Please note: not all of the resources provided have been read thoroughly by the poster; take any information within these articles with a grain of salt, and use what you find at your own discretion.
Shielding is a practice entirely built on your intention–if you want an eternal shield, you can have it. If you believe in your shield, it will be there. There are many ways that are incredibly powerful with just the slightest trust and a little bit of practice. As soon as possible, start to practice shielding and methods of spiritual protection, since practice, along with your intention, will create the most powerful shields.
Also, you can never shield to much. It’s amazing and very empowering to have layer upon layer of shielding, and the energy and time you put into shielding will really save you a lot of energy and time in the future. Even just walking around, through crowds, cities, etc, drains your energy–negative energy is everywhere, and consciously seeking only the energy for your best and highest good will really, truly, and completely empower you.
You can shield from anything and everything, just make sure to allow in things for your “best and highest interest/good.” ShCast every shield with this affirmation. This allows what people would consider “negative” emotions to still come through, so you can live a balanced life, since not all emotions that are considered negative actually are. This affirmation effectively only allows things that raise or balance your vibration, and help you to spiritually evolve. It won’t cut you off from anything necessary. Shields themselves will never overwhelm or smother you, since they are meant solely for your needs and will always let in positive energy. Here are some simple methods to begin shielding, but you can always adopt them with your own needs and intentions! Do what works for you, just make sure to shield when practicing spirit or energy work of any sort.
Robe of White Light:
Focus for a moment on calming yourself, and once you have a clear mind, imagine a nice fluffy robe around you (I always imagine one like in the game Journey) made of white and protective light. This is the universe’s energy, and nothing ill can penetrate it once it is surrounding you.
It is recommended to repeat once or twice a day to maintain the shielding.
You can also use the affirmation of “I call upon a robe of loving and protective white light, knowing that it will protect me from all energy not in my highest interest. This robe protects me with the power of the Universe/Source/God.”
Guardian Protection:
Ask your guardian spirits (either aloud or through your mind) to protect you.
Always command that the guardians who help that they “come in light.” And if not, say they must leave. You don’t even have to know their name, but if they aren’t here to help, then they shouldn’t be around you. So just command this and all with ill intentions will be forced to leave.
Call on them for a need by need basis.
Auric Hardening:
Imagine your aura (trust whatever color you see in your mind’s eye), and then imagine it hardening, like it’s calcifying around you. It can get as hard as a rock, or like armor.
This can sometimes push away any energy exchanges, so you could feel more distant from positive interactions too. So, it’s best used when a threat is around
Usually lasts between 4 hours-2 days, depending on the strength of your intention.
Sigil warding:
Draw with a pen, marker, or with the tip of your finger (if you don’t need visible lines) a sigil with the intention of protecting yourself. A sigil is most basically an energetic line (or series of them) with an intention. The lines hold the energy and magnify the intention.
Calm yourself with a short breathing meditation, then focus on what you intend to shield-yourself, another, or a place.
Imagine casting a ball of light towards the designated target, with the intention of allowing the Universe/Source to channel through you and shield whatever you intend to.
Just watch and observe as the shield is built, knowing that it is fully fueled by the energy of the Universe and will stay there, and stay strong, until the shield is released consciously by you.
You can specify this shield for certain purposes, like to only keep a spirit out, or to keep all negative spirits out.
Reiki Shielding and Protection:
In Usui Reiki, there is a technique your Reiki Masters should have taught you about warding and cleansing the room in white light. Channel Reiki energy to do this.
If you are attuned to Reiki II, you should know the 1st symbol and that it can be used to stop all energy that is not in your highest good from coming towards you, working as an effective shield when the symbol is called on.
You need to be properly attuned to Reiki for this.
Bubble shielding:
Similar to the white light or shielding with intention, but focusing on making and empowering a bubble around you.
Replenish this as often as possible, since this is dependent on your own care.
Can be in an oval or a sphere shape. If this is hard to get a hang of, then try just fitting it a couple inches away from your body, similar to auric hardening.
Waterfall shielding:
A bubble shield with the intention of existing on top of an underneath bubble shield.
Focus on this shield and set the intention of having it move around like a waterfall. This way, someone sending negative energy has a very small chance of hitting the same place twice.
Elemental shielding:
All of these are built with a specific intention and visualization of the shield. Time around such element used will strengthen the shield, or a conscious meditation to draw the energy towards you and the shield.
Fire shield: Envision burning fire, that will destroy all negative energy/energy not for your highest good, when it tries to enter your energetic space.
