Runic Shield Spell for Energy Protection

I don't know about you, but I am feeling very defeated, sacred, and otherwise just not great. Everything just feels...off. I know I am not alone in this feeling, but seeing and hearing from others who feel the same way as I do has been comforting but also stressful. While I do not consider myself to be an empath (in fact, I have some pretty harsh opinions about the whole idea of being an empath) I do feel a weight on my shoulders when exposed to others who are also struggling. There is a palpable thickness of emotion in the air. Because of this, I know it's the perfect time for some energy shielding and protection. I can't continue to fight the good fight if I am incapable of getting out of bed in the morning. This simple spell is designed to do just that!

What You'll Need

• Black candle
• Hematite
• Algiz (ᛉ) rune
• Match or lighter
  
  

What to Do

Before beginning this spell, it's important to cleanse yourself and the energy you hold as you don't want to lock in any of the negativity you currently hold. How you do this is entirely up to you, but I do have some suggested methods. In Witchcraft for Well-Being, I discuss Earthing as a potential method of cleansing. You could also take a bath or shower, use smoke or sound, or any other preferred method.

Once you are thoroughly cleansed and you have prepared your sacred space, Light the black candle. Hold the hematite in your hands and close your eyes. Feel it warm as you focus on your intention of shielding and protection. Visualize the hematite pulling any remaining negativity from your body. Let the tension in your neck and shoulders relax as you take a deep breath in and out. Once you are completely relaxed place the hematite in front of the black candle.

Next hold the algiz (ᛉ) rune in your hands, as you focus on your intention of forming a strong, impenetrable shield around you. Chant "algiz" (AHL-geez) over and over as you raise the stone above your head and circle it around your body completely. As you do so, visualize a shield forming deflecting negative energies away from you. Repeat this step until you can clearly see or feel the shield in your mind's eye. Visualize it contracting until it rests upon your skin like a film. 

Pass the rune through the flame three times while chanting, "Algiz protect my energy and shield me from negativity. Nothing shall disturb my peace." Allow the black candle to burn out or snuff it out if you are short on time. You can carry the rune for ongoing protection if you wish. Repeat this spell at least once a month.

Warnings/Modifications/Alternatives:

• Altering your breathing can cause a reduction in blood pressure which can cause you to pass out. It can also trigger seizures in some people and PTSD in others. If you are worried about passing out, begin this exercise by lying down. I also suggest practicing with a friend to ensure your safety.
• Smoky quartz, obsidian, black tourmaline, or other black crystals can be used in place of hematite.
• If you do not have a black candle, white can be substituted. Carve the algiz (ᛉ) rune into the candle prior to use.

Why You Did It

Understanding the whys of a spell (or recipe) is just as important as performing it. It helps you understand the process so you can modify the spell or ritual to suit your needs and helps guide you in writing your own. It's my intention that by providing these explanations, you can build a better understanding of how spells are written and executed so you can modify and build your own spells (the goal of my Spellcrafting Series). 

This spell begins with a cleansing. Because we are creating an energy shield, we don't want anything to be trapped inside the shield with us that isn't positive. Starting with a clean slate and replacing the energy with positivity ensures the shield keeps the good in and the bad out.

Next, a black candle was lit as black is associated with protection as well as removals and dispelling. The candle, along with hematite, helps pull any residual negativity from you and enhances the protection ability of the spell. Hematite, like the color black, is associated with protection and cleansing. It was warmed in your hand so it could be awoken and filled with your intention.

Finally, the algiz rune was used to help build the energy shield around you as algiz is associated with strength and protection. Like the hematite, it too was warmed in your hands prior to use to infuse it with your intention. It was passed over your body while chanting its name to call forth its power of protection, helping create the energy shield in the process and raise your own vibration. Paired with a visualization, the algiz rune helped invoke the shield you visualized. By chanting and empowering it with your intention, and passing it through the flame, you also created a small protective charm that can be carried on your person for further protection. Fire is associated with change, courage, strength, and life, as well as protection.

As with most spells, this one too shall wane with time. It should be renewed at least once a month, especially on the dark or full moon, or as needed. If you are exposed to excessive amounts of negative emotions or stressful situations, you will need to renew the shield more often. Remember to release the shield and cleanse prior to rebuilding it.

Wish to break this spell? Visualize the shield you created dissolving, shedding, or otherwise dropping off of you. This visualization can be paired with a chant such as "I release the shield for I no longer have use of it."

Remember to record this spell in your Book of Shadows or use my Spell/Ritual Worksheet for reference later.

