♨ Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Energy Work

[BryWisteria]

Merry meet!

Thank you again to everyone who joined in for last week’s Weekly Witchy Challenge - Catch-Up

After venturing through a delightful variety of magickal themes, the challenge clock has restarted once again. For challenge number 91, we are honing in the focus to examine a core principle of magick

This week’s challenge was suggested by the amazing @Amethyst and is…

Energy Work: Channeling Magickal Energy

“Sending you good energy!”
“I have too much bad energy in my space…”
“In this spell, channel the energy to…”

Good energy! Bad energy! Energy this and energy that… “Energy” is a term we hear a lot in the magickal and spiritual community. But what does it actually mean?

What is magickal energy, and more importantly- how do we use it?

Magick is manifestation- it is the ability to take an intention and make it real. But how often do you take the time to consider the deeper process: exactly what happens when we cast a spell? What is it that we are channeling, in order to make those dreams become reality?

Get ready for a bit of magickal theory this week- through examining how you personally define and channel magickal energy, the goal is to gain a deeper fundamental understanding of how magickal energy works

This week is all about energy work - but how you do so is up to you!

So are you ready? Because it’s…

CHALLENGE TIME!

Picture from Pixabay

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STEP 1 : Mysterious Magickal Energy

Before jumping into ways to use magickal energy, a great first step for this challenge is to examine how you define magickal energy. You may be surprised at how many different ways there are to define magickal energy and its limitations (or lack there-of)!

How do you define “energy” in your magickal practice?

• Can you use only your own energy, or can you use energy from your surroundings?
• Is it possible to steal or drain energy from others- alive, dead, spirit, or otherwise?
• Is magickal energy the same thing as life energy?
• Can energy be good or bad, or is it always neutral?
• It is a force like “chi” that flows throughout the body? Or is it something fixed in place?
• Is it something that only living things have, or is it everywhere?
• Where does energy come from? Can it be destroyed?

Feel free to meditate on the concept of magickal energy and/or use your journal to help you define and shape out the definition of energy that feels right to you

You are welcome to share your thoughts as part of your challenge entry, or you can keep them personal and skip right to the practical side of energy work

Picture from Pixabay

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STEP 2 : Energy Work in Practice

When your head begins to throb from all the deep thinking (or if you’re just more of a hands-on kind of magick user), feel free to set aside the philosophy and jump into working with energy in magick!

Not sure where to begin?

To help you get started, the following list has a few ways in which a witch might approach this challenge!

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Learn about “Energy Cords” and energy bonds between people

Energy Cords: What are They? Why Should I Clear Them?

Do an Energy Cord-Cutting Ritual

Cord-Cutting Spell

Remove Bad Energy

Bad Luck Go Away Spell

Cleanse Your Energy

Energy Cleanse with a Spiritual Bath

Invite in Good, Positive Energy

Spells for Good Luck and Positive Energy

Do an Energy Meditation

While different types of meditation have different focuses (with some having the goal of not thinking or handling energy at all!), many meditations deal with channeling energy for good health and well-being.

Walking Meditation to Treat Restless Energy

Examine visual energies and auras

Some believe that energy can be visible in the form of an Aura. Feel free to learn more about auras and perhaps try seeing the energy of others for yourself!

Forum discussion: What color is your energy?

…And more!

The definition of magickal energy and its limitations will vary from one witch to another- and that is okay! For this challenge, feel free to explore and work with magickal energy in the ways that feel right to you

Art by Unknown on Art Abyss: Focused Energy

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STEP 3 : Share Your Experience

Click here for notes about challenge inclusivity

Everyone is welcome to join the challenge by practicing magick in line with the current theme. For those who don’t feel comfortable sharing, it is absolutely okay to follow along with the challenge but keep your entry personal. Feel free to join in spirit and do what feels most comfortable for you!

That being said, please know that if you would like to receive a prize and a public shout-out, it is required that you share your experience .

To participate in the challenge, please share:

1. About your experience exploring/working with magickal energy this week

For your entry to be counted, please write about your experience in the comments below and/or create a new thread in the forums.

Note : If you choose to create a new thread, please tag the challenge by adding a hyperlink back to this post so that I can easily find it- thank you!

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This challenge will close in 6 DAYS

To join in, please share your experience by:

Tuesday, April 26th at 7:00 AM CET (Central European Time)
( 2022-04-26T05:00:00Z )

(Note that the time zone is CET- you can use this time zone calculator to switch into your time zone!)

