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Crystals:

Agate - for use on a target who has entered a space uninvited, i.e. someone breaking into your home or vehicle

Alexandrite - causes obsession and delusions

Amethyst - causes sensitivity and self-destruction

Astrophyllite - causes those who have died at the hands of another to torment the target from the grave

Diamond - causes blindness, confusion, and disorientation

Diopside - lowers inhibitions and causes secrets to be revealed

Emerald - causes greed, selfishness, and isolation

Flint - causes conflicts

Garnet - leeches energy from a target

Kunzite - induces vulnerability 

Kyanite - used to infiltrate a target’s mind

Meteorite - used as a catalyst in baneful magick

Obsidian - used for general aggressive magick

Onyx - causes nightmares and mental torment, and is used to break up relationships

Opal - used to store negative energy, and then to be given to a target

Ruby - used to focus your intent on a target

Colors:

Black - law, justice, manifestation, sorrow

Red - force, energy, confrontation, jealousy, anger

Greenish Yellow - strife, discord, illness, conflict, jealousy, greed

Magenta - catalyst

Herbs:

Ague Weed - confusion 

Angelica Root - misery, strife, distress, discord

Asafoetida - drives enemies away

Bayberry - depression

Bindweed - binding

Blackberry Root - distress

Black Salt - misery, strife, distress, discord

Bladderwrack - illness

Bloodroot - substitute for blood

Blueberry - confusion, strife

Boneset - distress, confusion

Cayenne Pepper - anxiety

Chicory - discord

Chili Powder - discord, misery, strife

Cinquefoil - discomfort

Clove - stopping gossip

Cramp Bark - pain, illness

Dogbane - deception

Dragon’s Blood - destruction, strife, misery

Hemlock - discord, sadness

Henbane - illness, discord, melancholy

Jezebel Root - wickedness, ending relationships, punishing unfaithful lovers

Knot Weed - binding

Lemon - sourness, bitterness

Lemon Verbena - a boost of power, ending relationships

Lime - sourness, bitterness

Lobelia - discord

Mace - misery, strife

Mandrake - misery, strife

Mistletoe - isolation, confusion

Mullein - spirit work, nightmares

Mustard Seed - strife, discord

Myrrh - a boost of power

Nightshade (Belladonna) - discord, illness

Onion - strife

Patchouli - illness

Poke Root - confusion, discord

Poppy Seed - discord

Rue - misery

Safflower - destruction

Spanish Moss - bad luck

Slippery Elm - ending relationships

Stinging Nettle - jealousy, envy, discomfort

Sumac - bad luck

Tobacco - a substitute for any baneful herb

Tormentil - distress, harm, discord

Vetiver - silence

Wormwood (Absinthe) - misery, strife

Yew - spirit work

Yohimbe Bark - impotency

Planets:

Mars - power, force, energy, war, conflict, jealousy

Saturn - law, justice, chaos, revenge

Neptune - confusion, illusion, chaos

Pluto - death, mystery, crisis

Lunar Phases:

Waning - binding

Dark - destruction, banishing, justice

Black - power, manifestation

Taglocks:

DNA (saliva, nail clippings, hair, blood, etc.)

Drawings

Photos

The target’s name written on paper

The target’s signature

An item that belongs to the target

Other Ingredients:

Cigarette butts

Broken glass

Razorblades 

Vinegar

Lemon/lime juice

Alcohol

Bones

Needles

Nails

Thorns

Blood

Urine

Saliva

Shark teeth

Catfish spines

Murex seashells

Flying Devil Oil

Dead insects

Black sand

Charcoal

Disclaimer: I do not condone the unethical practice of collecting or harvesting animal parts, or forcefully obtaining certain biological taglocks. These are just ideas, and I am not responsible for anything you choose to do with them. 

Recently I was asked by wrecklessheartofg0ld and devinaswitchyhaven to describe my personal method of grounding because I don’t use the ‘growing roots’ method that I see a lot of people using. The way I describe my method would be more along the lines of ‘equalising myself’ and ‘connecting to the web’.

The reason I describe my method of grounding in this way is because, for me, grounding is a lot like equalising the pressure when you go scuba diving.  And you do this by ‘connecting to the web’ and letting yourself ‘equalise the pressure’ you feel from spellcasting or energy work.