***

I know things are scary right now and that you may be feeling hopeless. We may have lost a battle, but we have not lost the war. If we are to continue to care for each other and our communities, we must learn to care for ourselves. Energy shielding is a great way to ensure we can continue fighting, even in the darkest of times. But as Harris said during her concession speech, "Only when it's dark enough can you see the stars." Resistances are built upon hope, I have hope. If you ever need someone to talk to, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. Email is usually the best option as I am taking a break from social media to protect my own peace. Please do not take that to mean I have stopped doing the work. Mutual aid starts at home, and it's needed now more than ever. We will get through this.

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Protecting Your Book of Shadows: Botanical Protection Spell

I decided to write this post after Witchfire over at Book of Mirrors wrote a post titled Student-Teacher Relationships. In it, she addresses an issue she had recently come upon on a pagan message board. A student of the craft was asking for curses to place on their BOS so that when their teacher (the person teaching them the craft) asked to see it, she/he would be harmed. This student said the teacher made them uncomfortable each time they asked to see the BOS. Either way, I am going to say it: This is WRONG. First of all, you shouldn't be learning the craft from someone who makes you uncomfortable. Second, when faced with someone that makes you uncomfortable, someone you picked to learn from, your first instinct should not be to curse them. This student needs to seriously rethink their path. It's like shooting a guest you invited over for dinner because they asked for extra potatoes. Come on. Please don't ever put curses on your BOS. You never know if and when it will backfire on you. It's better instead to put protection spells on it. This way, your BOS is safe from others and won't hurt you or anyone else by accident. When in doubt, avoid "violent" spells. Sometimes the universe gets things mixed up, and it's better if the spell was "peaceful."

Today I would like to share my Book of Shadows Botanical Protection Spell. I don't just use this for my BOS, but for all my pagan books and notebooks, even the notebook I use for planning this blog. This is actually very, very simple.

Supplies:

     Sage Cleaning Bundle
     Your Book of Shadows
     Whole dried Mugwort
     Whole dried Wormwood
     Whole dried St. John's Wort

1. First, cleanse your BOS using a sage smudge. Sage is great at removing any negative energy from objects. While cleansing, imagine the negative energy leaving the book and entering the earth. 
2. Next place the Mugwort, Wormwood, and St. John's Wort between the pages of your BOS. Make them part of the design. Mugwort, Wormwood, and St. John's Wort is all believed to physically preserve books by keeping page-nibbling vermin away as well as provide spiritual protection. As you do so imagine their energies encircling and protecting your BOS while saying:
   

   "With these herbs, I protect this book from prying eyes and harm."

Simple and much more effective than cursing someone. If you are looking at protecting all your books, keeping living versions of these plants in and around your library.

How do you protect your BOS?

Protection Magic

For this Pagan Blog Project post, I would like to talk briefly about protection magic. Protection spells are intended to prevent, protect, and repel danger, evil, and negativity. Many witches are confused by protection magic, thinking it foolproof. Let's be very clear: there is NO magical spell that works exactly like an armed response guard. Magical protection spells provide magical protection and their aura enhances other protective methods. If you are afraid of someone robbing you, a protection spell will enhance other methods you use, not replace them, and it doesn't matter how many spells you cast or the number of amulets you post if you don't lock your doors. Use common sense.

That being said, there are many forms of danger lurking out there. Locking your door will only protect you from physical threats while magical spells can protect you from malicious spells, hexes, negative enchantments, and other assorted dangers from a vast variety of magical and spiritual sources. However, just because these dangers derive from a magical source does not mean they cannot manifest in a very physical way. This can be in the form of illness, accidents, and general disasters.

There are thousands of protection spells out there. I posted recently about my threshold protection spell and my home protection ward. Both of these are magical ways I use to not only physically defend my home but also to magically defend it. I have mentioned before my husband is a funeral director. Sometimes things follow him, and I do not want them in my home. Marietta, at Witchy Words, also has a great DIY protection sachet post. I want to focus on some of the basics today.

As with all spells, numbers, colors, and gemstones can be used to enhance their power. Five is the most common number associated with protection spells as it's the number of fingers on each hand. Seven and nine are also used. For colors, you can use red, black, and blue. Amethyst, agate, and quartz are most commonly used for protection, although their auras are all very different so use what feels right.

