Craft: How to Be a Modern Witch - Gabriela Herstik 2018

Everything is Energy

So, Wild One, now you know that the Universe is both chaotic and peaceful, and that the dual nature found in her is also found in you. That as she turns, so you turn. That to cast spells, the most important thing to keep in mind is your intention and any actions necessary to manifest it. You’ve discovered the Witch’s Laws that turn chaos into creation, spells into magick and magick into reality. Now it’s time to learn about yourself; about the more subtle aspect of your being that you’ve been dancing with your whole life, perhaps unknowingly.

Have you ever felt something in the pit of your stomach — like sensing that something’s wrong — only to be proven right later on? Have you ever felt the energy in a room tense up when a stranger steps into your space? Maybe you had a feeling you shouldn’t have gone to something, only to go and have it be a total disaster. I get it all the time and it’s completely normal. It’s called intuition, baby!

Intuition works with the subtle body (aka our energetic body) as a messenger for that which we feel but can’t necessarily see. Our bodies are surrounded by energy fields; while radiation and electromagnetic fields can be traced, these energy fields cannot. Instead, they’re perceived through their effects. The aura is the most intimate part of our energetic field, like a level of our personal universe that affects us the most. The aura, along with other parts of our subtle body, receives and sends information to the rest of the body like an antenna.

the aura

The aura is an egg-shaped field of electromagnetic energy that surrounds us. Most of us can’t see it unless it’s captured by an aura photograph, but many of us can feel it. Think of your aura as being like your very own personal cloud that tells the world how you’re feeling energetically, emotionally, physically and spiritually. You’ve probably been around someone who makes you feel vibrant and loved just from their presence; this is an aura in action!

Our aura connects us to different planes of energy — including physical and ethereal levels. It also connects us to our chakras, the energy centres that sit along our spine. The aura is only one aspect of our personal energetic field, but it’s the one we’re most intimate with. The aura is actually divided into seven levels, moving a layer at a time from the physical to the divine and ethereal (just like the layers of the Universe itself), with each layer or level corresponding to a different chakra.

When we’re healthy, our aura is said to extend far around us. When our bodies, minds or spirits are sick or out of whack, however, our aura shrinks and its colours are less vibrant. You know how sometimes you can feel someone’s negativity? Not that they’re necessarily a bad person, but like they’re just carrying around a fog of negativity with them? Well, dear ones, that’s what I’d describe as someone with a murky aura.

A healthy aura, to those who can see it, resembles a bright and clear cloud of a certain colour.

Our auras reflect imbalances in ourselves. To cleanse your aura, you can smudge it with sage, palo santo or selenite. Try sitting in the grass, and imagining a green light surrounding you. Salt baths help to ground and clear our spirits, and are useful if you’re feeling anxious, overwhelmed or like you’ve picked up someone else’s energy. As mentioned, since salt is a small crystal, it helps to absorb excess energy, as well as ground our own energy. Salt baths are a potent way of doing this. You can also meditate with a specific colour if you need more of the qualities associated with it in your life. For example, if you want to work on being more creative, you can imagine yourself being surrounded by orange light. You can also practise the chakra meditation in the following section.

the chakras

The word chakra means ’wheel of light’ in Sanskrit. The chakras are energy centres located along the spine, with each one corresponding to a different purpose. Although the chakras are originally a Hindu principle, different variations of the system are found throughout the world. There are actually more energy centres than we can count in the human body, but the seven main chakras are the most universally recognised. The chakras are the energy transformers of the body, shifting the vibration of energy from high to low, or vice versa. They are the collectors and transmitters of the energetic body, and are said to be located at the main branches of our nervous system. Just like our immune system keeps us healthy, our chakra system looks after the well-being of our subtle energies and spiritual bodies.

The chakras deal with kundalini, or the life energy that is said to coil at the base of our spine like a serpent. This kundalini energy is associated with the Hindu goddess Shakti, who represents the eternal supreme consciousness. As we awaken our consciousness, the kundalini moves up the chakras along the spine, eventually reaching the last chakra at the top of our head, where the Hindu god Shiva — infinite supreme consciousness — resides. Once the two energies merge, we are ’awakened’ and freed from the karmic cycles of death and rebirth, and we are said to hold supreme consciousness.

