Shielding, safety and your mental health

In this lesson: a simple shielding meditation, what difficult meditation experiences look like and when to stop and seek support.

Shielding is a meditation that many witches use before crowded places, difficult conversations or energy work. It is also a good moment to talk honestly about mental health, because meditation is powerful, and the most important protection you have is knowing when to stop.

A simple shield

Most shielding practices are visualizations. Ground yourself first, then imagine a boundary around your body: a sphere of light, a cloak, a hedge of thorns, a bubble of cool water. Choose what feels safe to you. Imagine that it lets in what is kind and keeps out what is not yours. When you are done with it, let it fade or soften. In my practice, shielding is less about fighting off attack and more about reminding myself where I end and other people begin.

Where shielding comes from

Historical The idea of surrounding yourself with protective light has several roots. In Christian tradition, the prayer known as St Patrick’s Breastplate (Lorica), an Old Irish hymn traditionally attributed to Patrick but probably written centuries later, calls on Christ to surround the speaker: “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me”.

Ceremonial magicians of the Golden Dawn practiced the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram in the 1890s, which ends with the magician imagining pentagrams and archangels on all sides. Modern witches and energy workers simplified these into the image of a bubble or egg of light around the body.

Modern Psychologically, shielding works like a boundary exercise. Imagining a protective layer can help some people feel safer in crowded or tense places. It does not replace real boundaries, like saying no, leaving a situation or asking for help, but it can support them.

A shield, step by step, with variations

Sit or stand comfortably and breathe slowly for a few breaths. Imagine a light at the center of your chest, any color that feels safe. Let it grow with each breath until it surrounds your whole body, about an arm’s length out, like an egg. Imagine its surface is flexible: it lets in kindness, fresh air and good things, and lets stress slide off. Say silently, “I am safe and steady.” Then let the image fade but keep the feeling. The whole practice takes one minute.

Variations: If you do not visualize, wrap a scarf or jacket around your shoulders with the same intention. If you are religious, use a prayer from your own tradition, such as the Breastplate. If you are on public transport, simply imagine the shield while holding the handrail. If you work with the public, do it before each shift.

Mental health: what to know

Modern Meditation is helpful for many people, but it is not therapy. Research on adverse effects, including the 2017 study by Lindahl and colleagues mentioned in lesson 1, shows that some people experience anxiety, panic, low mood, flashbacks or feelings of unreality during meditation, especially long or intensive sessions. These experiences are usually temporary but can be distressing.

Signs to pause and get support include feeling detached from yourself or the world for long periods, flashbacks of traumatic events, hearing voices, losing sleep, or feeling worse after each session. Talk to a doctor, therapist or trusted person. In an emergency, call 112 in Europe or 911 in the US and Canada, or a crisis line in your country.

When meditation is hard

Most people find short daily meditation calming. But in 2017 Jared Lindahl and colleagues published a careful study in PLOS ONE describing the challenging experiences some meditators report, including fear, anxiety, panic, feeling unreal or cut off from the body, and old memories coming back. These are more likely with long, intense retreats, but they can happen to anyone. David Treleaven’s Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (2018) explains why focusing inward can be hard for people with trauma, and offers simple adjustments: eyes open, shorter sessions, movement and attention on the outside world.

There is one more honest point. If you feel you need to shield constantly because you are being attacked, watched or drained, please talk to a doctor or counsellor. Persistent fear like that is a common sign of anxiety, and it deserves real care.

Shields and real boundaries, side by side

A shield works best alongside ordinary boundaries, not instead of them. Here is a worked example. Imagine someone who dreads a monthly family dinner because one relative always criticises her. Before she goes, she sits for two minutes and imagines a cool blue shell around her, letting kindness in and letting sharp words slide off. That is the inner part.

The outer part matters just as much. She decides in advance that she will change the subject once, and if the criticism continues, she will step outside for some air. She arranges to leave by nine. At the dinner, the shield helps her stay calm long enough to use the plan. Afterwards she writes in her journal: “The shield helped me breathe. Leaving at nine helped more.” Both parts worked together.

