Protection Magick: The Whys and Hows

As Wicca and other modern Witchcraft paths attempted to gain acceptance by society, they downplayed the need for psychic and magickal protection so much as to imply it's unnecessary. Generally speaking, Wiccans and many other Witches have values and ethics against using magick to harm others unless necessary to prevent greater harm to themselves, loved ones, their local communities, or society as a whole.

Unfortunately, not all magickal practitioners share the same values and they may have entirely different views on standards for ethical behaviors.

Even though such practitioners with questionable ethics are comparatively few, not all psychic and magickal attacks occur intentionally. Intentional attack or not, protection should be a top priority for all psychic and magickal practitioners as they're more susceptible to the energies thrown their way given their energetically open state.

Below we look at the different forms of attack that may occur and some basic magickal protection tactics.

Intentional Attacks

These intentional psychic and magickal attacks seek to bring emotional harm to a specific target. They bring down your confidence to a point that you feel powerless; when you feel powerless, you won't fight back.

The reasons for intentional psychic and magickal attacks are limitless. They can be as simple as a grudge against you for a perceived wrong and jealousy or more complicated such as power trips and a desire for adrenaline rushes.

Some signs of attack include feeling like something gross or "icky" is stuck to you, the sensation of being watched even when no one else is around, feeling "weighed down" by energy, feeling lethargic without a physical explanation, violent and disturbing recurring dreams (without explanation), and suddenly being "unlucky" or clumsy consistently.

Notice how many of these effects of psychic and magickal attack would compromise your confidence and emotional health? Dealing with these symptoms long enough eats away at your ability and motivation to heal yourself let alone fight back, which is exactly where the practitioner wants you to be.

Other intentional attacks come from emotional and psychic vampires. Although some self-aware vampires certainly have ethical standards and don't attempt to absorb or drain others' energies without explicit permission (yes, vampires can be consent-savvy), there are those who don't share these ethics.

The reasons for draining your energy is less about any sort of desire to cause you, specifically, harm. Instead, it's a desire to collect energy and yours is appealing.

In these sorts of attacks, the symptoms will most notably be that of feeling drained, lacking energy, and lethargic. Even when there's no malice against you, the actions are no less a violation.

Unintentional Attacks

Although intentional psychic and magickal attacks are most certainly possible, the unintentional forms of psychic attack are far more common.

You may well be hexed, crossed, or jinxed, but not because someone has it out for you. You may just be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or even just let your own negative thinking get the better of you.

For example, an unintentional attack could be as simple as someone with road rage perceiving you as having cut them off. As a result, all their rage (and subsequently negative energy) is thrown at you.

The individual may truly be angry at the perceived misdeed, but they aren't intentionally meaning to bombard you with negativity that can ruin your day. (Some may well feel that way, but, when perfectly honest with themselves, know that they don't want that.)

In other cases of unintentional psychic and magickal attack, you may not be involved at all but simply in close proximity to someone who's having a bad day and putting off negative energy which then gets stuck to you. (For more on how exactly this works, see the Auras page.) Over time, this negativity will begin to manifest the same signs as intentional psychic and magickal attacks.

Another cause of negativity in your life that feels exactly like being the victim of psychic and magickal attacks is your own thinking and behaviors.

If you believe yourself unlucky, jinxed, or otherwise, you'll end up attracting the energy into your life to make it so.

If you believe others want to attack you for whatever reason, you'll attract the energy of such to yourself.

Our own negative thinking and, especially, our lack of confidence to dispel negativity and promote positive energy in our lives can be our worst enemy. We don't mean to bring these things into our lives, but we do so unintentionally nonetheless.

The best way to handle this problem is to adjust your thinking and build your confidence. It may be easier said than done, but far from impossible!

Basic Protection Tips

At your disposal are several actions, behaviors, techniques, and tools you can use to help protect yourself from negative energy and psychic and magickal attacks. They may be as elaborate as a full-blown ritual or as simple as putting a gargoyle out as a family guardian.

The following are some ideas and suggestions to help you find what will work best for you and your needs.

Shower daily. This should go without saying for physical hygiene purposes. Try to take your showers at night (or both morning and night) to wash away negative energy you've accumulated while out and about.