A CHAKRA MEDITATION

This simple meditation will help you align and balance your chakras and aura. Start by imagining a ball of glowing red light at the base of your spine — at your root chakra. This red glowing ball stays there as you breathe into it for a few deep breaths. Then it moves up to your sacral chakra, turning orange along the way. Breathe into this before it moves up to your solar plexus chakra and turns yellow. Do this with each chakra, imagining the light changing to the corresponding colour as it moves upwards.

When it gets to the crown of your head, imagine it being here for a few breaths, before it then starts to move back down your spine, going from white to violet to blue, all the way down.

You can also imagine flowers opening at each chakra in the corresponding colours, blooming as you move up and folding back in as you move down your body. Use the same flowers in each of your chakra meditations, but remember to close your chakras if you open them. This will help you stay balanced.

sacred space

I think it’s impossible to enter a beautiful place of worship and not feel something. After all, in the end, we’re all praying to the same thing, right? I like to think that each temple and church honours divinity in its own way, creating a sacred space it thinks its god or goddess would adore; and this shows in the way these spaces are decorated. Usually, they’re maintained and cleansed in a certain way. Both Hinduism and Catholicism, for example, rely on the smoke of sacred herbs and incense. Some spiritual seekers use holy water and Florida water to cleanse surfaces, or sunlight is left pouring into the space to clear the energy.

Most of us don’t live in a church or temple, but that doesn’t mean we can’t create our own sacred space as a way to ground, honour and manifest our desires. If you take the time to physically clean your home, why wouldn’t you take the time to clean it energetically as well? As with opening and carefully closing the chakras, a sacred space needs to be maintained and protected. Our energy fields are kind of like batteries: they need to be recharged. When we take time to find solitude, having a space that supports and charges us is vital. If you’re lucky enough to have a space of your own, utilise it! Make it your temple.

Having a sacred space means creating an energetic environment that supports your work as a witch. For example, I would consider my room my sacred space. I use herbs like sage and palo santo to cleanse it multiple times a week (see ’Smudging’). I love to do this on Sunday, after I’ve cleaned and wiped down surfaces with Florida water and rose water. I do most of my spells, readings, crying, wishing, hoping and whatever else in my room. I have flowers everywhere and am very intentional about who or what I let in.

Redirecting the energy of a space, cleansing it with smoke and decorating it with correspondences like crystals, herbs and flowers are all good ways to start creating a sacred space. If you feel drawn to creating even more harmony in your space, perhaps learn about Feng Shui, which is the Chinese philosophy of creating harmony with your environment by mapping how your space corresponds to different aspects of your life.

You can dedicate your space to your craft if you wish, or you can simply cleanse it intentionally. Perhaps you’ll create a simple weekly ritual as well. Here are a few more ways to do this:

” Sprinkle salt in the corners to absorb excess energy.

” Place selenite in the space.

” Charge a quartz crystal and place it at the entrance (see here for how to charge a crystal).

” Diffuse essential oils.

” Create and dedicate an altar (see here).

” Wipe down surfaces with Florida water, crystal-infused water (water that has, or had, crystals steeped in it, thereby imparting the stones’ properties to it) or rose water.

” Use a cinnamon broom to sweep energy out of your space to clear it.

You could create a cleaning ritual during which you ask blessings from your guides as you clean your space. In any event, give thanks for your space as you clean, while incorporating any or all of the above suggestions into your routine.

maintaining your altar

An altar is a gathering of sacred objects, talismans, crystals, flowers and anything else that serves to connect us with our intent. In Chapter 1, we looked at how to create one, and I explained how your altar should feel personal to you.

I have candles, cards, oils, crystals, talismans, icons and more grouped on my altar, with a separate self-care altar next to it. You’ll probably have an everyday altar to which you can add things as the seasons shift and the holidays come and go. You may also have an altar you maintain for a certain amount of time (such as during the separate Moon cycles). You may have one to mourn, one to celebrate and one to manifest. Like anything else in the craft, there are no hard and fast rules. The most important piece of the puzzle is how things feel to you — and they should always feel absolutely divine.

For a witch, an altar not only serves as a focal point for energy and worship, it also serves as a place for magick to take place. Although you can include separate areas in your sacred space for performing different things like candle spells and tarot readings, having a working altar is highly recommended. Having a fixed space for your energy work will only make your altar and magick stronger, helping you form a strong relationship with your space.

