Copyright

Please note the material in this book should not be treated as medical advice.

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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

FIRST EDITION

© Victoria Maxwell 2020

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Source ISBN: 9780008406325

Ebook Edition © August 2020 ISBN: 9780008406332

Version: 2020-07-10

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Epigraph

You are magic and you have the power to create the life of your dreams.

Contents

1  Cover

2  Title Page

3  Copyright

4  Note to Readers

5  Epigraph

6  Contents

7  Introduction

8  PART ONE – SPIRITUAL BASICS FOR MODERN MYSTICS

9  Laying Magical Foundations

10  Calling on Your Friends in Spirit

11  Magical Tools

12  Spiritual Practices for a Magical Life

13  Making Magic

14  PART TWO – PRACTICAL MAGIC

15  Magical Relationships

16  Your Home as a Sacred Sanctuary

17  Money Magic

18  Loving Your Career and Living Your Purpose

19  The Next Chapter

20  Glossary of Magical Terms

21  Acknowledgements

22  Index

23  About the Publisher

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Introduction

You won’t find magic in the pages of this book because the magic you’re looking for is inside of you. The book you hold in your hands is just a guide to help you remember, to help you wake up your own magic and activate your own power.

I have been some kind of spiritual for as long as I can remember. I didn’t grow up in a religious home, I am not a hereditary witch (although I believe that all of us have ancestors who were connected to their magic) and I don’t have any fantastic stories of visitations from passed-over loved ones or angelic beings when I was a child. And yet, I always believed in some kind of higher power, and I believed that I had the ability to connect with that power. I didn’t really know exactly how I was supposed to do it but I would lie awake in bed at night and softly talk out loud – to myself, to the universe, to ‘God’, to whoever or whatever it was that I knew was listening. I usually just chatted about my day, about what was worrying me, then I’d tell it my wishes. In many ways my magic hasn’t really changed that much since then!

Even though I had a handful of strange experiences growing up, I always thought I was a bit of a Muggle. I felt different, but I certainly didn’t feel special, powerful or magical. It wasn’t until I was in my early thirties that I really started to be able to connect with my intuition, my Friends in Spirit (my spirit guides, angels and ancestors) and began to take control of my destiny through activating my own magic.

Although I spent most of my teen years and my twenties secretly hoping that one day my psychic powers would kick in, I had kind of resigned myself to the fact that maybe some people could do magic or had psychic powers and some couldn’t or didn’t, and I was probably the latter.

I certainly never thought in a million years that I would one day be running a successful spiritual business reading tarot and teaching others how to open up to their own spiritual power. And if you’d told me a few years ago I’d be writing this book about how to wake up your magic and create the life of your dreams, I would never have believed it.

But a desire to change your life is a powerful thing.

And it doesn’t matter how magical or psychic or ‘gifted’ you think you are, the truth is that we are all able to connect to our own power, intuition and divine guidance. All we need to do is make the conscious decision to do so and put in a little effort and practice.

My magical knowledge and my way of doing things is kind of a spiritual hot mess. It doesn’t come from just one belief system or magical path, it comes from years of seeking and searching for answers and trying out many different things that I’ve found in many different places.

‘Witch’ is just one word I use to describe myself on this eclectic magical path. I am also a mystic, spiritual seeker, starseed, priestess, magician, lightworker and a Hufflepuff.

My personal definition of being a witch is simply someone who has activated and is connected to their own power. A witch is someone who believes they have the power to create positive change in their own lives and in the world around them. It’s anyone who takes their destiny into their own hands.

You may have a different definition of what it means to be a witch. You may not even want to call yourself a witch at all but still want to work magic in your life. I invite you to take some time to consider what being a witch or a magic maker may mean for you. Create your own definition that feels right for you and be open to allowing it to change as your own personal path to magic unfolds. Anyone of any age, gender, background, ability or belief system can be a witch. This is one of the reasons why the outcasts and people who feel a little bit different often gravitate towards the magical path – it is all-inclusive. There are no rules here about what you have to believe in. There are witches who work with the Goddess and witches who work with Jesus. There are witches who call on unicorns and fairies and witches who call on the Goddesses of the Underworld.

