Protection Magick & Warding: The Wherefore Plus Tips and Tactics
Part 2 of the Magickal Maintenance Series
from Episode 38: The Magickal Maintenance Series: Protection Magick and Warding
Summary of Part 1: Energetic Cleansing & Magickal Hygiene
“When it comes to maintaining an environment of peace and energetic balance in your space, keeping it clutter free and regularly cleansed is the first line of defense. If you've ever entered into a space that was extremely cluttered unkempt or downright filthy and felt an oppressive energy closing in on you, that is exactly what built up stagnation and clutter can bring about. Just as pests can find safe harbor in piles of clutter or dark dusty corners, so can stagnant energy and unwanted or even harmful energies find a comfortable place to inhabit. So, even if it's not nearly as much fun, the mundane upkeep of a space is just as important for our spiritual well-being as energetic cleansing and magical hygiene.
Energetic cleansing refers to the process of purifying and balancing the energy or aura of an individual a space or an object. It is based on the idea that everything in existence is composed of energy including our thoughts emotions and the environments we inhabit. Just as we clean our physical bodies and living spaces to maintain hygiene, energetic cleansing aims to cleanse and refresh the energetic field.
This can be done with smoke cleansing, crystal work, sound clearing, candles, floor washes, incense, simmer pots and visualization just to name a few.
Magical hygiene is closely related to energetic cleansing but it focuses specifically on practices within the realm of magic or ritual work magical hygiene involves preparing one's self and a space for spiritual or magical endeavors. The aim is to create an environment that is energetically balanced protected and conducive to the intended work and magical hygiene practices can include:
Cleansing rituals for the self, tools or ritual space - ritual baths or tool consecrations would be included here - regular grounding and centering , Before engaging in magical practices or even before starting your day… shielding and protection by way of creating energetic shields and protective barriers around oneself and the ritual space to ward off negative or unwanted energies before door or during a magical working as well as on a daily basis \..
The ultimate goal of both energetic cleansing and magical hygiene is to create a harmonious and energetically balanced environment that supports our wellbeing, our clarity, our safety and our spiritual work…”
“… as witches, our ability to protect ourselves,
to protect our energy, to create peace and balance
around us and to assert our free will,
should be second to none!”
Protection Magick
Protection magick is an absolutely fundamental aspect of witchcraft and various folk traditions around the world. It should be one of the first types of magickal workings that you learn and the one that you practice most often.
This is not because there is an evil spirit or menacing witch lurking around every corner but because, as witches, our ability to protect ourselves, to protect our energy, to create peace and balance around us and to assert our free will, should be second to none!
Will you ever truly need to strong protection magick? That really can’t be known - and there’s a good chance that if you keep your energetic cleansing and magickal hygiene checked off your list, the answer is no - but why not learn, just in case. Why run the risk? Why drive without a seatbelt?
Protection magick involves the use of rituals, spells, charms, and other magical practices to ward off negative energies, harmful influences, and potential threats. The nature of protection magick and its necessity can be understood through several key points:
Energetic and Spiritual Defense:
Protection magick is primarily concerned with safeguarding one's energy, aura, and spiritual well-being. Practitioners believe that there are both positive and negative energies in the world, and they use protective spells and rituals to shield themselves from harmful vibrations and influences.
Warding Off Harm:
Many practitioners turn to protection magick to protect themselves from physical, emotional, or psychic harm. This can include protection from accidents, illness, psychic attacks, negative emotions, and even curses or hexes.
Creating Safe Spaces:
Protection magick is often used to create safe and sacred spaces, such as homes, altars, or personal sanctuaries. These spaces are energetically cleansed and fortified to keep out unwanted influences and maintain a positive, harmonious atmosphere.
Psychological Comfort:
Even if one doesn't subscribe to the belief in literal magical forces, protection magick can serve as a psychological comfort. The act of performing protective rituals or wearing protective amulets can instill a sense of security and empowerment, which can have a positive impact on one's well-being.
Respect for Tradition:
For many practitioners of witchcraft and folk traditions, protection magick is a time-honored practice passed down through generations. It's an integral part of their cultural and spiritual heritage, and it helps maintain a connection with their ancestors and the wisdom of the past.
Balancing Energies:
Protection magick is often seen as a way to balance and harmonize the energies within and around an individual. By warding off negativity and harmful influences, practitioners aim to maintain a state of balance and spiritual well-being.
