Grounding spell

Deflecting everyday stresses

Everyday modern life is full of stresses that have the potential to develop into serious strains on our health or our relationships. This is true whether you are a high-flying entrepreneur, a student, a secretary, a factory worker, or a full-time parent. It is especially important, therefore, that our living spaces provide us with a sense of "groundedness" against the stresses that cause instability and imbalance in our lives. 

This spell literally "grounds" your stress, as it uses soil, or compost, in which you can symbolically bury your anxieties. It combines an old magical technique--that of letting the element of Earth sort out the bad energies from the good and thus provide stability with the modern magic of psychological "self talk." This provides an ideal brew for those coping with modern life and its accompanying strains, and a beautiful visual feature for your living room. Whenever you water your plant, remember that you are not only nourishing the plant, but also growing the spell that keeps you grounded. This will add to the spell's power.  

This spell should be carried out on a New Moon, as this is a good time to strengthen yourself from within. It can be done on any day of the week. 

What you need

• Three sheets of old newspaper 
• One standard terra-cotta flowerpot. approximately 5 inches / 13 cm in diameter 
• Bulb compost to fill the pot. One small gardening trowel or a dessertspoon • One black candle, approximately 6 inches / 15 cm in length. placed in a secure holder 
• Matches or a lighter 
• One salt shaker
• Ink pen with some black ink
• One strip of paper approximately 1 x 4 inches / 2.5 x 10 cm 
• One flowering bulb, any indoor variety  

What to do

• Place all the ingredients on a table in the center of the living room, with the sheets of newspaper underneath the pot. 
• Half fill the flowerpot with compost, using the gardening trowel or spoon. 
• Light the candle, saying: May the energies of the New Moon, Who takes away unwanted things, And transforms them, Do the some for what I commit to this Earth. 
• Using the salt shaker. create a circle of salt around the base of the pot, and not less than 3 inches / 7.5 cm away from it. 
• Take the pen and write down on the strip of paper the word "STRESS." 
• Press the paper hard between your hands and imagine all the anxiety and pressure that you feel at the end of a difficult day passing into it. 
• Roll the paper up into a tiny, tight scroll and push it into the compost in the pot. 
• Place the bulb in the pot, and cover it with compost up to the end of the shoot. 
• Place your palms on the soil in the pot, saying: Earth take away, All I wish away, Transform all gloom Into flowers that bloom. 
• Take a deep breath and blow away the circle of salt. 
• Care for your bulb in accordance with any instructions that come with it, and repeat the action with the pen and paper scroll whenever you feel the need to de-stress and get "grounded."  

You have completed the spell.