As a hedgewitch, I find working with herbs to be the most rewarding. The Anglo-Saxons recorded nine herbs as sacred. These herbs appear in a poem, commonly referred to as the Nine Herbs Charm or Nine Wort Charm, found in a 10th- or 11th-century manuscript called Lacnunga. It recounts the story of Woden and how he obtained the sacred herbs of old to defeat a serpent. The poem not only names the herbs but lists their uses as well. The herbs mentioned are:

1. Mugwort
2. Plantain
3. Lamb's Cress
4. Nettle
5. Chamomile
6. Crab Apple
7. Chervil (some say Thyme)
8. Fennel

You may notice there are only eight listed. This is because the identity of the ninth herb, atterlothe, which translates to "Venom Loather," remains unknown. Some sources believe the ninth herb is cockspur grass, while others believe it may be betony or fumitory. You can use only these eight in honor of all the botanical species driven to extinction or you can use betony, which is most commonly believed to be atterlothe. Betony is basically a cure-all, so substituting it will not alter the effectiveness.

Apart from using these herbs, you can also use "Witch Soldiers" to protect your home. In order to have access to a wide variety of botanical magic, witches historically had very extensive gardens. However, because they were also commonly midwives and healers, many of these plants had dual purposes. By the Middle Ages and the Burning Times, however, a garden was a necessity as a means of protection. They designed their gardens to keep persecutors out and protect those within. The classical European witch's garden was surrounded by three rows of scarlet flowers, known as "witch's soldiers." These served as the front-line of protection against witch hunters. Today, you can use your soldiers to protect you from harm in general. This is on my list of to-dos for my garden next year. I suggest planting them around your mailbox or in planters on the edge of your property. Completely surrounding your property is not necessary, nor doable in most situations.

I hope this has been enlightening. Do you use protection magic? What kinds do you prefer?

Home Protection Ward

 

I mentioned in a previous post on my threshold protection spell, that I also put up a new ward around our home. A ward is something that protects or defends, and when placed around a home it works like a barrier, preventing negativity from entering. However, you have to check on this regularly, just like a wall used to defend a city. How often you need to refresh your ward is completely dependant on your neighborhood and the sort of things following you home. I live in a nice little neighborhood, but right down the street is a not so nice one. Last December my car was stolen from our driveway while I was home by some kids that lived down the road. That being said, my ward needs refreshing rather often. Two to four times a year is usually good, but just remember to keep an eye on it. If you notice it needs refreshing, take down the old ward and reconstruct it.

My favorite ward ritual also comes from The Way of the Hedgewitch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock. Like her threshold protection spell, its easy, quick, and informal.

Supplies
     Candle with holder
     Dish of water
     Dish of earth or salt (you will be sprinkling this outside)
     Incense of your choice
     Matches or lighter

Directions

1. Light the candle and, beginning at your threshold or where ever you deem fit (I started in my back yard at the fence since it was easiest for me), walk clockwise around the outside of your home. As you do say:

   "I build this boundary with fire."

   Repeat this over and over until you have walked completely around your home.
   
   
2. Then pick up the dish of earth. Again, walk around your home sprinkling dirt as you go. Repeat:

   "I build this boundary with earth."

3. Next, pick up the dish of water. Again, walk around your home sprinkling water as you go. Repeat:

   "I build this boundary with water."

4. Finally, pick up the incense and light it. Walk around your house for the last time repeating:

   "I build this boundary with air."

5. Standing at your threshold (or starting place), reach out your hands and visualize a shield of energy forming a bubble around your home and property. As you visualize say: 
   

   "Fire, water, earth, and air,
    Guard this home against all ill will and danger.
    Keep this house and those who live in it safe.
    I declare this ward to be raised and active."

And there you have it, a home protection ward! Now sometimes a ward needs to be dissolved. These times would be to refresh a ward, if you move, or if there are major changes that occur in your life or the life of the house, i.e. career change and remodeling.

To dissolve a ward, walk counter-clockwise beginning at the same starting point you did to construct the ward. As you do so hold out your hand and visualize it slicing through your ward. As you walk say:

"I dissolve this ward.
 You have my thanks for your protection in the past.
 I release you with my blessing."

A little word of warning about wards and protection barriers. If you are keeping something out you are also keeping something in. It is in your best interest to dissolve your barriers once in a while to let out any trapped energy.

Do you put up a ward around your house?

Download a free copy of this spell for your BOS here.

Threshold Protection Spell

Note: This post contains potentially problematic practices or language, cultural appropriation, or misinformation. I have been working diligently to decolonize my practice, for which you can learn more about in my article Decolonizing Witchcraft: Racism, Whitewashing, and Cultural Appropriation in Witchcraft and How to Decolonize Your Practice. I believe in documenting my journey in witchcraft and that my readers can learn from my mistakes, so the posts will remain as a learning opportunity.

