The Everyday Witch: Integrating Your Spiritual Beliefs with Your Everyday
Life - "Protect Yourself"

We live in a dangerous world. There are natural disasters like
floods, fire and lightning, man-made problems like crime and car accidents,
and just-plain-stuff-<WBR>happens like an unexpected illness or accident. And
that's without taking into consideration those things that most non-Witchy
folks probably don't even worry about, like psychic attacks and ghostly
visitations.

One of my circle-mates came to me recently with a problem, and
it got me thinking about the various ways in which we can use our magickal
tools to help protect ourselves.

Obviously, we want to pursue all the mundane options, too:
locking doors, driving carefully, and keeping a watchful eye on our health
are all good ideas. But the Every day Witch has a few extra tricks up his or
her sleeve when it comes to self-defense. (And no, I'm not talking about
pepper spray.)

Herbs-There are many, many herbs that can be used for protection magick.
This is only a partial list: anise, burdock, carnation, clove, dill,
eucalyptus, frankincense, garlic, juniper, lemon, lily, mistletoe, mugwort,
mustard, myrrh, nettle, onion, orange, parsley, pennyroyal, rosemary, rue,
sage, sandalwood, vervain, wormwood and yarrow. My particular favorites are
parsley, sage up and rosemary, in part because they are so easy to find and
smell good together.

One of the simple acts of magick I do once a year is to make up
a mixture of herbs and sea salt, and sprinkle it around the boundaries of my
property. I take rosemary, parsley, and sage and combine them with the salt
in a bag. (If possible, I try to use herbs that I have grown myself.)

I consecrate the herbs, then walk around the outside of my house
and around my property line, saying "This house is protected. This property
is protected. All those who live here are protected from harm, intentional
or accidental, from within or without. This house is protected." I repeat
this over and over again as I sprinkle the herbs, visualizing a protective
light surrounding my home and the land it sits on.

You can do the same thing if you have an apartment (or if you
would rather stay inside your house so the neighbors can't see you). Just
sprinkle the herbs around the edges of the rooms and leave them for a day
before vacuuming them up.

You can also make a protective charm using herbs. In a piece of
black or white cloth, put a clove of garlic, some rosemary, a piece of agate
and a pin. You can add additional herbs if you feel the need for more oomph.
(The pin is a traditional element of protection magick, in case you were
wondering.) Tie the cloth into a bundle, bless it with a simple spell and
hang it by your front door. Or you can make a "witch jar" by putting the
same items in a jar and burying it just outside the entrance to your home.

Stones-- Like the agate used in our protection charms, certain gemstones are
also said to have a special affinity for magickal protection workings. A
partial list includes: agate, garnet, jasper, lapis, malachite, onyx and
tigerseye. I usually work with black onyx, amethyst and red agate, but that
is just a matter of personal preference.

If you are feeling the need for a subtle protection charm, you
can simply take a stone, or a piece of jewelry made from one or more of
these gemstones, and carry it with you. For added power, try anointing it
with a magickal protection oil. I make one out of geranium, lemon, and
rosemary essential oils that seems to work particularly well. (And it smells
good, too.)

Trees-- If you want to make your property feel even safer, you can try
planting one of the trees that are said to be especially good for
protection: these include cedar, elderberry, hawthorn, oak, pine and willow.
If you live in an apartment, you can look for a bonsai version, or hang up a
picture featuring your favorite protective tree.

Mental Protection-- Sometimes you may feel like you need something more than
herbs and stones. If the problem is psychic in nature, then a more internal
approach might be helpful.

A friend taught me this technique years ago when I was having an
issue with an ex-boyfriend who was sending a lot of negative energy my way.

Visualize your self surrounded by white, protective light. Make
the light into a ball that completely surrounds you, then turn it into a
mirror that faces out, away from you. Let the mirror reflect anything that
is being sent in your direction, returning it to its sender.

And here is the important part. Do not send it back with anger,
or fear. When you send all that negativity back from whence it came, send
love all along with it. Yes, this can be difficult to do, especially if you
feel like you are under attack. But remember that darkness cannot hide from
the light, and that love is the most powerful force in the universe. When I
finally was able to bring myself to add this element to my mental protection
visualization, it worked better than I could have hoped.

The world can be a scary place, it's true. But as Witches, we
have the power to keep ourselves protected from at least some of the bad
stuff out there. And hey, if nothing else, the garlic will probably keep you
healthy--and at least you won't have to worry about vampires.

Bio: Deborah Blake is the author of Circle, Coven & Grove: A Year of
Magickal Practice (Llewellyn 2007) and the forthcoming Everyday Witch A to
Z: An Amusing, Inspiring & Informative Guide to the Wonderful World of
Witchcraft (Llewellyn 2008). She is a Wiccan HPS and an ordained minister,
and leads her own group, Blue Moon Circle, in upstate NY. You can visit her
website at www.deborahblakehps<WBR>.com