When I teach classes, I find the first thing witches often reach for to feel safe is usually something external to themselves. Perhaps it is a much loved ward, a powerful candle or a lucky charm. And all of those things do have their place and importance in witchcraft. But no matter what tradition you practice or what recipe you use for your spell; the most important component, particularly in psychic and emotional self-defense, is you. The first line of defense is always ourselves and our own Spirit. 

In Traditional Witchcraft, we are our own magical tool. I find that one of the most important and overlooked forms of defense is checking the fears of our own creation. Since witches create and manifest our own realities, it is critical to get a handle on our own insecurities and anxieties; all of those fears and demons of our own making. Because much of the time, the fear that originates from within us is the true fuel that feeds negative energies and births negative spirits into our lives. We are often the mother of the demons that plague us. 

When we get stuck in the proverbial mud, fear and anxiety are often the Spirits that feed the very things that block us on our path. Our fear and anxiety can bind us, hold us back, keep us clinging to negative patterns, and curse us. And we all have them in our lives…as humans, we were born with fear, sometimes very deep ancestral fears. Fear is a natural part of life, particularly in such a difficult, disorienting, and chaotic world that we are living in. 

As a Ced Witch, I have spent many hours studying the Ced Tarot deck. And one card in particular has intrigued me: The Devil. In Ced deck imagery, we see two people prostrated before the Devil, bound in servitude by shackles connected to nothing. Where did those shackles come from? When we are overrun by the spirit of fear we become vulnerable and if we aren’t aware, can become a victim to it. Once we surrender our power through Free Will to that fear, we submit to the shackles of helplessness and hopelessness, two of the Devil’s favorite tools. Tools that were created and placed upon us by our own making. Now, these aren’t the only two shackles that can bind our Spirit by any means, but ones that for me were important to confront on my own initiatory path. 

I find that fear and anxieties create deep tracks of spirit for negative energy, and can open a door in our reality for negative spirits to be birthed, which can both harm and drain us. Before I was a full time witch I worked in Corporate, and I have seen countless people enslaved and run ragged by their deepest fears like “I’m going to be fired!”. No matter the amount of reassurance given to them, over time through their behavior they birthed a spirit that manifested a reality where they did indeed get fired. 

As witches, we are always birthing spirits in our lives. Although it is difficult at the moment, it is so important to always be deliberate and aware of the spirits that you give birth to. Awareness, like Free Will, is one of those keys that helps us unlock our bindings. Always stay aware of which of those spirits in your world you may be feeding and fueling a reality you don’t wish to exist in. It is very hard to be our own mirror in this work, as often we are so deep in the trees we can’t see the wider forest around us and don’t recognize our own handiwork at play in the reality we find ourselves in. 

Truly as witches we live in a world of our own making: As Within, So Without. By working on our own inner demons and seeking evolution on our path, we can evolve our Spirit by working in partnership with our gods and familiars with our Witches Compass. And when we evolve and our relationship with Deity evolves and we work in harmony with our virtue and truth, that is truly the best protection you can buy in terms of spiritual self-defense.