Centering & Grounding

To begin working with energy we must learn how to center and ground ourselves.

What is centering and what is grounding?

Centering: A term that’s used to describe the practice of collecting together your energy. You can collect it into a central point from which you can direct it into items or release it into magickal workings

Grounding: The ability to create a energetic connection between you and the earth. (The earth’s energy is neutral, it’s neither positive or negative).

This is different then using a crystal, or herb as they have their own energy and intention for a specific purpose.

It’s normal to feel drained after a spell or ritual, this is often caused by using your own energy for that magickal working. This is why you should ground before, during and after workings, that way you are replacing the energy that you are losing.

How to Center and Ground? (visualization involved)

Centering: You need a calm space, quiet space.

Now close your eyes and visualize your energy gathering together. For me I visualize a white shimmering light that is evenly distributed around my whole body. Now draw it in towards your core. From your extremities to your spine. From your fingers and toes, up your arms and legs; gathering it together into a central ball. This may take place anywhere around your body.

Now practice holding it. Then when you’re ready release that energy and allow it to spread across the body. Holding it in that central point, is centering. The ability to draw the energy in to a collective location from where you can distribute it elsewhere. For example; Directing it into your hands or out through your voice.

Grounding: You don’t need to be outside or physically touching the ground, you can do this in an apartment building with your shoes on. This is just your energetic connection to the Earth.

Now sit comfortably in a calm quiet space and put your feet firmly on the floor. Now you want to begin to center, draw all that energy in to that core and allow it to focus itself wherever it wants to focus in your body(for me it’s in my stomach). Now visualize slowly pulling that energy down and splitting that energy into two and direct it down your legs and into your feet. Then let that energy spread throughout the entire foot.

Now you’re then going to want to visualize roots growing out of your feet into the floor, these roots are going to go deep down into the earth. You can visualize them passing through the stone, earth, water. Once you’re there you will finally see the earths energy(for me that’s a white light). You’re going to want to tap into that energy with just the tip of the roots. You’re going to connect to it by creating an energetic link between you and the earth. Now draw in some of the earths energy(I visualize the roots drinking). Visualize the roots drawing up the energy, and as it draws up the energy visualize it coming into your feet and blending into your energy. Once you feel you have enough energy, you can go ahead and start your magickal workings. Periodically if you feel you need more energy, go ahead and draw up more.

Once it’s time to disconnect, just visualize drawing those roots back up from the earth; disconnecting from the white light. The roots coming back up into the bottom of your feet. Then disconnect from that energy and uncenter by releasing that energy to re-distributed evenly around your body.

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will-o-the-witch:

Feel the through bottoms of your feet. Really focus on what they touch. Every fiber you can discern in the carpet. Have you ever focused on the texture of the inside of your shoes? If you’re outside, feel the subtle bumps in the concrete as you walk, or feel the grass bending underneath you. You can feel a lot even through your shoes if you direct your focus that way.

witchy-tips:

What I do for “Grounding” Is very different ( I think) then what others do. But I do call it Grounding. What I do, Is stand, Or sit still, Close my eyes and visualizemy Energy Field. When ever i ground it is to release unwanted energy so i often envision a grey cloud surrounding me.

Once I have a clear image of my body, and energy field around myself, I imagine a strong wind coming, And as soon as the wind touches me I give myself “goosebumps”.

(I can not at all begin to find the words to describe how I do this, I just imagine that it is something we all do, But don’t have the words to describe.)

I imagine that my congested energy is being carried away in the wind. Sort of like how this picture shows with the leaves.

After that I dust myself off, And what I am left with in my mind is a clean, Translucent energy field.

witchofapollo:

This is something nice that I’ve learned from my research and has worked with me!

1. Take 3 deep slow breaths
   
2. Feel your own energy flowing through your body
3. Focus on a point in the center of your chest and visualize a small green glowing light there 
4. Visualize a tendril of green energy growing from that energy center down toward the Earth. Let it reach past your feet. 
5. Visualize it growing into the Earth, spreading into roots and twisting through the soil. Feel how solid and stable your roots are.
6. You have formed the connection! Let excess energy leave or draw some from the Earth when you are drained

witchesgetallthebitches:

Close your eyes and take a deep breath.

