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
& NauseaDaydreaming, 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.
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
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.