Free Will and Empowerment:
Protection magick is also about asserting one's free will and autonomy. It allows individuals to actively participate in their own protection and take control of their spiritual and physical destinies.
So, now that we’ve covered why we practice protection magick and it’s importance, what exactly is it that we are protecting ourselves from? Witches and practitioners of protection magick aim to safeguard themselves from a variety of potential threats, negative influences, and harmful energies.
And what they seek protection from can vary depending on their beliefs, experiences, and specific circumstances. Some common things that you can use protection magick for include:
Negative Energy:
Witches generate, work with, manipulate and sometimes even banish energy. We seek protection from harmful energy that can affect our well-being. This negative energy may come from external sources, such as people with ill intentions, or it may be generated within, such as through stress or negative emotions resulting in crossed conditions.
Psychic Attacks:
This is where individuals may intentionally or unintentionally send harmful energy, thoughts, or intentions toward us. Protection magick can create shields against such attacks.
Hexes and Curses:
Witches use protection magick to ward off hexes, curses, or malevolent spells that may be directed at them by others. This is often seen as a defensive measure to prevent harm, injury, illness or misfortune set upon the self, loved-ones, the home or any aspect of life and well-being.
Unwanted Spirits or Entities:
Protection magick can be used to guard against unwanted or malevolent spirits from entering into your space, your home or meddling in your endeavors. We may at times unknowingly or unintentionally wonder into a place where we are not welcome, work magick that upsets a restless spirit, attract the attention of a vampiric entity… The reasons that this may happen are far greater than the likelihood of it actually happening to you. However, that is no reason to shy away from learning how to protect from this type of scenario while maintaining a positive and harmonious connection with helpful spirits and allies.
Psychological Stress and Fear:
Protection magick can also be used to alleviate psychological stress, anxiety, and fear. It provides a sense of security and empowerment, helping practitioners feel more in control of their lives.
Physical Harm:
Some forms of protection magick are aimed at preventing accidents, injuries, and physical harm. This can include creating a protective barrier around one's home, car or person.
Intrusive Energies:
Witches use protection magick to block or filter out intrusive energies or influences that disrupt their spiritual or magical practices. This ensures that they can work in a focused and undisturbed manner.
Environmental Factors:
Protection magick can extend to creating a safe and harmonious environment. This includes protecting one's living space from negative energies, disturbances, or hostile forces. For this reason, the casting of a circle before spellwork or ritual is seen as a form or protection magick, or saying a prayer or incantation before going to sleep. You can see here just how much overlap there is with protection magick and many other types of practices.
Spiritual Balance:
Witches often seek to maintain spiritual balance and harmony within themselves. Protection magick can help in warding off disruptive influences that may throw them off balance or hinder their spiritual growth. Typically this is done by regular grounding, centering and/or shielding but protective spells, amulets or talismans can come into play here as well.
It's important to emphasize that the specific nature of what witches seek protection from can vary greatly among individuals and different traditions of witchcraft. Some of us may focus on practical, tangible threats, while others may work more with the unseen, spiritual or even symbolic and psychological aspects of protection. Its my opinion that we should consider all of these areas.
However, beliefs and practices associated with protection magick are diverse and can range from highly ritualistic to deeply personal and intuitive. Highly ritualistic could be, performing the Lesser Banishing Ritual or the Pentagram or LBRP, every single day. It’s not a practice that I engage in but I researched and tested it early on and while I agree that is a powerful practice, its not for me. These days, the only daily ritual I try to keep up with is offerings to spirit allies, deities, ancestors and spirits of the land, candles, incense and prayer, which helps me feel grounded, stable, protected and firmly positioned in my power. However, I still perform protection magick, warding and whatever else I deem necessary, when necessary.
I highly recommend all starting practitioners approach protection magick in the same experimental way, learning as much as you can and trying out what peeks your interest until you find what feels right. Ultimately, the aim is to create a sense of safety, security, and empowerment in the practice of witchcraft and daily life.
Warding
Warding in protection magick is a practice that involves creating protective barriers or shields, often using symbolic or energetic means, to prevent negative energies, entities, or influences from entering a specific area, space, or even the practitioner's personal energy field.
Wards serve as a form of proactive defense, and they can be highly useful in protection magick for:
Creating a Safe and Sacred Space: This can be a home, a room, an altar, or any other area where magical or spiritual work is conducted.
Protection from Negative Influences: Acting as protective barriers against harmful influences, including psychic attacks, malevolent spirits, curses, hexes, and intrusive energies and providing a layer of defense, like a shield.
