Svarog and Mati Syra Zemlya

I’ve already talked about the cosmology of Rodnovery and how all things were brought to being as the body of the primary god Rod dissolved but that was the creation matter, not order.

The ordering of creation is as significant in mythological cycles as its very appearance and this ordering often impacts on the social order as well. Rod’s dissolution means that he is unable to carry out this all important ordering himself and this would fall to his son Svarog. Even then, Svarog did not have anything resembling terraferma on which to complete his work and it is at this point that Mati Syra Zemlya rises, quite literally.

Svarog

Svarog is the son of Rod, left behind after the creator god finally dissipated across creation, and the God which finalised the nature of creation. Known as the God of Fire and Forge, Svarog is a blacksmith god who’s hammer forged the 12 pillars of lore which held up the World Tree and from whose sparks all the other Gods were formed. Given his association with fire and flame Svarog is often associated with the Sun though is not expressly a Solar Deity.

His realm is in the high heaven or Prav, the realm of the Gods, and this is reinforced with the Indo-European word “savrga”, meaning sky or heaven. Before his full retreat into this heavenly realm, leaving the first of his male children, Perun, to rule in his place Svarog uses his hammer and a heavenly rock to create all of the land on which all of creation would reside.

Offerings – beef, dark ale, living water, water used in smith-work, pine, dogwood, oak, vodka.

Altar – iron tools/weapons, kolovrat, hammer, metallurgy, magnetite, lead, wooden icon.

Spaces – hilltops, vistas of the night sky, bonfires, blacksmith’s forge, oak grove

Day: Saturday

Animals – ox, eagle, falcon

 

Mati Syra Zemlya

Mati Syra Zemlya, the Damp Mother Earth, is the chthonic mother Goddess who is forever fertile and the bringer of blessings to the Slavic peoples. Rather than being depicted in a human form Mati Syra Zemlya, or Matka for short, was seen as being embodied in the very earth itself.

As with many chthonic goddesses Mati Syra Zemlya was a divine witness and judge and was often invoked as an oracle. She was called upon not only to witness the transfer of land and property but also oaths and statements made in legal proceedings. Mati Syra Zemlya was also invoked to protect the home.

In some renditions of the Slavic creation myths Mati Syra Zemlya is identified as the being responsible for bringing up silt and rocks from the bottom of the seas of chaos in order for Svarog to begin the creation of the land. In the myth she is named Ziva and takes the form of a duck, bringing up the silt in her beak. She attempts to hide a grain of silt from Svarog but when he casts the spell to make the land grow the grain grows and grows until it is a massive stone which the duck is forced to spit out. Svarog strikes the stone with his hammer and it is from the sparks that his children are born.

Offerings – hemp oil, harvested grains, fruits and vegetables.

Altar – Items from nature, particularly stones resembling female anatomy.

Spaces – wilderness, other places of nature

Day: none

Animals – all creatures

Artwork

Artist – Viktor Korolkov

Pagan Parenting – Things That Go Bump In The Night

Children are sensitive little souls. In some ways they are more in tune with the wyrd around them and are far more likely to be drawn to, or aware of, spiritual activity around them. There are many reasons for this to be the case but there are two leaning causes in my opinion. Firstly, with children being so young, and so full of life and potential, spirit are drawn to notice them. Secondly, children are more likely to both notice, and therefore reinforce, the spirit world simply through their child like state of belief and innocence.

Many children, maybe too many, loose these qualities through the process of growing up, others are able to cultivate their senses in later life. There are some who disconnect with these abilities through fear, be it their own fear or the fear projected by a loved one in those formative times.

Bump in the Night – it had to be done

Fight The Fear

I place myself in this latter category. Although as I grew older my mother was highly supportive of my interests and practices when I was young she was, in her own words, fearful of what I said and knew. On a number of occasions in very early childhood I gave my mum messages from deceased relatives, in some cases revealing things that I couldn’t have known, and she would shut down the conversation down. It was a bad thing and although I don’t remember the words I do remember her fear, and taking on some of that fear myself.

Now, one of the biggest hurdles I face when developing and using such abilities, beyond my rational mind, is a little fission of apprehension. I think this is one reason that I don’t see spirit. I sense them on any number of levels but visible manifestation is highly rare and always linked to sleep states. My mum acknowledged, before her passing, that her fear in those early years was likely to be the barrier I was then experiencing. Rationalising that has helped… somewhat.