For their efforts, all participants will receive a special shout-out and a small prize!

Acknowledgments will be given in a Props and Presents Post that will appear in the forums on Tuesday.

After the challenge closes, you are still very welcome to post but please be aware that no additional prizes will be given. This discussion will remain open for about a week after the challenge finishes.

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Art by The Cosmic Feminist: Protecting Energy

A warm reminder that all challenges are designed to be very open- everyone is encouraged to participate in a way that honors and reflects their unique practice

If you have any doubts about if something is acceptable to post or say, please double-check with the Forum FAQ and/or reach out to your friendly Moderator Team .

And for those new to challenges- welcome! Know that the goal of these activities is to help you further diversify and strengthen your abilities and to bring together the Spells8 forum family to inspire and support one another in creative ways

Picture by Unknown, Shared on Pinterest: Energy of Nature

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It’s in your fingers, flowing down to your toes.
We’ve all got energy- it’s something everyone knows
But with so much power, what can a witch do?
How you wield your energy is all up to you!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Blessed be and happy energy work!

[jem1]

I love energy work! It’s a major part of my daily practice.

[jessica72]

Oooooooo great challenge @Amethyst

I know you’re a book worm too! I immediately went to my witchy library and started indexing ‘energy’ I found some really great work written in two of my books I don’t know which one i should share. Ah! A dilemma.

Either ’Rebel Witch: Carve the Craft that’s Yours Alone’ by Kelly Ann Maddox or ’Witchcraft Therapy: Your Guide to Banishing the Bulls**t and Invoking Your Inner Power’ by Madni Em

I don’t know they’re both great books!

[Ostara]

I have the “Witchcraft Therapy” book too. I love that book!

[TheMuslimWitch]

This was a great topic for the weekly challenge thanks @Amethyst and @BryWisteria . I have been feeling overwhelmed with too much energy from others and i feel it maybe as i suspect i am an empath (to be confirmed when i know more on the topic), and as a result i get extremely drained that 4+ coffees have been doing nothing.
So my weekly challenge is that i did the grounding mindfulness meditation here on Spells8 which helped me to release all that energy. I will be sure to look into other ways but i was amazed to see that i went from getting frustrated and mad about any and all noises in my 6 people household, to drifting awake into another altered consciousness that i only came out of when my daughter had been in my spiritual room for a few minutes… I will also share a photo of the 7 types of herbs Sage, coriander, basil, thyme, parsley, mint and rosemary which i have been putting my own positive energy and love into when planting and feeding with full moon water…

[jessica72]

It’s a great book isn’t it?! I love the way it’s written

[Susurrus]

@TheMuslimWitch

I have been feeling overwhelmed with too much energy from others and i feel it maybe as i suspect i am an empath (to be confirmed when i know more on the topic)

@TheMuslimWitch Luna & Sol has a great website that has to do with being an Empath or Highly Sensitive. There are quizzes, articles, books, workbooks, & ways to work with it for your own highest good.

As for me, I haven’t decided if I want to do anything with Auras, or if what I have learned about using crystal energy would be a good entry. I could also do something about protecting my own energy because being an Empath myself, it’s a constant learning process of how to set boundaries & not be such an energy sponge

I like this one, thank you @Amethyst & @BryWisteria for putting this together!

[Amethyst]

Whee! So glad everyone seems to like this challenge! Thanks, @BryWisteria for listening to my idea!

To explain my practice, I’m gonna leave a YouTube Video here.

→ Guide to Energy Manipulation ║ Witchcraft 101 - YouTube

Because that’s what I do. I’m pretty good at centering, getting all the energy to my core but I have a hard time moving it into my hand. That’s why I suggested this challenge, to see what everyone else does.

But I try to move my energy from my core, down my arm, into the palm of my hand, and then info my fingers and then move it back. I’m getting better at it, but the energy ball tends to lose cohesion somewhere between my elbow and my hand. I’ll get there yet though! It just takes practice, I know.

[MeganB]

I have a few ideas for this challenge but nothing concrete yet

@jessica72 – I just finished Rebel Witch for my Patreon book club. I love the way it’s written, too! It’s exactly how Kelly-Ann speaks if you’ve ever watched her YouTube videos lol

@TheMuslimWitch – I love your herbs and I am honestly concerned about your 4+ cups of coffee a day! I know you probably already know this, but the mom side of my brain says to make sure you’ve also been checked out by a doctor to make sure you don’t have any underlying health conditions causing your fatigue!

