Image: Shelby Robinson

“The best lightning rod for your protection is your own spine.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I started a FB group I was given the opportunity to interact one on one with many practitioners of all paths, and all skill levels; this is not something that I am afforded in my everyday life, as most of my readership and group members have been quick to agree on. I have trust issues when it comes to friendships, but I also find it hard to connect with practitioners anywhere locally.

I am grateful to have an online community, one that has not only taught me much about myself but also has become a place where much knowledge is shared and exchanged.

It took some time to work the kinks out but since I started finding my personal flow, the page has become a tight knit community where I go to seek refuge when the outside world becomes too much.

It’s like a whole new world has opened up for me since starting NR, and I feel I am more equipped to give my readership what they want because I am interacting with so many people, and forming friendships/connections in the process.

A discussion in the group I used to run initially sparked the idea for this blog; the debate was about protection, and methods of protecting one self.

It seems that people don’t know how to protect themselves, and I have to sit back and scratch my head trying to figure out why.

This isn’t new, though, it has been coming up for a very long time, a common trend I have observed.

I am not formally trained, and I have not had longtime mentors guiding me; I find and have found inspiration among everyone I cross paths with.

Since starting to walk my Spiritual path I have drifted further away from people, descending deeper into the rabbit hole while learning to become sturdy on my feet; I am still training, practicing, learning, and seeking.

The first thing I learned, and I believe all people should learn first is Protection Magick.

There is a difference between Defensive Magick and Protective Magick.

A Witch should be proficient in both areas in order to be her/his best Self, but one needs to Master protective Magick if any other form is going to work properly.

I don’t like the term Master because I think that if we claim that title then we limit ourselves by telling our mind we have reached our peak; if we reach our peak there is nothing left to chase, but in reality there is always something to chase. So I will never be a Master, but protection Magick? That I have mastered.

I am useless to myself, my kin, and my mission here if I cannot protect the physical, and psychic body.

Protection Magick is personal, and it’s something that we each have to practice in order to find a rhythm that works well with our own. I am going to give some tips, and practices that have worked for me personally, nothing is written in stone, and you can tweak it if necessary.

I am going to focus on protecting your space, this can be done on a small scale with your altar or bedroom, or on a larger scale say your apartment building, or house.

The most effective tool in Magick is ourselves, but physical tools play an important role, too. To protect a home, or space some tools are Black Salt, Pink Himalayan Salt, Course Sea Salt, Brick Dust, Crystals, Feathers, Brooms, Bones, Sacred Geometry, and Sigils.

Black Salt, Pink Himalayan Salt, and/or Course Sea Salt should be placed in thresholds (doorways), and windowsills primarily. You can also place some in a bowl beneath your bed, and change it every other day, this works well for children because the salt grounds the energy, and the negative thoughts (nightmares). I think Himalayan Crystal lamps are great for absorbing negative energy in the air, too.

Brick dust can be sprinkled anywhere, it can be used around your house, or a specific room within the home, and it can even be used to consecrate sacred places in the woods, or cemeteries, if you are into outdoor ritual.

I make my own banishing salt which is one of the most effective tools I have. It’s a mixture of Course Sea Salt and dried Sage leaves.

A good tool for protecting your property is urine; think of a dog marking their territory, obviously I am not suggesting urinating in your home, this is for the yard, or exterior perimeter.

Blood sigils, and blood in general, can be another really effective tool for protecting your space. I personally love sigils, but I also love things personal to me so I find sticks, and tie them together with hemp, binding them with blood  and I hang them from the ceiling by small hooks, and that is my way of marking territory, or saying this space belongs to this bad ass Witch, and enter at your own risk.

I suggest crystals all the time, and I feel like I have even suggested many of the methods mentioned above before but here I am again writing about this.

The best crystals for protection of property are Black Tourmaline, or Jet placed near the doorway; other good crystals to use, that should be placed in the corner of each room are, Selenite, Amethyst, Citrine and Labradorite. If you throw in Moss Agate, and Rose Quartz it will bring abundance, and love into your home.

Feathers are a tool I have primarily seen people use for traces of death in particular casting but feathers are a great protection object. Whatever species the bird, that is what the properties of the feather will hold: Hawk feathers are for guardianship, connection to the spirit world, and the gift of sight. Crow or Raven feathers are protective, especially through Norse and Celtic traditions, but also are messengers, and will reveal a friend or foe to you. Owl feathers will add protection via Darker energy; they add wisdom and the ability to “see in the dark” (see yourself through the storm, or rough patch).