This was very much at the forefront of my mind as the girls were growing up. Fear, mine or theirs, was likely to be the biggest barrier they would face in developing in any area of their lives living so I’ve tried not to let it get in their way. As someone who has reoccurring bouts of anxiety this isn’t always easy but I can usually confine my jitters to when they are out of sight and doing the thing I am worried about. It drives my OH spare but it seems to work.

Whenever we’ve had incidents of spirit activity I’ve avoided flapping where the kids can see me and I’ve spent my time talking them through their experiences, either getting them to open up to me about it or giving them the skills to deal with it themselves as they have gotten older.

Half the trick is working our whether or not what they are experiencing is true spiritual activity, imaginative play or simply the figment of imagination of a child on the edge of sleep. For this reason I take a two pronged approach and in addition to the things I openly discuss with them there are my standard Warding practices which they don’t know about.

Standard Practices

Cleansing

It is good practice to regularly cleanse your home environment in order to keep the energy flowing and moving. In most cases it doesn’t need to consist of heavy and elaborate rituals or full environmental resets but from time to time it is necessary to clear out and start again simply because something unwelcome has taken up residence in the home.

The most effective method for doing this is the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, and of all the Golden Dawn rituals it is one of the most accessible to all. The downside of this kind of hard reset is that it creates and energetic void, and this can open you up to all sorts of trouble. Nature arbours a vacuum and will always seek to fill it and it doesn’t discriminate as to what it draws in, which may leave you in more of a pickle than when you began. For this reason it is important to draw in exactly the kind of energy you are looking for. This may be through placement of appropriate crystals around key areas of the house, bell ringing or other similar methods intended to encourage positive energy flow.

It is also important to make sure that you immediately ward the property after completing the cleansing, to better protection against future incursion.

Runic Ward

Warding

Whether or not you have children Warding your home is a must for all Witches. In terms of good energetic housekeeping it is better to stop things at the door rather than be fighting a rearguard action action plan the time.

When you have kids it is even more important to have sufficient and effective boundary wards in place because children are spiritually ‘sticky’. Until I started layering regular protection with permanent wards we would regularly have bouts of shadow people, voices, bed shaking, unexplained bangs and crashes. Most would dissipate of their own accord but after performing the LBRP for the third time in as many months I decided to up the anti.

Now my biggest problem comes when something is carried in over the threshold. No amount of warding can protect against some high that is invited in by being brought physically into the house and given that we are big on second hand items and collecting stones from places we visit it still does happen.

For this reason I find it necessary to have a second layered of wards around the bed. A lot of bed wards are based on visualisation and whilst that’s all well and good for me and older children youngsters may struggle with the process. For this reason I would physically ward the beds, critically making sure they were unaware of what I was doing in order to help identify which experiences ere being driven by nightmares and those that were spirit activity.

Warding Charm for Bedside Protection

• Birthday stone / Sigil / Sample
• Jet or similar grounding stone
• Lavender
• Chamomile
• Rosemary
• Pouch

In terms of process I suggest that you personalise it to your child and situation as much as possible. I usually proceed with a dowsing session to try and identify what we are dealing with and this will inform my structure of the spell and identify if I wanted to complete a full house cleansing first but I always include an element of protection and space for ancestor spirits to visit and protect where it is appropriate to do so. The most important thing with this charm is to a) make sure it is well sealed b) ensure it is hidden around the bed (I recommend under the mattress) and c) the child in question is unaware of its presence.

I find this charm has a six month life span though this my vary. I don’t renew unless we have a sustained period of nightmares (5 days plus) and by not discussing it with them I am able to better gauge what is psychological / attention seeking and what is spiritual activity.

Where things are a little more psychological there is always the good old Monster Away Spray, also known as Flick the Fairy’s Good Dreams Spray after the fairy story my sister made up to get ED through an overnight stay. This kind of spray can be made up using any number of relaxing scents but I particularly suggest these three as the are Lavender, Chamomile and Rosemary as they are generally safe for all ages and very relaxing.