I first became interested in traditional witchcraft as a teenager in the mid-1990s, right about the time The Craft came out. It was as if I had finally found a system that let me tune into and harness the force that I knew existed but hadn’t been able to connect with in a deep and powerful way. I read books on Wicca and witchcraft, I performed spells and I was even a member of a coven for a little while. I was practising as a solitary Wiccan when I met some new friends who were Christians and I became curious. I’d never really been to church growing up, so I decided to see what it was all about. I ended up joining the church, getting baptised in the Holy Spirit, and I became born again. While my church experience was mostly positive there were aspects of organised religion that just didn’t align with my soul, so I ended up leaving in pursuit of my own magic.

Over the years I explored many different spiritual paths and modalities, including New Age spirituality, the Ascension Path, yoga, hoodoo, reiki, New Thought, shamanism, the Law of Attraction, Druidry, Christian mysticism and just about anything else I could find a book on! I have also spent a great deal of time tuning into my own heart, soul, higher self and Friends in Spirit for answers to my many questions about spirituality, magic and life.

For centuries, magic and witchcraft has been greatly misunderstood. Many of the witches in history were just regular people who knew their own power and their own minds. They were herbalists who knew how to make a tincture for whatever ailed them and were deeply connected to nature, to the cycles of the moon and to the seasons of the Earth. They knew about the power of spells and manifestation. They were not the evil hags that we’ve been taught to believe they were; they were the wise ones – healers and guardians of ancient sacred knowledge.

I often stop and reflect on how lucky I am to live in a time in which it is safe for me to speak so openly about magic, and while this book is written for you, to help you activate the magic lying dormant within you, I have also written it as a tribute to all the witches and magic makers who have come before us.

While some magical paths do indeed have specific rules, rituals and beliefs to adhere to, there are no rules here. There is so much more to living a magical life than having the perfect #Instagramwitch aesthetic and blindly following the steps to someone else’s spells. Being a witch in the twenty-first century is about honouring the paths of those who’ve come before, respecting others on the magical path in the here and now, then finding your own way; finding yourself and waking up your own magic in the process.

Spirituality is about a search for truth, love and meaning. It is about connecting with the magic of the universe, and the magic within you. It’s about understanding who you are and what incredible gifts you have to share with the world. How you get there is completely up to you.

I believe that, in truth, we are all magic. We all have the ability to connect with the divine and to create magical lives for ourselves. Most of us have just lost our way and if this book does one thing, I hope it helps you find your way again, back to your own heart, your own truth and your own magic.

How to Use this Book

I’ve always been a big believer in the ‘take what resonates and leave the rest’ approach. I always keep the parts from things that I read and any experiences that I have that light up my heart – such as the spiritual wisdom, the love and the light – and I leave behind the parts that just don’t feel like they are right for me. I invite you to do the same. In reading this book, or any books on your magical journey, take on the parts that light you up and let go of those that don’t.

Let me remind you again, as you work through this book, that the magic is not inside these pages, it is within you. It is not in the rituals and spells, it is created through your intentions and your own heart. It doesn’t matter if you do things in a different way, take a different approach or go totally rogue. In fact, sometimes it’s in going totally rogue that we find the most wisdom!

This book is here to inspire and support you and help you remember that you have had this power all along, and to guide you in using that power to help you create and live your best and highest life.

Think of this book as a map. A place to start from when you’re not sure where to go. A map doesn’t tell you which way to walk, it just shows you where you are – you get to decide which roads you take. This book is like that: no preaching, no dogma, no ‘rules’, no rights or wrongs, just a bit of inspiration, advice and some practices that can help you to find your own way.

I will begin with some spiritual basics that will lay the foundation for everything you do next. I know I said there are no ‘rules’, but I would suggest starting here, especially if you’re brand new to the magical path. The spiritual basics in these pages will set you up for life. You will work with tools and techniques that will help you to open up your connection with your higher self, your spirit guides and angels, and help you to tune into and trust your own intuition. If that’s not magic, I don’t know what is!

The second part of the book is split into four chapters – ‘Magical Relationships’, ‘Your Home as a Sacred Sanctuary’, ‘Money Magic’ and ‘Loving Your Career and Living Your Purpose’. Each chapter will include spiritual wisdom, journal prompts, magical rituals, spells and easily actionable steps to help you bring magic into all areas of your life. You can work through these chapters in any order you like and try any of the spells, rituals or activities that you feel drawn to.

