8 - Crystals And Protective Magick

Whether you are carrying out spells, rituals or divination or are simply feeling anxious, vulnerable or under attack from inner or external forces, psychic protection can enclose you in light and keep out all that threatens your harmony. It is a very positive form of magick that for everyday use requires a basic ritual or visualisation that takes only a minute or two. Some people carry out routine psychic protection when returning from work and in the morning as naturally as taking off their work clothes and having a bath, to shed the pressures of the day.

You can also with practice learn to cast protection round those you care for: a child who is being bullied or an animal or bird that is endangered, an area of natural beauty under threat from developers or a group of people who are being unfairly targeted.

Of course you can't save a rainforest single-handed because there will always be a vast tide of despoiling vibes flowing in the opposite direction. But as has been shown by events such as World Days for Peace and the experiments on the power of prayer, if enough individuals send out positive intentions, followed by peaceful action, then people power really does make a difference. There is, as ever, just one proviso: you must remember the Wiccan Rede, An it harm none, do what you will', and apply it rigorously.

I am often asked to carry out protective spells for people who feel that they are the subject of unfair scrutiny, jealousy, anger or resentment. This may be manifest as deliberate malice, a muttered curse or a declaration of some vengeful intent. But more usually the origins are more obscure, perhaps coming from someone gossiping or lying in bed at night, fuming over an achievement or good fortune enjoyed by their supposed enemy. A whole tradition of 'evil eye' superstitions and antidotes grew out of such envy and bad wishing. If you are to help counteract this kind of bad feeling, without causing harm in return, it is best to resort to some kind of protection.

Note that you do not have to identify the sender of bad vibes in order to protect the victim. You will usually know who it is, as in most cases there is a likely candidate, and very frequently the wrong-doers give themselves away as they cannot resist the satisfaction of checking the effect of their unpleasant actions. Don't be tempted into direct retaliation, however - remember the Threefold Law.

The same tools and methods of protection can be used whether you are protecting a cat from an aggressive, stone-throwing neighbour or whales in a distant ocean from marauding fishermen. These include herbs, oils and incenses, made into sachets and poppets used in rituals (see Chapters 6 and 7). Salt, sacred water and wax amulets may also provide protection. One of the most potent methods of protection is through the use of crystals.

Crystals

All crystals have innate protective qualities as well as healing and empowering properties and so can offer instant harmony and energy even in the most draining situations.

Collecting Protective Crystals

Certain crystals have, over the millennia, from Ancient Babylon, Egypt and the Orient, acquired the reputation of possessing strong protective qualities and are also usually potent in strengthening and healing. These include amber, black agate, amethyst, bloodstone, carnelian, garnet, jade, black and red jasper, jet, lapis lazuli, tiger's eye, topaz and turquoise. However, as you work with crystals and stones, you may discover that a particular crystal or even a stone from the seashore fills you with calm and confidence; if you carry or hold this at times when you feel vulnerable, it will increase in power the more you use it.

Build up a collection of small protective crystals with which you can ring your bed for quiet sleep or place around your home or workplace to absorb the negativity of others. Buy or make a dark silk or natural fabric drawstring bag or purse in which you can carry a single protective crystal, or your crystal pairs (see below), whenever you leave home. Place them in the four corners of a room that always seems dark or inhospitable. Set crystals at the four corners of the table where you are carrying out divinatory or psychic work to act as a psychic shield from negativity or debilitating emotions.

Balancing The Energies

Crystals can be used in pairs to balance energies and restore equilibrium to a person or situation. This little piece of magick is particularly useful when you are under stress. Simply hold a dark crystal, such as a smoky quartz or apache tear, in your power hand and a clear crystal quartz or a golden citrine in your receptive hand, and close your eyes. You will feel the adrenaline surge and panic flowing away, leaving you calm and protected, able to deal with any situation.

I always keep a couple of suitable crystals in my hand luggage for difficult moments when travelling - crowded trains, delays, especially late at night when I feel very vulnerable, and even small enclosed lifts, which I hate, having become stuck in one when I was heavily pregnant. You could also buy and wear a pair of small, jeweled pins containing crystals, or two lapel brooches fastening the two sides of your scarf, or odd cufflinks with balancing crystals. (Who knows, you may even find you start a trend...)

