Welcome to the first article in a new series entitled “Magical Tools”. This month – “Grounding”.

Once a month we will take a look at a particular tool that you can develop to help you in your magical / spiritual / esoteric (as well as your everyday) life.

What is Grounding?

Grounding is a technique which helps one to calm their inner world in order to connect with their outer one.

This helps to counteract the negative effects of stress and helps prepare one to carry out actions more easily.

Grounding is an important part of any type of ritual – whether that be magical, spiritual, or even preparation proceeding a sport or public event.

A positive and successful grounding will create the perfect starting point for almost any activity.

How To Practice Grounding?

There are many different types of grounding techniques – although they all share many similar characteristics.

As it is such a vital part of preparing for a magical ritual, many practitioners have instructions on how to ground. Likewise, due to the benefits to mental health, you can find psychologists also giving advice on how to do it.

I will discuss, later in this article, what my own method of grounding is, but what is important (as always) is not following a strict set of rules but discovering what works best for you.

Explore and experiment! Perhaps you get on well with a part of my technique but find you do better if you then add your own twist… Go for it and build your own! You may also want to try different techniques for different situations…

The Simple Way

The simplest and easiest way to ground is to get outside in nature. Stand on the Earth with bare feet and feel the energy flow between you, the Earth, and the Universe.

This simple act allows energy to pass through you to the Earth and dissipate. The Earth can then process this energy and distribute it as necessary.

You can deepen the experience with intention. Close your eyes, slow and deepen your breathing, and focus on pushing negative energy down through the soles of your feet. Then draw positive energy up through the soles of your feet, letting it fill your being, and release it out through the top of your head into the Universe.

The Universe will take that energy and put it to good use, not only for your benefit but also that of the rest of creation.

What if I Can’t Get Outside?

If you are not able to get outside, or have easy access to a patch of Earth, then you can still carry out a very successful grounding. It just requires more in the way of intention.

This can be done standing or sitting with you feet flat on the floor, or even sitting directly on the floor. It standing or sitting with feet flat on the floor then imagine the energy flowing through your feet – if sitting directly on the floor then imagine it flowing through your tailbone.

Imagine ‘energy roots’ flowing from you into the Earth – pushing that negative energy down and through the roots then drawing the positive energy up through them.

Keep your breathing steady at the rate that feels most natural to you in the moment. Do not worry about any thoughts that might enter your mind, just acknowledge them and let them pass.

You can then do this for as long as you may need in order to feel fully grounded.

The Avalon Faery Technique

My particular favourite method of grounding is based on my connection with Faery and is based on a technique described in “The Faeries Oracle” by Brian Froud with text by Jessica Macbeth (Froud, B. and Macbeth, J. (2020) The Faeries Oracle. New York: Atria Books).

We each have an energetic Faery tail which we can use for various tasks and it is the perfect tool for grounding no matter where you are.

You can feel your energy tail at the base of your spine and begin to activate it. This can take some practice but if you keep at it then it will start to feel as natural to you as any other limb.

Once you are used to your tail you can then connect it with the Earth and begin to let the energy flow through it.

As you breath in pull energy down through your body, picking up any negative energy along the way (I see the negative energy as a black tar-like substance that I siphon away from myself), and send it down through your tail into the Earth.

Then, as you breath out, pull positive energy (I see this as a purple glowing light stream) up through your body and release it into the Universe through the top of your head. If you prefer you could raise your arms above your head, hands outstretched, and release the energy through the very tips of your fingers.

This method can feel a little awkward at first. The breathing rhythm is slightly different to that which feels natural, but focusing on the rhythm actually helps to deepen the grounding experience.

Practice

It is absolutely fine to take time over your technique – there is no need to rush anything as you build your preferred method. You can always use a simpler technique while you are practicing the one you ultimately wish to use.

Keep practicing and experimenting until you find what works for you. If a method works for a while and then starts to feel uncomfortable, or is no longer helping you, then do not be afraid to change it.

There is no right or wrong way to do this. Tools are a very personal thing and there is nothing better than a tool you have made yourself – you will never have as much success using the tool of another person!

Benefits of Grounding

Whatever technique you decide to use it is the act of grounding that is important. It provides you with so many fantastic benefits including:

• having a calming effect – steadying breathing, counteracting panic
• reducing stress – relaxing muscles, easing tension
• preparing for ritual – clearing negative events/energy of the day
• connecting with Faery / God / Spirit / etc. – opening all the senses
• meditation – calming the mind, reducing racing thoughts

So why not begin practicing grounding, add it into your daily routine, and eventually use it whenever you feel the need to clear away negative energy?

Let us know in the comments what techniques you use to ground and how it benefits you. We can all learn from each other and help each other deepen our understanding and connection!

If there is any particular topic you would like us to cover in this “Magical Tools” series then please do get in touch through our Contact Page or any of our social media channels.