Last night was the full moon and while banishing magic is best conducted during the waning moon, something told me that I should go ahead and clear out the negativity in our home, redo our threshold protection spell, and strengthen the ward currently protecting us. Sometimes it is better to listen to the universe than force the issue later on.

I spent the entire day cleaning the house and preparing for the moon to rise. Before you put up a ward or a threshold protection spell, you need to take down your previous ward and clear your home of all negativity. Cleaning is the best way to do this in my opinion. Some people take a more "magical" approach, using spells and charms, but cleaning, cleaning gets rid of the mundane and magical "dirt" while freeing your mind of clutter as well. You want to be sure to clean EVERYTHING. Yesterday I washed baseboards, doors, fans, the dishwasher, under all the furniture, even some of the outside windows. Cleaning stirs up stagnate energy, so cleaning behind and under things helps push out the negativity. Closets, where I didn't clean, I stirred up the stagnate energy by clapping, but you can use a chime or drum as well. Clapping is easiest considering I had enough to haul around into each room.

Start at the top of the house and work your way down. This means rooms as well that way you don't have to sweep and vacuum twice. I work clockwise because that is most comfortable for me, but most banishing magical suggests you walk counterclockwise. I can never bring myself to work in the opposite direction. Why? Because I feel counterclockwise pushes not only the negative away, but prevents the positive from entering as well. I find that moving forward and inviting more positive in works best, but everyone is different. Do what feels right to you. I also open the windows in the room I am cleaning as an exit for negativity. No windows? That's fine; sweep the negativity into the next room until there is a window or door for it to exit.

Once your house is clean and the energy stirred up, you are ready to put up your threshold protection spell and ward. I put up the protection spell as soon as I was done cleaning. You can use this spell on every door and window in your home if you want, but I feel confident my ward will prevent the bulk of negativity from entering. Furthermore, everyone must enter through our front door, so anything the ward fails to prevent will be prevented at the threshold. My favorite threshold protection spell is from The Way of the Hedge Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock. Its simple and quick, just what you need after cleaning all day.

Supplies:

     1 cup water

     1/2 cup vinegar

     1 tablespoon salt

     1 tablespoon lemon juice

     bowl or bucket

     washing cloth

     sage smudge

     matches or lighter

     olive oil mixed with a pinch of salt

     3 cloves of garlic

1. Begin by combining the water, vinegar, salt, and lemon juice in your bowl or bucket. Using the washing cloth, completely clean your threshold. Wipe down the front and back of the door and both sides of the door frame. Try to get it as clean as possible.
2. Light the smudge stick and move it around the door frame. Waft the smoke so it touches both the inside and outside of the door frame. Lay the smudge in a heatproof dish and allow it to smoulder during the ritual.
3. Dip your fingers in the oil and salt mixture and trace the outside of the door frame. Make sure there are no broken spots; you want a complete seal. As you trace the frame say:

   "No evil or illness may cross this threshold. I hereby bar it from entering. My home is protected."

4. Dip your fingers in the oil again and touch the upper left corner of the door frame. Trace through the air to the bottom right. Dip your fingers again and trace from the upper right to the lower left. Finally, dip and trace from the upper middle to lower middle all while repeating:

   "No evil or illness may cross this threshold. I hereby bar it from entering. My home is protected."

5. This symbol is a hexefus which is a combination of the runes Isa (|) and Gebo (X). When written together they "freeze" the state of your home and possessions, protecting them from physical and spiritual intrusion.
6. Finally take the three cloves of garlic and bury them as close to the threshold as you can. I buried mine in a line. One of the left, one in the middle, and one on the right. As you do this repeat the same chant.
   

   "No evil or illness may cross this threshold. I hereby bar it from entering. My home is protected."

***

I have used this threshold protection spell at every house I have lived in. It works, but you need to keep an eye on it. Depending on how much negativity is trying to enter determines how long the spell will work. I suggest strengthening it every couple of months, but you may need to redo it every month. My husband is a funeral director and when he has had a particularly heavy load of cases dealing with murder, suicide, and unexpected/tragic loss, I find our threshold weakens faster. Its amazing what you can bring home with you. For extra protection, sprinkle a line of salt across the outside of the door frame. This will further prevent negativity and keep away most insects.

I hope this has been helpful. I will post the ritual I use to create my ward later this week. Until then, how do you protect your home?

 

Want to print a copy of this for your Book of Shadows? Click below for your free copy!