Experiment, using the list on page 153, to find which crystals offer balanced energies for you; you may well find some work better than others in particular situations. For example, my friend Jenny, a 40-year-old sales adviser, found that gentle green jade in her power hand and malachite, a rich green and black stone good for strengthening teeth and bones, in her receptive hand, made her feel protected when her aggressive area manager visited her. Soft rose quartz in her power hand and a glowing reddish orange carnelian in her receptive hand helped her to avoid the loss of self-esteem she always felt when she went home to see her critical mother.

Cleansing Crystals And Gemstones

You should always cleanse your crystals before and after use in protection, healing and empowerment.

When you obtain a new crystal, cleanse it before charging it with your own personal energies. In this way you can remove all the energies, not necessarily negative, of those who have prepared, packed and sold the stone. If the stone was a gift, however, you may wish to accept the loving energies with which it was offered and rely on your innate defensive powers to filter out any unconscious negativity left from the previous owner's life.

You will also need to wash your crystals, and your crystal pendulum, if you use one, regularly in running water to keep their energies clear.

If you have been in touch with a particularly negative influence, first wash the stones, then sprinkle them with salt and pass over them an incense stick or oil burner in a fragrance such as lavender, pine or rose. Finally pass them over the flame of a purple, silver or pink candle; in this way your crystal absorbs the healing energies of all four elements.

Leave the crystals to dry in natural light, then wrap them for a few days in a dark cloth with a large piece of unpolished amethyst wrapped separately so it will not scratch the smaller crystals. Amethysts have great powers of healing for other crystals, but they need frequently to be rested and anointed very gently with diluted lavender oil or a lavender infusion.

You can also cleanse crystals by leaving them in a rainstorm or burying them in a pot of lavender, sage, Chamomile, rosemary or other herb of love and harmony. Leave them for 24 hours and, if necessary, wash off any remaining soil with running water. The result will be a new vibrancy, especially in the case of rutilated quartz, jade and moss agate (the last two are called the gardener's crystals). For more methods of cleansing, empowering and crystal protection, see my book Psychic Protection Lifts the Spirit.

Charging Your Crystals With Positive Power

All crystals contain power as well as protective qualities and cleansing is itself empowering. However, if you are being subjected to stress or harassment of any kind, you might like to charge your crystal, so that when you touch or look at it, you will be enclosed in its radiance and stimulate your own innate self-protective power. Your charged crystal acts as an amplifier for your own inner radiance and self-confidence and will repel any hostility.

My own favourite method is to wrap the crystals in white silk and take them to a sacred place of ancient power, such as a standing stone, an old stone circle or one of the ancient healing wells. These wells were formerly dedicated to the Mother Goddess but were Christianised and rededicated to St Bride, the Virgin Mary or other Christian, often Celtic, saint.

Go as early in the morning as possible and place the crystals on a flat surface, either on one of the stones or close to the water. Sit near to the source of power, touching it with your two hands so that you create a circuit of energy parallel to that being absorbed by the crystals and so empower your own auric field (the area of psychic energy that exists around our bodies).

Auric fields contain different colours; they can be seen spontaneously by clairvoyants but anyone can, with time and practice, interpret auras, which change according to a person's mood and the influences on it. After about ten minutes you may detect a slight luminescence around yourself as well as the crystals. Your crystals will now be charged and can be placed in their drawstring bag.

When under stress, touch your chosen crystal for strength and protection. Keep it on your desk at work, place it between you and an adversary or next to your bed if you are troubled by bad dreams or fear psychic attack or malevolence at night. People living in areas with high rates of robbery and violence may wish to put a power crystal, such as turquoise, red jasper or carnelian, as a protective buffer near external doors and windows. In less extreme circumstances, charged rose quartz and amethyst are excellent for sleep and relaxation problems, for charging simply accentuates the innate calm energies of the crystal.

