chapter two PrOTECTIVE MaGIC anD RITUALS “HE FIRST VITAL KNOWLEDGE as your intuitive abilities begin to unfold is psychic protection. Because they are so receptive and often deal with the problems and fears of others, healers and those who do psychic work may absorb negative feelings that can, if not checked, spill over inte their own lives. What is more, sorie people can unintentionally become emotional and psychic vampires, draining energy from others. We all have a colleague or friend who comes to visit, invariably fall of woes, resentments, and negativity. And when he or she leaves feeling refreshed, we are left feeling drained and depressed. Protective magic is of great value as, even with the most positive rituals or readings, you may be affected by the negativity of others or the overwhelming feelings that contact with the inner self and natural energies can awaken. However, no protection, however powerfull, can be effective if people dabble with black magic or try to summon up unearthly entities, whether psychological or psychic, over which they may have no control. 28Protective Magic and Rituals Ivan, who lives in Texas, sent this account of how his dabbling with magic went seriously wrong. This incident took place in Denver, Colorado, in late 1979.1 was stationed at Lowry Air Force Basc for training at the Air Porce Air Intelligence Training Center. I consider myself a very objec~ tive person but this incident shook me up. My roommate at the time was an older guy, twenty-six or so, from Kentucky. I was eighteen and had only been in the Air Force three or four months, Like many people, | was interested in paranormal activity and began reading some books on this subject. One of these books mentioned a ritual on how to summon a demon. My friends and I were contemplating a trip to a reportedly haunted old hotel, The Peck House, in Empire, approximately an hour or so away, so this kind of subject was often on my mind at the time (One evening in our room on base, my roommate and I were “playing” around and tried to summon a certain demon by name. I don’t recall where I got the name from but I wouldn’t give it out anyway. At one point, we both began to feel a “cold~ ness” that I refer to as an “ion wind” coming from the corner of the room where my bed was located. After some time, we attrib- uted it to a draft, as it was winter in Denver. We then got ready. for bed. We each had a twin-size bed in the same room. fier lying down on my bed, I noticed that it was vibrating pretty violently, almost like those old magic fingers beds in motels. This scared me pretty badly, to the point that I jumped actoss the room into my roommate's hed, vowing that I would not sleep in mine. Of courseylike young guys do, he ridiculed me pretty badly and laughed. He said he'd sleep in my bed. Almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, his eyes got wide as saucers and he jumped up from the bed, bellowing that the whole thing was moving, This guy was not the type of person to be intimidated easily and I was nearly as fiightened by his reaction as I was by the incident itself. | 29DEVELOPING YOU PSYeHIe Powers ‘After seventeen years, I don’t really remember how we passed the night but I do recall that after this incident, we both started losing things. I don’t believe my roommate had anything to do with this, since we were both required to be in classes all day without much opportunity to get back to the room for mis~ chief, Specifically, I remember one case when I was missing one of my combat boots from a pair [ often wore. Our room con- sisted of one main living/bedroom area about twelve feet by HE teen feet,a small bathroom, and two closets. Not many places to Jose things in such a small place. I looked everywhere for that boot but was not able to find it. Then one day I came home from class and there was my boot in the middle of the floor where I couldn't have missed it with my eyes closed. Just a few days after all of this we both relocated to different rooms with different roomates and I never heard any reports of strange hap- penings :n that room. I was just glad to be out of there. I take this type of occurrence much more seriously than before. ‘The golden rule is: Do not try to harness powers other than those of the natural world and your own inner energies. Do not use a Ouija board. Do not call down spirits into the candle flame or hold séances in which you summon the dead. Talking in a positive gentle way to a beloved mother or grandfather who has departed is very different from trying to invoke ghosts or spirits as a way of demonstrating or testing psychic ability. Mediumship involving contacting the deceased on behalf of others shonld only be attempted in a controlled situation with the help of a trained medium, and addresses are given at the back of the book for initial contacts of training circles. This is not a game and I have known very gifted psychics to be driven insane by thinking that they could control spirits, send demons against enemies, or manipulate magical powers. Innate abilities ate quite safe. Magic is safe, but if you ever feel that you are becoming obsessed with it to the exclusion of the every- day world, that your mind is being controlled by outside forces, earthly or otherwise, or that you cannot close down your energies, this is the time to stop and perhaps seek advice from an experienced healer and medium. Like all gifts, psychic powers are not intrinsically 30 |Protective Magic and Rituals good or evil but can be used either positively or negatively: You may instantly sense whether a psychic group or individual has darkness all around them. Avoid them and contact one of the reputable organiza~ tions, whether Christian or pagan, for reliable and benign contacts. Protective Rituals INVokinG prorection Some people inveke four archangels to stand in each corner of the room: Michael, the Archangel of the Sun; the warrior Gabriel; the mes- senger Raphael, the traveler with his pilgrim’s staff; and Zadkiel, the Angel of Wisdom. Others ask their personal guides, God, the Goddess, or a named chosen deity for protection, or invoke the blessing of Light and Benevolence before beginning psychic work. Remember also to thank your psychic guardians, and feed the wild birds, make a small offering of a few seeds scattered in an unloved area of land, make a friendly phone call, write an encouraging letter, or even make a small donation to a favorite charity after your wishes have been granted USING ProTecTive crysTats Certain crystals have natural protective powers that have been used from the time of the ancient Egyptians. You could buy one or two to add to your magical collection and you can place them either in the corners of the room or on the four corners of the table where you are working. Or you could carry one with you to place on the table or floor directly in front of you, whenever you give a reading or carry out a magical ritual, to act asa psychic shield from negativity (ee “Charging and C.cansing Healing Crystals” in Chapter 27: Healing). Protective