Recently, I was asked to put together a series of resources on creating wards, so this article is the beginning of many resources to come.
Wards can best be thought of as a magickal barrier intended to either keep something in OR keep something out. Many practitioners solely focus on warding something out of their home, space, or life—but there are many powerful uses for warding things into a home, space, or life.
Personally, I like to think of wards as a type of “force field” created through directed energy and intentions that are fueled by an energetic force and anchored to something to give them stability.
For example, if I wanted to create a ward to keep unwanted energies or entities OUT of my house, I would create a ward that acted as a barrier surrounding my home, potentially fueled by the magickal plants growing in my garden (such as rosemary, basil, or lavender—all great protective energies) and anchored to the land the house sits on to stabilize and maintain the placement of the ward.
Who typically creates wards?
Wards are often a go-to practice of many different spiritual practitioners who need heightened levels of protection for themselves and their families. Wards are especially necessary for anyone dabbling in magickal arts, working with energy on a frequent basis, performing rituals or healing practices on a regular basis, or those who find themselves frequently attracting or interacting with outside energies.
Wards require a significant amount of directed energy and intentions, so newer practitioners may find themselves feeling tired, drained, or fatigued after crafting a ward, but generally speaking, creating wards shouldn’t have a tremendous toll on you if you’re properly grounding and taking care of your physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
For me, I also take into consideration the size and nature of the ward in order to properly prepare beforehand, rest and recharge, etc.
Wards are not evil. They are a spiritual form of protection that can be found within nearly all spiritual and religious practices under different names. For example, a ward in Christianity is created when people pray to their higher power for protection for their church or building and anoint the walls with oil. Can it be dangerous? If not performed correctly, there can be a false sense of security that could have negative consequences, and with baneful wards, there can certainly be dangerous outcomes for those who violate the boundary that has been cast. But is it inherently dangerous or evil? No, not at all.
While it can be scary to perform a new type of spiritual practice, it is much scarier to be unprotected from energies and entities, including other practitioners, who have ill intentions. To overcome fears surrounding wards, start with simple wards for your house or personal space, and then branch out as your confidence grows.
If you’re ready to welcome all that comes with diving into wards, the following practice is one you can explore in alignment with your intentions and goals.
When people begin the process of warding, they are tapping into a large supply of energy within themselves and can quickly become susceptible to being drained, exhausted, fatigued, etc., so it’s incredibly important to take warding VERY slow. It’s best not to craft multiple wards in a short period of time without taking the proper time to rest, recharge, and prepare.
Grounding before any form of warding is incredibly important as it ensures that you are connected to your body, the material realm, and very much present for everything that is to follow. A lot of times, when we have experienced great deals of resistance in the spiritual space or had frightening encounters with parasitic entities, we may want to quickly jump to creating a ward for greater protection, but crafting in a frazzled state can result in undesirable outcomes, so be intentional with grounding and take things slow. You can ground your energy in several ways including, spending time in nature, walking barefoot on the grass or soil to feel the connection to the earth, sitting crisscross on the ground to connect your root energy source to the earth, imagining roots growing from your feet into the earth anchoring you firmly, practicing intentional breathing exercises, and more. Remember that grounding is a personal practice, so feel free to explore different techniques and find what works best for you.
To cleanse the energy of your space before performing any type of warding, you can smoke cleanse with sacred dried herbs, sound cleanse with bells or singing bowls, or utilize energy-clearing sprays like Florida water or other cleansing blends. Each method has its unique way of clearing negative energy and creating a positive environment for your shadow work, so use whatever method is easily doable and works best for you. Remember to be intentional through the process, so if you are going to cleanse with burning dried herbs, for example, do not simply wave the burning herbs and smoke around, but set your intentions and focus on cleansing the space you’ll be working in of any negative or stagnant energy so that you have a neutral starting point.
After cleansing the space to bring it to a neutral state energetically speaking, you’ll then want to protect yourself and the space from any additional unwanted energies from entering during the ward creation process. This is a critical step as it helps minimize the risk of any disturbances or accidentally warding something into your space that shouldn’t be there. Protection can be implemented by setting an energetic boundary, such as casting a circle, if this aligns with your spiritual path and beliefs, wearing protective crystals, such as black obsidian, black tourmaline, or hematite, or casting a protection spell.
You can protect your space and create a protective circle with the support of the elements using the steps below.
Facing East, speak: “Thank you to the East and the element of Air for protecting and assisting me with this ward and allowing me to create a powerful barrier of protection. Hail and welcome!”
Turning right and facing South, speak: “Thank you to the South and the element of Fire for protecting and assisting me with this ward and allowing me to create a powerful barrier of protection. Hail and welcome!”
Turning right and facing West, speak: “Thank you to the West and the element of Water for protecting and assisting me with this ward and allowing me to create a powerful barrier of protection. Hail and welcome!”
Turning right and facing North, speak: “Thank you to the North and the element of Earth for protecting and assisting me with this ward and allowing me to create a powerful barrier of protection. Hail and welcome!”
After effectively grounding yourself and cleansing and protecting the space you’ll be working in, here are a few different methods that I have personally used to craft a ward. Remember, after the ward is created, you will want to close out the ritual in reverse order by re-protecting yourself and your space, re-cleansing yourself and your space from any lingering negative or stagnant energy, and re-grounding yourself to diffuse built-up energy from the working itself. AND THEN taking plenty of time for resting and recharging your energy.
Start by identifying exactly what you are wanting to ward, and the energies you’re intending to ward IN and/or the energies you’re intending to ward OUT. It is important to be very intentional and specific in order to create an effective ward.
How do you actually create the ward itself? There are multiple ways to go about it…
After the ward is created, take a moment to close out the protective circle that was created with the support of the elements. These steps will be done in reverse order from how they were first performed.
Stand up and facing North, speak: “Thank you to the North and the element of Earth for protecting and assisting me with this ward and allowing me to create a powerful barrier of protection. Thank you and farewell.”
Turning left and facing West, speak: “Thank you to the West and the element of Water for protecting and assisting me with this ward and allowing me to create a powerful barrier of protection. Thank you and farewell.”
Turning left and facing South, speak: “Thank you to the South and the element of Fire for protecting and assisting me with this ward and allowing me to create a powerful barrier of protection. Thank you and farewell.”
Turning left and facing East, speak: “Thank you to the East and the element of Air for protecting and assisting me with this ward and allowing me to create a powerful barrier of protection. Thank you and farewell.”
To cleanse your energy (and space if you feel it’s necessary) after creating a ward, you can utilize the same method you did at the beginning of the ritual, such as smoke cleansing with sacred dried herbs, using sound cleansing with bells or singing bowls, or utilizing energy clearing sprays like Florida water or other cleansing blends.
Alternatively, you also might opt for something that’s more personal to cleanse yourself, such as a ritual cleansing shower or bath. Remember to be intentional through the process, so if you are going to cleanse with burning dried herbs again, for example, do not simply wave the burning herbs and smoke around yourself or your space, but set your intentions and focus on cleansing your energy so that you feel clean, refreshed, and energized.
Grounding after creating a ward is incredibly important as it ensures that any excess energy is redirected back to the ground/earth. You can ground your energy utilizing the same method you did at the beginning of the ritual, such as spending time in nature, walking barefoot on the grass or soil to feel the connection to the earth, sitting crisscross on the ground to connect your root energy source to the earth, imagine roots growing from your feet into the earth anchoring you firmly, practicing intentional breathing exercises, etc.
May you walk your path with wisdom and prudence. Blessed be on your journey of spiritual growth and healing.