If you can, create a relaxing environment for yourself. Light a candle, shift position, stretch, get in some pajamas, set yourself up to relax.

Feel your energy pool with each exhale. Let it graze the surface of your skin. Let it accumulate.

Feel the ground beneath you. Where are you? Are you sitting with your legs crossed on a grassy hill? Are you stretched out in an armchair? Are you lying in bed? Are you on a train or in a car?

Wherever you are, beneath the floor is soil. There are roots clinging to the earth, there are plants finding peace and solace beneath the ground. Picture a plant you love sprouting in the very place you sit. Is it a flower? An herb? A tree?

Take another deep breath, keep going, feel the air in your lungs.

You are surrounded by the atmosphere. A whole bunch of gases are protecting you from anything spooky that might be out in space. You are safe here. You are safe.

Remember that wherever you are, you are on the Earth. You are a part of the world. Life thrives above, beneath, and all around you. You are alive.

You are here, wherever you are. You are not in any imminent danger. Maybe you’re not okay right now, maybe you don’t feel relaxed and safe, but you are alive. Despite everything, you exist, you are here with everybody else.

Everything will be okay.

Take a few more deep breaths.

Keep going until you feel a bit better. Go get a glass of cold water, if you can. Try to grab a snack if you’re hungry. Take a shower, even. Whatever you need to do to take care of yourself.

I hope you feel at least a little better. Have a lovely day, fellow magical people.

theaetherwitch:

- From my Grimoire

A Preface

Something that I don’t think enough people cover when it comes to The Craft, is how to keep yourself protected when doing spells and rituals, or communicating with spirits. This is a very basic aspect of witchcraft, so I’d like to take a moment to go in depth on the topic to make sure that as many people as possible, can find something that will work for them! Of course though, there will be some methods that I either don’t have experience with or may have simply forgot to mention. Find what works best for you and your practice, and look at some other articles or books as well!

Centering

First off, what is centering? This is basically you preparing yourself and getting in the mindset of doing a spell/ritual. This is taking a moment to yourself to make sure you’re intentions are in the right place, and everything is set up and ready to go. Centering isn’t too difficult to do, so there’s honestly not too much to say on the topic.

Method
I like to begin centering with meditation. Relax yourself and get into the “witch headspace”, if you will. Cleanse yourself, and maybe even take a shower or a bath. Next thing is to gather your thoughts, write some questions down on a piece of paper or on your computer and answer them. Things like “What is my motivation?” “What outcome do I want” “How do I want to do this?” If you really take a moment to understand what you’re doing and where your heart lies, your spell will be at it’s most effective.

Grounding

Grounding is an important thing to do after any spell you perform. While it doesn’t necessarily hurt to do before a spell, it can limit your meta-physical performance. Grounding is connecting you back to the earth and bringing you back to your physical body, getting your head out of the clouds if you will, and sometimes when performing a spell that’s where you want your head to be. If you’re working with any earth based magick though, this can greatly help, so just figure out what works best for the kind of spell you’re doing.

Methods

• Roots - This is my covens favorite method to ground. This is basically where you have a meditative moment, plant your feet on the ground, and “sink your roots in”. First thing you wanna do is get in some kind of contact with the ground or floor, just anything that is a solid foundation. Plant your hands or feet flat and start by breathing deeply. You wanna really take in the energy from the earth, pay attention to all of your surroundings and take in the moment. Next close your eyes and start focusing your energy at your hands or feet. (You may feel your hands start to tingle or even go mildly numb) Lastly, release that energy and push it into the earth. Let it soak in deep, and if visualization helps, imagine your roots growing down.
  
• Going outside is another very good method to reconnect with the Earth. If at all possible, I like to go outside barefoot and feel the grass on my feet. Really connect to the earth, take in your surroundings and walk around as much as you feel comfortable.
• A Dump Stone - Just about any stone will work, but generally stone that come from bodies of water, have holes, or are green or black tend to work the best. Basically just hold the stone in your hand and let any and all negative energy flow out from you into the stone. Stones can handle quite a bit of negative energy so don’t be afraid to let it all come out. After you’re done though, you’re immediately going to want to cleanse your crystal with whichever method works best for you. I prefer to let mine sit in salt overnight, or until the feel done.
• Drinking a cold glass of water, splashing cold water on your face, or even taking a really quick cold shower is also a really good way to ground yourself. It’s all about being present in your body, and nothing can bring you back into the now like some cold water can.