Water shield: Similar to the waterfall shield, but with the visual of actual water flowing that can wash away all negative debris or toxicity clinging to any form of bubble shield underneath it.
Earth shielding: This one can block off positive energy too, since it works more like a layer of earth around the person. Though, it can also be envisioned to only grow/manifest around you in times of need or when you’re being attacked or faced with negative energy. It can also block your third eye from seeing outside. Earth shielding can also work as a means of grounding you, which doesn’t have negative effects (as long as you don’t neglect your upper chakras). If you ground yourself to the earth, and your are harmed or shaken by negative energy, you can replenish your energy from the earth.
Air shielding: Envision a fast current of air around you that sweeps away all negative energy or malevolent beings.
Light shielding: A bright white light that totally purifies all energy that contacts it, similar to the robe of white light. Different colored lights can work too, but they all have specific purposes that you should research first.
Ether shielding: Sometimes this works like a portal, transporting all malevolent energy to another place in the universe. Just make sure to set the intention that things in your best and highest interest aren’t affected, and that the travel won’t severely harm anyone who is transported by the portal (since sometimes negative energy can come from just someone in a bad mood).
Chaos shielding: Not always considered an element, but with the idea of scattering any negative energy–the sudden increase in entropy raises the vibration to something more positive.
Shadow and smoke shielding: Imagining either element around you, mostly for cloaking and making your energy less obvious. This is great for astral projection and spiritual travel when you don’t want to be noticed. You can infuse the energy with an intention of how you want to be perceived, like if a threat comes, then you can suddenly raise this shield and make the smoke cause you to seem dangerous, scaring off the opponent.
Halo shielding:
Imagine a series of halos that spin quickly around you, moving to knock away negative energy if it approaches your space. This can be inside or outside of a bubble or light based shield.
Protection charms and enchanted objects:
Work made by you, when you have a lot of experience, in creating a sigil charm or enchanted object meant for protection. This can also be from someone who has passed down a family protection amulet (just research it and bathe it in light to clear any possible negative energy on it), or from an experienced energy worker making protection amulets, charms, or objects.
Some are religiously charged, like crosses, pentagrams, etc. If this matches your belief, your belief will empower it.
Now you’ve got a cord full of magic. If the spell was one of binding, or protection, or some other spell where you want the magic to stick around, keep the cord somewhere safe, or on your person. If you want to release the magic, such as for a wish spell, or a blessing, or luck spell, untie the knots in reverse orderwhile focusing on the goal to release the magic. To end the spell without releasing the power, cut the knots, or tie the ends together and bury the cord.
I get dozens of asks on how to find the right deity, or how to find “your” deity. I’ll just cover the basics here (mainly so my lazy ass can link to it later instead of typing this over and over). Quick note: Some of this may be UPG or my personal opinions. I welcome you to share your own, but don’t be rude about it.
Quick Vocab:
Worship vs. Working With. I use these interchangeably. I consider both of them to be talking about the relationship and connection you kindle with a deity. “Working with” does not mean “utilizing in spells as ingredients”.
Patron ____. Wicca has different views as to what a patron or matron is compared to most of the witchcraft world. One view is: when you pick a patron deity it means a bond that will last a lifetime. Another view is that patron deities are not ones that you personally identify with, but rather are ones that relate to your lifestyle/profession/occupation.
Devotee. Being a devotee is a way to work more closely with one, or a few, deities without committing to it for a lifetime. It simply means that you focus more of your worship and time on them, but you can still worship other deities too.
Pantheon. A group of deities, usually based on the culture they come from. The names can sometimes vary (Greek = Hellenic, Egyptian = Kemetic, etc.)
Some misconceptions and false expectations:
“My deity”. A deity is not yours. You can work with them, worship them, what have you. But they are not yours to claim. Here’s some different way to phrase it: “I am a devotee of ___” or “____ is the deity I work most closely with”.
Everybody needs a deity. You don’t need to work with deities to be a witch. Witchcraft does not equal religion. Religion *can* be tied into witchcraft if you want though! Don’t force yourself to work with deities just because you see other people doing it!
Deities will talk to you. Sometimes, but not usually, or not in the way you expect. You aren’t likely to hear a voice in response, or to confirm that they want to work with you. You’re more likely to get: A sign of some sort, a certain feeling (warm and tingly or emotional, for example) or possibly your inner voice seems a bit different and you think it may be influenced.
You’ll know when your deities like offerings, or hear your prayers. Again, sometimes, but not usually. Not getting a response doesn’t mean you’re getting the cold shoulder. Prayers, offerings and other things don’t always garner a response, or an immediate response.
