Yesterday, I attended an event my friend was hosting all day and I provided readings to her guests.
When I do readings, I always follow a ritual connecting me to the divine, grounding me to the earth and protecting me by the archangels. While I read the top of my head tingles. The more I connect the more it tingles. I'm constantly scratching at my head. It's not painful or unpleasant but I can definitely feel the energy pulsing from my crown chakra.
I shared this experience with other readers and asked what physical sensation they felt while reading and a large portion of them described the weariness and tiredness they will feel after readings. From what I understand the larger the reading and/or the more quantity of readings they do, the wearier they feel. Many also described getting a headache.
It surprised me since I have never experience that from doing my readings. I started asking everyone about the ritual prior to starting their reading to see if there was a difference.
Was there ever! So far, everyone who commented about tiredness and headaches admitted that they did not have a ritual, or if they did it was a short one that didn't include anything with reaching to the divine.
So, let me share my ritual.
Smudging:
I don't smudge every time I do a reading, but if I'm in a new environment and if I am allowed, I will sage the space. While I smudge I ask my angels and guides to clear the energy in the space and ask that only positive and healing energy is allowed back into the space. I will proceed to smudge my equipment, crystals, tarot decks, the reading table. I will also sage myself to clear my energy and keep my ego at bay.
If I am in an area where I can not sage, for example in a hotel room, I have a blessing spray. It doesn't always has to be Sage, if the smell doesn't appeal to you, you can try Sweetgrass, Cedar, or Lavender.
Using a smudging feather is not required, but I like to. I find the more you respect the ritual, the better it will work, and having designated tools, such as the feather or the see shell to hold the sage, shows a higher level of respect. Keep in mind, when I first started, I was using a pie tin.
All of the products I shared for smudging is from a shop local to me;
Delree's Native Art Gallery.
Connecting:
This exercise was actually shown to me when I was studying for my Reiki level one. While taking in deap cleansing breath, imagine a cord of white light connecting from the top of your head (Crown Chakra) up to the sky as my connection to the divine. Continuing with my breathing I then imagine roots sprouting from my feet deep into the ground. Connecting me to the hearth. This ritual grounds me and connects me to the divine energy. Because of this, when I do my readings I take the energy from the divine as oppose to depleting my own energy. This is part of the ritual that will keep me from feeling drained, in fact I may end the reading re-energized.
Energy Clearing:
When I start a new reading I will hold my deck in my non dominant hand and knock on it with my dominant hand. This knock the energy from a previous reading out of the deck so that we may start with a blank slate. Some people, when doing this, will feel the energy travel through their palm in their non dominant hand. If reading reversal I will then lay the cards onto my reading surface and spread them around. Gather them back together and then shuffle.
Connection & Protection Prayer:
It's while I am shuffling that I do my prayer. You can do this out loud or in your head. There are pros and cons for both. If you say this quietly in your head, it's my personal experience that the person sitting in front of you will start talking to you. Silence makes people uncomfortable. It's easy to lose your train of thought then. Out loud, depending on the person sitting in front of you and of their belief, you may feel a little silly. I've gotten over it, since I would end up having to explain why I'm quiet anyways. This is the prayer that I say...
I call upon my angels and my guides to be in contact with (insert querent's name here)'s angels and guides. May you provide a clear and accurate reading. I also call upon archangel Michael to please protect this reading in white light so that only divine messages may come through"
I also use a version of this prayer when reading for myself. I normally do this prayer with my eyes closed. When I ask for the white light to surround me, I can actually see behind my eyes, the white descend down and surround me.
Cord Cutting & Shielding:
When we read for someone, we really connect with them. Because of this a cord might form between us attaching us to their energy. There issues is not for us to bare so it's important that we clear ourselves from those connections from time to time. I visited with a medium friend of mine a short while ago who had to remind me of that. I was carrying twenty-four cords with me. This can drain you, make sure you release that. You can cut cords in a few ways, With your intention and praying to Archangel Michael to cut these cords for you. Visualize him using his sword and doing this. I like to use a sharped edge crystal, I believe the one I use is black tourmaline. While I do my prayer asking to release me of those cords I will wave this crystal back and forth around me from head to toe visualizing these cords snapping off of me. The white light of protection I ask for during my connection prayer is a shield. It protects the querent, the reading, and myself from external energies. Only divine is allowed in. But sometimes you may need extra protection from the querent if they are in a dark place. In this case I would visualize a white bubble tightly around me. My son prefers to form a tank around himself, a friend told me she puts on an Iron man suit. Make sure to visualize this from above your head to below your toes.
Then, for the next reading, rinse and repeat.
I hope this is helpful for you, I would love to hear about your rituals. If you haven't been doing these rituals previously, let me know if they help going forward.
