

Fidelity

Protection

Exorcism.

The seed is said to prevent the theft of any object which contains it. Burn with frankincense for protection. Scatter on the floor alone or with salt to drive out evil. Use in love spells to promote fidelity. Steep in wine to make love potions.

Curry

Protection

Burn curry powder to keep evil forces away.

And as always, merry meet <3

Atti

How to Organize Your Book of Shadows/Grimoire

ー

A great recommendation on how to do so! Remember, though, this is only an opinion: always follow your intuition and include what feels right! There may be topics on this list that are not applicable to your practice and/or don't interest you, and that is okay. Each book of shadows/grimoire is unique item that should be personal to you and you alone.

Stormy's Spellbook

How to Organize Your Grimoire

Have you ever bought a journal with plans to turn it into a beautiful grimoire? Something directly out of the 90s show “Charmed”? But you ha