grounding question

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Steven

grounding question

Postby Steven » Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:28 pm

I feel that I am pretty clear on the method and purpose of grounding after spell work. Grounding the excess energy out of the body to prevent unpleasant side effects and such. Correct me if I'm wrong of course.

Here is my question: Has anyone ever heard of drawing the energy up and into them, essentially grounding in reverse to harness the very energy that grounding dissipates? We are using the energy that we later ground, are we not? Could gathering more energy (if this is doable) possibly amplify results?

I have seen nothing of this. Could it be due to lack of plausibility or due to potential harm? Please advise.

[DarkWoman]
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Postby [DarkWoman] » Wed Nov 29, 2006 11:42 pm


I'm going to take a stab at this, but I think you're going to need to elaborate for me. Sorry. I think that you are talking about one particular method of grounding? This method entails that you draw up energy from the Earth, who's energy is in itself grounding. I don't think that this would amplify energy since the intent is to "ground". I am very big on intent. If you are worried about reverse effects, I would try sending the excess energy you raised into the Earth, rather than drawing up the grounding energy itself. There are about a million+ ways to do something in rituals and magick. The trick is to find the one that works for you.
I'm sorry if you already know this and I haven't answered your question. I was a little confused. :cry: but I hope that helped
Also, I have never experienced or heard of a personal account of this reverse effect you're speaking of taking place either.
DarkWoman
All healing takes place in the dark.

Steven

Postby Steven » Wed Nov 29, 2006 11:49 pm

That helps alot. To elaborate though: What I was kind of getting at was that in grounding we put back all of that energy. So do we get it from that same place? The Earth? Basically what I was describing might have been a way to tap into that energy more directly. I was just throwing it out there to see what other people were doing.

Eretik
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Postby Eretik » Thu Nov 30, 2006 7:49 am

Yes you can. I link to the Earth's energy when I work outside. There are hotspots [ley lines or dragon lines] which can be tapped into. You are stepping into 'the flow' and should be cautious how much and which energy you absorb. It's a powerful way to connect. Dowsing can help you to find hotspots, like wise there are divergance points where energy is low. If you live in a city with a long history it may be worth finding out it's history, avoiding old places where battles or illness [ like plague etc.] were contentrated, for example. I'll have to go now. I'll come back later, if you need more info or have some questions etc. I have done lots of research into churches and the power of alignments. Do you know much of this? It may be good for you to look into this, there is a lot of mysticism associated with Christianity and a lot of historical background. Think about the reasons why churches are on sanctified ground, the direction and alignment of the building/altars etc. The holy places of Christianity are interesting. Why do churches have tall spires etc? Christians linked to the energies too.

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Postby thatguy » Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:57 pm

Hello Steven, my path is a little different from witchcraft and I was initially very confused on the purpose of grounding. However, I think I can address some of your questions:

You first asked about drawing the Earth's energy into yourself. I'm assuming that you're talking about the planet we're all standing on. Yes, you can do this, but I don't advise this. The Earth's energy is immensely strong and has a very distinct character; the Earth isn't like you. Firstly, you'd run the risk of damaging your personal energy system, secondly, you might experience a drastic personality change because of the Earth's influence.

If instead you're talking about channeling the Earth's energy to bend it to your own purpose, then you still run the risk of damaging your energy channels, and having your personality swallowed. If you're going to do this, have someone train you in a safe and appropriate ritual.

If you're just talking about allowing yourself to be open to the Earth's energies, and to allow your flow to harmonize with it's flow, just make sure you know how to come back to yourself afterwards.

In all these things, especially channeling the Earth's energy or drawing it into you, if you need to ask, you don't have enough experience to try it. Whenever working with foreign energy, there is a need to re-balance your system.

The second thing you asked about was of finding a way to tap into energy more directly. Well, there are many sources from which you can draw energy, the Sun, the Moon, natural forces such as the wind, living creatures similar to you such as the forrest. Some sources radiate energy as part of their natural harmony with everything else, such as the sun, others that should or must be asked to give you their energy. You could always choose to try and steal it, but this is hardly a way to make friends. This just scratches the surface, there are many places to draw energy from which are more esoteric and less intuitive, but I think this is either a matter of personal edification or of following a tradition. One such place is the 'universal source', if you're looking for some massive reservoir of energy, looking into this would be a good place to start as many people have written about it.