During the shower, envision the water washing away not only the physical but also the energetic grime of the day. Let it slide off you and down the drain. You'll find going to bed much easier.

Create a shield. This is the practice commonly referred to as "shielding."

Imagine yourself surrounded by a sphere of white light around you. Another version is to imagine a "rainbow rain" that pours through the top of your head, to the bottom of your feet, and moves back up to repeat the process.

You may want to try various imagery of this sort and choose the imagery that works best for you. This shield will protect you from harm and deflect any negative energy sent your way.

- Keep in mind, however, that you don't want to shield yourself from everything. There are positive experiences out in the world. You are protecting yourself from harm, not building a fortress in which to lock yourself in.

Your shield, then, should be more like a net, with the thick, negative energy unable to pass through and the light, positive energy able to move freely as you go about your day.

Be confident. We (even those of us who are seasoned in this area) all get caught off guard from time to time. You can protect yourself!

You can cleanse yourself and stop the negativity from returning. You can get through hard times and you can create the future you desire.

In intentional attacks, loss of confidence is often the primary goal against you. Standing your ground is always the best medicine against them. Know that you are stronger and can overcome, no matter how many attempts you may need to get there.

Show those psychic and magickal attacks that you're the boss of your own life!

Use stones. Keep protective stones in at least one corner of every room to protect your house. Black tourmaline is a favorite for this purpose as it's both protective and absorbs any negativity in the area.

The stone doesn't have be visible to do its work. This'll make spiritual cleansing much easier. Likewise, you can charge stones as part of your protection magick routines to wear or carry on your person throughout the day. Ideally, you'll want to choose to choose either crystals that naturally protects or any stone that you resonate with and provides a sense of safety and protection.

Exercise regularly and eat healthy. As with showering, these should go without saying physical health-wise. A healthy body leads to healthy energy. In the same way you need a healthy body to help fight back when germs and disease try to find their way in, you need a healthy body to use magick effectively when fighting off negative energy and intentions.

By keeping your physical health balanced, you assist in keeping your energetic/spiritual health balanced and vice versa (see the Chakras page for more information about energy balances in the body). A healthier you is a more powerful you!

Ward your home, vehicle, and other spaces. Doing so won't 100% guarantee nothing bad will happen or that negativity will always be averted, but it's a great protective measure. Think of it as loading up on Vitamin C and other vitamins during cold and flu seasons: You'll boost your immune system, but you can still catch a cold.

Warding is another practice that can be either complex or simplified. Simple ways to ward include hanging a protective wreath on doors or broom over the threshold (these are ideally items that have been magickally charged for this purpose).

More complex methods involve protection magick in the form of spells and rituals, use of charged magickal items, and placing (energetically) protective symbols around the space, particularly focusing on entry-ways. (Note to the wise: It's always a good idea to physically and spiritually cleanse a space before setting up your wards.)

Other symbols and tools for protection. Gargoyles, horseshoes, and certain symbols all work great in protecting the home. Symbols may include the pentacle, Star of David, ankh, Eye of Horus, triskele, Thor's Hammer, and any variation of a cross. Some Witches also make use of the pentacles from the Key of Solomon. The possible symbols you can use are endless.

In addition to the home, these symbols can be placed in other locations such as cars, backpacks, and even on your person in the form of jewelry, clothing, tattoos, etc.

- Whatever symbol you choose to use, make sure it's something that resonates with you as a protective device. If you're Christian, for example, you may find a simple cross is far more effective than the most elaborate of pentacles.

Don't feel that a pentacle must be used because some spell book said that's the symbol to use to protect yourself. Use what makes you feel safe and protected and brings you the confidence you need to fight back against any attacks.

No matter your style and preferences for protection magick, make sure to keep it up! These aren't "one and done" techniques, but, rather, practices that require repetition.

How often you need to repeat a particular technique, such as charging objects, warding, etc. varies based on the technique used and what's been coming your way. Other techniques, such as showering/bathing, shielding, confidence, and physical health should be repeated on the daily.

Remember, protection magick is easy and necessary to incorporate into your life. Once you've formed the habit of using your chosen techniques regularly, you'll find navigating through life much easier without the negativity of life weighing you down.