You have to pick one pantheon. Not at all, however you do have to be respectful of the pantheons each deity comes from. You can’t pick and choose which aspects of the deity you want. I personally stick to one pantheon because it’s simple and fits for me.
Deities from closed cultures are “calling to you”. Listen, I highly doubt that a deity from a culture that is closed, usually due to outsiders (read: white people) being oppressive and awful to them, would want to work with you. Check yourself and make sure it’s not just the aesthetic value or mysteriousness that’s drawing you to them. ALSO! You may be drawn to characteristics that they have, and there is most likely a similar deity in an open culture. Here’s a link to the google question “what cultures are closed?”
On finding a deity to work with:
I often get asked “how to I figure out which deity is a good fit for me?” The easy answer: I have no clue. Only you know what works best for you, and what’s a good fit. However, here’s some good methods:
Research the pantheons. The Greek, Egyptian and Norse are the ones that often have the most information (and are all open practices). See if one in particular calls to you. Then spend time reading about each deity.
Look at what traits you are called to. Self love? Fierceness? Feelings of home? You can literally just google “gods/deities of ____”. You can even add a specific pantheon to the end if you’ve narrowed it down.
Reaching out to that deity:
The “proper” way to do this varies per pantheon, so do your research! Google and books are your friend. And there’s usually a lot of resources for beginners on tumblr as well. The typical ways include:
An offering. Usually there’s some sort of information on traditional offerings, which you can never go wrong with. Sometimes certain offerings are offensive/not given to certain types of deities.
A prayer. It’s totally okay to look up “____ (deity’s name) prayer” for a format if you’re daunted by writing your own. It can also just be more of an explanation on why you want to worship them.
Ask for a sign. I don’t do this and hesitate to even recommend it because it can be SO hard to figure out what’s actually a sign. I’d suggest knowing the basics of the deities sacred animals, plants and colors so you have an idea of what to look for.
Just start worshiping. You don’t have to have a formal relationship with every deity to worship them. I do recommend forming a relationship with them before becoming their devotee.
My go-to resource for the Hellenic Pantheon is this site, I’m unsure for the other ones as I don’t work with the deities within them!
For those of you that don’t make your own candles you can still do something a little special for the store bought ones.
I get my 7 day candles from the 99cent store. Before using them for any spell work you need to make sure that you clean and cleanse them. I like to make a solution of salt, water and lemon essential oil spray it on a cloth and clean the glass and the top of the candle. This part is extremely important. You don’t want some 99 cent store workers energy on the candle not forgetting all the 100′s of people that might have picked it up and put it back :-p
The candles that I made today are to be used on my altar for Hekate. This candle is pretty basic. If I was doing a spell candle I would write names, actions or something like that on the glass.
Remember, while you are dressing your candle concentrate on your intention for the candle. Thinking about what you’re gonna cook for dinner while making it will tarnish the affect.
What you need
Candles
Oils (I’m using homemade Hekate oil)
Screw or stick (For the holes)
Herbs
Cotton swab
Step one
Clean your candles and tools
Step Two
Take the screw or stick and pierce holes into the top of the candle. I use a pretty big screw so that I can go all the way down to the bottom of the candle.
Step Three
Use a dropper to put one drop of oil into the hole. Then use the cotton swab to spread the oil through-out by dipping it in the hole.
*If you don’t have a dropper you can cover the tip of the cotton swab and coat the inside that way*
*When working with oils, Less is more. The first time I ever used oil on a candle I covered the top with tons of it and it set on fire lol. So be careful!!!*
Step Four
Place small amounts of your chosen herbs over the holes and then use the cotton swab to push them inside. You can add as much of the herbs as you wish, it’s just easier to push down if you do small amounts at a time. I have in the past put small chip crystals down the holes too.
*Some witches add a layer of herbs to the top of the candle. I don’t do that with these ones because I leave them burning for a while and I don’t want the herbs to catch fire while I’m in another room*
Step Five
Once you have finished your candle it’s time to activate it. Some people write a spell or a blessing to say as they light it. Others say their intent for the candle out loud. Find the right way for you.
For this candle I say a little prayer (that I wrote) to Hekate and let her know that these candles are dedicated to her.
Whew, finally back from school! Now that I’m free, it’s time to reassemble one of my best
school essentials for next quarter—tiny, reusable packets of herbs that are
perfect for spells on the go (or spicing up a dull meal…what’s the difference,
really?).