Shielding and Wards

Shielding yourself is important when it comes to any kind of magick, because there truly are negative entities and energies out there that like to take advantage of people. It’s a sad truth, but this is why we learn to protect ourselves spiritually. Putting up a shield or ward isn’t difficult, and sometimes you do it without even realizing!

Shielding Methods

• Visualization - This is my favorite method to teach beginners because it doesn’t require any tools just you, and yourself. The begin, start by getting into a calm relaxed state, maybe even meditate before hand. Next, imagine a ring of light around yourself starting at your feet. This light can look like anything, be any color, and be any shape so the only limit is your imagination. Once you have the ring of light, imagine it slowly coming up around your body, let it fill your heart with warmth and let it remind you that you are safe spiritually and no negative entity can harm you. Once it has made a complete bubble around yourself, say some affirmations and remind yourself that you’re strong and can handle anything. The more you believe in yourself, then the stronger this shield will become. 
  
• Smoky Quartz or any other black stone, when kept on the person or placed at the feet can create a ward as well. For those less imaginative, this is a very good alternative because you have the crystal to support you as well. 
• Magick Circle - There are many ways to open a magick circle, but heres a really simple method. Hold one of your hands out, palm up and focus your energy in your hand. (You may get that warm, tingly, or numb feeling, if not though thats okay!) Really let it bubble up into your fingertips, and once there, point a finger out and draw a circle around yourself and say some simple affirmations of safety and peace. Just like the visualization method, this works best the more you have faith and believe in yourself. 
• Simply stating that you are, or feel safe is another way to shield yourself spiritually. You remember how when you were little and alone in your room at night and you thought you heard something scary? You covered your head up with a blanket right? Do you remember how safe you felt after doing that, like how nothing could get you? That was quite literally you putting up a shield. Remember your intentions and feelings are the most important thing in magick, always keep that in mind!

Warding Methods
Wards are another variation of shields, but these are things you put on the physical plane rather than a spiritual one. 

• Runes/Sigils - A really good way to set up a ward is to carve or draw some runes either into the side of a doorframe, a candle, or even on a piece of paper to burn later! If you’re going to carve them into wood or draw them, charge the tool you’re going to be doing it with. If your going to use a candle, burn the candle whenever you feel like you need it most! And as for burning paper, keep the ashed around and maybe even sprinkle them into every corner of the room.
  
• Salt - Put lines of salt on the top of your door and window frames, and sprinkle some in every corner of the room.
• Stones - Certain stones are said to be warning stones and will break if danger is near by. Malachite is one of these stones, and is fairly easy to get your hands on. Place this stone above door and window frames as well. 
• Holy/Blessed Water - A drop placed in every corner of the room creates a barrier around the room.
• Brooms/Staffs - Place in the corners of rooms, and said to fall over if danger is near by.
• Black Candles - Burning a black candle is said to bring protection and keep a room hidden from spirits. 

Try waking up slowly some morning. Lie in bed for a bit and let yourself ease into the day. Watch the sunlight shine through the shades and listen to the sounds of the outside world. Look at the morning sky if you have a view of the window, or look at the ceiling and trace all the little patterns you can find. Take some time to breathe deeply and relax. When you’re ready, you can begin your day as a calmer self.

Sometimes I feel like I need to surround myself not with positive affirmations but grounding affirmations.

“The only thing that is permanent is impermanence.”
“We all fuck up sometimes.”
“You’ve probably been an asshole too.”
”You’re happy now, but you might be sad tomorrow. It happens.”

Grounding or “Earthing” is the exercise of adjusting your energy and body to the Earth’s frequency. The Earth continually pulsates at the frequency of 7.83 Hertz, which is called the Schumann Resonance. This frequency is generated in the Earth’s electromagnetic field by the electrical collaboration between the Earth’s surface and the ionosphere.

