Grounding and Centering

Grounding and centering is the most basic technique in magic, it is an essential part of every ritual, spell, or meditation that you will do. Grounding simply means to establish an energy connection with the earth. Power or energy must be earthed every time it is raised otherwise the force we deal with as revitalizing energy can stagnate into nervous tension, irritability, and headaches. It can also effect the mood of those around us, making them uncomfortable and short-tempered. While you are channeling energy grounding acts as a psychic ‘lightening rod’ so that the power flows through you and down into the earth instead of burning you out.

Centering then is finding the deep place inside each of us. It is still, calm, warm and filled with love and joy. It is infinite and eternal. It is the one part of us that never changes and it is the heart of our personal power. Sometimes we spontaneously find the place within, perhaps nudged there by extraordinary circumstances or strong emotion. It is called our center because this is where we draw our strength and calmness from, where our center of gravity is located.

It is from our center that we connect with our inner spark of Divinity and allow it to contact transcendent Deity so that we can perform magic. We can also draw closer to our center through meditation. Although it is contained within us, it is a space that is far bigger than we are. I believe it is also our center that holds our memories from past lives, and how we access our intuition.

I also believe that a large part of spiritual growth is simply about moving closer to center, about trusting ourselves. We need to find ways to remain steady, to be grounded and centered in the face of things that seem insurmountable. Eventually, as we let these problems go, by releasing their hold over us, we move closer to what our absolute destiny is. Our vision for ourselves will become clearer and so will the ability to implement these ideas.

There are hundreds of ways to ground yourself, the simplest ranging from holding a piece of hematite to tasting salt. There are several simple ways that we do it: touching the tips of your pinkie fingers to the tips of your thumbs and breathing out, or kneeling down and touching the earth with the palms of your hands while pushing the energy out of you. Since we as witches are concerned with the earth whenever we need to ground out negative energy we will focus it into a ball and before releasing it we will see the negativity drain out of it. Usually the ball will begin as a dark grey or black sphere, and as the negativity is released it will become white. All of these are good for simple spells and meditations.

For ritual work, group work, or spells in Circle you should visualize a cord or rod extending from the base of your spine into the earth. To Center yourself, simply align your body along it’s center of gravity, breathe from your abdomen and diaphragm, and feel the energy from the earth flow up and fill you while the excess energy returns, flowing down into the earth. At the end of ritual push all the excess energy down the cord and let the cord disappear. You may feel it necessary to include hand movements or an affirmation to help you with grounding. The reason we do it this way is so that we are drawing on the earth’s natural energies to power our spells and rites instead of using our own energy and draining ourselves. It also allows the excess power to pool in your ritual area, building up a supply of energy for you to use whenever you need it.

Eidolon Moon's Notes:

I can never stress enough how darn important grounding and centering is. What is written to above just touches on the tip of the iceburg. Use whatever method works best for you. I simply have up what I was taught, but that doesn't make it the 'right' or 'best' way.