The Power of Magick & Non-Believers

~Magickal Graphics~

I ran across this article on About.com titled, "Does Magic Have Power if Someone Doesn't Believe?"

I thought this would be an interesting discussion. My thoughts are that magic is energy. Whether it is positive or negative depends on the person sending it out. Someone who has no belief in deity or magic at all still sends out energy. So I think this is evidence that yes, magick still has power over those who are non-believers and that energy does return to them.

However, I do believe because they've closed themselves off to the possibility of magick, that they've also created a barrier that "keeps out" to some extent, positive and negative energy. So basically they've made it harder for the energy flowing to them to manifest a change in their life.

What do you believe? Does magick hold power for non-believers?

Wishcasting Wednesday

This blog has a Wishcasting Wednesday.

You can be a maker of magic and a tender of wishes. It’s easy.
Answer the wish prompt above on your blog and then add a direct link to your post in the box below. Support wishes by visiting other participants, leaving a comment saying “As (insert name) wishes for her/himself, so I wish for her/him also.” It’s that simple.
There is great power in wishing together.

I think it's a great idea to create a link of wishes.

Lets see, mine are:

• I wish to become financially stable. I don't need riches, I just need comfort and a little wiggle room. 
• I wish for a cure for mental illness, especially Bipolar disorder. I miss the way my Dh use to be more spiritual before his struggles with BP. 
• Once we're financially stable, I wish for a home, with land for my animals and a orchard/garden. 
• Since the "theme" I suppose is bravery, I wish to be brave in regards to a new fear of mine.

Samhain On The East Coast

Well hurricane Sandy is coming and it looks like it's going to change plans for most trick or treaters. We are in the south east part of Ohio so we may have snow next week.

I had already decided weeks ago that we would not be joining a group this year for Samhain. I felt a need to stay home and keep it all in the family. Especially since this will be the first time we will do a ritual in our new apartment.

My ritual also involves bringing out my genealogy records. That's what I love about rituals, you can use virtually anything that has meaning to you! Have you ever used your family tree during Samhain or when evoking your ancestors? So many pages and I only know the stories of a short few; which is sad when you think about it.

Someone posted a poem on FB yesterday that I thought really put my feelings into words perfectly. I'll also be using this poem in our Samhain ritual. I do not know the author of this poem, so if this is your work or if you know who wrote it please tell me so I may give credit.

STRANGERS IN THE BOX
Come, look with me inside this drawer,
In this box I've often seen,
At the pictures, black and white,
Faces proud, still, and serene.

I wish I knew the people,
These strangers in the box,
Their names and all their memories,
Are lost among my socks.

I wonder what their lives were like,
How did they spend their days?
What about their special times?
I'll never know their ways.

If only someone had taken time,
To tell, who, what, where, and when,
These faces of my heritage,
Would come to life again.

Could this become the fate,
Of the pictures we take today?
The faces and the memories,
Someday to be passed away?

Take time to save your stories,
Seize the opportunity when it knocks,
Or someday you and yours,
Could be strangers in the box.

Will you be changing your Samhain or Halloween plans because of hurricane Sandy?

Changed Background

I felt a need for a change. My blog has looked the same for a long time now and it was starting to look jumbled and unkempt to me. My goal was to lighten it up a bit and make the background go a little bit better with my banner. So I think I've accomplished that. Tell me what you think!

I don't believe I've explained before why I chose butterflies on my blog. Indeed their more of a spring and summer kind of theme. But to me they remind me of magick. ;) Healing magick to be exact.

When I was a little girl and outside playing with one of my friends, we saw a butterfly that was about to die. My friend and I held the butterfly in our hands, joined together and prayed for it to be healed. The next thing we knew it was flying again and appeared to be in perfect health. This is my first experience with energy healing and why I chose butterflies as my theme.

“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” -Deepak Chopra

Moving Forward

At last! I can finally say we are moving forward. It's been a long hard road, but we are finally going to move out of my MIL's home. We just signed the lease today. We'll have to wait till DH's day off this Saturday to move. But I've been doing all of the paperwork and getting utilities in our name. We stayed and walked around the apartment for a bit and Sierra is in love with her room.