Maintaining Concentration: In magical or ritual work, concentration and focus are essential and wards help maintain a concentrated and undisturbed environment by keeping out distractions and disruptive energies.
Preventing Spiritual Intrusion: Warding can ensure only desired energies and entities are allowed into the protected space.
Personal Energetic Protection: Practitioners may use techniques to ward themselves, creating an energetic shield around their aura to block out negative energies or psychic attacks directed toward them.
Empowerment: Beyond their practical use, wards often have symbolic and psychological significance. The act of creating wards and maintaining them can instill a sense of empowerment and control, enhancing one's confidence and spiritual well-being.
Warding techniques – of which there are MANY - can be customized to fit an individual's specific needs and beliefs. Different symbols, words, or energetic methods can be employed to align with the practitioner's intentions and worldview. Some methods can include the use of:
Symbols and Sigils used on doors, windows, or walls, or placed in various places
Salt or Protective Herbs: Spreading witch’s salt or specific protective herbs like sage, rosemary, or basil around the perimeter of a space is a common way to create a protective boundary.
Visualizations: Visualization techniques can be used to imagine and create energetic shields or barriers – this is shielding and it’s a very important early foray into protection magick.
Amulets and Talismans: Protective amulets or talismans can be worn or placed in spaces to serve as wards.
Mantras and Chants: Repeating protective mantras or chants can help reinforce a ward's effectiveness or even recharge them, if you so prefer…
Candle Magic: Candles may be used to represent the presence of protective forces or to activate and strengthen wards as well…
And Charged Objects, which can be any object and often wards can go completely unnoticed in the mundane world for this reason…
And one thing to remember with Warding is that it’s a proactive practice that typically requires regular maintenance and attention to keep protective barriers strong and effective over time. Afterall, it’s called a practice, right?
So, In terms of practical application, protection magick can take many forms, including:
Charms, Amulets and Talismans for Warding
Candle Spells, Spell Jars and Banishing Rituals
Employment of Salt, Herbs, Crystals and Other Household Items
Visualization, Shielding and Meditation
Incantations, Chants, Prayers and Invo/Evocations
Tips and Tactics
Lets go over some tools, tips and tactics for protection magick. This installment is not intended to serve as an all-encompassing guide to protection magick – that would require several hundred pages – but as way of providing you with some pointers and idea of what areas you might want to dive deeper into. I will be providing some book recommendations at the end of this post for assistance in this area - all books I have read myself or are highly regarded in the witchcraft community.
So, here’s a list if tips, tricks and tactics to test and examine in the realm of protection magick for yourself and your space:
Cleanse your space with the help of the four elements to quickly expel unwanted or harmful energies and bring about balance. You can use salt, dirt or eggshell powder for Earth, bells, smoke or music for Air, water in bowl or a spray for Water, candles for Fire. Alternately, you can burn incense for Air, Fire and Earth and then use a Spray for Water, or use a seashell to catch the ashes in your smoke cleansing to incorporate Water as well.
Place a protective stones or crystals in or around your space. Some great options include: Obsidian, Black Tourmaline, Onyx, Smokey Quartz, Clear Quartz, Hematite, Selenite or Satin Spar, Amethyst, Tigers Eye, Carnelian, the list goes on. You may find you enjoy doing a little research into which stones help with protection magick and which ones you feel a connection with. You can grid a room that gets a lot of traffic or activity or where you sleep with selenite by placing a specimen in each corner or simply keep one close by.
Place a mirror on your altar, keep it regularly cleansed and program or charge it to deflect any unwanted or harmful energy that comes your way. You can do also do this with a protective stone or a blade.
Familiarize yourself with the protective and healing powers or specific plants, especially the ones that are popping up out of the ground right where you live. Agrimony, Alder, Rosemary, Rose, Chamomile, Mint, Comfrey, Rue, Horehound, Nettle, Cinnamon, Basil, Cinnamon, Lavender, Black or Red Pepper, Garlic, Angelica and Blessed Thistle all have protective properties.
You can even cook with some of these to work protection magick into your kitchen witchery, place them in sachets to carry with you or dry and hang them around your home, above doors, windows or near thresholds. You can plant them in the garden and nurture them there, burn them as incense to purify and protect your home or space, infuse them in baths or make anointing oils with them. The possibilities are endless.
