Protecting and Shielding with Herbs
There are many different ways of protecting and shielding.
I am not sure that anyone else will wish to discuss or open up about how they shield or protect themselves.
Personally , I don’t wish to tell anyone *everything* about how I accomplish this.
So , I certainly don’t expect anyone else to.
I hope that no one takes offense to that , its just a personal decision.
I feel that if I just blatantly tell everyone how I shield myself , I am opening myself up for any person to figure out how to "attack" or "break through" my shields if they so chose to.
I am in no way indicating that anyone would want to , but lets face it , better safe than sorry , eh ? 😉
And don’t let anyone fool you … because breaking through one’s shield can be done !!
I can however , share my knowledge and experience with this , but in terms of a particular form of Earth Magic.
And that form is how to protect oneself or shield oneself with herbs.
Herbs , as most of us already know , have different properties.
They carry a spiritual , medicinal and magical property !
Spiritual , meaning they can aide in the healing and cleansing of one’s spirit/soul , mind and/or heart (and their chakras), etc.
Medicinal , meaning they can aide in the healing of physical ailments and/or illnesses , and magical , meaning they can aide in the casting and/or production of *spells* and/or bending of the will for acquiring one’s own personal desires. With the latter falling into combination with the first ! 😉
If we study long and hard enough (which is called "herbology") we can learn how to use herbs to our benefit for each of these things.
There are many hundreds of thousands of herbs that our lovely Mother has provided to us.
And , there is no way to learn them every one in a lifetime.
Even the most knowledgable herbalists know and realize that learning about herbs is a continual ongoing study , practice and process. Even with the ones they thought they knew !
The study of herbs , depending on how far one wishes to take it , can become complex and difficult.
Its almost as hard as going to pharmacology school ! In fact , in my own personal opinion , the study of herbs and all of their properties would be much harder than pharmacology school.
Unlike pharmacology school , herbs are not federally regulated , have no boundaries , hence ; encompass a very broad spectrum and ultimately leaving it up to the individual to learn about them.
In pharmacology , a person only learns what the federal government *allows* and what the school teaches.
There are many , many more herbs than there are drugs !
But , as most of us already know , 90% of our drugs are extracted from herbs and that medicines have been coming from our Mother Earth since the beginning of man and his innate desire to help another in need !
Studying herbs can also become confusing. Confusing because one herb can be applied for so many different things , and another herb (that also does many things) can be used in combination with it to acquire yet something else !
So believe me when I tell you that it can give you headaches while trying to remember it all. 😉
On the same token , we cannot allow this to deter us or discourage us if we are going to use them !
We should try and learn as much as possible about them.
The best advice I can give anyone about learning herbs and their properties is to (maybe) do what I did.
When I first started learning about herbs , I took it slow and easy and read the most simple things I could find.
Of course , as time went on however , I got more in depth.
I bought one book at a time , with my first book relating to physical healing (again , the most simple one I could find) then went on to books about magical properties , and as time went on , continually adding to my library of herbal books until I started reading about the spiritual properties as well.
What I found is the magical and the spiritual properties can go "hand in hand."
Nonetheless , I took on one subject at a time.
For me , it was just easier learning about all of the different herbs and their different properties , one at a time. But this most assuredly doesn’t mean that someone would always find my way the best way.
A person may wish to approach their studies in a totally different manner all together.
And there certainly isn’t anything wrong with that !
So as you can probably already tell , one way of protecting myself , my home and my surroundings is with herbs.
Even down to my vehicle !
Sweetgrass holds protective propertie.
It was (and still is) burned by Native Americans for protection and cleansing and has been for hundreds of years.
I think most of us already know that we can use sage for protection (and cleansing as well).
While earthy , sweetgrass has a sweet vanilla smell while sage has a very warm smell.
Because negative spirits and/or entities do not like the smell of either, they both work wonders for protection.
Also , when burning herbs , it is believed by the Native American that smoke from the burning herb *carries* their prayers and/or communications to their Creator.
You can burn both sweetgrass and sage. But , you can also carry them on your person , hang them around your home , or in your vehicles , etc.
One way that I have protected myself in my vehicle is by keeping a braid of sweetgrass on my dash.
Atlanta , Georgia is one of the worst places in the world to be driving !
Traffic here is not only ridiculous , it is dangerous.
Since I have been back in Atlanta, I have been hit four times in my car ! Four !!
None of these times have I been "hurt." Not at all. Not even a scratch !
Nor has my husband or anyone else been hurt !
Not even the person who hit us !
In addition to the sweetgrass , I keep cat whiskers in my glove box (which of course is *not* an herb but can be used for travel protection).
But , please … this doesn’t mean you can go and pluck one of your cat’s whiskers out of his nose ! (this will definitely hurt your animal) !
They will "naturally" fall out. If you have a cat and you happen to find one , place it on your altar and empower it during a Waxing Moon. Then place it in a plastic bag and put it in your glove box.
I truly believe the sweetgrass and the cat whiskers together , have protected me (and mine) from getting hurt.
Now mind you , this is by no means the *only way* I protect myself !!
But as a whole , herbs have proven to be a very productive and successful means of protection for me.
So far, I’ve had no problems with using herbs for this purpose and every measure I have ever taken has seemed to work just fine. Using sweetgrass in my vehicle is just one example out of many.
