Psychic Attack
by Estelle Daniels
Psychic attack is the most frightening psychic phenomenon one can experience. Many claim to have been victims, some feel they were scarred badly. Others were able to fight and win.
What is a psychic attack? It is the feeling that something is "out there" after you intent upon doing harm. Very rarely it is a conscious working on the part of someone else. Most commonly you feel something is out there and won't leave you alone.
Psychic attack is a common cry wolf in the magickal community. "I walked by his house yesterday and I felt something watching me." "I was out with this group and now I feel run down and drained, they attacked me and took my energy." These statements are the usual type of proof one gets describing a psychic attack. Psychic phenomena are highly subjective. Not everyone has the same level of abilities, nor do they manifest in the same ways.
When a person is relatively new to psychic work, they experience the phenomenon of "opening up". Their latent abilities are awakened. Before, when the person was not psychically aware, they noticed little of the 'other worlds'. Opening up can be good, but can also lead to some uncomfortable experiences.
Imagine being deaf, you cannot hear music or conversation or traffic noise. Then you suddenly can hear. Now you are hearing, but you have yet to be able to filter or distinguish the pleasant from the unpleasant or harmful. You hear everything; that which is relevant to you, that which is incidental and that which is not meant for you. Being newly psychically aware is quite similar. You pick up on everything, and have yet to be able to filter out that which has no relevance to you. The natural psychic background noise which many have learned to deal with can be deafening until you learn to shield and protect yourself. And you can become a bit paranoid, because there is so much and it takes time and patience to gain the skills.
In my opinion, 99% of the time what is perceived as a psychic attack is no more than background noise.
Like a psychic backfire, it is loud and startling, but does no harm. But if a person is newly aware, they hear it and wonder, what was that, where did it come from, was it directed toward me, can it hurt me, and so on. When a person worries and wonders, they start straining to "hear" more and start to pick up on more stuff until they are perceiving the psychic mice running across the floor and freaking out. Another analogy is a city person moving to the country. There is no traffic noise, no hustle and bustle of people. But they hear the wind in the trees, the crickets chirping, the animals at night. Those sounds can be strange and startling to someone not used to them. And the country person moving to the city jumps at every car horn, siren or screech of brakes until they learn to tune it out.
Because psychic phenomena are subjective and personal not everyone is going to hear what you hear. You might pick up on something that nobody else does. Does that constitute a psychic attack? Not really.
The bad news is that some stuff you can never totally block. The good news is there are simple and effective techniques for grounding and shielding which can make life quieter and more comfortable.
Some people have an amulet or talisman which does the shielding grounding and centering for them, but this can become a crutch. If you lose it, you are defenseless. For new practitioners or people who are sensitive, but have no interest in developing their psychic abilities, this may be all they ever need or use. However, it's better to be able to learn to shield yourself without outside help.
The best way to protect yourself is to learn techniques to ground, center and shield yourself. Grounding and centering is a way of restoring emotional and psychic equilibrium. You concentrate on your body, the here and now. This diverts your attention and you can disconnect from the creepies. Shielding allows you to block some or most of the psychic stuff until and unless you want to open up. These techniques are simple and effective, and when learned make life as a psychically aware person much more comfortable.
One effective exercise is the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, or LBRP (see the article on LBRP) for short. The first part of it is effective to help a person regain their equilibrium. The full ritual will help block out most psychic noise.
Another grounding technique is to eat a heavy meal. Fast food, meat and potatoes, something filling and substantial or greasy, with red meat or lots of butter and cheese. Comfort food, if you will. If you feel jumpy, avoid stimulants like coffee, caffeine, or alcohol. Physical activity, taking a walk, doing light chores up to a full workout can also effectively ground and center. A bath or shower can do the trick. Laughing helps, watch a funny movie, read a funny book or just swap jokes with friends. Most psychic critters are not comfortable around laughter. Become mentally absorbed in something. Something active not passive like watching TV. Doing long division, income tax or other pencil and paper math can be absorbing, and possibly frustrating, but will also get your mind off the stuff "out there".
Shielding can be elaborate like the LBRP or simple, like visualizing yourself inside a glowing energy shield, like a spaceship. Any psychic energy will hit the shield and be deflected away from you. These shields can be anchored to the zenith (heaven) and horizon by energy rays if you want extra stability. Shields can be like an outer set of energy clothes. Shields need periodic attention. If you work at keeping them, they will stay. In a creepy situation, giving them an extra dose of energy, strengthening your shields, can be helpful. If you want to perceive something you can open a hole (like a porthole) in the direction you want to feel, you do not have to drop them. And you should be very careful if or when you ever do drop them totally.
There are many other techniques, but these are simple and effective. Hopefully they will help.
Blessed Be
© 1998, 2003 Estelle Daniels, all rights reserved.