Reflecting on... Grounding

The process of grounding yourself is exactly what you might imagine; it is the act of anchoring yourself to the physical plane in preparation for spiritual or magickal endeavours. This can be done in a variety of ways, some are physical and some are not but whilst witchcraft is possibly the most diverse and subjective religious path available, some elements of it I believe are necessary for success – grounding is at the top of that list. I would liken not grounding to working with electrics and not wearing rubber soled shoes, it is equivalent to not protecting yourself.

Insufficient Grounding

The side-effects of little or no grounding techniques being applied to your spiritual and magickal work:

Dizziness & Nausea
Daydreaming, feeling ‘spaced out’ & Forgetfulness
Weight gain or Heart Palpitations
Sensitivity to Noise & Light
Clumsiness & Static Shocks
Brilliant ideas not reaching fruition
Arguments where you fail to get your point across
Falling asleep during meditation.

http://mysticmouse.co.uk/grounding-protection/

 Techniques for Grounding

I will start with the physical ways of grounding which are all easy enough to accomplish and are generally practiced daily without even knowing it:

·  Food & drink. Now everybody eats and everybody drinks, which is why, for the most part, we are not all in a constant daze. However, if you are specifically eating or drinking for grounding purposes then you will choose what you have more carefully. Water is always a good start as it balances the body; food is much more individual but I would suggest something healthy and balanced.

·  Spend time in nature: going for a walk anywhere will help to ground you but if you specifically go to a place of natural beauty, the surrounding environment will ground you by default. Spend time with the trees, flowers, birds, the bounty of the natural world – you feel the benefit of not only the fresh air but the energy of the earth and the gravity that hold you to it.

·  Gardening. Now this is along the same lines as taking a walk in nature… it connects you to the earth physically. You become more aware of the presence of earth and her bounty. Planting and weeding, your hands in the soil is a fantastic form of physical grounding for the more literal among you.

·  Animals… spending time with pets is a very special form of grounding and unique in the fact that the grounding is a direct effect of connecting with another soul. Whilst most of these techniques anchor you to the entity of earth, grounding with animals doesn’t, it anchors you to them.

·  Sport – By this I mean sport in the vein of yoga and tai-chi. This is where grounding becomes not only physical but more spiritual. Both yoga and tai-chi are physical movement exercises designed to change or ease the energy flow of your spiritual body. Grounding in this way occurs because it awakens the realisation that you are a spiritual being who is working through the processes of brainwaves, heartbeats and breathing.

·  Purposefulness. Now, when I first came across this concept as a grounding technique I was sceptical; how can feeling a personal purpose in life be considered a way of grounding? After much deliberation I concurred. Being goal orientated, driven, determined are all attributes of knowing who you are, and where you are going; learning from your mistakes and applying solutions; having answers instead of more questions. All of these things are signs of grounding and also of trusting yourself.

·  Crystals – we are now moving more into the spiritual side of grounding, because although crystals are a physical item, and they are from earth, their energy is very much a spiritual essence. For this reason I must stress the importance of charging a crystal with its purpose before using it for grounding; some would say to cleanse it too but my belief is that crystals are self-perpetuating in the cleansing department.

The ideal crystals for grounding are those that would be associated with the base/root chakra and so red and/or dark colours are predominant for grounding: bloodstone, red jasper, carnelian, hematite, Tiger’s Eye, Garnet, etc… Carry a tumble stone in a pocket or on a necklace to feel the grounding effects of the crystal.

As there is an underlying theme within grounding of inner strength or drawing inner strength from the earth, I find that if I am using crystals for grounding I like to use the Uruz rune – U – Rune of Strength.

·  Visualisation. Now, I personally think that I have saved the best for last… visualisation is to me, the most effective method of grounding. Connects you to earth, physically and spiritually, anchoring you to it for your workings. The simplest method of this is to use roots: If standing, imagine strong sturdy roots descending from your feet and penetrating the earth, travelling deeper into it; if you are sitting, the roots should descend from your base chakra. These roots are your anchor to the energy of earth – the calm, steady grounding essence of the planet and the element. With this connection you can trust that your physical body will remain in tact.

There is a second visualisation using only colour: you can imagine this as light or smoke, a cloak or a blanket: deep colour – red, brown. Surround yourself in your grounding colour, however you choose to see it, and feel its energy, its magick keep your body and mind steady and still.