Protection magic is probably the oldest and most popular form of magic spellwork. Protection charms and spells have been found in Ancient Egyptian heiroglyphs and in every culture and region of the world since.
What is protection magic and why should we practice it.
Protection magic is simply a way to protect ourselves from unwanted energies.
Now if you watch some of these tik-tok videos or peruse some of the witch shops selling spells and other services you might be incline to think that witches are out there casting curses like a never ending battle at Hogwarts.
We’re not. Most of us are just trying to better our own lives, we don’t have the time, energy or inclination to hex anyone. Let alone cast hexes that cause serious issues. It takes a lot of energy.
Use the Force, Luke!
Just that same, protection magic is beneficial. Today I’m just going to talk about personal protections. (I’ll talk more about property protection next week.)
Every time we go out in the world or let someone into our homes we risk exposing ourselves to unknown and possibly unwanted energy. Sometimes that energy is uplifting but more often than not it can be draining. It can leave a heavy cloud around us or make us anxious or angry.
For example, there’s that angry driver that cuts you off in traffic or the unhappy patron who yells at you at work. There’s way too much toxic bullshit out there amongst the muggles.
Sometimes we run into people that are just draining. It might be a co-worker or neighbor or even a friend going through a rough patch. We call those people energy vampires. They suck all the energy out of us.
I remember walking past a house one day that was emanating waves of despair and hopelessness. Or at least that’s how I interpreted the energy. It felt like a sucker punch and I was totally useless the rest of the day. I hadn’t done any kind of shielding because I was only walking to the mailbox. Lesson learned.
The point is we don’t need to have a witchy archenemies to find a reason to practice protection magic. Life itself is a good enough reason.
Shielding
One of the first form of protection magic I learned as a new witch was shielding. It was tucked into a lesson on building energy. After getting the hang of it and realizing how much it helped, I taught my kids how to shield. Most witches and most children are empaths. They feel the energy of others; negative and positive.
The energy shield is like a protective bubble. It blocks other peoples emotions so you’re not inundated with their crap. It was key for me to recognize what I was feeling and what other people were feeling. Before I learned to shield, I felt everything all the time. It was really confusing!
As a kid I was called ‘too sensitive’ or ‘too emotional’. It was hurled at me like an insult. Come to find out, I’m not nearly as emotional as I was pegged. I’m actually quite a happy and optimistic person.
Practice makes perfect
Basically, to create an energy shield, you build up your energy until it surrounds you. As a beginner, I created the bubble with a generic intention of ‘protection’. I found this to block pretty much everything. At first it was a relief. However, I didn’t realize how much I relied on my empathic abilities to connect with people until I blocked them. I got a little lonely.
Every day I would have to decide whether I wanted to block people or not. My shield was a like a light switch, it was on or off. I had no dimmer switch.
Eventually, as I got better, I realized I could use the shield as a filter. I could opt to block outsiders while staying connected to my kids. Or I could block negative people while still connecting with lighter energy.
I spent a couple months building my shield with happy golden energy and making it twice a big as usual so anyone in my ‘sphere’ would feel happier. It was a experiment, just to see if I could and overall the results were positive.
The more you practice shielding, the better you get at it. This is a big part of the craft of Witchcraft.
Mirroring
Mirroring is similar to a shield in that you still create that energetic force field with the one difference: you imagine the outside of your bubble with a mirror finish. The idea is that it will reflect the negative energy back to where it comes from.
Do you remember responding to mean kids in grade school? “I’m rubber and you’re glue. Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you!”
Same concept.
This is beneficial if you know you’ll be going into a toxic environment. In all reality, there are some crappy people out in the world. There are the catty, petty, mean-spirited people in our lives that we kind of have to deal with. I’m thinking co-workers, bosses, teachers, students, sometimes even family.
By putting up a mirror shield, we don’t have to dread those places.
Enchanting
Enchanting is a way to infuse a protective energy into items that you can wear or carry with you.
Jewelry is a popular item to enchant. You can also enchant your clothes such as a favorite sweater or jacket that you know you’ll always wear out. I’ve enchanted make-up and perfume in the past. That was fun.
You can make a sachet or amulet to carry in you pocket or keep in your car.
Some links will take you to our Etsy shop where we offer supplies and tools. All proceeds from those sales will support this site unless otherwise noted on the listing. Thank you for your support!
Cleansing
When I talk about cleansing I typically refer to performing a ritual cleaning to get rid of negative energy. It could refer to smoke clearing, a wash, shower or bath and it’s very important to do prior to protective magic. It’s kind of counter intuitive to cast a protective bubble to ward off negative energy if the negative energy is clinging to you.
Once you’ve cleared your own energy, your protective magic will work much better.
Under the heading of cleansing, you can also enchant your shampoo or body wash to protect you. There’s also a ritual bath mix, where you soak in a tub infused in protective herbs.
Poppets
I know I said witches aren’t tossing hexes around all willy-nilly but they are human, they do get angry and have been known to curse those that piss them off. If you do suspect you’re the victim of baneful magic a poppet will be useful.
I usually refer to poppets for healing magic but they are actually excellent for “taking the hit”. You wake the poppet up with the purpose of standing in for you (or the recipient) and let it catch all the heat.
You can read more about poppet magic here.
If you don’t sew and need a poppet you can find them here.
Salt circle
Sam and Dean Winchester aren’t the only ones who use salt circles. Typically, just like on tv, they’re used to protect us from harmful spirits.
It’s not going to be very helpful when you’re out in the world. Unless of course you fill a hoola-hoop with salt and hoola everywhere you go… *you’re welcome*
But there are going to be times when you need/want to walk through those liminal spaces where you’re not always sure what kind of spirits you’ll encounter. I have always cast a circle and invited my guides to watch over me but if that’s not an option then sitting in a circle of salt will give you an added layer of protection.
Dream Pillows
Dream Pillows were traditionally made to keep small children safe at night. Filled with protective herbs they encouraged sweet dreams and sound sleep. Today magic practitioner’s also use dream pillows to protect them as they travel the astral planes.
You can read more about Dream Pillows here.
I have a small selection of Dream Pillows on Etsy if you’re looking for one.
Charm bags/Amulets
A charm can be just about anything. It can be a piece of jewelry or a rock from your driveway. I can be a bag of herbs and crystals or anything found in your world that you can carry with you.
An Amulet is a charm that’s been magically infused with energy to repel other energies such as negativity or other unwanted juju. An amulet can be used to protect, shield, neutralize or banish other energies.
DIY Protection Magic
Now I’m going to tell you that you need absolutely NONE of that stuff. All you need is your imagination, your intention and your energy…
But it’s the stuff that makes witchcraft fun. So if you decide you want to make an amulet or poppet or dream pillow, here’s some things to add to those.
I’ve added a download in the Book of Shadows so you can print out the cliff notes.
Herbs for Protection
- Basil– wards off negative energy
- Cayenne- returns negative energy to it’s source
- Coffee – neutralizes harmful magic
- Dragon’s Blood resin – protection
- Hyssop – purification & defensive magic
- Mugwort – protection of astral plane
- Wormwood – uncrossing rituals and removing hexes
- Yarrow – psychic protection
Crystals for Protection
- Amethyst – protects against negative energy
- Black Onyx – protects against harmful magic
- Obsidian – protective energy
- Quartz – protects from hexes and curses
- Selenite – shielding against negative influences