The bad news is that we have very little household items in our name. DH's aunt is giving us two love seats, one of them is a sleeper sofa. We have a table that Dh's PC can go on. Other than that, we don't have a lot and not a lot of money to buy things either. I've posted on Freecycle asking for some essentials. We also won't have Internet for a few weeks, so I'm sorry to say I won't be able to write on my own blog or indulge myself in reading your lovely blog posts. It's just a temporary hiatus though so I'll be back with fresh content and much happier for having my own space!

I'll leave you with this. It's my latest clay creation. They are Elder Futhark Runes. They are carved on both sides. I also will be working on a clay box for these to go in. Once I'm finished they will be going in my new Etsy store, Pagan Creation. I may also do a little something for a giveaway in October. So stay tuned for that!

So until next time, Blessings, love, and light to all.

SWC

Blue Moons Powerful Energy Boosted by Hurricane Isaac

We're coming up on a very powerful time in the year. Not only because of the moon but because of weather events as well. On the 31st we will have a blue moon, which just means we have an extra full moon in our calendar year. This only happens every 2 or so years. Hence why they call it "once in a blue moon".

This is a great time to work on any spell that is going to take a long time to come to fruition. If you're working on your finances, school, or other life long changes, this is a powerful time to do this kind of spell work.

However Hurricane Isaac is on it's way, and for those of us in the northern part of the county it shouldn't hit us until Friday evening, Saturday, and maybe a little bit Sunday. Which means that the energy of the storm is going to be mixing with the energy of the blue moon. It's an especially chaotic time of high energy.

Weather magick always gives me an "energy high". You should always ground during any magickal work, however grounding is very important with weather magick because the energy is raw and chaotic. Without grounding you may feel a bit light headed, dizzy, and you'll just be flinging out energy with no real direction for it to go. Needless to say a lot of magical oops can happen during this time if you are not careful.

So for those who plan on doing a blue moon ritual, you may find yourself needing a little more time to ground. During the ritual keep a stone or a bit of sand in your hands or pocket. Or if you have a small pouch put some soil in it and wear around your neck. As always, make sure your purpose is clear and precise to avoid any magickal mistakes.

Do you have plans for what you'll be doing during the blue moon? I will once again be teaching my daughter about ritual, and she'll be helping me set up the altar. Since we are facing some large changes in our life (Possibly moving and beginning the K-12 online school for DD) I'll be focusing on our financial life as well as giving thanks for all we have.

Magical Herbs, Rants, Moon Magick and Lust

Magical Herbalism by Scott Cunningham

Isn't it great when the grand design works for us? DH works at the local Goodwill. Today he brought home a book called Magical Herbalism by Scott Cunningham. This is why I don't believe in coincidence. Out of a small county with the majority of its residents being Christian, someone decided to drop off a Pagan book that my DH knew I'd enjoy because of my new herb growing project. Yay for me. I can't wait to dive into this book.

He also brought along a romance book. You lovely readers know how I love my paranormal romance. This ones about the Fae. and Werewolves. Yay me! Its titled "Not your ordinary Faerie Tale, by Christine Warren." Can't wait to read this one too. Two great books, and no idea where to start. Do I want to read about herbal magick or do I want to dive into love and lust? Decisions decisions. lol

Aine over on the Deepest Well mentioned the approaching full moon and how energetic and restless we might be feeling.  She does mention its a time where we tend to blurt out in a not so nice and confrontational way our feelings. (See rant below to prove that). She also mentions its a good time to focus on goals and exercise. Right now, my goal is to save money. Now that my husband is getting a paycheck I've created a budget. Its all in its initial stages right now since I'm not entirely sure what he'll get on his paycheck. He's also doing a lot of overtime from what his "normal" paycheck will be. So it will be a few months before I can get an average of what he'll bring home. If I've calculated correctly, we'll only be able to save $150 a month. That means I face 6 more aggravating months in MIL's home before we can afford to move out. I wish I could say that I had something to sell or some other way to make more money. If I find a job we'd get more money but so far that search has been fruitless. So here I am, stuck making plans and no real action. Which is why I feel restless and helpless.

Now onto the rant. I try not to rant often on my blog because I hate to bring anything negative to it. This must be said however. I don't believe one single Pagan has not experienced judgement from the non-Pagan community. If there is such a Pagan out there I haven't met them. So it hurts my heart when I see it from a fellow Pagan. Today on a spiritual forum I saw another Wiccan say that you can't be a Wiccan if you cast "Incantations" (her word not mine) for "Money or lavishes" because she considers it to be personal gain and in her opinion, wrong.

