Sheilding intro 101 page 12 protecting your home page 2   8) Take your holy water and go to the your front door or the door you use most often, walk clockwise through your entire house sprinkling little drops of holy water. In each room, state that all negativity, all evil forces, anyone or anything intending ill will or harm be forever barred from entering this area. State that only positive, good, beneficial energies can enter into this area. Note: To sprinkle, you can dip your fingers in the water and shake them off. You could also get a small plant mister or plastic spray bottle (not one that has had any type of cleaner or pesticide stored in it) and mist the area. Also note, water will of course leave things it lands on damp, cause water spots on furniture, etc. 9) In the center of the house, take the string and visualize your house protected, safe from harm (you could see yourself feel all safe and happy) and say something like, "By need and will, all negative forces, all evil entities, anyone or anything intending ill will or harm is now and forever barred from entering this house. This house and those within are dedicated servants to the Light, harming none, living for the benefit of all." As you say this, tie a knot in the string, them place the string in a special area. You can also take this a step further and go to each room of the house (clockwise starting from the entrance most commonly used) and make the same statement as above, tieing one knot per room, when all the rooms are finished then tie the ends of the string together. 10) Return to the center of your house. In a firm voice state that this house is dedicated to the work of Light, only positive and good workings will be done within, for the benefit of all, harming none. All evil, negative and harmful influences are forever barred from entering this house, all those within are forever protected. 11) Thank the God and Goddess for coming and joining in your work, lending their energy and strength, protecting your house from negativity and evil. Ask that they remain as long as they wish and when ready to depart take your eternal thanks and gratitude. It is customary to extinguish the candles at this point although it is perfectly acceptable to leave them burning as an offering to the Goddess and God. 12) If you followed step 4 and set up a sphere of light about your house draw it back into yourself. 13) You are done. Eat! Explanation of steps Step 1 - clears the physical plane of mess Step 2 - gives anything in your house which should not be there a chance to leave Step 3 - Cleanses the area of negativity Step 4 - Sets up a shield so you can work in peace. Step 5 - invites the Goddess and God into your house Step 6 - use of Earth, Air and Fire to purify, cleanse and protect an area Step 7 - use of Fire or Light to purify, cleanse and protect an area Step 8 - use of Earth, Water and Spirit to purify, cleans and protect an area Step 9 - knot magick to make your spell stronger Step 10 - Power of the spoken word transforming thought and will into action Step 11 - Thank the God and Goddess for helping you (ALWAYS thank them) Step 12 - Release the sphere of light shield Step 13 - Grounding and replacing used energy Steps 6, 7, 8 use different forms to access elemental energy. Working with the elements can be very rewarding. These steps can be performed by any level practioner. I do not consider them to be required but it they do add more energy to your protections. You do not have to use all three, you can use one or two of the steps or all of them. Step 9 is an example of knot magick. Knot magick is basically a way to hold the energy which is created. Once finished, some people like to untie the knot to release the energy. Some people like to hide the knot where it won't be found since magick is a very personal and private action. Other people like to burn the knot to release the energy. Yet other people hang the knot in a visible location. These are just a few ways of using knots in magick. I usually place my knot workings in a safe place where they will not be disturbed. For protective workings, I feel that knot magick lends itself very well to what you are doing. The knot holds the energy that you have created or used for a purpose, makes it permanent. For protecting your home you have many options. The method I described above is a simplified version of what I use on my house. Most of the steps I use are rooted in non-physical methods of shielding. However, there are some other things you can do to protect your home: Put protective crystals in the windows and above doorways Put protective herbs on the windows and above the doorways such as red peppers Put protective symbols on the windows and above the doorways Walk around the outside of your house sprinkling holy water in a clockwise circle Walk around the outside of your house sprinkling protective herbs in a clockwise circle This is just a partical list of the more physical ways that you can protect your house. And yes, I do use all of the things listed above when protecting my house. As you can see, magickal protection can take many forms and use a multitude of different items. Your protection can be based entirely on non-physical or physical protections or a combination of both. Non-physical protections are difficult to detect physically so they do not attract attion. (Imaging a friend comming over and seeing a pentagram on your door - might cause a few raised eyebrows even in this day and age.) On the other hand, physical protections do not require a constant expenditure of energy. Both non-physical and physical shielding need to be renewed periodically. Renewing non-physical protections are fairly easy, just imagine the protection and give it energy. Renewing physical protections require that you put them down again. The form of magickal protection that you use is your choice, you will have to choose what you feel is best.