A weekly wellbeing check-in

Because meditation affects the mind, it is wise to check in with yourself regularly. Once a week, perhaps on a Sunday evening, answer four short questions in your journal. How has my sleep been? How has my mood been, on most days? Have I felt more connected to people, or more cut off? Has my practice left me feeling steadier, or more unsettled?

If the answers are mostly positive or neutral, carry on. If you notice a pattern of worse sleep, low mood or feeling unreal, shorten your sessions, switch to gentler practices such as walking or listening to sounds, and spend more time with people and ordinary activities. If things keep getting worse, stop meditating for a while and talk to a doctor or therapist. Stopping is not failing; it is taking care of yourself.

More shielding variations

The sound shield. In a noisy, crowded place, put on headphones with gentle music or simply silence, and imagine the music forming a soft wall around you. It combines a real comfort with an inner image.

The closing gesture. At the end of a draining day, imagine your shield gently dissolving, wash your hands with warm water, and say quietly, “I am home now.” A clear close helps you leave the day behind.

The anchor object. Wear a ring, bracelet or pendant you associate with your shield. Touching it during the day can remind you to breathe and stand steady, without anyone noticing.

Questions beginners ask

Is psychic attack real? Many people feel drained after time with certain people. That is real, and usually explained by stress, conflict or exhaustion. Shielding can help you feel more in control; practical boundaries help more.

Can meditation make depression worse? For some people, sitting with thoughts can intensify low mood. Short, eyes-open practices, movement-based meditation or talking therapy may be better. Ask a professional.

Should I meditate during a panic attack? Long meditation is hard then. Try grounding: feet on the floor, slow out-breaths, naming things you can see.

Myths to drop: Shielding is not a cure for anxiety. Difficult experiences in meditation do not mean you are doing it wrong or being attacked. And needing help is not a spiritual failure.

A worked example

Imagine you have a family gathering where one relative always criticises you. Before you go in, you sit in the car for two minutes, breathe, ground and imagine a soft blue cloak around you. In the room, when the comment comes, you remember the cloak, breathe out and do not take it inside. Afterwards you let the cloak go and text a friend about how it went. The shield helped, and so did the friend.

Try this

Before a busy moment in your day, take two minutes to ground and imagine a shield of your choosing. Afterwards, write one line on how you felt. Then write one line on the practical things that make you feel safe, such as a friend to call, enough sleep or a walk outside. Both lists are protection.

Journal prompts: Where do I most need a sense of protection? What practical boundary could support my shield? What signs would tell me to pause and ask for help?

A beginner’s worry, answered. “If I need a shield, does that mean someone is attacking me?” No. Most of the time, a shield is simply a way to feel calmer in situations that are tiring, crowded or emotionally loud. Needing a little extra steadiness is human, not a sign of danger.

A shield for sleep. If your mind races at bedtime, imagine a soft curtain drawn around your bed, keeping the day’s worries on the other side until morning. Put a notebook beside the bed and write down any worry that keeps knocking, with the words “I will look at this tomorrow.” Writing a worry down is a real boundary in itself.

How long to hold a shield. You do not need to hold the image all day. Set it once, for a minute or two, and trust it. If you notice yourself straining to keep it in place, let it go and come back to your breath and your feet on the floor. Effortless is better than perfect.

A variation for children. Children often like to imagine a superhero cape or a bubble in their favourite colour before school. Keep it playful and short.

Recap

A shield is a grounded visualization of a boundary that lets in what is kind and keeps out what is not yours. Meditation can sometimes bring difficult experiences, as Lindahl’s 2017 study shows, so shorter sessions, open eyes and movement are always allowed. Constant fear of attack deserves real care from a professional, and practical support counts as protection too.

What next

My protection page covers practical and magical protection together, and practising privately helps if you need to keep your practice low-key. Last lesson: building a daily practice that lasts.

Further reading: Willoughby Britton’s research summaries at Brown University’s Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab. Israel Regardie, The Golden Dawn (1937 to 1940), for the history of the banishing ritual.

Sources

• Jared R. Lindahl et al., The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists (PLOS ONE 12, 2017).
• David A. Treleaven, Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (W. W. Norton, 2018).
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Meditation and Mindfulness: What You Need To Know (NCCIH, updated 2022).

Go deeper: the witchcraft and tarot pages on this site

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