Stay Away Spray

• 100 ml Spray Bottle
• 3 drops each
• Lavender, Chamomile, Rosemary EO

Fill spray bottle with water and add EO. Shake well before each use. You may want to involve your child with the blending process but they should be the one to ‘shake the magic awake’ and spray their pillow area saying something akin to;

“Monster, Monster stay away; stay away and don’t come back another day.”

Shadow People

Night Terrors / Shadow People – self rescue

As a family we have a lot of trouble with talking in our sleep and night terrors. I can sometimes take control of a night terror and turn it into a lucid dreaming experience, but only if I catch my signposts early on and I have only reached that point through hard won experience. Getting to that point wasn’t fun, mainly because I didn’t learn it from a book but by experience, but it was worth it in the long run.

Given that shadow people are a common feature of night terrors, at least for us, it can be a little hard to tell what experience is a nightmare or a spirit not quite manifesting itself. It is doable through confrontation and signpost recognition, for example I always know when my Mother is appearing as a spirit of a dream figment depending on some key signals, or their lack. I’d prefer it if the Girls could achieve this ability earlier than I did so I’ve been trying to get them to employ some methods of control that I use myself.

Both Girls can be incredibly strident at times; they are the epitome of the statement “dear strong willed child,  I know you are practising to be a world leader but right now you are an arsehole”, so they can absolutely order anything around regardless of which side of the veil it originated from. The trick is getting them to realise that they are in fact dreaming and can take control. It is a little hard to explain he process of lucid dreaming and the possible signposts they may experience to a 5 year old so I boiled it down to always confronting anything in their room with the demand for identification or departure.

In sounds a little more wordy than it is but essentially they are to unleash the pointy finger wand and say “tell me who you are or get lost”.

A week long period of night terrors,  which involved waking in the early hours with the screaming meamies,  dried up overnight and haven’t troubled us since. Every now and again they report a return of the shadow people but we don’t have full blown terrors anymore.

More Notes

This may not work for all children, and is entirely dependant on their waking world situatuon. Try a combination of methods to support your kids through difficult times and if you have persistent concerns contact your Doctor.

 

Light-Bulb Moments

Sometimes we can’t see the wood for the trees. I’ve been in a funk the last six or so months for a variety of reasons but a big one has been that things haven’t quite run in my direction when it comes to rituals.

A number of furniture reshuffles around the house slowly but surely ate away at my already small ritual space. I went from having enough space to at least stand, if not cast a circle, to having to sit on the edge of my bed at shrines placed on bookshelves. I basically had enough room to get in and out of bed and that was it.

To say no one was happy with the arrangement would be putting it mildly and all my Gods were letting me know that they were not happy be it through dreams or the things going on around me. The final straw came when I lost a data stick which contained almost all of my research, including some time critical work. Despite much searching, pleading and begging it didn’t turn up so, at my wits end, I resolved to start over.

No more tired old rituals and processes, all those resolutions I had about weaving the Ancestors into my praxis I would make happen. So I got to writing and researching and the Hekatean magic happened.

My furniture issues evaporated almost overnight … well two weekends, and we didn’t actually get rid of anything,  just rationalised. Now I have more than enough room to swing the ritual sword, real or proverbial, and with a minor tweaks I might even be able to cast a fully circle, something I haven’t been able to do since having kids!

I also found the perfect ritual (link) to use as an outline to base my new rite on. Although the content been entirely reworded the outline of invocation and the type of offering used gave me enough of a push in the right direction and everything just flowed from that point.

Then ideas began to really flow.

Folding the washing one day I wondered if I could get my phone to read my kindle books to me and low and behold this is exactly what Google TalkBack can do. Now I could make my way through my backlog of Rosicrucian Digests and other eBooks I had collected over the years. I couldn’t quite get it to read PDF’S smoothly (I am working on it) and the voice is a shade irritating in the way it handles some unfamiliar words but generally speaking I am impressed. So I started with the Eleusinian Mysteries, a perennial Hekatean favourite, and it was part way through this that I found the missing element of a ritual rewriting of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.

