Boundaries of Protection | Elements and Thurisaz

This is Thurisaz, the Futhark rune of protection and defense. It resembles a thorn, presenting both a protection/defense to outside attackers, but also an obstacle to the person who cannot surmount his own willful feelings.

This is a pentacle, symbolizing the unity of the five elements which are representative of any sentient being’s characteristics.

Because I have recently turned to working with runes as well as the elements, and find them the most useful for me for someone who does not pray to any deity or pantheon of deities, I shall be talking about creating boundaries of protection using Thurisaz, and the pentacle.

I feel that before working with any system of energies, or system of techniques, it is important to first dedicate oneself to the energies of that system first before anything else. ‘Dedication’ does not mean a ‘contract’ formed, such as when a wiccan/witch enters a coven; such as when a druid enters into one particular guild or system, and so on. ‘Dedication’ to me means acknowledging the existence of the energies; respecting their ability to create or destroy, to heal or hurt; and to ask their permission to integrate oneself with them, and them into oneself, so that with the knowledge that one has permission of the energies to use them within boundaries (and sometimes with consequences), a person can wield the energies to some extent in affecting effects.

It is an important thing to first ask permission of the elements in dedication, in explaining what you intend to do, how you intend to use them, and so on. Because the elemental energies are not simply the ‘objects’ we find in everyday experiences, but are also corresponding to the body and spirit:
Earth – solidity, grounding, being firm and practical;
Fire – passion, drive, anger, rage, hate;
Wind – breath (life), freedom, fluidity, flighty, indecisions
Water – flow, strength, turbulence, blood
Spirit – potential, chances, possibilities, unity.

For each element, there will be a balance – creative, and destructive. For example, the earth provides fertility for sustenance, but in earthquakes and landslides, provide swift burial grounds to the victims; fire can be used to cook, to sterilize, or to light the darkness, but it can also burn out of control, burn from within; wind provides air to breathe, for the soul to fly on, giving a cooling effect to a hot day, but tornadoes, gales, typhoons and all these show the flighty side of wind, as it creates or destroys according to its whims; water is essential to anything to grow, and it is also the blood that flows through any body, but think about tsunamis, about undercurrents, and remember the hidden power of water.

One should never forget the dual nature of everything, even of the elements, and in dedicating oneself to the elements, you should not forget to truly accept the consequences of a wrong use with a wrong intention.

With that said, to create a boundary of protection, first imagine a glowing Thurisaz forming right beneath where you stand/sit. See it blazing in a bright color of your choice, whichever feels the best to you. (I use red because I feel an affinity with fire) Depending on how large you want your circle of protection to be, visualize the Thurisaz sign expanding or shrinking until your desired size.

With that one, visualize a pentacle forming on top of Thurisaz, one overlaying on top of the other so that both are still somewhat visible.

Start with the first point of the pentacle. It seems the easiest to think of earth first. So for that point, imagine a visual collection of soil, of the ground, of plants digging their roots deeply in, providing anchorage and a solid ground to build your defense upon. Take all the time you need until you have settled with a suitable imagery for yourself.

Then, fire seems the next easiest choice. On the next point of the pentacle, imagine a small fire burning on some logs. Then, according to what suits you the best, you can feed that small fire until it blazes and provides an impenetrable wall of flames, or allow it to remain as it is until you feel that you really need it. Feed it with your passion, with the burning nature of fire itself.

Wind, the air which feeds fire, will come next. On the first point of the pentacle, imagine an almost-physical image of wind blowing. Visualize a gentle breeze, or a destructive typhoon, swirling around, spinning, providing a tremendous obstacle to anyone who wishes to enter uninvited.

Water, flowing and ever-changing, adaptable, yet turbulent and tumultuous, gentle as a still lake, or raging as a waterfall. Visualize a body of water eddying about on the fourth point of the pentacle, with hidden depths and undercurrents, or being quiet as a soft bubbling brook. Set water as an adaptable element that could change at any time.

For the last point of the pentacle, spirit, intent the inherent potential of anything to happen, the chances and possibilities for you to grab hold and work on. Intent for the possibilities to be in your favor, to work with you, and be prepared to work hard to make those chances happen.

And, if you do not want any entities or anyone to see and be able to gauge the boundaries of protection around yourself, then intent to make the pentacle and Thurisaz ‘invisible,’ with their potential hidden and latent until you call them up in times of need.

Meditation | Grounding

This version of my grounding technique has been adapted from the Rainbow Healing/Language of Light meditation I used to attend in 2005.

Sit down, either on a chair, or cross-legged, whichever is most comfortable for you. Ensure that your back and spine are straight. Rest your hands palms-up on your lap, close your eyes, and consciously breathe slowly, letting your mind slow down and linger on the in…out…in…out… of your breathing.

Once you feel suitably calm, try to feel which parts of your body you feel the most tensed up in. The most frequent areas to note are the forehead, the neck, the shoulders and the back of the shoulders, the throat, the base of the spine, and the chest. Imagine the tension at those places as ropes knotted up tightly, and visualize hands slowly working the knots free, one by one. Take all the time you need, all the while breathing slowly.

After the release of tension is done (don’t worry if you still feel a little tight in places), give yourself a few seconds to return to the breathing stage.

Then, visualize that a connection is being built between your body and the center of the earth, starting from the base of your spine. I have utilized different imageries every time I ground, since every time, what feels more natural is different. You might want to imagine tree roots growing downwards, digging and penetrating the soil until you reach the magma; you might imagine yourself finding a cave with a tunnel which leads to the magma. And so on. Visualize what is best for you at that moment.

Once you’ve reached the center of the earth, visualize building blocks (tree roots growing sideways; pillars etc.) anchoring you firmly to the earth, and then draw the earth’s glowing red fire up through the connection, into the base of your spine, and up through your whole body, filling you up as the blood travels around.

From the crown of your head, visualize a similar connection extending upwards, to the sky, or to whichever source you prefer. Search for the light of the sun, the stars, the moon, or any other celestial bodies you might want to ask for help from. Draw those lights into your body, just like you did with the magma. Fill the lights merging with the fiery-red; is it red-gold because of the sun? Is it silvery-red-gold because of the addition of the sun and moon? Try to imagine those.

Once you are comfortable with the imageries of the lights filling your body, imagine the seven chakras in your body opening up: the crown of the head; the forehead; the throat; the heart;  the chest/solar plexus; above the navel; and at the base of the spine. I like to think of them like ring binders, opening up so that as the lights rush through my body, all the emotional/spiritual debris are washed out at the openings.

With that done, return your breathing to normal. Take as long as you need or want to focus again, and then thank whatever sources of energy you borrowed from before breaking the connections gently.

Grounding takes practice. Don’t worry if you still feel spacey sometimes, or if you fall asleep.