With the gentle crystals (such as amethyst, rose quartz or smoky quartz), you will experience a gentle warmth and enclosing light of pink, green or purple according to the colour of the crystal. But with the power crystals (such as clear crystal quartz, citrine or carnelian), you may see with your psychic vision sparks of gold emanating and enclosing you in a protective shell. Anyone who approaches in a confrontational way may stop and back off. The crystal is not hurting them, it is just strengthening your own boundaries against intrusion.

If you cannot visit an ancient site to charge your crystals, hold a crystal pendulum up to bright sunlight, or in front of a fibre optic lamp, and swirl it so that it catches rainbows. Hold your pendulum in your power hand. With your other hand, hold the crystal beneath the pendulum so it catches the light, and turn your pendulum over the crystal nine times deosil to absorb power.

Another method is to take your crystal out into the light of the full moon (the two or three nights leading up to the full moon are also powerful). Hold your crystal up so that the light of the Moon shines on it. Alternatively, fill a bowl with water and place it in the open air so that the Moon is reflected in it. You can then bathe your crystal in empowering moonlight and leave to dry.

You can also bathe a crystal in sunlight; I find the Moon method more gently empowering for crystals that are primarily intended to act as guardians. But experiment, as Sun water may be best for you.

As these are personal crystals, ask the Moon or Sun in your own words to lend their power; alternatively, you may prefer to remain silent and let these ancient forces work in their own way.

You can also use this method for empowering amulets and lucky charms or St Christopher medallions. St Christopher is patron saint and protector of all travellers.

Protective Crystals

The following crystals are those that I, in my personal work, and people with whom I have held healing workshops or teaching sessions have found especially protective. They will absorb negative energies emanating from both fears and doubts, and repel external attack, replacing darker feelings with positive emotions and intentions.

To benefit from the protective powers of a crystal, you can carry or wear it, or keep it close to you at work, at home or when you travel. You can also add a crystal to your bath water. Alternatively, you can soak it in pure spring water overnight and drink the crystalline water in the morning or carry it in a small bottle to splash on your face and wrists at stressful times.

Agates

These bring stability, security, emotional and physical balance and acceptance of self and others as they are. Agates are said to be good in all colours for reducing effects of harmful rays, pollution and all forms of psychic, psychological and physical attack.

Black agate absorbs negativity, repels psychic attack, irrational thoughts and words, and promotes acceptance and tolerance of differences in others.

Blue lace agate is a natural peace-bringer and protects against harsh words spoken by self or others.

Moss agate (clear with green, moss-like tendrils) is the stone for protecting against pollution and deforestation. Plant a circle of them in the soil of a tropical plant and each day visualise healing rays being sent to the rainforests. Moss agate also protects against food cravings and obsessions.

Amber

Known as the honey stone, because of its great antiquity and soft, warm touch, amber is said to contain the power of many suns and has the power to absorb negativity and protect the user from harm. It will also melt any emotional or physical rigidity.

In the Chinese tradition, the souls of tigers pass into amber when they die and so it is also a gem of courage in the face of unfairness or hostility. Above all, it protects children, especially from falls and bullying, and increases their self-esteem (coral also does this).

Brilliant for soothing anxiety and creating a golden shield of protection that mingles power with kindness and a sense of perspective, amber is said to protect wearers from pollution, both industrial and technological.

Amethyst

Amethyst is one of the best healing and protective stones. Egyptian soldiers wore it in battle so they would not panic in dangerous situations and so it is an ideal crystal to calm children and adults and to keep away night terrors. The Greeks believed that amethyst prevented the wearer from drunkenness - amethystos means 'not drunken' - and so it protects against excesses not only of alcohol, but of those who seek to dominate through greater strength or status, at work or socially. Worn during sleep, it prevents insomnia, and when carried throughout the day, it reduces anger and impatience in self and others.

Apache Tears (Obsidian)

These small black globules are so-named after a tragic incident in Arizona. A group of Apaches were ambushed by soldiers. Many were killed and the rest threw themselves over a cliff, rather than be taken prisoner. The women and maidens of the tribe wept at the base of the cliff for a whole moon cycle and their tears became embedded within obsidian crystals in the rock.

