Working in ritual safety is fundamentally about establishing clear working boundaries that enable both practitioners and clients to be fully supported in their work. Whether you are working in ceremony, offering a reading, performing a healing, or working with the dead, creating a framework of protection reduces bias, interference, and contamination from unwanted or unhelpful energies.
There is nothing disrespectful about imposing a boundary with any energy, living or dead, that is unhealthy or unwanted.
There is nothing disrespectful about imposing a boundary with any energy, living or dead, that is unhealthy or unwanted. What you’re really saying is that any energies that are disruptive and unwell, or harmful and unwanted are not welcome inside my personal space, unless of course you choose for some reason you choose to grant permission for that person or energy to be present or have access to your space.
Working With Ancestors:
Implementing, maintaining, and reinforcing energetic boundaries with the dead, particularly those who are not yet well is an extremely important practice to ancestor reverence and ancestral lineage healing. Boundaries can be challenging at times because it could seem in some way, you’re isolating a loved one who has passed. The only judgement applied to any relationship with the dead seems to be implied from the perspective of the living.
Establishing clear boundaries is vital to any Spirit-based work.
There’s a very old spiritual saying that originates back to the emerald tablets and the hermetic tradition – it has been simplified to ‘as above, so below’. The correct translation is ‘that which is above, is the same as that which is below’ and can mean any of the following:
(i) The macrocosmos (God) is the same as the microcosmos (Man)
(ii) As in Heaven, so on earth
(iii) Whatever happens on the astral plane is reflected on the earth/physical plane
This infers the types of boundaries we create in the Spirit world, with our ancestors, are reflected in the types of boundaries present with the living here on earth – one leads to the other. Therefore, establishing clear boundaries is vital to any Spirit-based work.
Implementing boundaries is a good practice with the living, and therefore good practice with the dead. It’s also good practice with ‘other-than-human’ beings, entities and spirits that inhabit our multiverse and universe. Setting boundaries are vitally important for the empaths who absorb the energies or others.
If you’re going to navigate a sustainable long-term path, that includes relating with beings in the spirit realm, it's beneficial to show discernment about what’s healthy versus what’s not healthy. This often means questioning or intuitively feeling your way through your personal space by asking – is this me, or is this not me? And if it’s not you, and it’s not helpful, you know you need to strengthen existing boundaries or create clearer more defined boundaries.
If you just call on your ancestors – all of them – with no discernment as to whether they’re well in spirit, there is a risk that your invocation or call may be answered. In which case you could be calling to you energies that are troubling, or not yet at peace. This will create significant problems that will need to be sorted out before you’re able to communicate effectively with your ancestral guides and participate in the ritual of healing.
When you’ve created effective boundaries, the dead, or any other energies will require your permission or consent to be in your space.
The reality is that ancestors are great at teaching us about boundaries because we all have ancestors that were unwell or were deeply unethical people, so there’s no need to intentionally invite into your personal space any energies that will create problems in your work. When you’ve created effective boundaries, the dead, or any other energies will require your permission or consent to be in your space.
Energetic boundaries are a key skill and requirement for working in safety with the dead, who run the full spectrum from being quite troubled and dangerous through to being healed and well. It can take time and practice to strengthen boundaries with both the living and the dead.
5 Ways to Create a Framework of Protection:
Be Cleansed:
Every day, when we shower and cleanse our body, we are in fact participating in a ritual of cleansing. Taking this further will include smudging the chakras and aura with any of the sacred elements including:
Sacred smoke (Air)
Sacred or Holy water (Water)
Sacred flame (Fire)
White or golden light
Christ consciousness
Be Grounded:
Being grounded with your energy means to have all chakras cleansed, balanced, aligned, and protected, and to have the base chakra fully connected to the earth star chakra grounding us to Mother Gaia/ planet earth. Grounding can take practice particularly if you have an active mind or emotions.
There are many effective methods to ground your energy including:
Standing barefoot on the grass
Grounding with shamanic drums e.g., Black Bahia Bass Drum
Standing in nature and connecting with the EMFs of nature
Using grounding crystals (smoky quartz, tiger’s eye, tiger’s iron, hematite, black tourmaline or smoky morion)
Being grounded will reduce any stress or anxiety and create clarity of consciousness.
Be Protected:
Calling forward protectors and guardians in the Spirit world to strengthen energetic boundaries and to assist with clearing and cleansing your personal space will keep unwanted energies out! It’s very important to have a sense of what being protected and cleared feels like, so ideally you want to be in conscious relationship with your Spirit team. If we intuitively feel that something is not right, we need to stop and figure out where things have gone off track and self-correct. Being protected will help you to feel safe and secure in this practice.
Be Present:
Being deeply rooted or present in your body both physically and energetically will assist with grounding and add an additional layer of protection. Being centred in the essence of our Divine spirit/ Christ consciousness is one of the most protective things we can do. Being present also means not being under the influence of any drugs or alcohol that can not only affect your consciousness but also lead to poor practice. Being fully present with mindfulness will help reduce any confusion or lack of confidence.
Be Discerning:
In addition to the 4 steps above, developing a heightened sense of discernment will help you to connect with the best energies in the Spirit world. Ask yourself the following questions when you’re connecting with ‘other’ energies:
Is this me, or is this not me?
If it’s not me, then is it healthy/well or unhealthy/not yet well?
It’s a nuanced practice, and it takes time to understand or identify if other energies are inhabiting our personal space. Developing strong intuitive powers of observation, inquisitiveness and judgment is key.
If you do identify any type of heaviness or disruption in your personal space, that’s not actually your essence, it’s advisable to utilise the skills of your protector guides and guardians and have them removed quickly.