Each chapter includes a magic toolkit of crystals, oils, herbs and deities that you may like to work with and include in your rituals. These are simply some suggestions to get you started and, if you don’t have any of the tools mentioned, you can always improvise, go without or use what you already have. As I’ve said before, there are no rules here – just suggestions!

You will also find a glossary at the end of the book which you can flick to any time you’re not sure of a magical term.

And if you need any support during your journey you can join us in the Spiritual Journey Pitstop group on Facebook – and be sure to use the hashtag #witchpleaseread so you can connect with other witches and magic makers!

Laying Magical Foundations

If you want to build a mansion of magic you’re going to want to start with some solid-gold foundations.

It might be tempting to skip this bit and go straight to the rituals, spells and the ‘good bits’, but let me tell you something: this is the good bit. Being able to protect your magic is the most important thing you can do. Even if you do nothing else and never cast a spell, perform a ritual or charge your crystals under the full moon …

Your own power is the driving force behind your magic. It’s not the tools you use or the words you say that matters. The power and intention behind all these things is what makes magic happen, and that magic is you.

When you work with these practices of clearing your own energy, grounding yourself and protecting your magic, you will walk through life with your magic switched on. Everything you do becomes magic. In fact, if you only work with this one chapter of the book, your whole life could change in powerful ways.

Before I started consciously working with my energy, I was tired all the time. It was emotionally, mentally and physically draining. My life was an endless cycle of dragging myself out of bed, going to work all day, getting home tired, watching a bit of TV (because I didn’t have the energy to do anything else!), going to bed, then repeat. The weekends offered a bit of relief, but I knew there had to be more to life than living for the weekends (spoiler alert – there is!). I was constantly dealing with drama in my relationships. I knew that I had the potential to create a great life for myself, I just didn’t have a clue how to do it. And even if I had known how, I had no energy or time to do anything about it!

When I started to consciously think about my own energy – the things I was allowing in and what I was creating for myself – I started to see that there were certain places, people and situations that really drained me or made me feel blah or icky and affected me negatively in other ways.

The more conscious I got about what was coming into my energy fields and into my life, the easier it was to step into my power and decide what I would and wouldn’t allow in anymore. I worked with the practices I’m going to share with you in this chapter, tried out different things and – guess what? It worked! I no longer felt like my life was just on repeat. I started having the energy to do the things I really wanted to do (like starting a side-hustle tarot-reading business while I was still working full-time in my regular job!). I wrote two books and I met a great guy who is now my husband. Now life feels more like a crazy, amazing adventure rather than the same episode of the same TV show playing again and again.

It wasn’t just rituals and spells that helped me get here. These practices have just been one part of the magical pie which sits on a delicious and crispy crust that holds it all together. This chapter will help you create that crust yourself, so that when you start filling your life with magic, you have a solid foundation holding it all in place.

When you step into the power of who you really are, you begin to connect to and activate the magic within you, and you will soon start to realise that you do have the power to change your life – and even the whole darn world! Without this inner power, attempting to do spells and rituals is kind of like trying to bake a cake in a kitchen with no oven. Sure, you can gather your ingredients and mix them together in a bowl, but you’re going to have a hard time getting that thing cooked!

Without strong foundations, walls fall down. I’ve seen people manifest amazing things in their lives (money, dream jobs, relationships) only to have it all come crumbling down around them a few months or even years later because they didn’t have the ability to hold on to their magic and didn’t build it on a firm footing.

The world needs more people who know and can hold on to the power of their own magic, and the truth is it’s really not that hard! All it takes is a decision to consciously take charge, show up for yourself and make it happen. And if you can do that, you can do just about anything.

Notes on Being an Empath or Sensitive

Magical people tend to be more in touch with the energy around them, whether they realise it or not.

As a kid, I remember many times when I would get freaked out for seemingly no reason. I don’t have any childhood stories of seeing my dead grandma at the foot of my bed or seeing an angel appear in a vision, but I do remember going into old buildings and just being … honestly, I can’t describe it any other way than ‘freaked out’. It usually didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t always the creepiest places that flipped me out but I often felt like there was something uncomfortable about them and I needed to get out as quickly as possible.