Apache tears protect against treachery, deep sorrow and are especially potent in protecting persecuted minorities whether these are people, endangered species or places. They ease and release physical and mental pain, loss, sadness and anger, allowing the user to move forward. Apache tears are particularly powerful for protection against one's own fears of frailty, mortality, loneliness and loss of any kind.

Beryl

A crystal of the Sun, beryl drives away inner fears and repels external threats and malevolence, increasing confidence and a sense of wellbeing. In its golden form it is excellent for creating a shield of golden sparks around you in difficult situations where there are too many factors or conflicting demands to assimilate and you feel overwhelmed.

Deep blue beryl is used for crystal balls. It offers inner peace and the courage to stand against bullies and autocrats, but allows you to be generous to the petty-minded.

Pink beryl (morganite) offers gentle protection for children and animals and encourages compassion towards our enemies.

Bloodstone (heliotrope)

The red spots of bloodstone were, according to legend, formed from the blood of Christ as it fell on green jasper at the crucifixion and so it is traditionally used in icons and religious carvings. In Ancient Babylon, bloodstone was used in amulets for protection against enemies and has been carried by soldiers in many cultures to overcome fears, to prevent wounds or stop bleeding. It is good for deflecting cruelty, spite and malice and for situations in which the fears are real and the opposition great. Travellers may carry this stone to protect against accidents or attack.

Carnelian

Though most usually a translucent, vibrant red or orange, carnelians can also be yellow or brown. In any shade, carnelians have traditionally been regarded as the stones of courage and self-confidence of leaders, and those who wish or need to be leaders should wear one around the neck or in a ring. They are powerful against all forms of malevolence and danger, repelling envy in others. Most of all, carnelians protect us against ourselves and our own weaknesses.

Coral

Coral is an organic gem, usually pink, red or orange, and is known as the protector of children. Coral has been a children's stone from the time of the Ancient Greeks when Plato wrote that it should be hung around children's necks to prevent them falling and to cure colic, and rubbed on the gums to help painless teething. It is good for all children's fears and against threat to their person or self-esteem. It is also protective for adolescent girls, pregnant women and new mothers, and invokes kindness and gentleness in others.

Garner

Usually a deep, clear red, garnets are the ultimate protective stone. Eastern European peoples used the garnet against illness, night phantoms and all forms of manifest evil, including the mythical vampire. In medieval times, garnets were engraved with a lion's head for health and safe travel; however, being a brittle stone, this was not easy and the few that did not shatter were highly prized. It is still regarded as a stone to be carried by travellers, especially for protection against attack. Like the emerald, it will change colour if danger is near. Garnets also provide energy for difficult tasks when rest is not possible.

Avoid using garnet when you are feeling angry, as it will amplify these feelings.

Jade

A stone that protects against ill-health and poverty, jade is another very gentle stone that is said to contain great deal of the undiluted life force. It connects the user with Earth energies and offers protection from injury and accidents, especially during travel. It is a good stone for rituals to heal the planet.

Jasper

Jasper is, like agate, a powerful grounding and earthing stone and protects against fears as well as external danger.

Black jasper is protective against all negative sources and especially the user's own repressed feelings. It is good for absorbing anger.

Brown jasper offers stability in turbulent times; it is good to use after rituals.

Green jasper protects against jealousy, increases empathy with others' difficulties and soothes bad dreams.

Red jasper is naturally defensive against external hostility and danger.

Jet

Jet is, like amber, an organic gem of great antiquity. It is actually fossilised wood that has been turned into a dense form of coal. Travellers and fisherfolk benefit from its protection - in past times, the wives of sailors would keep a jet amulet safe at home so that their husbands would return safely from the sea. It protects all who travel by night, alone or in lonely places, and older people in all aspects of their lives. It guards against bad dreams and endows the wearer with the emotional strength to face the ending of a natural phase.