While I love the look of tiny bottles for portable ingredients, they’re
not as space-saving as these repurposed straws. So though my best staples get
bottled for easiest refills, I like to keep the odd ingredient (or extra
backups of the classics) rattling around in my pockets like this! Some things to keep in mind:
Only melt the ends as they’re separated from the herbs by
the pliers/tweezers—food safe plastic or not, you still don’t want that melting
on your ingredients!
Most straws work for this, but thin plastic straws may
warp and bubble further up the tube before the ends seal shut; try a few tests,
and heat with care.
While I always carry around a pen knife, if you don’t,
consider keeping these in a little pocket tin with a razor blade for easy
opening. Cutting the small notch in the end is pretty effective for
fingers-only opening, but may cause leaks in fluid-filled packets and should be
avoided in those cases. Small, neat incisions with a knife also make for easier
sealing for reuse!
EDIT: while I didn’t touch on it too much here, I also use these to prepare ready-made spells. If you’re doing this, consider matching the color of the candle and straw to the spell intent!
The Complete Egyptian Religious Calendar for the year 2018: the most comprehensive publication of the lists of the festivities of the Egyptian Religious Tradition (dated for the year 2018). A practical application of the Egyptian Religious Calendar for the current age.
The sources used to reconstruct the Religious Calendar and for the dating of the Sacred Festivities are:
– the “Cairo Calendar n. 86637”; -the “Sallier papyrus IV”; – the “Budge papyrus”; – the list of the religious celebrations dated to the Middle Kingdom; and the lists of the Sacred Festivals from the Temples’ Religious Calendars: – the religious calendar of King Thutmosis III from Ipet-Sut (the Precinct of Amon-Ra at Uaset-Thebes, “Karnak”); – the Temple of King Thutmosis III at Elephantine; – the Temple of King Ramses II at Abydos; – the Temple of Millions of Years of King Ramses III, West Uaset (“Medinet Habu”); – the Temple of Horus at Behdet (“Edfu”) – the Temple of Hathor at Nitentòre (Dendera); – the Double Temple of Haroeris and Sobek at Ombos (“Kom Ombo”); – the Temple of Neith and Khnum at Iunyt (“Esna”). Contents: -Preface -the Egyptian Religious Calendar: the Calendars of Ancient Egypt; the Civil Calendar; the Sothis-based Lunar Calendar, the Lunar Months, the Feasts of the Lunar days, their presiding Deities, and the Gods of the Lunar days; Sources; Favorable and adverse days -Egyptian Religious Calendar, List of the Festivities for the year 2018, CDXVIII-CDXIX Great Year of Ra.
As a malachite lover myself I thought I’d pass on my knowledge of naturally formed malachite vs synthetic malachite. Thankfully it’s often very easy to tell them apart, due to the fact that synthetic malachite is often made from clay, hard plastic or glass.
Here in the image above we have 3 real pieces of malachite and one fake. The fake being the pendant. Below that i’ve added a big slab of malachite from google for reference.
Here’s a few surefire ways of knowing you have the right stuff!
Lines are less regular and more curved in their formations
Appears in messy rings
Patterns are not consistent
Usually a darker green than the fakes
Fairly dense
Underside will be course if dealing with a raw piece
Usually twice the price of other tumblestones
Tiny sparkles sometimes present
The underside being ‘lumpy’
Feels very cold, unlike glass or plastic which will heat easily
Will often have very dark green pigments but never black
Easily broken if dropped
You will feel a calm, grounded vibe from real malachite
Here’s how you know what you have is fake;
Very straight, thick and prominent lines
Black lines
Greens seem like they are not from the same scheme
Research: Reading lore, studying history and focusing on how others have bonded in the past can deepen your own bond.
Offerings: Leaving gifts or foods you’ve made or cooked shows passion and effort that many deities seem to appreciate.
Divination: Using tarot cards or pendulums or writing or dreaming can be way to interpret deities.
Journals: Whether for yourself or for your deity journals are a good way to review past experiences.
Crafts: Whenever making something by hand the time you spend and efforts you put in the details help make connections.
Exploring: Places you discover might feel closer to those you want to know better.
Hobbies: Gardening, writing, or even cooking can be both offerings and activities you share with your deities.
Sharing: Talking to others about their deities can reignite passion and help you realize your own feelings.
Shrines: Having a specific place to do these activities can help you focus on them.
Prayer: It doesn’t have to be formal or it can be a well known prayer simply reaching out is simple and often rewarding.
Clarifying this is my post, I am the source.
: ~Thistletongue
fair--y backup 