crystals traditionally include black agate, amethysts, blood stones, carnelians, garnets, black and red jasper, lapis lazuli, tigereye, topaz, and turquo'se. Remember to wash your protective crystals in running water frequently. If you have been in touch with a particularly negative influence, after you have washed them, sprinkle them with salt, passbeveLOPmne your PSYCHIC Powers over them an incense stick or oil burner in a fragrance such as laven- der, pine, or rose and the flame of a purple, silver, or pink candle (for the power of the other three elements, Barth, Air, and Fire), and wrap them for a few days in a dark cloth MaKING a ProTecTIVe Enercy FIELD In ritual magic, an actual or visualized circle is drawn around the area of work both to concentrate the magical energies and to give protec tion against any negative forces. However, whether you are carrying out a psychic reading, practicing personal projection into different dimensions, or feel hostile or negative vibes during psychic work or at any time, you can keep yourself safe by strengthening the natural piutective aura we all have. Many people are aware of a spitual energy field around our bodies that makes us feel uncomfortable if someone intrudes mentally or physically on what is currently called, in psychological terms, our personal space.’ This energy field is our aura In your mind’ eye, create around yourselfa golden protective ellipse, drawn clockwise from the top of your head and under the soles of your feet, joining at the top. You can trace the circle with your pointed energizing crystal or a pointed golden energizing cit- rine, or draw a representative figure on a circle of paper and mark around it clockwise, in gold pen or yellow crayon. an oval from above your head all the way around. After you have done this, place the Paper, anchored by a crystal quartz, on a window ledge where it may receive energies from sunlight or moonlight while you are doing your psychic work. If you can feel that someone or even some identifiable energy is not friendly, make the ellipse more jagged in your mains eye, crackling with protective energy, so that it forms an electric fence. This is not meant to hurt anyone, merely to keep out those who would intrude in a hostile way: When you have finished, remember to undraw the circle, either with the crystal or crayon or in your mind’s eye, beginning at the top bur this time traveling counterclockwise. Keep your psychic figure in your folder as part of your psychic record. 32 |Protective Magic and Rituals Moving Back into the World It is important to draw a boundary after special psychic activity, whether counterclockwise closing a magical circle you have visual- ized in your mind (sce Section Five: Ritual Magic), extinguishing candles, tidying up and putting away equipment you have created, washing out bowls you may have used for serying, sweeping up any ash or herbs you have scattered, or running tired crystals under water. Carry out quiet worldly activities, such as serving a simple meal or drink to friends who have shared psychic work. Gardening or tidying up the garden after outdoor rituals can also be an important way of marking your psychic work as a special time. Of course, you do not need to make special preparations when you give a friend a quick reading or make a decision using intuition at work or wherever the need arises. Spontaneous psychic work is and must be a part of every- day life and the more practiced you become, the fewer demarcations you will need. Closing Down Your Psychic Energies USING CTYSTaLs After your psychic work, arrange a circle of seven small crystals coun- terclockwise on the table or on the floor in front of you, beginning in the true north or che representative twelve o'clock position (with yourself sitting in the south) with a black crystal, such as an obsidian (or Apache Tear) cr a soft black pebble, representing the boundary between other ditiensions and the everyday world. Accept that there is a right time for every purpose. Place a soft purple crystal, such as sodalite or amethyst, on its left, feeling all the magical energies passing into the cosmos and leaving your inner spirit at peace. Next comes a pale blue crystal, such as blue lace agate or a moonstone, for the healing of all negativity and a realization that some of the things that seem so important today may have paled into insignificance by tomorrow. A subtle green crystal, such as jade or moss agate, fills your heart with love and sympathy even for those who wrong you and preventsDeYeLOPING YOUF PSYCHIC POWers you from wasting time on regrets. A gentle yellow crystal, yellow cal~ cite, or rutilated quartz (quartz with golden rutiles, or mineral threads, inside—sometimes called “the hair of Venus”) placed next in the circle encourages you to listen to your inner voice and let the demands of the outer world fade. A soft pink crystal, such as rose quartz, banishes unresolved anger or bitterness. Finally, to the immediate right of the black crystal,a brown pebble brings you back to the earth plane and to the familiar world of home. CLOSING THE CHakras You can do this either by visualization or by using crystals. If you are using crystals, use each stone from the circle and then return it to its bag or box so that when you have closed all your chakras, the circle will be empty. 1. First take the black stone from the circle and place it on the crown of your head, gently closing your Crown and seeing the pure white energy filtering downward to your Third Eye in the center of your brow, transforming as it does so into purple. 2. Place your soft purple crystal on your Third Eye and gently close it, letting the purple move downward to your Throat chakra, as it does so merging into a soft misty blue. 3. Next place the pale blue crystal on your Throat chakra, seeing this gently closing and the blue light moving down to the region ‘of your heart, becoming turquoise as it merges with the green. 4. Use the green crystal to slow down and close the Heart chakra, so that the green maves downward to merge with the yellow of your Solar Plexus chakra, just below the navel. 5. The light will become orange as it moves down to the Desire chakra close to your reproductive system. Holding your pink crystal here will close this chakra. The light will become a pale transparent red and return to the Root chakra at the base of your spine. Use the brown crystal to quiet the natural red ener- gies so that they will sleep at the base of your spine until you need their power again. 34 |Protective Magic and Rituals 6. The rising power of the energizing crystals is thus reversed and you can feel the buzzing in your head slowly descend until you have a slight warm heaviness at the base of your spine. Alternatively, you can lie on a bed or a pile of cushions and one by one, beginning with the Crown, visualize the whirling lotus petals moving more slowly until they are turning slowly and regularly and their contact with other worlds has closed down.Section Two DEVELOPING Your EXISTING POW€ETS