Now the rede does warn about not casting for greed. See quotes from the Wiccan rede below.

Bide within the Law you must, in perfect Love and perfect Trust.
Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give.

Quote

When the Lady's moon is new, kiss the hand to Her times two.
When the moon rides at Her peak then your heart's desire seek.

Quote

Where the rippling waters go cast a stone, the truth you'll know.
When you have and hold a need, harken not to others greed.

Quote

"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"

Not one word in the Rede says you can't cast for personal gain. That to me sounds like a Charmed TV influence. It does counsel against greed. I just wish people would focus on their own path and not focus on judging others. 

Keep Candle Magick Simple

Hi Everyone! I know its been a bit since I've wrote. I've noticed there a few more people following my blog so a big wave and hello to them.

Last night I did a little mini spell again. Just a green candle, some herbs that represent change and/or financial gain, and a few simple words. I let my husband write it. I sort of chastised my husband for making it so simple. It went something like... You know what we want, help me!
Not those exact words but you get the point Dh was trying to make.

Do you find that its beneficial to keep rituals simple? Or do you need more elaborate rituals? I like a combination of both. Since I wasn't inspired by words yesterday, I had to let DH come up with it. It seems to have worked. I got a call for Dh today about an application he put in last week. DH was at "work". When I say work I mean the states version of slave labor. He's assigned a job by the state so we receive TANF. The thing is he works basically a full time job for pennies. But that's going off on a completely separate issue.

I took the cell phone and the phone number up to DH so he could call them on his break. So hopefully he will have an interview and possibly a job soon! Though the job is located 2 hrs away. We would have to move, which I don't mind if he gets the job.

I hope this all falls into place. I still have the candle and herbs. When DH comes home I will burn a little bit more of it again to keep the positive energy going.

Another point, when you go to blow out a candle, if it doesn't blow out do you leave it going? I always view that as a sign that it doesn't wish to go out yet and I let it burn. My tools all have a mind of their own sometimes. ;) Yesterday I went to blow the candle out when we were preparing to do the dishes. I was blowing right over top of it and it wouldn't go out, so I just left it alone till later. When it did go out, I was able to blow it out at a distance fairly easily.

In what ways do you keep your craft simple?

PBP: Hereditary Witches

Prompt: All in the Genes?

This may seem a bit weird, but....

Is it hereditary?

I had to think about my wording on this one... I had to leave it vague, because I wanted it to be as open to interpretation as possible.

What I'm referring to here can be magic, witchcraft, spirituality, the things you can do that others around you cannot, etc. Another way to put it might be "Do you come from a family of Witches?" but that only works if you see yourself as a witch. Get what I'm trying to say here?

What you do and who you are - did it come from your bloodline? Or is it something you discovered and nurtured on your own?

I've always believed that Religion is a choice, not hereditary. But were talking more than just religious beliefs here. Were talking about natural ability to use your will to manipulate energy (Magick). I do think that can be hereditary.

In my family it's common for the women to have lucid dreams; especially as it relates to children and other loved ones. I believe that everyone has psychic ability, though it may be hereditary that someone is more adept than another.

My own mother can be very focused. So much so that what she is worried about often becomes true because she's so focused on it. Unfortunately her focus is on the negative aspects. She's never been diagnosed as a hypochondriac, but I firmly believe she is one. When my daughter was little I hired my mother to babysit for me. This was a huge mistake on my part, but being a nervous first time mom I wasn't too keen on the idea of hiring a stranger. My mother babysat for me for 2 years, and in those two years my daughter was more sick than she's ever been in her life. Every sniffle or slight cough my mother heard, she would spend days where she would tell my daughter DD was getting sick. My daughter would repeat it, believing my mother. And in about a week she would be. My daughter loved to do fake coughs then. She found that if she did it, she'd get attention from my mother who couldn't tell the difference. After we changed to a different sitter and DD was no longer told every few weeks she was getting sick, her health improved. My mothers focus on the negative makes anyone she focuses on sick. Again and again I can give examples of my mother doing this to herself, her animals, and our family. Its gotten so bad that I've banned her from ever speaking about health related problems in my home.