As an example, when I was about twelve years old I remember being out sightseeing with my family in London when I suddenly started crying. I didn’t know why, I wasn’t particularly upset about anything, but I couldn’t stop. It just felt like something was wrong.

As I got older I began to get pretty good at blocking out whatever that stuff was. I learned to just act ‘normal’ and shut down my sensitivities. I think this is something we all do at some point in our lives … Unless we are around particularly magical people who support us and help us to work with our abilities, we learn to zip our lips and keep quiet about anything that may make us seem different or weird.

But of course, for many of us, there’s always that feeling inside, a little voice within saying – I’m different, I’m weird. Well, the good news is, what once made you feel different and weird or like an outsider, whether it’s similar to what I experienced or something else entirely, may be exactly what’s going to make you amazing at magic!

I started to reconnect with my sensitivities many years later when I was in my early thirties (it’s never too soon or too late to wake up to your magic!). I was working in a job that I actually really loved, but, for some reason, every time I walked into the building, I felt a sense of absolute dread. The energy felt heavy, dense, chaotic and just so negative. At the time I put it down to the idea that, ‘Well, this is how work feels, everyone feels like this at work.’ When I left at the end of the day and got back into my car, I felt lighter and happier. I almost felt like two different people – miserable work me and happy, easy-going rest of my life me.

I got curious, and I soon discovered articles and blog posts about what it meant to be an ‘empath’ and a ‘highly sensitive person’, and thought, ‘Hey, I think that’s me!’ I was like an energetic sponge, picking up anything and everything from wherever I went and whoever I connected with. I then decided to see if there was something I could do about it.

I discovered energy protection, clearing and grounding techniques, and soon I was bouncing into work with a smile on my face. Instead of taking on all the energy around me, I was starting to be in my power. I was deciding what could and couldn’t come into my energetic fields, and I was excited, because for the first time in forever I realised that I didn’t need to just accept that work was a horrible place that sucked the life out of me, I actually had choices, and I could determine how I would move through my life.

Picking up energy can feel different to everyone, and the way you experience it may be totally different to my own experiences.

But here are some fairly common ways to identify if you’re sensitive to energy and taking on stuff that’s not yours:

 You feel tired or ‘drained’ when you’re around certain people or in certain places, or just tired or drained in general.

 The moods of other people affect you. For example, your friend or partner is in a bad mood and suddenly you find yourself in a bad mood too, or the guy at the coffee shop is super-happy and it puts a smile on your face for the rest of the day – we can be influenced both negatively and positively. The cool thing about this energy work is you get to decide what you let in, so you can let those good vibes in without the stuff you don’t want.

 You have weird or uncomfortable feelings about people or situations that you can’t put your finger on.

 You might find it hard to make your own decisions without being influenced by what everyone else wants you to do or thinks you should do.

 You can’t stop thinking about things that have happened during the day, conversations you’ve had or places you’ve been – you replay things over and over in your mind.

Protection, clearing and grounding are amazing tools because they work as a triple whammy. They help you to connect with your own power as you move through your everyday life and are also the foundations to all magical work. Before you do any spiritual work, you can (and should!) use this magical set to prepare you.

Protect Your Magic

Whenever I teach spiritual development classes I always start with protection.

If you think about getting ready for your day as a metaphor for energy work, grounding is like eating breakfast, clearing your energy is like taking a shower, washing your face and brushing your teeth, and protecting yourself is like putting on your clothes. See why it’s the most important? If you absolutely had to, you could skip breakfast, skip a shower, but turning up to work naked? Not a great idea.

Protecting yourself is a powerful way to be clear with yourself and the universe about what you will and won’t allow into your energy, your thoughts, your emotions and your life.

Protecting your energy is important for two reasons:

1 It helps you to move through your day without being affected by the energy of all the people around you (which can and will affect your ability to make all kinds of magic in your life!).

2 It helps you to do your magical work safely.

Magical protection can help you to:

 Feel safe in the world.

 Feel safe to call on your spirit guides, angels and ancestors for support and guidance.

 Help you hear that guidance without interference.

 Make decisions without being influenced by others.

 Feel safe to do your magical work, to ask for what you want and to receive it!