Lapis lazuli

Known as the eye of wisdom and the stone of the gods, lapis lazuli jewellery is mentioned in an Ancient Egyptian papyrus dating from over 3,000 years ago as having healing powers. The Sumerians believed it contained the souls of their gods and goddesses and as such would endow them with magical powers, and the goddess Ishtar was famed for her beautiful necklaces of this crystal. In Egypt, lapis lazuli was first used in a powdered form for eye make-up as protection against the evil eye.

Lapis lazuli counteracts insomnia and the inability to communicate, and is a powerfully protective stone against all pettiness, spite, injustice and unfair officialdom. It offers the courage and clarity to win through, however seemingly powerful the opposition, but it demands nobility of purpose in its users. Lapis lazuli is good for healing both air and water pollution and for world peace.

Malachite

A purifier and energiser, malachite will replace negativity with positive energies. It cleanses the auric field around people, animals, plants and places. Malachite will absorb pollution and, it is claimed, harmful rays from computers and televisions. It is especially effective if a crystal is placed in the corners of a room where white electrical goods are being used.

Because it is so powerful, malachite should be cleansed at least every two days.

Rose quartz

Rose quartz is the stone of gentle healing and protection. It is known as the children's stone because it is so gentle in soothing away childhood ills and sorrows that may haunt us into adulthood. It is good for protecting families, the home, pets and anyone who is ill or vulnerable.

It promotes family love and friendship, and brings peace, forgiveness, emotional harmony and the mending of quarrels. It heals emotional wounds and heartbreak, grief, stress, fear, lack of confidence, resentment and anger. Rose quartz will keep away nightmares and night-time fears. Cleanse and recharge it frequently, especially if the colour begins to fade.

Smoky quartz

This is traditionally associated with removing negative influences on the user. It can promote physical health and galvanise our shadow side, transforming anger and resentment into positive action, rather than leaving us to deny negative feelings or project them on to other people. It is a powerful stone to use when one's survival, either professional or personal, is an issue. Smoky quartz also counteracts self-destructive impulses.

Tiger's eye

A brown or red translucent stone (the green and blue versions are cat's, falcon or hawk's eyes), tiger's eye combines the powers of the Earth with the deep instinctive ability to survive life's challenges.

Throughout the ages, tiger's eye has been a talisman against the evil eye. Roman soldiers would wear engraved stones as protection from death and wounding. Tiger's eye is also associated with practical aspects of life and enhances the five senses. Thus it can alert us to physical danger as well as potential malice. It is effective in tackling gossip, backbiting and spite in a firm but creative way, and is perhaps best of all for creating a sparkling shield of protection.

Topaz

Topaz is the Sanskrit word for 'fire'. Topaz increases power as the Moon waxes, being at its greatest potency at the time of the full moon. Perhaps because of this, topaz was said to be proof against nightmares, night terrors and phantoms and malice of the night as well as violent emotions. Water in which a topaz has been soaked is a cure for insomnia if drunk an hour before bedtime.

A natural energiser, golden topaz is especially good for alleviating work anxieties, especially in the caring professions, and should be kept in the workplace.

Turquoise

Mined by the Egyptians in Sinai more than 6,000 years ago, turquoise and imitations of it have been discovered in graves from around 4000 BC. It is the stone of horsemen, warning them of danger, and will prevent horses from stumbling if placed in a saddle or on a bridle. So it is the stone of all travellers, especially those who travel far by air or sea. In modern times, a small turquoise can be attached to pets' collars and to the mirrors of birdcages to protect them. 

It can also be plaited into horses' manes to prevent their being stolen or harmed, using the following method. Soak the turquoise in sacred water for 24 hours, then charge it with power by sprinkling salt on it and passing it through the smoke of a powerful incense such as cedar, then through the flame of a pink candle and finally with the sacred water. Finally, bind the turquoise with three hairs from the animal.

Turquoise is a power stone and is good in global rituals, to protect persecuted groups and for healing the sea and air. It is particularly effective in whale and dolphin conservation work.

A Protective Crystal Ritual

This ritual is particularly effective for anyone feeling anxious about travelling or moving house. You will need a map of the journey involved. You may like to work by candlelight, in which case light a yellow candle for a journey of a short distance or duration and a blue one for major travel. You can also adapt this ritual for a house move, burning a brown candle for a move to or within a town or city and green for a rural or more isolated location.