Keep in mind that, among others, you will have three abilities: 1) your own personal energy capacity, which defines how much energy can healthily circulate in your own system. 2) your ability to safely channel larger amounts of energy without turbulence and without damaging yourself. 3) your ability to manipulate and control energy.

Also, energy from outside yourself will have a certain 'flavor'. Certain flavors will be easier for you to work with than others. Adding foreign energy to your own system is bad, you wouldn't inject gravy into your veins would you? No, so if you want to increase the energy in your own personal system, it must be consumed and digested in order to make it part of you (different traditions have different techniques or rituals for doing this).

In any case, this is my very abbreviated view of things. The questions you've asked actually have many angles to them, and you really need to start following some tradition, or get yourself a teacher in order to find answers which will make sense to you.

cheers,

T. Guy.

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Postby [DarkWoman] » Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:59 am

:P LOL! I was so off... anyways, I really don't know much about this. I work with energy exchange all of the time, including grounding, but what thatguy is talking about seems extreamely different that what I do. I would be interested to hear more, if possible. Also, the ley lines Eretik suggested seems like an awesome idea. I have also heard of these power spots that are like concentrated doses of massive amounts of energy. I haven't worked with any hot spots and I don't think I live near any either. I would love to work with one sometime and experience it first hand. Energy work is always fascinating, isn't it?
DarkWoman.
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Sercee
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Postby Sercee » Fri Dec 01, 2006 10:38 am

As far as hot spots, there are the big attractions (Ayer's Rock, Stonehenge etc), but there are smaller ones hidden all over the place. If you go out to any natural area and allow yourself to feel for the energy you can be surprised at what you find. I've been surprised a couple of times, especially when I found one inside my city. I found out later that it's a favorite spot for several witch-type people (I don't feel like rooting for a proper word) in my area. It's in a ravine not far from the bar strip (Whyte Ave) but you have to leave the paved path to get there. Which is good, less people can find it and wreck it.

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Postby thatguy » Sat Dec 02, 2006 12:27 am

:P LOL! I was so off... anyways, I really don't know much about this. I work with energy exchange all of the time, including grounding, but what thatguy is talking about seems extreamely different that what I do.
:) I couldn't say that you're off at all. Actually, I'd really like to hear more about what you were talking about if you don't mind. It sounds very interesting, and I'm always up for broadening my horizons.
I would be interested to hear more, if possible.
Thank-you for the qualification to that. I'm not really sure there's much to tell. Was there anything in particular? I'll do my best in sharing what I know.

cheers,

T. Guy.

[DarkWoman]
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Postby [DarkWoman] » Sat Dec 02, 2006 4:28 pm

:P Sercee, that sounds really cool. As soon as I have more than just a spare moment, I will go hunting for hot spots. Hopefully I can find one tucked away from public viewing. I figured I will take my pendulum around my house first, lol. No harm in trying, right? And then over a map of my city. I don't think there are many historical places in south Florida, but who knows... It's really cool that you found one. Considering the circumstances, I don't think its weird that many open-minded people are drawn to that area. We are pretty much drawn to "good" energy and repeled by "bad" energy. At least that's my experience.

Thatguy, my path is pretty simple and not very formal. I do work with energy exchange a lot, where I draw energy from natural sources for various reasons, or give a quality of my own energy to something else (like in healing rituals...) I draw in energy from the Sun for healing a lot, and to help things or ideas grow, or just in meditation. I draw in the Moon for intuition, calm, magick, and mainly (because I am a woman) to keep my cycles in tune with her energies. When grounding, I always focus on Earth, visualizing myself as a tree, sending down my roots into the ground and connecting or drawing up stabalizing energy.
It's a great way to get energetically intimate with all of nature. You know how people always talk about an energetic blueprint? Well everything and everyone has it and allowing yourself to feel it or take it into yourself allows you to experience the source on a more spiritual level. I do this with crystals all the time too. I can close my eyes and be able to tell which crystal I am holding or holding my hand over because of the way they make me feel. (This only works for the 7 crystal types I own though. I have to get to know others in order to be able to tell one apart from the other.) So I hope that let you know a little bit more about what I do with energy. Also, I'm not a vampire. I don't do thins sort of thing with people, besides being empathic. It can really change my mood into a sour one when I am too open. So sometimes I hate crowds.