There are many different ways to protect your magic. Some of these practices may work better for you than others, so try things out and find the perfect combination for where you are right now. Be aware that your magical needs may change over time, so what works for you today might not work for you six months from now. When I first started working with these practices, I didn’t have much time so I would just say a few mantras and do a quick visualisation, but now that I do spiritual work for a living, my energy work is a little more involved.

Find what works for you and keep doing it until you feel called to switch things up and make it new again!

Some simple tips for protecting your energy:

Work with these tips, tools and magical practices to protect your energy.

The Bubble of Light

This is one of the most common energy protection tools, because it is simple and it works!

Visualise yourself in a big bubble of light. Any colour will work, but gold, white or blue are my favourites for protection. Try out different colours and shapes and see what feels good for you.

Make sure that your bubble is big enough to surround your entire auric fields. To work out how big your aura is, put your arms out by your sides and then add a bit. Lift your arms up and down to get a sense of the size of your energy field. There are times when your fields may feel bigger and brighter than this or a little smaller – always go with the bubble of light that feels like the perfect size for you in each moment.

While this is called a ‘bubble’ of light, think about it as more like a forcefield, so that you don’t feel like it could pop at any moment!

Visualise any negativity, or anything that’s not your ‘stuff’, bouncing back off your bubble, turning into light and disappearing out into the universe.

Archangel Michael’s Shield of Light

Archangel Michael is an incredible being to work with when you want to feel protected, clear and safe in your life and in your magical work. He is the angel of protection, clarity and courage. And who doesn’t want more of all that in their lives?

All you need to do is just call him in and ask him to protect you with his light. Use your own words to do this, or try this invocation for his protection:

Archangel Michael,

Thank you for surrounding me with your shield of light to protect me from negativity, from taking on anything that isn’t mine to hold and for helping me feel safe to follow my magical path of light.

And so it is.

Visualise a shield of light being placed around you.

Call upon Archangel Michael daily or whenever you feel you need a boost of protection in your life.

Protection Crystal or Object

It can be incredibly powerful to work with a protection object. After all, people have been using talismans for tens of thousands of years. When you program an object with the energy of protection, all you then need to do is put it on or place it in your pocket with the intention that you are protected. During the day, whenever you want to be protected, just become aware of it or use it as a touchstone and put your hand on it to reactivate the protection energy.

You can use any object that you have for this, but here are some ideas:

 Smoky quartz, black onyx, obsidian or any other dark crystal you feel drawn to.

 A small charm or item of jewellery.

 A pebble.

 A paperclip.

 Anything else that you can carry around with you.

In my experience, natural materials such as crystals, stones or metal work best, but see what works for you.

To program your protection object:

1 Hold your protection object in the hand you write with and bring it towards your heart centre, holding it there.

2 Close your eyes and take a few breaths to centre yourself.

3 Repeat the following (or use your own words):

Thank you [name the object, e.g. smoky quartz crystal] for coming into my life. I now program you to work as my protection object. May you always help me to feel safe, may you shield me from negativity and prevent me from picking up any energy that is not mine to carry.

And so it is.

Mantra

Mantras hold so much power. They are quick and easy to use and the best part is that you can always whisper them under your breath no matter where you are – on public transport, in the toilet, or even while walking down the street.

Whenever and wherever you need to feel safe and protected, just say either out loud, in your head or as a whisper:

I am protected, I am safe, all is well.

Or you can create your own protection mantra; make it as short and sweet or long and detailed as feels right for you.

Magical Protection

What I really love about energy protection work is that you can take these tools and bring them straight into your magic making. Before you do any spell work, make sure your energy is protected – visualise yourself wrapped in that bubble of light, call in Archangel Michael (or any other guides or angels), repeat a mantra to affirm that you are protected, then when you feel safe and ready, you’re good to go!

Only ever do spell work and rituals when you feel calm and safe. You have all the time in the world to make magic, so if you’re not feeling it or are hesitant, worried or simply not ready, come back to it again later. Keep protecting yourself daily and eventually it will become second nature to cast your spells and wield your wand in the world. But always go at your own pace.

Magic is not a competition, it’s about you and your own personal path. No one else but you knows the best timeline for your magic to activate.

Advanced Energy Protection

Sometimes we get so caught up in protecting ourselves from negativity that we forget we are also pretty good at creating negativity within ourselves.

We can’t walk through life protecting ourselves against others without doing a little bit of shadow work and paying attention to what we are putting out there too.