* Spread five or six protective crystals across the map from your home to your destination.

* Prepare a circle of protective incense sticks or cones, such as copal, juniper or lemon verbena, alternated with fern or frankincense incense for travel. Use holders or burners wide enough to collect the ash. (Incense combines the qualities of the Earth in its substance and of the Sky when lit and so is a very balanced form of magic, combining the Sky Father and Earth Mother, animus and anima energies, or yang and yin in the Oriental tradition.)

* As you light the incense, say:

Far or near, guard my home, guide me safe o'er hill and foam, In darkest night, though apart, my home I carry in my heart.

* While the incense is burning, make positive plans for your journey and focus on the most pleasurable aspects.

* When the incense is burned through, collect any ash and sprinkle a little over the crystals you placed over your home and destination.

* Wash the crystals in sacred water or any source of running water and allow them to dry naturally.

* Take your home crystal on the journey with you and give the destination crystal to a loved one. If you live alone, bury it in a plant pot near the door to await your homecoming.

* For a house move, bury the 'new home' crystal near the front door of your present property to create a happy atmosphere for the new owners or tenants. Bury the 'old home' crystal in the ground near your new front door when you move, to transfer positive energies with you and make the new home instantly yours.

Amulets

Very potent protection can be provided by amulets. These are charms that have been marked with a symbol to indicate the power they contain. This could be a protective god or goddess, or a sign of the zodiac or a planet that you feel has the power you need. Alternatively, you might simply write the name of the person to be protected and surround it with a circle to keep out ill-wishing. You can make an amulet in any shape you wish, out of candle-wax or clay, or you could use wooden discs, cut from an old broom handle. The symbols may be engraved, using a sharp knife, or painted on.

You can add decorations if you wish. Amulets may be carried in your pocket, or you could drill a hole and thread a ribbon through an amulet and hang it around your neck. They may also be placed in a house to offer protection against danger and illness. Protective crystals (see page 153) also make good amulets and empowered herbs of protection (see Chapter 6), carried in a purse or bag are potent in the same way.

Traditionally, the week before the midsummer solstice is the time for making protective amulets, so that they can be passed through flame or held up to the Sun on the solstice day at noon.

Salt

Salt has always been central to religious and magical practices because it is an absolutely pure substance. It is powerful for psychic protection but also in money-making and in healing rituals. Centuries ago, it was regarded as precious because it was the main preservative of food through the long winter months for early settlers around the globe. In formal magick, it represents the element of Earth.

In modern protective and banishing rituals, a salt circle is created to keep out harm. Many of us still adhere to the old practice of throwing a pinch of spilt salt over our left shoulder, 'into the eyes of the Devil'. Salt was also added in the making of Holy Water to ward off evil and increase physical strength as well as powers of fertility. Salt is still added to water in casting a triple circle in more formal magick.

On a less formal level, small quantities of salt can be empowered and used for all kinds of domestic protection. To empower salt, pass a clear quartz or crystal pendulum over it deosil, chanting the purpose, for example, 'Salt, salt, protect me from all danger'. Keep them separate from other condiments in a watertight container and then you can build in the specific need, perhaps protection for a traveller, purification of a house or comfort for a child unhappy at school. Twists of salt in silver foil hidden in the corners of a room at home or work can offer protection, as can salt in a drawstring bag carried while travelling to guard against illness, accident or harm. You can also scatter a circle of salt around a schoolbag, travel bag or briefcase, around your desk or on the threshold, to create a protective shield.

You can charge pepper in the same way to make a salt and pepper floor wash for floors (this is an old Afro-Caribbean tradition). As you scrub or sprinkle, create the empowerment charm, for example 'Salt of Earth, pepper of Fire, guard my home and cleanse away all harm'. Pepper also works wonders for keeping away the office vamp or Adonis and if you think your partner is at risk from temptation, add the empowered condiment to a salad and they will absorb the protection.