@Susurrus – I’m sure whatever you come up with is going to be wonderful

@Amethyst – That’s a perfect video explanation. Thanks for sharing! I’ve also done a sort of exercise where I create a circuit of energy that moves around my arms and through my hands in a circle. I’ve gotten pretty good at making the energy warm when someone sticks their hand between my two hands. Now I’m working on trying to make the energy feel cold

[Phoenix_Fire]

Hold up, theres such a thing as witchcraft therapy😁awesome. I haven’t heard of that book before but i might have to check it out, sounds like an interesting read😁

[Phoenix_Fire]

Thats so cool. I have created an energy ball in mu hand before with a meditation did with crystals in ny hand and can draw enerhy to mu hand but i struggle moving it much beyond there. Id like to work on moving energy around body more but i struggle a bit with that, my hand is the only pkace ive been able to do it regularly.

[rachel21]

I’m really excited for this challenge. Before I was aware of the power I held I would frequently pick up on others energy be it good or bad. Although it’s not always possible I now try to walk away from anyone who is giving off a negative energy vibe. It’s absolutely draining to have that type of energy around you or at least it is for me. I am still working on using my energy for good and realizing the power that energy holds. It’s amazing what you can do when you believe in yourself.

[Kasandra]

I’m thinking of doing a spell to remove bad energy for the waning moon. For some reason, many people in my area just seem to be even more unhappy than usual. Maybe it’s the weather? Inflation? Both?

[Torista]

I also have that book! And I really enjoyed it.

[martje]

I always have been very sensitive for energy. At a very young age I began to read people to see or feel if I could be safe. In my family there were a lot of emotions and a lot of things unsaid so it was confusing for me as a child. And of course the reading did’nt really help to feel safe. Much later in my marriage I lost myself completely. It was then that the alarm went off and I knew I had to do something about it. So I went to school, an intuitive training school. I learned the difference between other people’s energy and my own, and how to center myself. I learned to cut energy cords. And also how to reflect at myself. What is it in me that attract these cords.
I believe there are so much different energies, but in essence they are all neutral. I have learned to see them as colors, and shapes, and that makes it neutral for me. It s the emotion attached to it that makes it difficult sometimes, and then I can feel overwhelmed. In everyday life when I am not watching and something happens, sometimes just a small shift in feelings. When I am in this neutral state I can play with the colors and also with the darker energies to clear them, change them so it can become better for me. I also can look at other people’s energy but I will never do this unasked. In this way I can heal. Make energy lighter. For me it s very important to center, and to be with me, and even more important to be happy with me, and I think this is a life time exercise

[Garnet]

@rachel21 & Martje
Sweet girls, the burden of being an empath is heavy. Empty your mind (dumb saying, ya can’t do it. what you can do is focus on something, a thought, a person, etc. and block out everything else.)
It takes time and practice but once achieved, that’s your private space. No one can enter but you. It’s like a shield of sorts.
Good luck and love
Garnet

[Ostara]

I work in a toxic enviroment and I think anyone, empath or not, can feel the tension. It’s not just our office, but the entire building has bad energy. I have to tune it out or I wouldn’t be able to be here for 9 hours. I wish I could spiriually cleanse the entire building. I have sprinkled salt in all the corners of our offices. I feel like casting a circle of protection when I sit down at my desk!

[Amethyst]

@MeganB

@Amethyst – That’s a perfect video explanation. Thanks for sharing! I’ve also done a sort of exercise where I create a circuit of energy that moves around my arms and through my hands in a circle. I’ve gotten pretty good at making the energy warm when someone sticks their hand between my two hands. Now I’m working on trying to make the energy feel cold

Glad you liked the vid! You’re pretty adept at this energy manipulation stuff, that sounds so neat!

@Phoenix_Fire

Id like to work on moving energy around body more but i struggle a bit with that, my hand is the only pkace ive been able to do it regularly.

Same here, I can get it to my core and maybe to my hand eight times out of ten tries but not every time. You’ll get better at it with practice.

[Janae_Rochele]

I am so excited to do a cord-cutting spell for the first time tonight. I’ve found that this may be one of the issues I’ve been having and I can’t wait to try it out! LOVE THIS!