Start getting curious about what energy you bring to your relationships, your workplace, your encounters with people. If you see yourself bringing negative vibes, set the intention to make some changes. The more love, peace and good stuff we put out, the easier it is to bring that stuff in.

Clearing Yourself for Magic

Clearing is also an important step in this three-part magical process. We can protect ourselves all we like, but we must also clear out the energetic gunk we pick up along the way. Otherwise, it kind of becomes like wearing the same clothes every day. If you are full of someone else’s thoughts, emotions or energy before you start a spell you may end up manifesting things you don’t really want.

Think of it as trying to order at a restaurant. If the restaurant is too noisy you may get distracted, order the wrong thing, forget to order your fries or the waitress may not hear you correctly and bring you something you didn’t even order!

Clearing your energy can help you:

 Feel clearer – to see the path ahead with more clarity and hold the vision for what you most want moving forward.

 Make decisions and trust them.

 ‘Let go’ rather than hold on to stuff that’s just not yours to carry – it could be your own old stuff, someone else’s problems or something you can’t do anything about right now, etc.

 Feel energetically cleaner and lighter.

 Have space in your mind, your heart and your life to call in the things you most want.

When clearing your energy, keep in mind what I touched upon earlier. Although we pick up a lot of energetic ‘gunk’ when we’re out and about, we also create a lot of negative stuff within ourselves. It’s easy to focus on clearing what we have picked up from other people without thinking about what we’ve created ourselves. Whenever I ask for my energy to be clear I always use phrases like:

May my energy be cleared from everything I’ve picked up that’s not mine, anything that’s been sent to me that I don’t want to receive and anything negative I have created. And so it is.

Some simple tips for clearing your energy:

Work with these easy tricks, tips and magical tools to clear your energy.

White Light

White light is one of the most wide-ranging magical tools you’ll ever use. It’s like a multi-purpose cleaner for your body, soul, heart, mind, your entire house, your relationships and just about anything else you can think of. You can use it for everything. Whenever you feel ‘unclear’, send white light to the place, the situation or the space in between to help you feel better.

To clear your own energy fields with white light, simply visualise white light coming in through the top of your head and moving down into your physical body. See this white light expanding out all around you into your entire auric fields, clearing away anything stuck or stagnant, anything that isn’t yours and any negativity you’ve picked up or created.

Breath

Breath is a powerful cleanser. Go ahead, take a deep breath right now. How good did that feel? Don’t you already feel clearer? Now do it again, this time breathing in white light and breathing out any negativity and stuck or stagnant energy.

Taking deep breaths is quick, simple and you can do it from anywhere at any time. To top it off, it’s incredibly effective!

If you have a bit more time, take it a step further. On each inhale, breathe in white light and breathe out grey fog (any ‘gunk’ you’re holding). As you continue to do this, notice that with each breath the grey fog becomes lighter until eventually you are breathing in white light and breathing out white light.

Incense + Herbs

Incense is great for clearing your own energy and your space. You can use incense sticks, bundles of dried herbs tied together, loose herbs or loose incense.

A simple way to clear yourself is to light some incense and gently waft it in your aura (the energy field that surrounds your body).

Some incense and herbs that are great for clearing are:

 Sage

 Rosemary

 Cedar

 Eucalyptus

 Frankincense

Oils

Oils are another fantastic way to clear your energy, especially if you can’t burn incense. You can find oil versions of the above herbs, which are all perfect for clearing energy. You can diffuse the oils in a burner or electric diffuser. Purchase or make an aura spray with some distilled water and oils of your choice. Spritz this around your aura to clear your energy.

Oils can also be used in baths, in beauty products or on the skin (be sure to always blend with a carrier oil if you are using it on the skin!).

Mantra

As I mentioned above, mantras are incredibly effective, simple and easy to use and can shift and reset your mindset in an instant. Using a mantra for clearing can be as simple as saying ‘I am clear’ any time you feel like you need it.

Water

It is always wonderful to come home and have a shower after a big day out in the world, to wash off all the grime. If you’ve ever done that, you’re already clearing your energy!

To make the most out of this, add a clear intention before you hop in the shower that you are going to clear your energy as well as your rockin’ bod, and let the energetic ‘gunk’ go down the drain.