A Protective Ritual With Empowered Salt

* Place the salt in a small ceramic dish on your altar and light a pure beeswax candle at the four main compass points around the edges of the altar. Beeswax has a long tradition in magick: it was sacred to the Mother Goddess and later the Virgin Mary. Demeter, goddess of the grain, was called Queen Bee and Aphrodite's symbol at her hive-shaped shrine in Eryx was a gold honeycomb. Her high priestess was always called Melissa, Latin for bee.

* Beginning at the North of your circle, light your elemental candles. At each quarter of the circle say:

Demeter, Aphrodite, Melissa, pure mother bee, charge with thy light this salt, to enfold my home (workplace/journey) with thy golden mantle of protection.

You may wish to leave out the goddess names or substitute a Mother Goddess or religious icon of your own. Perhaps surprisingly, many witches do ask the blessings of Mother Mary and I believe that if you work in love, then you should use your own focus. If you prefer, just say:

Benign light, charge with honeyed fragrance this salt, to enfold -[insert the name of the person to be protected].

* Next enclose your dish of salt in a square of small protective crystals such as jade or tiger's eye and one or two amber if you have any in your collection. (Rose quartz or glass nuggets in smoky brown and yellow make good substitutes.) Begin in the North and make sure the crystals are touching.

The square is a sacred geometric form symbolising time and space and so is good for all protective rituals. The square should be just inside the candles. Some practitioners create a symbolic square by placing just two crystals in the centre of where each side would be, and you can do this if you prefer. As you create the square, say:

Safe within, nought to enter, nought to harm, nought within but this benign light of love. Thus do I build, thus enclose - [insert the name or place to be protected] in light and protection.

* Now create a circle of golden petals, pollen, leaves or pot pourri. The circle should almost touch the candles, so that they can stand sentinel round it, and should enclose the square or crystals and the salt. The circle represents the spirit and so encloses the space and time square. As you scatter the petals or pollen, say:

Circle of gold, shield from malice, danger and stranger, enter the salt and empower this sphere with a shield of gold.

* Leave the candles to burn down, making sure they are in broad-based holders so wax does not fall on the petals.

If you are working with other people or wish to have a more active ritual, place the dish of salt in the centre resting on the altar or on a rock. Set tall candles in floor holders a short distance away and make an invisible square with frankincense or sandalwood incense by walking round the square and then scattering your golden petal, herb or pollen circle.

If you cannot obtain beeswax candles, use plain white candles and place a tiny dish of honey to the right of the salt. Since the honey will also be empowered, you can absorb the protective magick by using it in a drink or sandwich.

* When the candles have burned down completely, clear away the crystals and wash them under running water.

Water

Because water is vital for life, it has become associated with rebirth and healing through the washing away of sins and disease, and so with protection from ills of all kinds.

Water for rituals must first be consecrated. You can use either pure spring water or tap water left for 24 hours in a crystal or clear glass container. Cover the water with mesh in the waxing or full moon and then leave out of doors to absorb the light of the Moon and the Sun for a full 24 hours. The full moon rises around sunset, so you can follow the old Celtic day (see the chapter on Planets and Angels). Even if you cannot see the light because of cloud, the energies are still potent.

In formal magick, consecrated water is placed in the West in a special bowl. In the home, it is good to keep a supply of sacred water ready for use at all times: purify objects and areas by sprinkling it, add it to your bath, drink it, put it in your pets' bowl and use it to water your plants.

One way of unobtrusively absorbing the protection of sacred water is to keep some in a mineral water bottle so you can dab it on your wrists and temples at times of stress or take a drink if you feel worried or under threat from a person who exudes hostility.

Add a little to the cup when making tea or coffee for an adversary. You are not giving away your power but, by the Threefold Law, creating harmony in the source of the trouble. Sacred water can also be poured on earth that has become barren or spoiled and into polluted seas and rivers.

A Ritual For Consecrating Water

If you are carrying out a special healing or protective ritual, you might wish to use this slightly more complex method of creating sacred water. It is possible to buy or obtain water from holy wells, usually in return for a donation towards the upkeep of the well, and some commercially bottled spring water comes from sacred wells. For example, the healing water from Prime's Well, in the Malvern Hills, where the hero in Langland's poem The Vision of Piers the Plowman received his vision, is now piped and bottled as Malvern Spring Water, without which Queen Elizabeth II will not travel.