I think the basic talents I have are things everyone can do if they have the belief and knowledge. But they also need to be learned and honed. Like the example of my mother, she has ability, but it is uncontrolled. This can be dangerous and self-defeating.  But there are also a few talents I am better at than others such as my healing ability. Though my methods are different than my past family members, many of expressed their amazement when they prayed over someone for improved health and got results. It seems my family does have a higher level of focus, but because it's untrained it depends on the person on whether they do good or bad deeds with it.

PBP: Animal Totems

Pagan Blog Prompt asks:

Animals can teach us a lot about ourselves and the world around us....

Do you have a totem animal? What is it teaching you?

What have the animals taught you in the past? 

 I really can't believe I've never wrote a post on animal totems before! Great blog prompt PBP! Usually when  meditating the animals that most often come to me are horses, snakes, deer, wolf, and some kind of feline (Domestic or Feral). Each has their own individual lesson for me.

Horses, I've written about them recently. They represent freedom. I have a history of being a little too reserved. They remind me to let go and have a little fun horsing around sometimes. 

Snakes, I've always been afraid of. So they represent conquering my fear and transformation. I'm a person who hates change, so when snake enters my life I know I just have to suck it up and get over it!

Deer is my husbands totem more than mine. But to me deer represents abundance, grace, beauty and love. When deer enter my life it's a reminder to look around and see the beauty in my life. With our lives going by so fast, sometimes we forget to appreciate the little things and give thanks for the abundance in our life.

Wolf, also another totem of my husbands. Wolf represents family togetherness and loyalty to me. I know if  a wolf enters my life I can have trust in his wisdom.

Felines represent intuition and deity. They are a very feminine totem that gives off a sexual energy to represent the power of ones self. Felines are associated with moon power and passion.

What have the animals taught you in the past? 

Butterfly

 

Though I do not consider them a totem, butterflies taught me a wonderful lesson as a child that I will never forget. If you notice the banner on my blog, I recently changed it and added a butterfly background. This is to remind me of the lesson of butterflies. 

When I was a child (maybe 5 or 6 years old) I was playing with my best friend, Joey, when we saw a butterfly struggling to fly. It was obviously about to die. It landed hard on the ground and when we went to investigate, we saw that its wings were torn. I picked the butterfly up and though it was still alive, it wouldn't be for long. So Joey and I cupped our hands over it, and we sent energy to it. We didn't know what we were doing at the time. We just thought we were praying for it to live. I don't remember what I said but it was to the effect of "Deity, help me to heal this wounded creature." (I was always a a bit magickal even as a witch-let. *wink*) So after our prayer I put it in a safe place to live or die as the Gods willed it. Within about 45 minutes we saw the same butterfly flying just in front of us. It dipped and rose for a few minutes just staying in the same place. I felt it was thanking us. I said allowed, "Your welcome" and it flew off. 

The butterfly taught me that I could do great things. It taught me magick is real and all it takes is the love I had in my heart for the most gentlest of creatures. How many kids wouldn't have noticed a butterfly dying? Or worst yet, notice and wouldn't have cared? When I began my Pagan path, I didn't need someone to tell me spells work, because I had already lived it.

18. What God(dess) do you involve in your Samhain rites?

Source

I don't believe its absolutely necessary to involve a specific deity in rituals. I've mentioned before that I am connected to Isis, but for Samhain I don't really work with her. I don't know why, her connection to life, death, and rebirth is strong. For Samhain, if I'm working solitary, I simply use "The Universal Energy". Or just Lord and Lady. If my husband is working with me, we may use The Great Spirit. All of them work for me. As long as I'm able to connect with that divine energy I don't believe it's important what we call it. 

This is apart of 31 Days of Samhain

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Pagan Blog Prompt: Energy

Prompt: Energy in Objects

Do you believe in channeling energy (either your own or from other sources) into objects for a goal or purpose?

Do you conduct rituals to charge objects (with moonlight, water, salts, etc)?

Is the world just a bunch of energy, that we are moving and bending to our will (magic)?

Run with it! I'm sure there's lots of directions you guys can take this...

~     ~    ~    ~    ~

Every natural object stores energy. Every living thing has its own energy. And then we have the Universal Energy (Earths Energy) As two people have a conversation, they are exchanging their energy. Energy knows no limits. It doesn't stop at walls, roads, states, or countries. That is why you can get a "feel" for someone online. Because even though you can be countries away from one another energy still flows. 