A Simple Salt Bath Ritual

A salt bath is a next-level cleanser. Ideally, we, as magical creatures, would be doing this at least once a week, but once a month, or whenever you feel intuitively called to do it, works great too. There aren’t any set rules for you to follow, just do what feels right for you!

1. Light some candles, play some relaxing music and grab your favourite fluffy towel.

2. Have your supplies ready. I would start with a handful of salt (any kind is fine – you can even just use regular table salt) and you could always add herbs, flowers, crystals or oils if you choose to. Rosemary, sage, white flowers and clear quartz are great for cleansing but, again, go with what you have or what you are drawn to. A note of caution: if you are going to use crystals or oils, always double check that they can be used in water and are safe to use on your skin.

3. Turn on the tap to run the bath, holding the intention that this is going to be a spiritual clearing soak. You can do this with just a thought or even say out loud what you are doing, such as, ‘This will be a cleansing salt bath to remove any negativity I’ve picked up or created.’

4. Throw a handful of salt into the bath as you say, ‘I add salt for deep cleansing.’

5. Throw in any herbs, crystals or oils of your choice. With each item say why you’re adding it, such as, ‘I add rosemary for clearing, smoky quartz for protection, rose quartz for healing.’

6. When you’re ready, lower yourself into the bath as you say, ‘May this salt bath cleanse my auric fields, transmute any negativity I’ve picked up or created and restore me to my true magical self.’

Clearing Your Space for Magic

Before you do any magical work such as spells or rituals, make sure your space is clear. So use white light, spritz some aura spray or burn some incense, then affirm that you are clear.

Clearing your energy fields and space is incredibly important, but if you are surrounded by clutter and stuff you don’t need or want, it’s going to be hard to feel clear no matter how many salt baths you’re taking.

As an extra credit assignment in clearing your energy, clear the energy of all your spaces by decluttering and letting go of any stuff you’re not using. Clear out your old clothes and books, tidy your laptop files and photos in your phone, unsubscribe to newsletters you don’t open and then do some energetic space clearing (more about this in the chapter ‘Your Home as a Sacred Sanctuary’).

All of this is powerful clearing magic. When you don’t have ‘stuff’ holding you down you’ll have so much more space for the magic to come in.

Ground Your Magic

When we start getting into magical work we often get so carried away with the magic, connection to spirit and high-vibe feelings that we forget to ground ourselves in the here and now. But grounding is incredibly important. If we don’t stay grounded, our magic has nowhere to anchor itself. We can try to manifest amazing things in our lives, but if we aren’t present in our own bodies and in our own lives, that magic has nowhere to go. Or sometimes what happens is that we do manifest what we’ve asked for, but we don’t even realise it’s right in front of us!

Think of your ability to receive what you’re asking for as like an antenna receiving a signal; it needs to be earthed so it can pick it up. In order for us to be able to pick up the signal from spirits and actually hear the voice of our intuition, we need to be present in our physical bodies, making sure we’re connected and plugged in.

Grounding your magic can help you to:

 Feel more ‘in’ your own body.

 Feel more present in your life.

 Feel more connected to yourself and help with self-love.

 Experience your magic anchoring into the physical.

 Be able to manifest things and hold on to them.

 Feel more connected to the Earth, nature and the people in your life.

Some simple tips for grounding your energy:

Try out these magical practices, tools and tips, which will help you to ground your energy.

Tree Roots

This is one of the most commonly used visualisations to help ground your energy, and for good reason – it’s simple, quick and it really works!

Visualise tree roots growing out of your feet. See those roots growing deeper and deeper into the earth beneath you until they reach and wrap around the core at the very centre of the planet.

Nature

Get out in nature as much as possible, because being outside is one of the best ways to ground yourself. We spend so much time inside buildings and looking at screens in the modern world and it really disconnects us from the truth of who we are – we are nature! Get out and hug a tree, take your shoes off and stand on the earth. If you can’t get outside, bring the outside inside with some plants and be sure to schedule in a visit to a place in nature as often as you can.

Eat Well

What you eat has a huge effect on your energy. Sugar, caffeine, alcohol and processed foods can all be very un-grounding. To rebalance yourself, eat some sweet potatoes, beetroots, carrots or other foods that grow close to the ground.