This ritual was one which was on my lost USB stick and whilst I could remember it clearly from when I had used it as a regular devotion there was a section that had never really worked well and had ‘clunked’ in comparison to the rest of the ritual. Now it just all slot into place and I have a neat little ritual which functions as a daily devotion and ritual preparation. I immediately jumped on the PC and started typing and again, the words flow from my fingers and onto the screen as I wrote up the ritual, and the rational and justification for my changes. So pleased with it am I that I am considering submitting it to an anthology later this year so keep your fingers crossed for me.

A Change Past Due

My ritual was, by necessity, brief. Despite the late hour and the sun being down the Girls were wide awake so my window of opportunity small and subdued and I skipped on a meditation because I was (rightly) concerned about interruption.

Still, the ritual just flowed. Even the new elements to my devotional, which I have returned to daily practice with, flowed far better than expected. The Ancestors clearly heard me and family members log since past visited my dreams that night. It was all I could have asked, and more given the brief nature.

Things, as they say, can only get better.

Musings

I know many devotees of Hekate talk about experiencing periods where Hekate felt distant, or they felt their link to her diminish in some way. Some felt a sense of  abandonment or even rejection during these times whilst others recognise that her distance can mean other things. In my case, and in retrospect, I think she was trying to force a change in me and I was simply slow in getting the message. Every roadblock and problem I was experiencing was an attempt to force me to act on the sense of stagnation in my ritual practice. If I had acted on it sooner perhaps I wouldn’t have lost that USB stick, then again maybe maybe I would have done.

Although I lost some very important research it is nothing that I can’t repeat and, knowing how this works, the second  effort can only be better than the first.

The effect of making these changes has been invigorating in a spiritual sense and hopefully next time Hekate feels that things are getting a little stale I won’t be so slow on the uptake.

 

 

The Things You Find

I like walking in nature, even if my body doesn’t and having two kids in tow makes it harder to appreciate the signs and sounds. One reason I enjoy these walks is the foraging; whether it is edibles, interesting rocks or the occasional twig you can always guarantee we will find something to bring home.

This past May bank holiday weekend visited the North Yorkshire coast, in particular, Boggle Hole, for a spot of beach combing. I am never going to stack out an Etsy shop with curios and creations but I like finding things that I can incorporate into the witchy household environment and maybe even my practice. There were a couple of finds on this trip which underlines why this kind of thing can be very ‘profitable’, particularly for a budding witch who is on a budget.

Pentagram Rock

The striations in this stone are what made it stand out to me. It may not be perfect but this is defiantly a pentagram. This stone is pocket sized so it would make a perfect addition to any of my travel altars either as a focal point or elemental representation. I’ve been seeing a trend towards themed altar kits so for inspiration, this stone would also be a wonderful addition to any sea themed altar space.

Other Ways To Use Rocks

There is a massive emphasis on the use of crystals and semi-precious stones in new age circles but you can build some very real and meaningful relationships with more prosaic stones. When taken from a particular location the stones carry some of the energy of that location with them. Whilst you should never remove a stone from an ancient monument (not even if it has fallen from the monument) taking one from the surrounding area will allow you carry some of the places home with you, something that is particularly relevant if you regularly work in a particular place on a regular basis.

Even if you don’t work with genius loci stones can be incorporated into your practices as markers for altars and circles. The size you use will depend on the purpose; larger stones for marking out outdoor circles, smaller stones for marking particular components of the altar set up. Smaller stones are also useful for making divinatory sets be that runes or some other tool.

Your chosen stones should be as flat as possible at least on the side you are going to draw your design on. Prepare your stone by washing it and cleaning it well, ideally with a toothbrush to remove any in the ground dirt. Any rough patches can be smoothed out using sandpaper, using finer and finer grades to create a smoother finish. Acrylic paints, fine point markers and marker paints are the best mediums for drawing your design on your stone, though it is also advisable to prepare by drawing your planned design in pencil or chalk. Once you have the design finished the stone needs sealing such as mode podge or similar. A good option for smaller stones or when you are in a pinch is clear nail polish, particularly chip-resistant polish.

Something A Little More – Jet and Hematite

Amongst the granites, sandstones and slates that you often find on the beach, it is also possible to find something a little more precious. Because they are knocked about by wave action it can be a little hard to compare them to the ones we find in the shops but they are there if you know how to look.