Brooms, or Besoms, are amazing tools for protection of home/space. They were used primarily to “Sweep away spirits” and for “flying”. Flying was achieved by applying psychotropic herbs, or plants that were made into a balm to the base of the broom and inserting vaginally, once absorbed through the thin mucus membranes of the vagina the Witch will begin to hallucinate, or “fly”. Nowadays this is not common practice, but the Besom is still symbolic for Witches, and it not only sweeps, or cleans away negative energy, it marks our territory.

Bones are used in a similar way as feathers, but the vibrations are much heavier because bones represent death, whereas the feather could be from a still living bird.

For example, frog bones are used for transformation, and spiritual cleansing, but they are also good for hexing (depending on the frog). If you use bones from a snake it represents life/death/rebirth, and if from a venomous snake can be used to “bite” whomever wishes your home, or its inhabitants harm.

Sacred Geometry and Sigils fall under the same category, and this is pretty self-explanatory; you simply take whatever symbol you’re drawn to (Pentagram, Helm of Awe, Merkaba, Platonic Solids, Leviathan’s Cross, Archangel Sigils, Runes, or even a personal symbol that you created) set your intentions and you draw it either on paper, or the walls of your home in ritual oil (they will dry clear).

I think tools, and objects are helpful and have worked for me many times, but I primarily like to use fire and water energy to protect my home, and myself.

My logic behind this is that fire is a purifier, and water is an equalizer.

I use Draconian Fire, but I know some people who use the fire of Pele, or Hestia.

You can create your own fire source, this takes much more out of the practitioner, and my personal preference is the ferocity of Draconian fire.

To tap into this source, you need a black candle, an incense, a needle, a bowl of water and you must draw Lucifer’s Sigil in your blood, you can use Leviathan’s Cross, but I have found Lucifer’s Sigil to be the most potent. Cast your circle, or do whatever it is you do to prepare for ritual or divination, place the black candle above the bowl of water, prick your finger and draw out Lucifer’s Sigil, then put it on the right side of your water, light your incense, and your candle, drop some blood into the water and begin to focus on the candle light, and say:

“Oh, Black Dragon I call to thee, may the powers beyond hear my plea, Great Leviathan! Tiamat! The Great, and mighty sea Beast! Serpent of the Void, who winds through eternity! I take your mighty flame into me.” Then begin to chant, “Veniat ad me Draco, Veniat ad me Draco, Veniat ad me Draco…”

You will begin to feel the heat coursing through you, once you have enough control of it, you must enter a meditative state, and while looking at the same black candle begin to picture in your mind’s eye what (or who) it is that you wish to protect then say, “Ignis Draconis, Redimio”. (Fire of the Dragon, encircle me)

The water protection grid is much easier, probably because I am a triple Cancer, but this requires only a meditation, a bowl of water (a blue, or clear glass bowl) and a blue candle (dark blue, preferred). You do your usual circle, and imagine the area you wish to protect, or person(s) and you say, “Aqua et creatio, redimio.” (Waters of creation, encircle me)

I usually use an interlocking grid of fire and water, with a few surprises in there just in case. I have a Witch ball, and Witch Bells for anything more on the physical that has gotten through. I keep herbs on hand, and war water, too (it can be great for casting out energy, not just for hexing).

Protecting your physical, or “vessel” is just as important as protecting your property; physical protection is one of the most personal, and subjective forms of Magick, there is no right or wrong way to do it, and what works for me, may not work for you.

Some of the suggestions given here can be tweaked to protect your person. To add an extra barrier between me and the outside world I personally like to use enchanted jewelry, and some of my tattoos were done using ink I had personally enchanted beforehand.

A Witch should be able to protect her/his self at all costs, at the drop of a dime, and no one should be walking around paranoid of an attack. If you are constantly worried about attacks it usually means your subconscious is telling you that your shields are weak, or that you are vulnerable.

True Magickal attacks are rare, and in most cases they are petty in nature, but in the off chance that you or someone you love falls victim, you need to be able to do what is necessary to eliminate the threat, and that is where defensive Magick comes into play, but that is an entirely different ball game.

Protect thyself, as you Love thyself–until death, and beyond.

Blessed are the Witches.