Ellen Dugan - Practical Protection Magick: Guarding & Reclaiming Your Power

The Enchanted Cat

2007 COVR AWARD WINNER

Best Book Magick/Shamanism Category

Cottage Witchery

"This is the perfect book to have around if you want to make every area of your home magical."-NewWitch

Herb Magic for Beginners

"A delightful little book."-Herb Quarterly

Garden Witch's Herbal

"A refreshing change from other gardenvariety horticulture books... entertaining as well as informative"-New Age Retailer

Elements of Witchcraft

"[Dugan's] wise-woman tone and gentle guidance will help nurture budding natural witches, and her well-written text will guide novices in their discoveries as well."-School Library Journal

Natural Witchery

2oo8 COVR AWARD WINNER

Best Book Wicca/Paganism Category

"Interspersed throughout the text are lively anecdotes from Dugan's own Samantha Stephens-esque household. The value of this book lies in the warm, personal touch Dugan uses both in her writing and in her craft"-Publishers Weekly

"This book is eminently useful. Dugan's voice is engaging and her work is practical and fun."-PanGaia

"A gold mine of concepts and resources for the novice to intermediate practitioner... Chock-full of relevant wisdom and lively humor."-Library journal

Ellen Dugan is an award-winning author and psychic-clairvoyant who has been a practicing Witch for over twenty-six years. She is high priestess of a mixed magick tradition coven in the St. Louis area. She gardens and practices her Craft in Missouri, where she lives with her family. Also known as the Garden Witch, she is the author of eleven Llewellyn books, including Garden Witchery, Cottage Witchery, Natural Witchery, and Garden Witch's Herbal. Ellen is also an experienced lecturer on a variety of topics, including tarot, psychometry, Witchcraft, and enchanted gardens.

Practical wisdom is only to be learned in the school of experience. Precepts and instructions are useful so far as they go, but, without the discipline of real life, they remain of the nature of theory only.

-SAMUEL SMILES

Play by the rules, but be ferocious.

-PHIL KNIGHT, founder of Nike

XV

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

To CHARLYNN, WHO keeps me organized and who was literally an extra set of eyes. Thank you for listening (and then gently yanking me back) when I started to babble and go off-topic ... You are a good friend and one hell of an assistant. I still say we should go find those cabana boys!

To my dear magickal friends and coven sisters: no, you cannot have those unedited, snarky pages, but thanks for laughing with me when I realized I needed to rein myself in. Thanks to you all for offering support, for brainstorming with me, and for loaning books and various magickal accoutrements. A special thanks to Ember for her on-the-spot information on crystals and stones-girlfriend, you "rock"! For Kathy, with her handy information about essential oils. Also to Jen-thanks for helping me see the trees in that forest!

A few words of appreciation to Mitchell and Darby for suggesting the warding chapter while we sat in that divine little German bakery in Birmingham. Also, thanks, Mitchell, for cheerfully answering all my questions about Southern magick. To Christopher, Marty, Trynna, Dawn, Heather, and Solstice for listening and for offering good suggestions when I hit the creative wall. For Mary, who tells me war stories about magick and her own experiences, and who makes me laugh when I really, really need it.

To Elysia, who has been enthusiastic about this project from the beginning, and to my editor Becky, who to her credit does not even flinch when I call and ask weird questions like how to list a king in the bibliography. You are simply the best!

Finally, to my family, with love.

Time, as he grows old, teaches many lessons.

-AESCHYLUS

I KNOW WHY you picked up this book-probably for the same reason I wrote it. You want true information about psychic attacks and protection magick.

I am going to give this to you straight; in my experience, that is the best way to handle these sorts of situations and challenges. We all have been there. We all have experienced unusual things in our Craft and in our lives, and we all have, at one time or another, questioned ourselves and wondered: is this a string of bad luck, is this just a coincidence, or is it more?

Are the nightmares a warning? Those feelings in the pit of your stomach-are they trying to tell you something? Could you be under a hex or have fallen victim to a psychic attack? And how do you know for sure? What is a psychic attack anyway?

Psychic attack is the purposeful projection of negative thoughts or energy to another person. Yes, it is real. And if you think about it, this is very similar to the description of a curse. You may be experiencing nightmares, a general feeling of dis-ease, or simply the inner knowing that something is "off." Perhaps you are dealing with a person who seems to drain you dry, a covenmate who causes nothing but drama and trouble, or a relative who always manipulates you emotionally. But whatever it is, something in your heart and your head is telling you that it is time for protection work.

I suggest that you listen to it.

Psychic and magickal attack can take many shapes and forms. Some of the effects of these attacks are subtle, and some manifest in ways that are not. The trick is to study this topic, to learn about it, and then to calmly apply the information in a practical way to your life and Craft. In this book, you will learn not only how to identify when something is afoot but how to ethically work self-defense magick, perform psychic protection, and much, much more.