The most common find possible on any beach in North Yorkshire are quartz based. Ranging from pure to off-white in colour it is possible to find carnelian and citrine but they aren’t all that common, or evident. The region is more famous for its deposits of jet, the fossilised remains of the monkey puzzle tree. This very light, black ‘stone’ is can easily be mistaken for coal but it can be distinguished by rubbing it up against sandpaper or sandstone. Coal will leave behind a black streak whilst jet will leave a reddish brown mark.

There are no laws about taking Jet from any of the beaches between Staithes and Runswick, at least that I can find, but discretion is advised. Jet is still an important commercial resource in the area so please bear this in mind.

The other thing I found on my recent visit was this interesting stone.

 

Based on the sheer weight and sheen I am hesitantly identifying it a hematite,  an iron-rich stone regarded amongst healers as providing grounding and stabilising energies. I found it mixed within a deposit of other stones in a rock pool just below the cliff face and it was the rainbow sheen of the wet surface that attracted my attention. I’ve been doing some research and it is possible the stone is naturally occurring, rather than a previous ritual deposit and the fact that I was strongly attracted not only my its appearance by the feeling of it in my hand and pocket indicates to me that even if it were, this stone was meant to find me. I am planning to wire wrap it so I can wear it in the future.

Perun and Veles

All good pantheons contain adversaries. Two powerful deities which are in conflict with each other over power and prestige or some other reason. The Greeks place Hades in opposition to Zeus, one being the God of the Underworld and the other being God in the Heavenly realms, one feeling outdone by the other when it came to the apportionment of power and prestige. In other families, a trickster god, such as Loki, is set against all other deities in a combination of hijinx and malice against another God of power and prestige.

It is a combination of these two dynamics which is at play in the story of Perun and Veles.

Veles is both outcast and trickster, forbidden from the realm of Prav whilst beguiling God and Man alike with his shapeshifting and wiles. Perun, on the other hand, is a supreme deity of war who protects and rules over both Prav and Jav at the behest of their father Svarog, a deity which I will post about next time.

Perun

Perun is the supreme Slavic Deity and is known as the god of thunder and sky. Unlike his Norse equivalent, Thor, his thunder and lightning were caused by his war bow and arrows. He also wielded a battle axe. The root word per- in proto-Slavic means to strike or to slay and the Lithuanian word Perkūnas both refers to the God and the phenomena of thunder.

In addition to meeting out punishment to mortals who took oaths in his name Perun was charged with protecting the gateway to the heavenly world of Prav, and the associated World Tree, from the onslaught of his brother Veles. It was thought that thunderstorms represented this cosmic battle and that Veles was overcome and returned to the Underworld, Nav, where he would prepare for his next attempt on the Gates of Prav.

Perun is the god of justice and punishment of the wicked and is particularly venerated by modern Rodnovers as he is considered to have control over who can and cannot enter the realm of Prav.

Offerings – meat, ale, mead, golden apples, red/gold candles

Altar – axes, arrows, hawthorn, juniper, sage, nettle, apple, storm water, amber, thunder-stones (flint arrowheads), wooden icon

Spaces – hilltops, mountains, oak or yew groves, home

Day – Thursday

Animals – goat, rooster, eagle

 

Perun

 

 

Veles

Veles is another major God within the Slavic pantheon and stands in opposition to his brother Perun as the trickster God of the Woodland. Veles was originally charged with protecting the World Tree from encroachment from the Underworld of Nav, however, he soon became jealous of his brother’s holdings and stole his cattle. This resulted in Veles being banished to the Underworld where he plotted his return. 

Veles is a shapeshifter and is alternatively said to take on the form of a serpent, black bear and other animals in his attempts to regain his place in Prav. When seeking to escape the thunder and lightning of Perun Veles is said to change his form into both plants, animals and even hide behind people to escape his brother’s rage.

Though his association with trickery and wild places Veles was often associated with matters of commerce and long distance travel. He is associated with herd animals, particularly sheep and the root origin of his name is shared with words meaning wool and hair.

Offerings – chicken hearts, cooked corn, basil, barely, wheat, mistletoe, bread, mead, music.

