In recent months I have been watching YouTube videos made by witches/Pagans/root workers and everything in between.  I can’t help but notice the staggering abundance of content related to protection rituals, protection spells and protection talismans.  Protection.  Everywhere.

Am I the only magick worker who does not feel the need to cast a protection spell every week?  Am I the only witch who doesn’t sage my entire aura and house every month?

What are these witches protecting themselves from?

I look at protection magick the same way I view law enforcement.  I am totally not paranoid of a police car.  I know people who will chomp at the bit if and when a policeman pulls in behind them in traffic even if they aren’t doing anything wrong!  They will still obsess over until the squad car is no longer following them.  I assume this is the same kind of person who would do all these protection rituals.

Personally I do not feel the need to protect myself from much.  I have been known to do ‘dark’ magick.  Why?  Because I feel that as a human all emotions are valid.  I carefully consider all sides of the coin before doing ANY magick.  If I’ve stewed on it for a day or two and I still want to cast something bordering on vengeful – I will do it.  Why?  Because in my mind it is better to release the urge rather than lie to myself and pretend I’m totally cool.  Goddess knows I wouldn’t be true to myself or Spirit.

Perhaps I should explain a bit.  I have never done anything mean.  I have never casted a spell to cause harm.  The times I have done something which would be considered “dark” … well .. I’ll tell the story.

Gather round! 🙂

I have had some bad relationships.

Fresh out of highschool I met a guy who was impossibly good looking.  He lived about 10 miles away and went to a different school.  I was so astounded he was at all interested in me.  Not that I have ever been repulsive – but I didn’t consider myself in the same league with him.

The night we met in a random parking lot hanging out as 18 year olds in a town of about 7 thousand people we were just inseparable.  I was infatuated with his good looks.  He was attracted by my sense of humor, honesty, and my insight.

Quite a few months passed.  At first I hadn’t noticed that he no longer had a job and had spent his every waking moment near me.  When he woke up, he would call me.  When he had dressed and showered – my parents’ doorbell would be ringing.  We’d just graduated highschool so it was common for young people to still live with their family.  When I had to go to my job as a clerk at a liquor store – he would show up about an hour into my shift.

At first I loved all this attention.  It simply amazed me that anyone would find such joy in me that they would want to always be near me!  I was so smitten with how ‘into’ me he was that I hadn’t noticed any warning signs.

Slowly my friends stopped calling.  Bit by bit I stopped participating in anything that didn’t involve this new boyfriend.

When the isolation had begun I assumed I was doing it to myself.  Oh, I am working a lot of hours so I don’t have time for many social things.  Oh I’m just tired from working a night shift in a liquor store and going to college during the day.  The only reason I don’t hang out with an of my friends anymore is because we are all too busy for each other.

It wasn’t me.

It was him.

He was isolating me to control me.  I hadn’t noticed but I was no longer listening to songs I liked.  I was only listening to what he liked.  I wasn’t wearing my usual clothes.  I was wearing things he would ‘casually’ point out and say “Oh Jen you’d look really good in that!”  I wasn’t reading books I enjoyed – I was finding books on topics HE was fluent in so we could have conversation about what HE wanted to talk about.

All this is abuse.

It didn’t hit me until a long-time friend came into the store I worked at and said, out loud “Everyone is worried for you.  You aren’t yourself.  You’ve changed in a bad way since New Boyfriend came on the scene.  Is he hurting you?”  Since New Boyfriend was always near me – he flew into a rage.

I had never seen him get so completely angry.  I had never seen him even frustrated!  This incident did frighten me, but I excused it. Well afterall if someone had said derogatory things about me I’d likely be upset, too!

The isolation grew worse.

It got physical one night that I suggested we go to one of my friends’ houses.

Why on Earth would I want to hang out with these friends?  These friends had totally abandoned me!  They haven’t called me in months!  They don’t care about me.  No one probably does.  I heard all the terrible things they said about New Boyfriend and he has done nothing but love me since the moment he met me.  They have to be completely awful people to be so jealous of me being loved.

They’re good people – I said.  They’ve been busy, I explained.  Of course they still care about me I’ve just been spending so much time with You (New Boyfriend) that I haven’t made time for them.

Slap.

This is not his fault.  I have done something to drive the others away.

What have I done?  I go to work.  I go to school.  I spend time with you.  I’ve done nothing.

Punch.

Slap.

He can’t believe how insulting I am!  I completely do not appreciate anything he has done for me.  I am probably acting like this because I am fucking someone else.

Slap.

Shove.

Choke.

There was no one else.  I promise.  He can ask anyone.

That wasn’t even the last time he hit me.  This was just the first time.  I was so busy trying to defend myself against his WORDS that the fact he was now physically abusing me didn’t even bother me!

The second time was worse.  It was the last time.

When I decided to break ties I told my parents what had happened.  They were very saddened that I had not come to them sooner.  They could see he was suffocating me with his physical presence but they chalked it up to puppy love because in their eyes – everyone would fall for me ‘like that’ because I am wonderful.

This was the first time I had done a protection spell.

I did not wish him harm.

I simply casted a spell to ask spirit to guide him to do good deeds.  I asked my guides to protect me while  I broke it off with him.  I was afraid.

I made a spell bottle with items to both send back his negativity, but also to ‘heal’ and soften him.  BUT.  But – in this bottle I included items which would inflict him with equal negativity and nasty stuff if he messed with me.

Here are the ingredients I used:

• A small glass jar (it was a peanut butter jar)   -This symbolised that I wanted his rage and anger contained in close quarters.
• Nails                                                ————-nails are used to construct things – but can also be used as weapons
• Broken Glass            ———symbolised how even when something is perceived broken can still serve a purpose
• Bullet          ——-deadly when the VESSEL is aimed correctly
• 1 small mirror (unbroken)         ————–to reflect his ugly negativity back to him
• My Menstrual Blood   ————Ties the bottle to me further.  It is mixed with all the ingredients.  The bottle and its contents are ‘exposed’ to the most primal parts of me.
• Obsidian   ————-I feel this stone harnesses all the energy of the volcano it came from — meaning my spell will have continued energy for years and years
• Quartz      ———–the man was so awful – I wanted to be sure that any negativity which lingered could be cleared by this quartz.

I don’t remember the words I said.  I  know I asked that this bottle protect me for all my Earthly days from this man.  I asked that this bottle also help him see his errors and resonate with his spirit to turn his strength and virility into something positive.  If he must fight – let him be a professional boxer.  If he must hit someone – let it be for good purpose.  If he must be a psycho – let him help the FBI solve murder cases committed by abusive husbands/boyfriends/fathers.

Since then I have not done a true protection spell.  I have done clearings where I have neutralised energies …. like when I move into a different house.  However, I do not feel there is anything which I should be protected from.

Do these YouTube witches have so many enemies that they honestly need all this protection?  Or … are they being paranoid about seeing a police car (a perceived threat) in their rear-view mirror?

Any opinions?

Do you do protection spells often?

Why?

Let’s discuss it in the comments!