As far as charging objects, yes I do this. Usually I'd wear a necklace. Lately I don't because my son  likes to grab things. But I charge them with positive energy, or with an intent I have in mind. Sometimes I will charge them for my husband to wear. Sort of a "Carry a little part of me" when we have to be away from each other for awhile. In January we separated for 3 months due to financial reasons. We were making the move to Ohio and he came first to find a job. Finding a job didn't happen, but the point is we were separated for a time. We exchanged necklaces before he left as a charm to keep a little bit of us together. Anytime I missed him, I'd play with the necklace and feel his presence. 

Magick can be bent to our will. This is called spell work. It should only be done with respect. If your just out to do spell work for fun, its not for you. Its also not meant to solve all your personal problems, though it certainly can help, you are required to do any "mundane" work to bring about the change. You can't just hope to find a job by casting spells, and then never put in an application. 

Energy can also be used to heal people or pets. I've talked about that in another post you may read here.

Some other ways to use energy is to protect yourself mentally. Psychic protection takes practice but can be a huge help when you empathic. I've wrote about Spiritual Protection in this blog post.

Have a wonderful Mabon!

To all my Pagan, Witchy, and Wiccan friends, have a wonderful Mabon! Last Saturday we celebrated Mabon with Lynn and the members of Innana's Spiritual Center. We had a lovely ceremony at the Yoctangee park in Chillicothe. Then we had a potluck dinner with good friends and camaraderie. I was going to take pictures of our Mabon tree for this post, but alas I was wrestling a 15 lb baby the whole day and forgot.

I've saw a lot of great posts about Mabon cooking lately. From Pumpkin pies to bread, it all sounds wonderful. I think I'm just going to stick with making sloppy joes for dinner and maybe I'll make muffins or a cake today. I know I could get a lot more elaborate, but I think I'll focus on my writing. :)

So again, Happy Mabon!



~Magickal Graphics~

For those who do not know what Mabon is, here are some informational links.

Earth Witchery - Mabon
Joelle Sacred Grove- Mabon

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One Small Step for Gay Equality

       Hooray for the repeal of Don't ask Don't Tell (DADT)! If you've heard the news and are Gay and Lesbian friendly your jumping for joy (Maybe just on the inside) for an injustice righted. I have a few friends who are gay and I have to say they are the most happiest people I know because they are not denying their mind and body of what they need to be happy.

     I know gay rights have a long way to go before we see equality, but this is just one more small step toward a new beginning for this country. My dream is that everyone finds their special loved one, whether they are male, female or trans gendered no one should be denied love (OR marriage) because of sexual orientation.

     Its hard to understand why DADT started to begin with. So in the interest of learning, I looked it up! The U.S. Military has had a long history with using public opinion to decide who shall and shall not serve in the military. All you have to do is think about black history and we know that at one time all African Americans were barred from the military. Same with women. When public opinion starts to change, so does the laws surrounding it.

    Sodomy (Defined as anal and sometimes oral between two men) has been banned in the military since the Revolutionary war. In WWII the military began psychological tests to try to identify and deny entry into the military based on sexual orientation. However when the military suffered a shortage of personnel, gays were allowed in the military. So I guess they were good to enter only when they needed bodies to catch the bullets right?!

   In 1980 the DOD stated in a new policy that, "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service". DOD Directive 1332.14, January 28, 1982, Part 1, Section H. This new policy resulted in approximately 17,000 men to be discharged from service.

   In 1993 President Clinton asked Secretary of Defense to come up with a policy that would end discrimination of Gays in the military. What they came up with is DADT. Gays would no longer be discharged for being gay, unless they were caught having sex (Sodomy under the law).

  And now today, Tuesday, September 20th 2011, we make another historic change in the military by allowing everyone to be open about their sexual orientation. Hopefully one day, this change will spur change in public opinion. With all the hate that we have in this world, why is love made illegal? Gays are not all about sex. Gays are not sexual predators. They are simply attracted, and in love with, someone who happens to be of the same gender. There is absolutely nothing wrong with love! And I propose that it is the solution to stopping so much hate in our society.

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A favourite pagan holiday that you celebrate.