Altar – black animal motifs, ram horns, black wool/fur, cow bell, herb bundle, musk, wooden icon

Spaces – forest crossroads, riverbanks, woodland groves

Day: Wednesday

Animals – black bear, black ram, black dog, black sheep, snakes

 

Veles

 

 

Artwork

Artist – Viktor Korolkov

Pagan Parenting – Having Friends Over

I’ve found myself increasingly having to consider the ‘what ifs’ of my children having friends over to stay. Although we have had parties and play dates at home the parents of said children are either family or friends that know that I appreciate that we are a ‘non-Christian’ household. Now, as the children are getting older and developing strong friendship bonds with children outside of our circle I have had to review the kinds of things that are out on display, especially as I expand my statue, skull and book collections.

The core of my position is that it’s my house and I’ll have out when I jolly well want, but actually there does need to be a bit of giving ground on my part.

General House Rules

The rules for guests would be the same as for the children; Do not touch without permission. The added caveat would be ‘the children cannot give permission’. When considering items out on display I am somewhat relaxed. I’d be a fool to believe that the kids, who get up way earlier than I do, don’t rummage trough crystal bowls or manhandle objects on the sideboard. Generally, anything on display is the equivalent of an ornament so as long as there are no breakages I turn a blind eye.

Boxed items are another story. If something is in a box and I see tampering then there is big trouble. Boxes are where I keep my tools, herbs and ritual items which I do not want touching. Most of these are in my bedroom so there are no excuses but there a couple are on display in the living room (mainly divination equipment so it is close to hand).

The other biggest rule, particularly with overnight guests, is that my bedroom is off limits. Not only because that is where I keep the really illicit stuff but also because I have no desire to be working up at 6AM on a Sunday morning.

Divination and Magical Tools

Any object which is sacred or, for energetic reasons, shouldn’t be handled by anyone but me. As such they are stored in boxes and out of site. As noted above boxes are off limits regardless of where they are in the house. Occasionally I have ‘retired’ objects from active use and they have been incorporated into shrines around the house. In these cases, the items are to be treated as any other ornament though the girls know I would strongly prefer them to leave well alone.

Skulls and Other (MM)

Death isn’t a subject I feel needs to be hidden from children. Whether it is the death of a beloved pet or relative they need to share the experience with their family, at a level appropriate to their age group. The presence of skulls and other remains, and (mm) in general is something that I don’t believe should be shirked from and my policy is that those skulls which are on display remain on display. There have been a few goggle-eyed looks but never more than that.

I am starting to include some trance work involving animal skulls in my personal practice. These skulls will be dedicated items with their own rituals and spirits attached. As such they will be an off-limits item to all except myself, as is the case with any form of divinatory tool and will be stored appropriately.

Icons and Statues

I don’t have a lot of ‘sexy’ icons but some of my Pan statues are more than a little… phallic. My OH isn’t exactly comfortable with these images as it is so they are confined to the back of a bedroom cupboard and are only on display during ritual work.

This is not my preference.

Whilst I am happy to keep such things confined to the bedroom, particularly when it comes to considering the feelings of visiting family members and guests, but I dislike like hiding them from the Girls but I am content to respect my husband’s wishes… for now.

In a more general sense, I have things out on display as shrines and altars which are not moved or redressed for visitors.

Herbs and Consumables

Young children explore their universe through their mouths. If it fits it ships as the saying goes. I’m not entirely convinced that this gets better as they get older it’s just the ‘I wonder…’ thought process has greater imagination and possible trouble behind it.

Whether the item may be considered ‘not great’ or ‘extremely NOT’ for human consumption I take no risks. All herbs and loose incense are in a box within a box which is located in my room. The few that aren’t are kitchen herbs.

Teaching Some Lesson

Most of our rules are based either in so-called ‘common sense’ or good spiritual practice. Magical, sacred or divinatory items should only be handled by the practitioner and/or designated individuals unless invited. Equally sacred or spiritually significant objects really shouldn’t be on general display. One of the reasons I have and enforce, these rules with the girls is that they are something they may need should they take their practice forward and in recent months it has become very relevant for ED.

The ED has been collecting bits and pieces of ‘ritual’ items for years. Some are things she has inherited from me, others she has made herself and she’s even asked me to buy items from charity shops from time to time. She keeps her items in her bedroom on a special shelf but she had found that play dates would rummage through and pick things up and ask permission second. She found it a little frustrating so when she started to collect the Hatatchet Partworks Mind Body Spirit magazine she asked for a box of her own to keep all the crystals and cards out of sight. Gradually more of her items moved in and now she has a well-developed beginners altar box (sans oils and herbs).

