When starting out on the path of The Craft, there are some basics to
learn. Learning how to protect yourself psychically is absolutely
essential. Before you even begin to think of magical work and spells, learn
to create a protective barrier or shield for yourself.

As well as being important for magical and spell working, protecting yourself can be highly useful if someone is sending negative energies your way or if you find yourself in a difficult situation.

The first exercise has been contributed by Jadzia and is for Sealing Your Aura:

Sealing Your Aura

Sealing your aura can keep the good energy inside clear from outside interference, so you can direct it with more focus and intent. A great exercise to perform every day… they say the effect lasts about 4 hours (though in high stress situations you may need to do it more).

Stand straight, shoulders square.

Imagine a small circle of flame around you (a few inches high).

Lean down and pull the flames up with your hands until you are inside a “tube” of flame all around you.

Stand with your arms raised straight up, looking up… see yourself strong and purified by the transformative fire.

With your hands, “tie a knot” in the flame above you, sealing your aura.

Fire transforms, illuminates and purifies. You are protected from the negative energies of others (affirm that only positive energies may enter your energy field). This is good to do after you ground and send excess energies back to Mother Earth.

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There is an even quicker method and was the first one I was ever taught, and I still use it today when I need a real “quickie”, it is this:

Visualise a big black bin bag (these are the great big trash can liners and they always seem to come in black, but any colour is fine, it’s just that familiarity makes it easier for complete beginners).

Open the bin liner out and step into it. Pull it up until it’s over your head and tie a knot in the top.

Fill it with your intent that only good can pass through the bin liner to get to you and that all bad stuff will bounce back to source.

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There is a slightly prettier one:

Stand and be centred. Visualise a white light above you in the distance and feel the white light moving down, through your head and pooling at your solar plexus.

Once you are filled with white light and you can feel the strength of it pulsing through you, start to expand it outwards in a sphere until you are completely surrounded.

As the white light expands, visualise it like the iridescence of a bubble, with pinks and blues and greens swirling on the surface (all good colours for protection) and again, I fill it with intent for good to get through but no bad.

This one is good as the surface of the bubble can look quite like a mirror, so it is sometimes easier to visualise the bad stuff and negativity bouncing off!

Once you can do this without effort, move on to more advanced work if you wish to, but remember to apply protection before divination, astral projection and any psychic work.