Move Your Body

It doesn’t matter whether it’s yoga, hitting the gym, cycling, swimming or just dancing around your living room, moving your body is one of the best ways there is to really focus on the present and to make yourself available for magic to flow through you.

Mantra

Repeating ‘I am grounded’ can be all you need to say to re-connect to your body, feel your feet on the floor and be present in the here and now.

Magical Grounding

Before you perform any spells, rituals or other magical work, always make sure your energy is grounded. The magic that you are calling in needs to be able to work through your physical form, and if it’s not grounded it’s going to be so much harder to manifest and hold on to that magic.

Before you begin any spells or rituals, take a moment to see yourself grounding into your own body and into the Earth, knowing that you are safe, secure and grounded, and able to attract your heart’s desires to you.

Staying in your Magic Online

We obviously pick up energy when we have an encounter with someone on the street, but we also pick up energy just as easily from being connected to others online, through apps and screens. Whenever we turn on our phones or laptops, we are opening a portal of energy.

We tend not to be conscious when we are online, which is not great for our energy. We mindlessly scroll and often find ourselves going online for something and becoming so distracted that half an hour later we can’t even remember why we opened Instagram in the first place.

When we switch on and use our devices we are essentially inviting everything we encounter online into our physical spaces.

There are some really simple ways you can protect your magic in the online world:

 Be mindful of who you follow on social media. If a certain account makes you feel icky, annoyed or at all negative, it’s not worth allowing that stuff into your fields. Would you let that person into your house? If not, it might be time to unfollow them online.

 Follow accounts you find useful and inspiring in some way.

 Join groups that feel supportive and safe, and leave groups that you don’t feel safe to engage in.

 Notice which websites make you feel exhausted, annoyed and out of your power, and then stop using them or limit your usage so that you can feel better.

 Be mindful of your time. How much time do you spend online? Do you need to be online for that long? What else could you be doing with that time?

 Avoid getting into online debates. While some debates can be deeply empowering, most of them usually end with people bashing heads. Share your opinion with people who want to discuss things in a respectful way but don’t waste your time, energy and magic in places where no one can hear you.

 Take social-media-free days. This can be an amazing way to clear your online energy and re-set.

 Ground yourself before going online. When you are grounded you are more mindful and connected to what you are doing and will be less likely to scroll forever!

Advanced Grounding

It’s not just enough to pay lip service to our great Earth Mother, we also need to think about how our own actions are affecting her.

Add this prayer into your grounding work and see how it changes your energy. (Remember, you can always change it to your own words: maybe you prefer Mother Earth or Pachamama, or the Great Earth Mother. Use whatever language speaks to you.)

Thank you, Gaia, for holding me.

Thank you, Gaia, for hosting me.

Thank you, Gaia, for grounding me.

Thank you, Gaia, for nourishing and nurturing me.

Thank you, Gaia, for showing me how I can help you in return.

And so it is.

A Daily Dose of Magic

Working with these practices daily is a great way to maintain your magic. Try this quick and easy daily dose (or create your own based on what you need).

 Start by closing your eyes and taking three deep breaths.

 Visualise yourself surrounded by and cleared with white light. At the same time, affirm: ‘May all negativity I’ve picked up or created be cleared. May all stuck and stagnant energy be cleared. I am clear.’

 Take a deep breath.

 Visualise roots growing out of your feet and into the earth beneath you. At the same time, affirm: ‘May I be grounded, may my energy be grounded, may my magic be grounded and made manifest.’

 Take a deep breath.

 Visualise yourself surrounded by a big ball of blue light and affirm: ‘May I be protected by light, protected by my ancestors and protected by the love of the divine.’

 Take a deep breath.

 Call your Friends in Spirit by name and ask them to be with you now and to help you as you move through your day. If there is anything on your heart or mind or anything particular you want to release or call in, now is the time to ask.

 Now visualise all the things that you want to fill you. At the same time, affirm: ‘I now call on the energies of [whatever you choose, perhaps love, peace, prosperity, ease, joy etc.] to fill me and move through everything I do today.’

 Take a deep breath.

 Say thank you to the Divine, your guides, Friends in Spirit, ancestors – and don’t forget to thank yourself!

Working with your own energy is the ultimate act of self-love and self-care, so always give yourself major props for showing up for yourself!

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