What I want to ask of you is what type of path you follow? Does it have a name or is it more so something you would have to describe. I would also like to know how you work with energy, like Earth's energy, and why you view certain types of connections as being destructive. Lol, I may be asking too much, but I am just very inquisitive. Thanks for giving me the go ahead to ask.
DarkWoman
All healing takes place in the dark.

Steven

Postby Steven » Sun Dec 03, 2006 1:07 pm

Excellent advice guys, Thanks.

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Postby thatguy » Sun Dec 03, 2006 4:10 pm

DarkWoman, thank-you for sharing your description of your path. I quite enjoyed it, and I'd love to hear more. I haven't worked with rocks before, I'd like to hear about what you do with them. Considering you describe your path as informal, I think I'd learn a lot from hearing you talk about this aspect.
What I want to ask of you is what type of path you follow? Does it have a name or is it more so something you would have to describe. I would also like to know how you work with energy, like Earth's energy, and why you view certain types of connections as being destructive. Lol, I may be asking too much, but I am just very inquisitive. Thanks for giving me the go ahead to ask.
DarkWoman
My path is mainly derived from a set of qi gong exercises and techniques which I learned from my teacher. I also incorporate techniques which I've learned from other teachers (this properly follows tradition). My teacher was from mainland China where he learned from his teachers. My path does not have a name, and would best be described as 'my way of doing things', before this it was 'my teacher's way of doing things'. I don't mean this to sound deep or meaningful, it's really a simple matter of one person follows another person. To give some context, many of the meditation forms were originally derived from the practices of various Buddhist and Taoist schools. With what little I have learned, like the teachers before me, I contemplate my knowledge and I adjust my practices. I used to teach when I was younger, but I don't teach now, maybe in the future I'll be a teacher again.

You asked how I work with energy. Other than when I perform my main meditation or when I seriously practice my body exercises, I don't actually work that often with energy anymore. Usually, during my main meditation, I am gently drawing in the energy given off by the Sun, and sometimes the Moon. I use this energy to excite certain energy points in my body, and, combining it with breath, use it to fuel my dan tien (seat of heaven) and convert it to my own energy. This energy is used to clear my 'channels' (the paths through which my energy flows) and to gradually increase the capacity of my personal energy system.

Currently, I almost always use my own personal energy whenever I send energy to someone else, or in some rare case, use energy for healing. When I was younger, I learned that energy could be drawn from many different sources. I used to use this energy to heal, but since the very small things I learned about healing indicated that one should aim to do as little as possible, I currently refrain from healing at all in most circumstances.

I can't say for myself that I am a great healer. I have to admit that I used to have some talent at it, but only in order to be truthful. Most of the time I restrain myself from acting at all, although sometimes I will choose to act, and without any restraint. I find this a paradoxical attitude, but life is strange.

I practically never work directly with the Earth's energy. To clarify, I don't mean that I walk around ignoring nature, nor do I prevent myself from connecting to the Earth in the natural way that we all do. I'm quite fond of the wild, and I enjoy harmonizing with it. What I mean, is that I don't often apprehend the Earth as a gestalt entity with a large portion of my attention and tap its energy directly.

You asked me why I think that certain types of connections as being destructive. I'm not quite sure what you're asking about here. Is it something I've said in this topic, or are you referring to the post I made regarding the young lady and her boyfriend?

