I know I know, if you’re new to witchcraft you’re likely already tired of hearing about protection. I can feel like it’s being shoved down your throat, and if you’ve been around, you likely already know how set up your protections. I am here once more to beat this dead horse and to offer yet another article on protection magic.

I am also going to start here that I won’t be going into detail on how I protect my space or set up things like wards. I usually discourage people from openly sharing this kind of stuff. Telling a close friend is one thing, showing the internet your set up is a whole other. While I don’t think I’m the type to have a large set of enemies I’ve been alive long enough to know there’s just some stuff you keep to yourself-how you stay safe is one of them. ‘You don’t leave a key out for a thief.’

Cleaning + Cleansing

Not just spiritual, but physical cleaning. Many forget that your homes health can be measured in its state.

If you have a house filled with items from a toxic ex and you never leave your bedroom so it’s a mess, you will feel miasma in your whole home and depression and illness in your bedroom. Throw the old stuff away, keep the trash out. Clean regularly because bad energies love trash and smells. Both physically and metaphysically it’s just not great for you. Mentally it will drain you, run you down and force your brain to stay in the mindset of the environment. Save yourself from the worst of it by being on top of it as much as you physically can be. This looks different for everyone.

Once you have thrown out the stuff that needs thrown out and cleaned what needed cleaned you will find that things tend to feel a lot better energetically. Some people like to incorporate witchcraft into their cleaning in many ways, like burning incense while they clean, or adding natural products in their routines.

Personally, I prefer bleach with a splash of moon water, and then I just clean regularly and use smoke cleansing after.

Spiritual Cleansing

When it comes to ways to clean your space spiritually there’s so many ways for you to approach it, I always recommend just sticking with the one you feel the most connected to. There are many ways to cleanse on both a large and small scale, so I am focusing on ones that are relatively universal and easy to understand.

• Smoke Cleansing
• Sound Cleansing
• Water Cleansing

These are all pretty self-explanatory. If you are new to the scene each of these techniques can be utilized in multiple ways, but commonly you will see them ‘spread’ around the house and use it to clear the space energetically.

With smoke this can look like burning incense or herbs and spreading the smoke through the rooms you are cleansing. With sound this can be bells, chimes, sound bowls are common to see, some people even use music! And water cleansing can change if you’re using something like Holy Water, but if you’re using your standard moon water using it in the room by either flicking it around the room or putting it in your mop water like I do.

Different people and cultures have different approaches to these and most people kind of develop their own routine and set up as time goes on. Feel free to experiment to find something you really enjoy!

I personally prefer to smoke cleanse; I like to use incense and herb bundles. There’s almost always some form of incense burning in my home, and I can use it in my devotional work.

Enviromental Cleaning

I already mentioned it lightly, your environment being dirty or filled with things that bring you down is only going to continue to do that. There are not going to be many times where it suddenly fills you with life and joy, it will only bog you down as it goes on.

It can be hard due to many factors but making sure you are not the source of the negative energy is very important, and making sure your environment is clean will help encourage this. You’ve likely noticed yourself how you feel better when you have a clean and organized space, and everything smells pleasant, and you feel taken care of.

Self-Cleanliness

And finally-clean yourself too. When we go through certain emotions sometimes, we can begin to neglect ourselves. And this is going to sound silly, because I myself have suffered from depression and know how hard is to drag yourself out of its somethings. But it will make it worse if you allow it to stay.

Bath spells for protection and joy can also be helpful. If you don’t have a tub, shower satchels or shower steamers work just as well. Taking care of yourself can be pivotal, and you’ll only thank yourself for it. No matter how small, even if all you do is put on lotion or wash your hands. Every little thing to feel human matters.

Wards

There are different ways to make and utilize wards, and while I will not share my wards I will happily talk about different kinds of wards and how you can utilize them! Spells, talismans, symbols; all can be used to form a ward.

You can use Sigils, Jar spells, barriers, objects, I could continue on an on with listing everything, but I am certain you all get the point that wards are very versatile, and you have multiple options for using wards so there is almost always one perfect for you.

One of the most common ways I see people do wards are jar spells, or sigils, but some people will use symbols in a manner I would describe as similar to a crucifix, or a horseshoe. Keys and bells are common options for this, and you can usually find witch’s bells to buy or fashion your own based of your crafting abilities!

I have a friend who has a giant set of iron keys by her door, and another with a horseshoe by all of his doors. Another has a wreath she handmade and included aspects to fashion it as her ward as well. Some people hang satchels in different rooms, some do jars that they keep on their property, I’ve seen some use servitors for this.

There’re many options so you really have to pick one that you feel the most comfortable with overall, but there’s no need for fear. I think some beginners see wards as these super advance protections but in reality, they can be pretty simple!

Why make a ward?

If you’re here, there is a chance you’re new to the scene, so I want to be a bit detailed here:

I’ve done a lot of talking about how you can make different ones but not a lot of what they do or why you should have one. Protection is good to have regardless of if you think you have enemies or not. Protection isn’t just about what other people will do to you.

Regardless of the intervention of other people protecting your space is good for the energy and its overall atmosphere. A lot of things you may do as a witch can invite or attract energies or spirits. Depending on your belief system you may even be inviting spirits or entities into your space purposefully and being able to have more control over who/what enters and when they/it enters is very important in these cases.

“Vivienne, you worship demons what are you worried about?” Bad spirits aren’t all demons; I personally believe that demons and gods do not have the time or interest to waste on our mortal affairs. A negative spirit built off the negativity of others though is much more likely and arguably worse than a demon entering my space.

Sometimes the energies may leave a miasma or a residue, and it’s best to clear them out or prevent them from entering. Even just a friend having a bad day can leave a residual energy, and a ward can prevent you from having to deal with these energies and spirits and keep your space ‘tidy’ so to say. It’s like a bouncer; some can get through and some can’t.

This type of protection can be maintained in different ways as well, which can be very useful for witches who may not want to have to take up a specific type of ritual. Some people like symbols for their wards, some like to preform regular rituals, and some prefer energy work!

I myself like symbols and rituals, but not everyone wants to go that way, or has the resources to do it.