She does have the candles, but we’ve had a long long long fire saftey talk

Not only is she better organised she can keep things separate and special. Admittedly, it’s hard for her to access because she refuses to keep her cupboard tidy buy at least the intent is there. Now her things are out of sight out of mind and now she is the one who decides if and what can come out.  

Visualisations for Protecting the Self and Home

Here is another post inspired by some nonsense I came across on the web. There seems to be an epidemic of people concerned about being beset by, or at risk from, negative energy and looking for ways to protect themselves. Quite often the suggestions range for complex rituals and spells to the use of white sage smudge even though the poster and commenter have no idea of the native origins or practical application of the process. What a lot of new practitioners tend to miss early on is that this kind of ritualization is completely unnecessary when it comes to personal protection. Even when protecting the home visualisation can provide a quick fix whilst you resolve an existing issue, or even form one layer of defence.

Many new practitioners feel that they don’t have a large budget, or the ability to buy ritual items either because they are practising in private or are not aware of physical stores in their area. The great thing about visualisation is that it is completely free. You don’t need candles or incense if you don’t want/have them, or anything else for that matter. I do recommend the Headspace app for people who are just beginning to meditate for the first time, all you need is a smartphone. The free 10 sessions are all that is needed to learn effective methods of entering the meditative mind space and you are able to track the number of days and length of time completed. It is not necessary to pay for a full account as even after completing the initial 10 sessions they remain available to you for as long as you have the app installed.

Defences of these nature are not permeant fixes and need re-visualising on a regular basis. A skilled practitioner may be able to go up to a full moon cycle between each session and will be able to tell if they need to top up after encountering particular situations or individual. Someone who is less confident may want to do this more often, say daily or weekly. Confidence will come with time and practice, as will the ability to go longer between visualisations. Whilst they do assume some familiarity with meditation I have written them to contain grounding and centring as part of it, two steps new practitioners routinely filter out of their practices.

 

Home in the Dome

 

Personal Protection Visualisation – Rubber and Glue

The old school yard saying “I’m rubber your glue, what bounces off me sticks to you” may appear a really petty idea at first but as a sympathetic idea, it works well as a personal protection method.

Intent – to protect the individual from negative entities and intent by reflecting away from the person and back to the sender.

Maintenance – Skilled Practitioners may consider performing this on a monthly/lunar basis, but should be performed more regularly if required.

Process – In an upright and seated position, feet firmly pressed against the ground, and begin by entering a meditative state in your usual way. Visualise roots extending from the soles of your feet down into the earth, anchoring and grounding you. Feel a bright white energy flowing up through these roots and into your body, progressively rising to extend throughout your being. Once you are filled with light withdraw these roots back into your feet.

Now visualise a small rubber ball slightly in front of you at eye level. The initial size and colour of the ball are up to you. See the ball split into two and realise that it is hollow inside. Visualise the two halves of the ball grow bigger and lengthening until they are large enough to totally enclose you in the inner space both over your head and under your feet. Once large enough seen the two halves move around you and then come together, completely enclosing you. From the inside the ball appears transparent and although you do not feel enclosed you are aware of the impenetrable rubber surrounding you. Visualise the seam sealing itself fully until it looks as if it has always been a single continuous layer of protection. Be sure to do this all the way around.

Anything energy that is directed towards you will be rebound off the surface of the rubber ball and back towards the caster. If you would like to receive those energies that you consider healing or positive make a clear statement within the visualisation that such energies will be allowed to pass through and undesirable energies reflected away. Consider affirming that old schoolyard saying to embed in the visualisation that returned negative energies will stick to the caster. Once you feel the visualisation is firmly in place allow the rubber ball fade from view knowing that it will remain present and reflect unwanted energies even though you are unable to see it. Bring your awareness back into yourself and open your eyes.

Household Protection Visualisation – The Mirror Dome

Mirrors are often preferred for reflecting negative energies in personal protection and this visualisation works on a larger scale, able to protect a room, property or building.

Intent – to protect the property and people within it from negative entities or intent by reflecting it away from the property and back to the sender.