If my analogy doesn’t make sense at the moment I promise I’ll go into greater detail later but first I should probably explain what grounding is and why you should do it for the people who have never come across the term.

Alright. So the term Grounding actually comes from the process of electrical grounding in which an object is allowed to discharge (get rid of its excess charge). If an object is negatively charged, grounding lets excess electrons to flow from the object into the earth, and if an object is positively charged, electrons flow from the earth into the object.

Within the magical community, this process of electrical grounding has been applied to create the witchy equivalent (though really it’s almost the same process and it’s called the same name).

This is based on the theory that magic is a form of energy and when a witch casts spells or practices energy work, it’s likely that they’ll end up with either too much or not enough personal energy. For a witch this can be an extremely uncomfortable experience especially if you are close to either side of the spectrum (i.e. very little personal energy or way too much personal energy).

Unfortunately there are also physical symptoms which usually accompany being unequalised such as headaches, migraines, uncomfortable buzzing sensations under the skin, nausea, vomiting, pain, irritability, insomnia and exhaustion. The symptoms are typically worse the further out of alignment you are.

Grounding also helps people who practice astral travel, dreamwork, journeying, and hedge hopping with reconnecting with ‘reality’ and feeling like you’re ‘in the now’ and present in the world.

Overall, grounding serves two purposes:

It stabilises and equalises your personal energy

It reconnects you with the earth and it’s systems (what I like to call ‘the web’) and helps you focus on reality and being ‘in the now’

In a perfect world, witches would learn how to ground before attempting to perform any magic or energy work, but unfortunately I see a lot of witches jump straight into casting spells without thinking of what it can to them.  Grounding really is an essential skill for any witch who wants to keep practicing witchcraft without horrible side effects.

So while there are many grounding techniques available, this one is my personal method. If this method does not work for you I would recommend looking at the classic ‘growing roots’ method.  

Connecting to the Web

Everything has its own energy/frequency/vibration/magic. Whatever you want to call it – everything has it. To ground effectively you need to be able to connect to this mass of energy and equalise your own personal energy.

For me, I visualise all of this energy as an intricately interwoven web (like a spider’s web or the internet); a mass of connections each transmitting their own energy and connecting to the whole. This is why I call it connecting to the web. Because for me, it is a web.

I developed this method of grounding because I found that I didn’t always have the time to sit down on the ground outside and sometimes it’s not appropriate (for example: At work or in the middle of class. Really whenever you feel that you need to equalise the pressure of either too much energy or not enough).

1)      First you have to visualise your own energy. You can do this sitting down, standing up, listening to a lecture, watching tv, sitting at your computer – ANYWHERE. You can close your eyes if that helps you however if you close your eyes for a long time in a public place this will become quite noticeable. The more you practice the faster you will be.

2)      Then you need to visualise ‘the web’. You won’t see all of it. You should be able to see the energy of the world around you and how it connects to each other. You won’t see the whole web. Maybe if you were out in space you could, but down here on earth you can only see the bits around you.

3)      You’re already connected to the web. That’s the best part. As a living, breathing organism which has its own personal energy; you are already connected. You just needed to be able to see it so you can get yourself back into alignment again. You should see a little tendril of energy coming from you and connecting to the web. You need to reinforce that connection.

I’m not gonna lie; grounding is hundred times easier if you can stand barefoot on the ground or sit outside with your palms resting on the ground. However, like I said earlier, that’s not always an option.

4)      Now for the equalising process. Like with scuba diving, I found the best way to equalise the pressure from either too much energy or not enough is to breathe. I know this may sound ridiculously simple – but it works. Take deep breaths and as you breathe in, draw in energy from the web. As you breathe out, send out your own energy to mingle with the web.

5)      It may take a few repetitions but you should feel settled once you finish. That buzzing under your skin will be gone and you will feel lighter and refreshed.

And that’s my method. Now I know some people recommend grounding every month or every week but really you should ground every day. I know that may seem like way too much work, but it really isn’t. The more you ground the faster and better you’ll be at it, so if you do it every day it becomes second nature. The second you start to feel off or out of alignment – equalise.

I hope this helps!