Hands down it is Samhain (Oct 31-Nov 1) that is my favorite Pagan holiday. It is the last of the Harvest celebrations and one I'm always looking forward to. It is a time to mark the death of the God and the coming rebirth. Samhain is a time to honor our ancestors. They say this time is the thinnest between the veil of this world and the next. Divination is often done at this time to see what the winter might bring and commune with lost loved ones.

Some of my favorite past experiences at Samhain have been a re birthing ritual. Until I moved, we joined up with Linda Tipton and her coven Circle of the Blue Moon to do a Samhain celebration. We were made to walk along a path lit by tea light candles alone. This walk was very spiritual for everyone. In the end of the path was Ms Linda doing one reading for each person. You could ask one question of her. At the end you were "reborn" to the new year. I loved doing this. And I think it really marked a changing point in my spiritual life. I'll keep what I asked to myself. ;)

But we've had our fun times too. I remember several members drinking a little too much homemade mead. My husband played the designated friend and made sure no one fell into fire pits. He picked up quite a few people passed out in the bushes!

One year, it was so cold at Samhain (We always camped out) that we had to leave. It really isn't smart to camp out at the end of October. That year it was bitter cold. We got to a point where Lance and I could no longer feel our feet even while standing next to the open fire. So we left, found a hotel and came back the next day. I got pregnant that spring, so we never did another camping in October; especially with the baby around. We did visit for the days however. When we returned to work we were laughing at ourselves and quite a few people heard the story. To this day there is a UPS worker who reminds us of camping in October when he sees us.

Samhain is just a great time to celebrate family, the death and rebirth of life, and the changing of the seasons. Its a favorite of many Wiccans and its not hard to see why. We dance, we laugh, we sing and praise the Lord and Lady. And we remember those who have left us this year.

Blessings, Love, and Light

Pagan Blog Prompt: Tools

Prompt: Your Tools

What tools do you use, if any?
Tarot or other divination tools?
Athame, chalice, candles, wand, etc?

Why have you chosen to use these tools? How do you prepare and maintain them? Where/how do you store them?

Pictures are encouraged and welcomed, if you feel so inclined.

Raw Crystals I mined for.

 I find that the tools that work best for me are ones I've made myself or find in nature. Crystals are a large part of what I use. Most often I use garnet, amethyst, quartz, and tigers eye. Though I have several and a lot I can't even identify because I've forgot what they are! One of the things I have done is mine for our own crystals at a place near Mammoth Cave. It was very neat and I came away with some wonderful raw crystals. 

When I had my own space to dedicate to my hobbies, I made candles. I loved doing this! I found that my own candles were much better in magical uses than store bought. Though the cost of doing it was a bit more than I wanted to spend. It was still worth it to me and I even made back a little bit of my cost by selling some candles to friends.

Because my husband and I often work together we blend Eclectic Wicca & Native American Shamanism. One thing he often does is give an offering of tobacco. So this has become an important tool for us both.
Feathers, water, shells, and other natural elements are things I can incorporate into our craft.

Do you ever just go walking in the woods and find little interesting things? Well when I can I go walking and find natural elements I work with. Its a great time to reflect on what I need to manifest in my life and so soothing for the soul. :)
Blessed Be,

SalemWitchChild

Happy Full Moon!

Harvest Moon

Its the Harvest moon and that means what seeds we have sown are coming to fruition. So what are your plans for celebrating this time? What are you waiting to come full circle in your life?

In January we began our journey of moving back home to Ohio. We have yet to settle ourselves into our new life. We are still waiting to come full circle. I hope as we enter the harvest time our life will change and settle.

My the Lord & Lady help us find the right job and housing so that we may lead a better life. And may our dog Kota be protected and loved while she is in my mothers care.

Blessings, Love & Light

SalemWitchChild

The Importance of Grounding during Magickal works

Grounding is connecting yourself to the Earth before beginning any magickal works. Its important to ground yourself first because you're more in control of your energy and you'll have better focus. I remember my first Pagan circle I attended. I had no idea what grounding meant and no one told me to do it. So when we began to build up energy I felt like I could literally just float away. It was an awesome feeling, but you do not want to be out of control while doing magick.

To ground, all you really need to do is connect with Mother Earth. I  imagine my feet as roots of a tree. The deeper I can imagine my roots going into the Earth the more grounded, focused and in control I am.

For those who read this who practice the craft, what ways do you ground yourself?