Please note that many of the teachings below are from Lucy Aumonier, given with permission. However, they may not be copied, distributed or edited in any way without prior consent.

I’ve noticed a particular trend in psychic and spiritual circles recently, which is the need to ‘protect’ oneself. There seems to be a lot of genuine fear of picking up ‘dark entities’ or having to shield yourself against ‘negative energy’. Firstly, I would like to say this: the fear of something is what gives it power. Secondly, in the hundreds of readings I’ve done over the years, I’ve only ever seen something in a client’s auric field that shouldn’t have been there once, and they weren’t totally faultless. It’s extremely rare.

“We need to drop the word ‘protection'”

Ultimately, we need to drop the word ‘protection’. “I need to protect myself against other people’s negative energy” is so anxiety-based and judgemental that it is counter-intuitive.

Because of this, I adopt the term ‘contain’. For example, “I contain my energy so that I may not be affected by that which does not belong to me”. How much better is that? It empowers you and still holds firm ‘what is mine and what is yours’. All without this idea that you need to shield yourself from the curses of others.

In conclusion, the perception that negative is always ‘bad’ isn’t helpful; it’s simply different. Everything is neutral until we give it power.

Below I have outlined some simple but amazingly effective techniques for you to get more contained. For this, I would suggest you have a firm grasp of energy and auras–What is an Aura?. Additionally, you should have some knowledge and techniques for grounding–if you need some ideas or a refresher, find out more here, How Can I Ground?

“We are all born with natural energetic protection; it is a part of your DNA; it is your aura.”

What is ‘Containing your Energy’?

We are all born with natural energetic protection; it is part of your DNA and aura. So it is not something some people have and others don’t, but instead something you need to be aware of and care for. It is helpful to think of the aura as an ‘egg’ as it gives it structure and a tangible form with which you can work. This is what containing your energy means, consciously working with your natural defences. Also, containment and grounding are intrinsically linked; you cannot do one without the other; that is why I mention grounding in the methods below.

When Should I Contain My Energy?

The short answer is: you cannot ground or contain too much. In theory, you can, but in our society, where our connection with nature is so lacking, it is almost impossible to overdo either. Therefore, it is an excellent idea to set up a regular habit or ritual for your grounding/containment: I do it each morning before I leave the house to prepare myself for the day. However, you will also want to contain your energy when:

1. You find yourself in a ‘yucky’ situation. For example, you know when you’ve walked into a room where there has been an argument, and you can feel the tension? This is a great time to use your containment techniques.
2. If you are about to embark on energetic work, be it healing, psychic readings or mediumship.

4 Steps for Containing your Energy

Please note you can do the below in any order; each person will have different preferences; experiment and find out which works best for you:

1. Increase the protection of your egg:

This is the outer layer of your aura; think of it like a membrane (as described above). Cover it with these three colours: royal purple (for sovereignty), then turquoise (for healing), and finally brilliant gold (for deflection). Additionally, on the inside of your aura, picture a lavender mist, electric blue light or anything you feel you need.

2. Ask your Guides

There are several parts to this:

a) Close your eyes and ask your guides, angel, or intuition what colour to wrap your egg in today. This will change daily. Once you have received the information, envisage the colour moving down, along the front of your aura, below your feet, running up your back, over your head and then back to the starting position. Then run the colour from left to right or vice versa, covering all the outer layers. Do not use the colour red, as it can invoke strong emotions in others, or white as it will draw too much energy towards you.

b)  Pray to your helpers to strengthen your aura, restore balance and mend any holes or tears. You can imagine this like a plasterer with a trowel, cementing and smoothing over any damaged or thinned areas. Do this as regularly as you feel you need, but you are unlikely to need to do this every day.

c) Ask your doorkeeper/gatekeeper to keep out anything that will not serve you. If you do not have your own invocation, you can use something like: “Dear Doorkeeper, I ask for your full and divine protection against anything that might harm me and anything that is not for my highest good. Thank you and Amen”.

3. Find your centre

By this, I mean find the place where you feel most balanced. There are several techniques for this: imagining a line in from of you, and on every in-breath, you draw it closer in towards you until finally, it rests in you, restoring equilibrium. Or you can send a circuit through your roots (see below), moving the positive/negative, masculine/feminine, dark/light in a continuous loop from left to right and vice versa. Whatever helps you feel as though you’re not unanchored or off-footed.

4. Send down your roots

Complete the process by grounding and sending your roots down from your base chakra, along the legs and into the Earth’s centre.

I strongly recommend you keep a journal documenting any differences you notice. Perhaps these are: What colours or guidance you’re given? What times do you feel like you need grounding or containing the most? These records will provide you with a deep understanding of your energetic landscape.

I’d love to hear how these methods work for you. Leave your experiences in the comments below. Don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter for more great content like this.