Use the following ritual to consecrate your bottled water, or, if you are in a hurry for your rituals, pass a pendulum nine times widdershins over it to remove any influences added in the bottling and nine times deosil to energise it. (A pendulum is made by hanging a crystal, or a piece of wood or metal on a chain and can be used to transmit answers to questions by its movements.

Crystal pendulums are also used to catch the light of the Sun or Moon, thus adding the energies of these light forces.) Use a crystal or clear glass jug or decanter, if possible, in which to keep your water. The kind used for wine, with a stopper or lid, is best.

* Wash a clear, round crystal quartz (a stone used in many cultures to energise and purify water) under running water to remove any impurities introduced by the modern world. Place it in the bottom of your jug or decanter.

* Pour mineral water, from a sacred source if possible, into the jug. Some practitioners, following the ancient Celtic tradition, use water that has been boiled with nine quartz crystals added.

* Leave this water out of doors in a circle of white flowers or blossoms for 24 hours, where it will absorb the complete light cycle. If the Moon is not visible, because of clouds, burn a white candle or nightlight behind it.

* Pass a twig from one of the protective trees, such as rowan, ash, palm, thorn or olive, over it nine times widdershins to remove any lingering negativity.

* Finally, pass the twig over it nine times deosil to empower it, saying:

Water of the goddess, flowing from the Earth, filled with lingering moonbeams, healing bring to birth.
Water filled with sunlight, crystal light empower, floral life force entering, blessings on us shower.

Keep your sacred water on a special shelf in a cupboard and when it is almost empty pour what is left into a pond or lake and wash out the jug or decanter under running water.

Revitalising Rainwater For Use In Rituals

Before the days of acid rain, practitioners of magick would use rainwater collected in a container before it touched the ground as sacred water. Nowadays, you may find it necessary to revitalise the rainwater you use with a few drops of flower essence. There are many brands available: Agrimony from Dr Bach's Flower Essences; Goatbeard from the Pacific Flower Essence Remedies; Coconut Palm from the African and Amazonian Essences; Alaskan soap berry; Deva Fig Tree or Morning Glory; and Findhorn rowan, all of which seem to work as purifiers for me. Flower and tree essences are created from the living energies of the plant and this spirit water is especially good for protective baths.

A Protective Water Ritual

This ritual is particularly effective for removing the effects of spite or unfair criticism or a destructive encounter that has shaken your confidence.

It is based on an old custom whereby a rag was dipped into a holy well and the water rubbed on the body part that was causing pain. The rag was then left on a tree overhanging the well to dry and take with it the illness or pain, after which the rag was left to decay, so ensuring a permanent or long-term cure. These wells, called cloth or 'cloutie' wells in the north of England, are still a focus for protection and healing in many parts of the world, surrounded by ribbons and flowers.

You will need a large crystal or glass bowl for this ritual. Such bowls, frequently used in magick, are often obtainable cheaply from car boot or garage sales.

* Pour sacred water into the crystal bowl so that it is about half-full.

* Pass over the bowl three times deosil a silver coloured knife, or a traditional tool related to Air, saying:

One, twice, three times, by this blade of Air, by the mighty winds and the boundless sky, thrice thus do I charge this water with power and protection against all who would do or wish me harm.

* Dip a small piece of white cotton or flannel into your sacred water, saying:

Wash away the sorrow, wash away the pain,
Father Sky and Sister Water, let but peace remain.

* Tie the cloth to a healing tree, such as ash, birch, aspen or willow (failing this, any tree or large plant in your garden or home will do) and leave the cloth to dry naturally. As you tie it, say:

As the sacred water returns to the sky to fall as life-enhancing rain, so may my- [name your unhappiness] be dispersed and transformed into joy and reconciliation.

Place a coin in a special pot every time you use your sacred water, so that when it is full you can buy a present for someone you love, a person who is lonely or ill or to give to a favourite charity.