There are three things in our lives that most people need to feel safe, secure, and happy: money, love, and protection. Now, that doesn’t mean that we don’t need more, but these three things are generally important to our lives and our ability to feel content.
As a native Memphian, I cannot ignore the fact that Memphis is going through it right now. What “it” is, I’m not entirely sure of and is likely a combination of many things. We are also moving toward peak summer, which means it is going to be stupid hot for a while. Why do I say stupid hot? Well, one is that the numbers on the thermometer are going to be ridiculously high, and two is because when it gets this hot outside, some people act out in dangerous ways. This is a recipe that means one thing: We need to work on our protection.
Protection work is the bread and butter for most spiritual practitioners. It is something that can and should be done on a regular basis along with cleansing work. In fact, these two actions go hand in hand. When you do a cleanse, you are removing unwanted energies from your person or property. This is the first step of protection. I encourage you to cleanse yourself, your cars, and your home on a routine basis. Use your favorite cleansing method (smudging, Florida Water, salt, etc.) to purify your space and energy. There are many ways to cleanse, and we cannot get into cleansing in depth here today, but you can find information for cleansing online or stop by and visit with me at The Broom Closet and I can show you some options.
Once your space has been cleansed, you have an energetically blank area that needs to be protected, so that all the energy you just banished doesn’t come right back in. Just like with cleansing, you have a variety of actions and tools you can use for protection work.
Many practitioners have a tool or routine that they are drawn to or feel partial to. For me, I typically use gemstones and candles in my workings. I like to incorporate gemstones into my workings because they are easy to use and portable. For protection, you can select your favorite protection gemstones and place them in the space you want protected. If you want to use gemstones to protect yourself, you can tuck them into a pocket or wear jewelry featuring protective gemstones. If you would like to add some protective stones to your practice, you’ll generally want stones that are dark or black in color such as black onyx, black obsidian, jet, hematite, or shungite. However there are many stones available that will lend you protection, and they will not all necessarily be black.
Perhaps one of the reasons so many protective gemstones are black is because black is a protective color. In spiritual color psychology, black is protective, but also carries the meaning of power, strength, mystery, and fear. By using the color black, we are cloaking ourselves or our sacred spaces and giving off an energy that repels unwanted attention. If you want to do a protection spell, you might want to use a black candle or dress in black while doing your working.
The spiritual groups I am a part of often use herbal amulets for our workings. These are easy to make and can be placed in your car or home or office to help protect you. Since black is such a great color for protection, use a black bag and place protective herbs and/or stones in it. Salt is a great protective herb that you can combine with dragon’s blood resin, lavender, rosemary, cedar, myrrh, or other protective herbs in an herbal amulet.
There are myriad ways to offer yourself more protection, and there is not enough space to get into them all here. Find what you feel comfortable with and be sure to add your intention and need to whatever method you choose. My best advice for staying safe this summer is to bless and protect your car!