The Basic Safety Rules in Magick, Wicca, Paganism

If you read this, then you probably want to learn some magick stuff – not like illusion, but real magick, with energies, spirits, magical seals and incantation. But learning magick isn't simple, there is an entire set of rules that main goal is to keep you safe. If you have ever read a serious book about magick, you should already know that the world “beyond” is full of beings which may wish to harm you.

In order to stay safe and secured, you should follow some specific safety rules. This article is meant to help you understand these rules in practice.

The very first safety rule is related to regular magical cleansing. In few words, the world that surrounds you is full of magical energies of different sort. Some of these energies are good, and some are bad. The bad energies accumulate upon your body. As a result, your natural magical defense capabilities become weaker and weaker over time. In addition, you become physically more susceptible to illnesses, bad mood and lack of motivation. Negative emotions hit you, and it even may lead to states of depression.

Magical cleansing, used in almost every magical tradition in the World, is meant to cleanse these unpleasant energies, so you can live a happy life. When it comes to practical magick, lack of cleansing leads to a situation, in which you're very susceptible to magical attacks – by other people and by magical beings from the world beyond the veil.

Regular cleansing supports your natural magical defense capabilities, so you can be far more safer on the path of any magical tradition, whether it's ceremonial magick, Wicca or some New Age path. There are many ways to cleanse yourself. You can take a cleansing bath, for example. Just throw some normal salt to a bathtube, and take a bath for 15 minutes, and this will deal with unpleasant energies. Such baths should be repeated at least once a weak.

Other traditions use ritual work, symbols or incenses to perform magical cleansing.

New Age paths would like people to believe that mixing magical techniques make the magical work stronger. But it's not true – the fact is different. Mixing magical traditions together make them an explosive charge ready to blow up. The thing is that different traditions use different energies and they work with different beings. Not all energies and beings like each other, and mixing them together in a ritual work may result in a problematic experience. For example, you may harm your health and mind, and you may be magically attacked by a spiritual being.

Remember that in most cases, the chosing of the magical path is related to the tradition which fit you. Those who walk the pagan path, ususally pick up the magical tradition closely related to that specific path. Buddhists choose practices from Buddhism. Asatru practice germanic magick and on. It's hard to find an Asatru practicing Buddhism, or the other way around. Choosing such tradition often means that you choose this tradition only, and nothing else. Mixing may be a form of disrespect to people, beings or ancestors.

From the energetic point of view, some energies create dangerous mixes – in New Age ideologies, this is clearly visible when, for example, Reiki is mixed with Norse Runes, and these two types of energies do not cooperate well with each other. Especially if the Runes are closely related to Asatru deities, and these do not like Reiki that much.

Do not mix too many energies and magical traditions, because it's simple unwise, and it may be dangerous to your health.

Reading and learning is something I call “passive safety rule”. Safety come along with wisdom. If you know what to do and what not to do, then you are more safe on the path of magick, than you would be without such knowledge. Reading and learning when dealing with magick is important. Magick isn't that different from other fields of knowledge. If you wish to become a “pro-magus”, then you have to read, learn, and the practice what you have learned.

For example, before performing some kind of ritual, learn what it requires. A ritual may require depleting your own energy, or contacting some kind of spirit. It may require some level of magical cleansing before and after the ritual. It may need knowledge of symbols. And of course, you may have to learn what will happen after the ritual, so you won't be surprised by the unexpected. Knowledge is power – but knowledge is also safety.

There's no more saying here – reading brings knowledge and awareness. Knowledge and awareness brings safety.

Like attracts like – black magick is associated by negative beings and unwanted energies. No matter how hard you try, black magick always fire back at you. You may be able to control black arts for 20 years, but when the year 21^st arrive, you may lose control, and when this happens, your life is done.

This is a simple safety rule – do not practice black magick. Do no harm with magick in any way, to any thing, and you will be safe.

What may seem to be a New Age creation, and a fluffy stuff, is, in reality, a serious element of magical practice. Whether done by visualization, incantation, drawing of symbols or pure intention, magical shielding – the process of creating defensive magical shields – is important in any magical practice. You have to shield yourself, one way or another, so that unwanted energies, beings and people won't be able to harm you. There are many ways of creating shields. Every magical tradition has its own set of tools for that task to be done.

Another important safety rule is the need of cutting links. So called “links” or “energetic cords” are frequently created with magical work – by doing tarot or rune readings, psychic readings, healing, telepathic communicaton and so on, the magus create energetic links, through which life force, and other energies, flow. Life force may be drained through such links, and negative emotions may flow towards people who cannot defend themselves against such. This is why links must be cut. For example, by visualizing big scissors that cut the visualized energetic cord between you and another person (or spirit).

Those are two very important safety rules no matter what kind of magical system you practice.

Spirits cannot be trusted – at least not right away. If you're just a beginner, do not trust what spirits tell you. That is said, if you can hear or feel the spirit messages. Stay away from channelings as well, and do not trust too much even in messages you believe come from your spirit guides. Communicaton with spirits isn't as safe as most people would like to believe – it takes time and practice to learn how to distinct safe messages from unsafe messages.

A druid I've met at some point of my life told me once that the other side is full of spirits which won't hesitate to harm people in order to return to the earthly plane. If you trust every spirit you meet, it may lead to a dangerous situations.

In the paragraphs above you have learned the most basic safety rules regarding magical practice. But there is more to magick than that. Of course, once learned, magick can help you create a better life, a life which you have imagined and programmed. You can learn other ways of dealing with unwanted energies, and more about safety rules in general magick, in my book: “The Essentials of Magick”.