Where incense is concerned some other highly protective plant materials and resins include Dragon’s Blood, Frankincense, Myrrh, Copal and much more.
Mix some of these protective herbs with salt to create your own witch’s salt for sprinkling around the house or leaving small piles in corners, to make bath blends or to place in sachets to hang around the home, in your car or keep in a backpack or purse.
Create witch’s bottles, or protection bottles, to bury near your entryway or place in certain spots through your property as wards.
Burn a black candle to burn away negative energies that have been directed at you. The color black can absorb and dissolve negativity and fire adds power and force to this action. You can add protective anointing oil to your candle for even more protective power. A white candle can also help with bringing in blessings.
Wear a protective charm, like the evil eye, or a protection amulet, like a pentacle or Witch’s knot, or something that is meaningful or symbolic to you.
In the morning, stir your coffee counter-clockwise while envisioning the banishment of all negative energies and influences before drinking it. Alternately, you can stir clockwise while inviting in any and all blessings. Coffee beans are thought to have the ability to neutralize harmful magick.
Position or draw a pentacle or other protective symbol in or around your space, you can increase the efficacy of this act my drawing with salt water, Florida water or a protective anointing oil.
Make a salt bowl by filling a small bowl halfway with salt and adding various herbs for protection, health, peace, blessings, etc. and place it in the home. These can be fun to create and look decorative rather than conspicuous.
You can say to hell with being inconspicuous and hand strings of garlic cloves and red peppers on doors and windows, both thought to have the ability to repel evil and illness.
Practice visualization and shielding whenever you have a few spare minutes. This might be the most valuable tool in your arsenal, as it gives you the ability to repel harmful energy and protect yourself at a moment’s notice without any help from tools, plants or crystals.
Example of a Shielding Exercise:
Focus on your breath, taking a deep inhale of fresh clean, pure air followed by a slow exhale that releases fear, anxiety and unwanted feelings. Repeat this until you feel a little more stable and then begin envisioning some sort of protective shield going up around you, from your energy center. This energy center could be your solar plexus area, your heart space, your root or even your mind – whatever works for you. The shield from this space is growing to surround you with a protective barrier. The barrier can take the form of a bubble, blue or white flames, golden light or an encasement like an eggshell or a crystal. It could be mirrors or barbed wire. Whatever comes naturally and makes you feel protected is what is going to work for you.
Visualize this energy field repelling or consuming unwanted energies, influences or entities. It creates a barrier around you that is impenetrable to all energies that are not welcome in your auric field. You can expand it to protect others around you or your entire home or you can retract it, if you feel its not needed anymore. It is yours to do with as you please. You just need to practice it.
You can do a ritual to reclaim your magick and energy. We often find ourselves depleted after going through challenging situations, dealing with difficult individuals or simply exerting too much of our own personal energy in day-to-day situations. Over time, we start to leave bits of our energy or magick behind, or much less savory, sometimes individuals take them from us. You can do a ritual or spell to call back what its yours, either lost, given away or taken. It’s a way of reclaiming your power and reinforcing your ability to protect yourself.
The first spell I shared in the Spell Archive is this exact type of working, which I found in Aidan Wachter’s Six Ways: Approaches & Entries for Practical Magic. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a magickal practitioner!
I also came across a really amazing incantation for this purpose, shared by Olde Ways, and amazing account sharing valuable information as well as offering various services. Give them a follow and you can find it there for yourself:
“I reclaim my magic from all directions
of time, realms, levels, worlds, spheres,
and alternate universes.
I command my energy back. NOW”
Book Recommendations
The Witch's Shield: Protection Magick and Psychic Self-Defense by Christopher Penczak
By Rust of Nail & Prick of Thorn: The Theory & Practice of Effective Home Warding by Althaea Sebastiani
Protection & Reversal Magick: A Witch's Defense Manual by Jason Miller
Blackthorn's Protection Magic: A Witch's Guide to Mental and Physical Self-Defense by Amy Blackthorn
Protection Spells: Clear Negative Energy, Banish Unhealthy Influences, and Embrace Your Power By Arin Murphy-Hiscock
The Evil Eye: The History, Mystery, and Magic of the Quiet Curse by Antonio Pagliarulo and Judika Illes
Magic for Troubled Times: Rituals, Recipes, and Real Talk for Witches by Deborah Castellano (not specifically about Protection Magick but covers it along with a lot of other really impactful topics)
Part 1: The Magickal Maintenance Series: Energetic Cleansing & Magickal Hygiene