We can place herbs in amulets , wear them around our neck in fancy little bottles or in a charm , wear them in a poison ring , we can place herbs in small muslin bags or sachets and hang them in our windows of our homes or in our cars or anywhere we might be or anywhere we might reside for any length of time.
We can scatter them around our house in corners , outside our doors , over our doors , around the window sills or burn them in a cauldron. We can also *ingest* some of them. Cooking and/or eating some of the herbs (ones that are edible , and please , before eating ANY herb , be sure you know what it is and that it is safe to eat it) can be used in this manner for health , transformations and/or magical reasons.
No matter what purpose , we can carry herbs with us where ever we go.
Simply put , there are many ways to use herbs for every type of protection.
CAUTION NOTE ;
Allergic reactions can and will occur.
It might be wise to use one herb at a time to ensure your own personal safety before using them in combinations.
I personally ended up in the hospital with hives due to the usage of an herb that I was apparently allergic to.
However, because I had been using several (approximately seven) herbs at the same time, I did not know which one caused the outbreak.
This caused me to stop using all of the ones I had been experimenting with.
Herbs have vibrations just like every other living thing.
And , most of them carry a "positive" vibration.
Because of this , they are commonly used for protection against "negative" vibrations.
Henceforth ; most herbs are used to protect one against anything or anyone that is ill-willed or negative.
The herbs set up a barrier and when something negative hits it , it will bounce off of the herb and go back from where it came.
A REMINDER ;
I have found that if you are going to be working with herbs for protection , its best to try and empower them during a Waxing Moon. Now sometimes , this is not always possible.
But if you can , it would probably enhance the power of your intent.
We must also try to remember that because herbs *are* alive and breathing , that once an herb is picked or cut it can only live for so long. After a while , an herb starts to lose its potency.
This means we must use our herbs pretty quickly if we are going to be using them for any of the applications stated. Most herbs carry what is called a "shelf life" for approximately 1 year. However , some herbs can lose their potency as early as a few weeks. It is best to have some working knowledge of the herb before using it or at least some kind of guide to help determine how long any particular herb will carry its potency once it has been picked and/or cut.
Freeze dried herbs are less potent than organic or naturally dried herbs. If you are wanting more of a punch when using herbs, be sure and use your organic or naturally grown and picked/cut herbs.
Herbs also carry male and female properties as well as elemental and astronomical properties.
Herbs can be used for three different types of protection. One being purification , where one feels they may have something negative attached to them *personally* , whether that be psychically or physically.
Even if you don’t feel you have anything ill willed or negative *attached* , you may still wish to do a purification for a preventive measure. Purifications can be done on a regular basis.
Purification rituals are simple and most relaxing if done in a bath. We can use different types of protecting herbs in our bath tubs and not have any problems with the plumbing because of it , either ! 🙂
For a purification bath , we can use sea salts and essential oils mixed with herbs or just the herbs alone.
Salts are not only protective but can be good for our circulation while the essential oils are great for aromatherapies. I have used them in combination with different herbs and this seems to be something that works well for me as well as something I truly enjoy.
The other protection is for our personal surroundings , (which can again , include ourselves) , our home, car or any other form of residence or travel that we might use on a regular basis.
There are many ways and many herbs we can use for protection and shielding.
Its best to just experiment with different herbs and find which ones you like best or which ones work best for you. As most of us know , everything in the Witch’s path is personal and based on personal experience.
Hence ; it is totally up to you to decide which ones to use and to decide which ones are best.
In case you’ve never worked with herbs before or in case you don’t know which ones to begin with , below is a beginner’s list for those who wish to start.
These are used for protecting oneself and ones own surroundings. They can be used in the many different forms that have been previously mentioned ; i.e.; amulets , charms , sachets , baths , burning , etc.
The following herbs are easily found or may be in your home already ;
Rue , mistletoe , hyssop , basil , garlic , onion , mullein , angelica , rosemary , sea salts.
Herbs can be bought in bulk and in capsules or you can grow your own.
Growing herbs can be fun , but very time consuming.
So if you plan to grow your own , it might be wise to make sure you are going to be committed to it.
If you have a very busy lifestyle , it might be a good idea (and could possibly save you alot of time) by simply going to your local herbalist or herb store and purchasing your herbs through one of them.
Herbs vary in price. They range from very reasonable to very expensive.
I have also found that if one is fairly new to the market , it could be pretty expensive at first. If you find this to be true , you can substitute with something similar that carry the same properties and have the same purpose … until the price comes down a bit.
If you do decide to grow your own , its good to remember there are particular ways to prepare the soil and sometimes specific Moon times to do so. In fact , there are also specific Moon times that should be used for planting , picking and using herbs. You can purchase a guide to help you along with this and help you understand which times are best for using which herb and for what.
No matter what you decide to do in how you protect or shield yourself , remember that herbs are a great source for many things. If in our cabinets , we can use them for healing physical ailments for all who come into contact with us , both family and friends .. or for anyone who may become ill or get hurt.
Herbs are mysterious, wondrous, interesting, advantagous and powerful !
And in my opinion , every Witch should have an herb cabinet !
One of my favorite quotes;
"Never turn down a cup of tea from a Witch!!" 😉
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author bio:
Rain Dove
© Copyright , June 2006