Maintenance – Skilled Practitioners may consider performing this on a monthly/lunar basis, but should be performed more regularly if required.

Process – In an upright and seated position, feet firmly pressed against the ground, and begin by entering a meditative state in your usual way. Visualise roots extending from the soles of your feet down into the earth, anchoring and grounding you. Feel a bright white energy flowing up through these roots and into your body, progressively rising to extend throughout your being. Once you are filled with light withdraw these roots back into your feet.

Visualise a dome of white energy forming completely around you, your body should be totally enclosed by the dome which touches the ground on all sides. Begin to project this dome outwards to enclose more of the space around you. First, the dome fills the room, then moves on to enclose the floor above you and then beyond to the roof. If you are on the second story or above visualise the dome reaching down to connect with ground level.

Continue to project the dome until you are able to visualise the entire property is enclosed within this dome of white energy. Hold this visualisation for a moment and the see the energy change into mirror panels, with the reflective side facing out and away from the property. Now all energies directed against the property will be reflected away and back to the person who sent them.

If you would like to receive those energies that you consider healing or positive make a clear statement within the visualisation that such energies will be allowed to pass through and undesirable energies reflected away. Once you feel that the visualisation is firm and in place bring your awareness back into the room and yourself, knowing that the dome of mirrors will remain in place once you leave the visualisation. Slowly become aware of your surroundings and open your eyes.

Note – you do not have to extend this around your house if you don’t want to, you may simply want to protect a single room or even just your bed. In this instance rather than a dome visualise a sphere so that the underside of the area is also protected.

Household Protection Visualisation – The Web

Not for the arachnophobe. Spiders are one of the most underrated household residents, actively keeping the home insect free for nothing more than a quiet corner. This visualisation draws on the function of the dream catcher as well as the spider’s appetite for little black things that fly.

Intent – to protect the property and the people within it from negative entities or intent by capturing it and grounding it whilst allowing positive energies to pass through.

Maintenance – Skilled Practitioners may consider performing this on a monthly/lunar basis, but should be performed more regularly if required.

Process – In an upright and seated position, feet firmly pressed against the ground, and begin by entering a meditative state in your usual way. Visualise roots extending from the soles of your feet down into the earth, anchoring and grounding you. Feel a bright white energy flowing up through these roots and into your body, progressively rising to extend throughout your being. Once you are filled with light withdraw these roots back into your feet.

Visualise a dome of white webbing forming completely around you, your body should be totally enclosed by the dome which touches the ground on all sides. Begin to project this dome outwards to enclose more of the space around you. First, the dome fills the room, then moves on to enclose the floor above you and then beyond to the roof. If you are on the second story or above visualise the dome reaching down to connect with ground level.

Continue to project the dome until you are able to visualise the entire property is enclosed within. Hold this visualisation for a moment and then see the dome transform into spider webbing, strong and flexible and able to capture any negative intent which may be directed towards the property and the people within it, knowing that positive intent and energy will be able to pass through unhindered. See large spiders moving around the web ready to gather the negative energy and consume it. Once you feel that the visualisation is firm and in place bring your awareness back into the room and yourself, knowing that the web and spiders will remain in place once you leave the visualisation. Slowly become aware of your surroundings and open your eyes.

Note – you do not have to extend this around your house if you don’t want to, you may simply want to protect a single room or even just your bed. In this instance rather than a some visualise a sphere so that the underside of the area is also protected.

On Ritualization

Meditation and visualisation do not require any form of ritualization in of themselves. They can be easily incorporated into your own ritual practices should you feel they fit however they do not need any special lead in or out beyond what you would normally use in this kind of process. If you wish you could burn incense to help set mood and space, or you may want to light a candle which has been charged with intent. This is not necessary.

 

Original Inspiration and Warning

I am not linking the original inspiration because once I stripped away the bad ritualization, terrible poetry and mixed deity/pantheon reference all that remained was the concept of a “spider web household protection” and I didn’t see the need to promote the terrible content. The three visualisations grew out of this concept, we all take inspiration from somewhere.  

I am aware that the spider visualisation may attract our eight legged friends into the home in a form of sympathetic resonance so please be aware of this is you are afraid of spiders or have an arachnophobe in the house.