There are many ways to ground yourself or promote grounding energies around you. The possibilities of techniques are nearly boundless which is inspiring. Everywhere you could possibly be is on this planet, meaning you can ground at any moment you desire.

Common Grounding Methods:

Colors:

Using color magic, you can incorporate colors around and within yourself to ground. One can preform this with their wardrobe, crystals, candles, thread, hair color, makeup, artwork, interior designs. The Root Chakra is correlated with the color Red, whilst the hues Brown and Black embody Earth itself. You can visualize your body filling with a warm light that is brown, red, or black.

Crystals:

Whilst on the idea of color magic, you can choose stones of the particular aforementioned colors for grounding purposes as well. However, every single gem comes from the Earth, and thus works. My personal recommendations would be Moss Agate, Tiger’s Eye, Bronzite, Dendrite, Garden Quartz, and Tree Agate. You can do this by wearing or carrying stones with you.

Edibles:

Growing, cooking, or simply eating foods that grew beneath the Earth’s surface can assist in attuning you with Earth’s frequency or energies. This ranges from vegetables to spices. Ginger Root, Turmeric, and Galangal also can work phenomenally.

Scanning:

Body scanning is the process of taking the time to observe how each and every segment of your body feels to connect with yourself and the present moment. I recommend starting with the bottom of your feet, noticing how they feel. Are they sore, or maybe dry? Once you’ve felt it entirely, move upwards until you’ve focused on your entire body.

Scents:

Certain aromas will also influence you to become grounded, especially when done with intention. From oil rollers to diffusers, there are many ways to apply scent in your home. If essential oils are not your favorite, you can always use fresh flowers or leaves in a potpourri.

Sounds:

There are a vast range of methods that may incorporate sound into grounding. This includes but is not limited to listening to Hertz Frequencies directly. Alternatively, there are guided visualizations and meditations throughout the internet to use as well. If those do not resonate with you, listening to animals, winds, storms, or fires always work as well.

Walks:

Walkingbarefoot on the Earth is one of the most conventional methods of grounding out there. The Earth maintains an electrical potential on its surface, and when you are in direct contact with the ground, the Earth’s electrons are conducted to your body, and thus attuning it to the same electrical frequency.

lunasweetlight:

Let’s talk about grounding

To be grounded and centered is necessary to be mindful in your daily activities. It is also crucial, as we know, after a spiritual practice or after magick working. And in an overall view, to be grounded is good for you, as you can be a better version of yourself. So let’s tap in. Here are some grounding techniques which works for me:

The basic grounding technique is mindful deep breading.

Wherever you are, preferably in a quiet place, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Feel the fresh air filling your abdomen, your lungs, and your throat, then exhale slowly. Repeat until you feel connected.

If you’d like to deepen the effect, add a visualization.

Sit or lay down comfortably, eyes closed, and imagine that you are on the ground. Feel the soil beneath you, and imagine a flow of energy coming down your body and connects with Earth’s depths. The element you’ll be working with is obviously earth, so you may imagine yourself as a tree, deepening its roots into the ground.

Another option is using crystals.

Basically, any black, brown, or red crystal will do the work, as they refer to our first, root chakra which connects us to the physical plane of being. Personally, I prefer tiger’s eye, black onyx, and red jasper in my practice. As you meditate, place the crystal of your choice in your left hand (the ‘energy receptive’ hand), take deep breaths, and sense the crystal’s energy, let it ground you.

Note – make sure you’ve cleansed the crystal before use.

Foods and herbs for grounding:

Grains and their products.

Vegetables and berries.

Basil, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, and rosemary.

Bonus–

Grounding herbal tea recipe:

1 cup of boiled water

1 cinnamon stick

3-4 slices of ginger

1 lemon slice

1-2 tsp. of honey

Mix the ingredients (except the honey) and leave it under a cover for 5 min. (so the essential oils won’t evaporate). Add the honey and enjoy your tea.

Stay centered and blessed be! ✨✨

“May all that I do be done with love.”

A small spell to give you direction and bring you back to your course. Can be used to begin spellwork or as its own spell.

Suggested accompaniments:

• Rose quartz, for love
  
• Pink candle, for the same
• Tiger’s eye, for focus
• Hematite, for grounding