If you're referring to my cautions about tapping into powerful energy sources, then I suggest against it (to the inexperienced) for a few reasons. One reason is that if you channel energy from a massive source, it can be like putting too much pressure on a set of pipes. The pipes will shake and rattle, some leaks will appear, and sometimes they will burst. A physical symptom that you are channeling a lot of energy is that your arms and legs will shake, this is a sign that your channels are not 'through' enough to allow the fluid passage of so much energy; turbulence appears. This may be alright for short periods of time, and, in fact, will generally occur when training to make your channels more 'through' (make them like flexible, unobstructed pipes). However, under too much acute stress, or under undue stress for a prolonged period, your energy circulatory system can be damaged. Another reason is that everything possesses it's own 'flavor(s)' of energy, and the energy of every thing contains some of the 'personality' of that thing. We become like that we pay attention to. Great power can have a strong hold our attention.

Compared to another human, the Earth is old, the Earth is strange, the Earth is massive, and the Earth has it's own personality. We live here on the surface, and indeed we live in harmony with the Earth, but this is different from becoming like the Earth. Think about the effect that a charismatic (or strong) personality can have on you. Simply by interacting with you, it can cause your beliefs to change, and it can cause you to start changing how you act. Normally we think this way only about another person; people in general are very similar to each other. Tapping directly into the energy of another entity which is more alien to you than another person, and, which is much more powerful than you are, can definitely alter you. We can develop rituals to overcome some of these problems. My own tradition's ritual for drawing energy from the Sun was originally modeled after how a lotus flower interacts with the Sun. In nature, the various things do exchange energy with each other, but they do so in a balanced and harmonious way which has developed over much time. The way you describe your own ritual for connecting to the Earth is also modeled after a natural process (that of a tree).

I'm not saying that connecting with the Earth intimately and tapping into its energy directly is out of the question, I'm saying that the reasons for doing so should be known, and that personally I feel there are real pitfalls for doing so as a novice. I think that if someone is looking for an intense, exhilarating and rare experience by tapping into powerful and strange energies, they will have one. Maybe it's even important to have this kind of experience, I can't say I know. I'm also certainly not saying there is anything wrong with losing yourself completely or bonding deeply with whatever it is you choose to bond with. I think the trick is in coming back to yourself, if that is what you intend.

At the end of the day, I can't really say anything at all about what is the right thing to do and what is the wrong thing to do. I'm only some person, just like the rest. I'm really only offering my opinion on the matter. I think there's an infinite number of ways to view one thing or another. Really, all we can trust is our own personal experience. In fact, I really have no idea how my thoughts or suggestions will be interpreted. All I can really hope for is that something I say might help another arrange their thoughts in a way which benefits them.

I hope I somewhat answered some of your questions.

cheers,

T. Guy.

thatguy
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Postby thatguy » Sun Dec 03, 2006 4:11 pm

Steven, you're quite welcome. Hopefully one of us helped your understanding.

cheers,

T. Guy.

Baratoz
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Re: grounding question

Postby Baratoz » Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:10 pm

I feel that I am pretty clear on the method and purpose of grounding after spell work. Grounding the excess energy out of the body to prevent unpleasant side effects and such. Correct me if I'm wrong of course.

Here is my question: Has anyone ever heard of drawing the energy up and into them, essentially grounding in reverse to harness the very energy that grounding dissipates? We are using the energy that we later ground, are we not? Could gathering more energy (if this is doable) possibly amplify results?

I have seen nothing of this. Could it be due to lack of plausibility or due to potential harm? Please advise.

As others have said, it can also be a source. I myself primarily draw energy from the earth. I will sometimes use the Moon to charge tools and crystals though.

When I draw from the earth I visualize my feet as roots digging deep into the ground and drawing up energy. When I ground the unused energy I do it through my hands by placing them on the altar or back through my feet the way it came.

I’m getting very good at drawing up energy and moving it through my body. I only ever drew to much once and I am careful to avoid that now.
Only through silence can we truly hear the words of the Goddess and God.

Eretik
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Postby Eretik » Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:33 pm

Here's a thought for you - where do the stones and crystals we use come from? What energies are we tapping when we use them? Why do so many people see energy transfer as a one way route? Think also about the standing stones and ancient holy places,all just astronomical observatories, or linking Earth and Sky, uniting powerful energies in one place? Why would they do that? Remember also some of our most ancient holy places lie within the Earth itself.

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Postby Sobek » Sun Dec 03, 2006 7:08 pm

i wouldnt say we "tap" into the earths energy because we are a part of the earths energies.


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