As a witch who’s always on the go it can sometimes be hard to focus on magical self care. I’m traveling and moving and working with lots of people and life is kind of a whirlwind and I love it but sometimes it all gets to be a little… much. In all of the hustle and bustle my ability to take care of myself and my ability to take care of my magical practice can start to go south. I forget to practice good magical hygiene (such as cleansing and banishing) and I start to feel a little disconnected from the whole thing.
When this happens I like to turn to magical self care! Now, there are two types of magical self care: there’s magic that is used as self care and there’s self care for your magic. The methods I’m about to discuss happen to be useful for both!
The Most Important Magical Self Care Tool In A Witches Arsenal: Grounding
Grounding is a vital part of learning to practice magic in a safe and healthy way. The term comes from the process of grounding an electrical circuit. Essentially if an object is negatively charged, grounding allows excess electrons to flow from the object into the earth, and if an object is positively charged, electrons flow from the earth into the object. It’s a method of balancing and equalizing the flow of energy.
Similarly, in witchcraft grounding is the practice of balancing personal energies. Many things can pull us out of balance, emotional turmoil (for empaths it doesn’t even have to be our own emotional turmoil, often we pick up other people’s emotions far too readily!), illness, performing rituals or spells, astral travel, even simple things from our day to day lives can create a state of too much personal energy or too little personal energy.
This can be an incredibly uncomfortable experience.
Symptoms of unbalanced energy:
- Dizziness, feeling spaced out, light headed or a floaty feeling
- Headaches
- Forgetfulness
- Misplacing or losing things
- Feeling generally unwell or exhausted
- Daydreaming and an inability to focus
- Sensitivity to light and noise
- Feeling over stimulated and nervy
- Bumping into things or other general feelings of clumsiness
- An uncomfortable sensation of buzzing under the skin
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pain
- Irritability
- Insomnia
These symptoms typically become more severe the further out of alignment you are.
It is essential that you learn to ground properly before beginning to practice magic. Often I see newer witches who have yet to learn this skill experiencing unnecessarily strong backlash from their spell work.
Magic is energy! When you move and manipulate energy in such powerful ways it can and will pull your own energy out of balance. Grounding allows you to avoid the unpleasant side effects of spell casting which means a you’ll be a happier witch and have more time and space to practice your craft!
How To Ground Yourself
There are many ways of grounding yourself, I suggest you try a variety of methods and find the one that is most effective for you.
Rooting Yourself
This method works best if you are barefoot and standing on grass or dirt. Imagine your energy extending down through your legs and sinking into the earth, becoming roots and burrowing into the soil to trade energy with the earth. Feel the earth’s energy flow up into your body, filling you all the way to your head and then back down and out through your roots. This energy will cycle through you and clear away any excess energy as well as solving any energy deficiencies you might have. Continue this until you feel calm and comfortable.
Laugh
Laughter is an amazing way to release pent up energy as well as building our personal energy from within! Give yourself time and space to have a good laugh, put on your favorite comedian and enjoy yourself.
Food
Nourishing your body can help to reconnect you to your physical self and refuel depleted energy. Sit down for a hearty meal and give it your full attention, this helps to pull you back into your body fully after astral work or other intense spiritual experiences and gives you a moment to rest and relax.
Water
Water is a wonderful conductor of energy, sitting with your feet in a stream, your hands under a running faucet, or drawing yourself a bath can equalize your energy very quickly. Playing in the rain can also equalize your energy but if it’s sunny out visualizing rain washing your energy clean will work just as well.
Go for a walk
Getting out in nature, especially if you can walk barefoot, will allow your body to trade energy with the earth and equalize your energy levels. Walking in nature also helps to build mindfulness and create a sense of ease in your life!
Wind Visualization
Sit comfortably and begin to visualize your energy body. When you have a solid image of it in your mind imagine a strong gust of wind blowing your energy around you, removing blockages, carrying away excesses and refueling any energetic deficiencies.
Exercise
Gentle exercise can help to release any excess energies. Do not ground this way if you feel lethargic, exhausted or in any kind of pain. This method is ONLY to be used when you have an energy excess!
Body Awareness
Simply giving your body attention can encourage your energy to equalize on its own. Take a few minutes to consciously take stock of every inch of your body. Begin at your head, feel your scalp, then move to focusing on each part of your face. Move downward and feel your neck, your chest, then your arms, your elbows, your wrists, your fingertips. Focus on your torso again, now placing your energy on your stomach, feel it move with your breath. Continue this all the way down to your toes. Try to remain relaxed throughout this process.
Let Yourself Cry
Crying or screaming will release excess emotional energy very quickly. If you’re the sort of person who loves a good cleansing cry then this one is for you.
Stones and Crystals
Certain stones and crystals can be grounding. Hematite is particularly good for this purpose.
Play in the dirt
Getting in contact with the earth through gardening or rolling around in the dirt like you did when you were a kid allows your body to exchange energy with the earth. So let go of your adulthood for a few minutes and get in the dirt!
When To Use Grounding
Grounding is a wonderful tool to use but it isn’t a cure all. It’s also not always desirable to be completely grounded! There are certain types of magic that can be hindered by grounding and other types of magic that are simply not energy based and won’t require grounding to be effective.
- When working with spirits being too grounded can make it more difficult to connect to the entity
- If you’re fueling magic with emotions or excitement grounding beforehand will not help. You want your emotions and energy high in order to perform that sort of magic.
- Sigils generally do not require grounding
- Any kind of astral or out of body practice will be made much more difficult if you’re grounded beforehand. Ground after this sort of practice, not before
- Dream work will be hindered by grounding
Grounding is most often used for post-spell backlash but it can also be utilized in your day to day life to enhance focus and happiness, lessen anxiety and protect you from emotional runoff.
If you struggle with any of the symptoms of being ungrounded regularly you might benefit from adding a few minutes of grounding into your daily practice!
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