[jessica72]

The following text comes from the book:

@jessica72

’Witchcraft Therapy: Your Guide to Banishing the Bulls ** t and Invoking Your Inner Power’ by Madni Em

Get Your Grounding Game on Point

Energetically Aligning with the Earth

One day you’re young and carefree, and the next you find yourself crying over the Folgers holiday commercial because adulthood is a mess and what is life even?

We humans are deeply emotional creatures, and whether you’re skeptical of “energy work” or not, it’s unquestionable the emotional toll of our experiences through life as negative energy. This is totally a normal thing, of course and everyone copes with baggage differently, but to be honest, most people can benefit from doing a little grounding work to get more energetically balanced place when emotions are becoming overwhelming.

Grounding and centering can be an antidote to the daily overload of what-the-fuckery that leaves you wound up, disconnected and internally screaming. While there are many ways to go about grounding yourself, each involves the act of participating in healing energy exchange with the earth.

Now, you might be thinking “An energy exchange with the earth? What’s she on about?” and for that I wouldn’t blame you. I know it sounds very woo-woo, the kind of thing that a caftan-clad woman with a bra loaded full of crystals would say casually before proclaiming your toxic trait is “having a Scorpio moon” (as I shake an amethyst out of my bra), but I promise you that even the hardest skeptics among us can’t refute the fact that there is literally no downside to engaging in an exercise that calls upon us to stand in the woods, put our feet in the grass, stop breathe, and just pause.

I’m probably the most high-strung, overthinky, sack of crazy you’ll ever meet, and my own life shifted dramatically from simply taking 5-10 minutes every night to sit in the grass alone and ground myself. Although this technique is used in witchcraft pre- and post-ritual work, or during those times you are positively brimming with internal chaos, I’ve also found it to be an immensely gratifying way to cap off any day.

Think about it: Most of us spend our days glued to our various screen, working hard for the things we have, and endlessly barraged with bad news makes us feel equal parts helpless and hopeless. For the most part, our modern society is completely separated from the natural world, set up in a way that makes it hard for people to even find the time to get off the hamster wheel of infinite responsibility and escape into natural spaces. All of this just sucks us further into the loop of disconnection and anxiety, which then fuels the shitty feelings that many of us experience on a daily basis.

It’s madness.

That’s why, whether you’re a season sorceress or an eager new witchling, working on perfecting your grounding game is an exercise that is well worth your time and energy. In the end, when life gets challenging, just take a deep breath, stretch out your arms, and then curl up on the ground and desperately beg the earth to reclaim you!

Grounding and Centering Exercise
(with an Urban witch Adaptation)

Get outside and find a safe, quiet area to complete the following steps:

1. Sit down and place your feet (bare if possible) and palms on the ground.

2. Start doing some deep breathing and visualise a small seed of light in the core of your body.

3. As you breathe, imagine that seed growing roots that branch out through your body, traveling down your arms and legs, through your palms and the soles of your feet and into the ground.

4. With each exhale, visualise the negative energy from the seed flowing into the ground, where it is cleansed.

5. With each inhale, imagine this cleansed energy as white light you pull back up into yourself through the roots of the seed.

6. Continue steps 4 and 5, imaging yourself as forming a loop with the earth that is essentially acting as an energetic filter, filling you up with healing energy.

7. Stop when you feel energetically realigned.

It’s important to recognize that not everybody has convenient and available access to nature, so this practice can be adapted. Yards and gardens are a privilege, and accessing parks and public lands can be difficult for some. The following is an adapted grounding exercise for city dwellers:

1. Sit on the floor of your living space in a cross -legged position. If you have houseplants, sit in a room with houseplants, sit in a room with plants. If you don’t simply hold an item that has natural significance, such as a rock or a stick you’ve picked up in your travels.

2. Start the breathing exercise outlined previously, picturing the energy of your houseplant(s) flowing through your pores and into your core. When you exhale, imagine your energy being released back into your living space to be cleansed.

3. If you are holding a rock or a stick, do the same exercise but imagine the energy exchange flowing between the items and your palms.

I’m sorry to share so much from the one book, originally I had wanted to keep it short and sweet but I just loved reading her work. She kinda talks just like I do a little at times so I really connected with it all and I just wanted to share it cause I thought it was just brilliant. Reading and sharing this has really made me realise that I need to work on taking just 5 minutes for myself every day and practice my grounding technique.