As we saw in Chapter 1, creating an altar isn’t hard, thankfully! All you need is a flat space where you can do your magickal work and light candles safely. Today, I use the top of my dresser, but when I was in a college dorm, my altar was on my bookshelf. And, if you’re not able to have a permanent altar, you can use a box (a wooden one would be the best but I’ve used plastic) and store your magickal items, an altar cloth and some sage in it when it’s not in use. This way you can set up your altar for rituals and magick work whenever you need to.

HOW TO SET UP PROTECTIVE BOUNDARIES AROUND YOUR SACRED SPACE

By setting up protective boundaries around your sacred space, and by creating a protective auric field that you can use whenever you need to, you’ll be able to practise your craft in the equivalent of a safe place.

Perform this ritual under a new or waning Moon.

You’ll need: a quiet space; four black candles and one white candle (if your space permits it); an athame (or wand); sage or cobalt; sea salt; and black crystals like tourmaline or onyx (to absorb and repel negative energy, respectively). You’ll also want to know which way is North.

Step 1: Ground.

The first step in any spell or ritual is to get your energy settled. As this specific ritual is a way to clear, cleanse and protect your sacred space as well as your auric field, you’ll want to perform it in the actual space that you want to protect. Turn off all your electronics, make sure you can be alone and uninterrupted and then ground yourself (see here).

Step 2: Cleanse.

Light some palo santo, sage or cobalt, and walk around your space, asking your guides, masters and/or the Universe to banish anything that’s not working in your highest favour. Move intentionally around your room, making sure to cleanse the corners. Once you’ve hit every area of the room, sprinkle salt in each corner. This works to help absorb excess energy.

Step 3: Cast the circle.

Locate and then face in the direction of North. Cast your circle (see here), moving clockwise, asking for protection, guidance and compassion. Imagine an orb of protection holding you.

Step 4: Call in the Elements for protection.

You’ll be lighting candles for each direction, starting in the North. Place a black candle between your feet. Say something like the following:

’This is a sacred space, and only that which serves and fulfils my highest calling and mission is welcome. With the blessing of the [North] and Element of the [Earth] guiding and protecting me.’

Cast the sign of the banishing pentagram with your athame. (Start at the bottom left corner, moving to the top, back down to the right, up to the left, straight across to the right and then back down to the left.) Then say:

’I banish any entities, energies, beings or feelings that are not working in my highest favour.’

Light the black candle (if you can’t light candles, place a tourmaline in each direction). Move clockwise and repeat this for each of the remaining directions of the compass (East/Air, South/Fire, West/Water), drawing the pentagram and lighting a candle at the furthermost point of that direction in the circle.

Step 5: The mirrored orb of protection.

Once you’ve lit all the candles and called on the Elements for protection, move back to the centre of your circle and face the North. Draw the banishing pentagram once again. Say:

’This is a space of sacred devotion. This is a circle of deep protection. Each Element I bid you to hear my calling, protect me from anything that could harm me. I banish, I banish, I banish thee, energy and entities of negativity. So it is, so it shall be, by the power of the Universe and through me.’

Draw the banishing pentagram one last time, imagining the blade leaving a silver pentacle and moving forward like a lock of protection and security in an iron door before you.

Sit down in a comfortable position and light the white candle in front of you. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to slow your mind. Once you feel grounded, imagine a silver orb around you. It is mirrored and surrounds your space, reflecting everything around it. This is your orb of protection; whenever you need it, it’s available to you. Only that which serves your highest good, highest favour or Higher Self can get past the mirrors. That which aims to hurt or harm you is reflected back to the sender. Hold this, feel it and thank it.

Step 6: Release.

Once you’re ready, dismiss the Elements by walking anticlockwise round the circle and thanking them for their protection. Say, for example:

’(West), Element of (Water), I thank you for your protection and dismiss you from this ritual. Blessed be.’

If you can’t let your candles burn all the way down, use a fan or candle snuffer to put them out.

Step 7: Close the circle.

Walk anticlockwise, closing the circle. Say:

’The circle is open, may it never be broken.’

Step 8: Protect and ground your energy.

Place a black stone like onyx or tourmaline at the entrance to your sacred space. Ground your energy by pressing your forehead into the floor and imagine energy returning to the core of the Earth. Give thanks to the Universe for the blessing of her protection. You can bury the remaining candle wax at a crossroads or dispose of it at an intersection. Walk away from it and don’t look back when you do.