The Witch's Shield: Protection Magick and Psychic Self-Defense

Christopher Penczak's books about Wicca and magick became an invaluable resource for me several years ago. Consequently, I was very excited when I was able to obtain a copy of his 2004 book "The Witch's Shield". Written in eight chapters and 191 pages (not including the bibliography and index at the end of the book), Mr. Penczak proceeds to explain not only the numerous sources of psychic dangers and attacks, but more importantly, he explains numerous methods for defending oneself, including the use of protection magick. The typical sources of psychic dangers and attacks that he categorizes and explains include physical harm, harmful energy, harmful judgments, harmful projections, the "evil eye", time traps, psychic vampires, unenlightened gurus, unwanted spirits, curses, psychic attacks, mesmerism, prayer, ancestral energies, past-life energies and finally, one's self. Yes, at times a person's worst enemy is his or her own self. Mr. Penczak also includes descriptions of typical symptoms that harmful energies can cause. Symptoms can include adverse physical, emotional and spiritual affects. He also discusses denial and paranoia before explaining several techniques that can be used to diagnose the harmful energy. Balanced protection from harmful energy and psychic attacks, as Mr. Penczak explains, is rooted in the four elements of air, fire, water and earth, as well as the fifth element of spirit. He then discusses one of the most important concepts, which, very simply, is that "prevention is the best medicine" in the third chapter entitled "Psychic Hygiene". Here, he uses the four elements to explain our spiritual bodies and discusses various techniques that can be used to maintain good psychic hygiene, including smudging, ritual bathing, journaling and meditation. He also briefly discusses the possible need for professional therapy and counseling. In the proceeding chapters, he discusses protection charms & symbols, protective stones & herbs, grounding, sealing holes that may exist in one's aura, mental flexibility, neutralization and direct action, which may include spells and/or compassion. Various protective spirits (such as guardian angels, animal spirits and deities) are discussed in Chapter 6. Specific protection spells (including banishing, binding and counter magick) are discussed in Chapter 7. Mr. Penczak also recorded a CD included with the book that has meditations and guides for conducting specific rituals. Overall, I rate Christopher Penczak's 2004 book "The Witch's Shield" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it. In my opinion, this is a must-have book for any one interested in finding ways of protecting themselves from various forms of harmful energies & psychic attacks. It has helped me immensely.

This book has truly been a revelation..having just started my spiritual journey after a life time of "visitation's" and having been too scared to deliberately seek guidance from my "visitors" I have found a way to explore my spiritual connections without feeling fear or intrepidation. This book explained so many things that I had personally experienced on my journey in such a matter of fact, down to earth way that it gave me the confidence to really stretch to my full potential...Thanks Christopher for going against convention and bringing the love and light of your experience out of the closet - great book for anyone who has experienced the dark ones during a meditation and been put off by the fear of their return...not only does Christopher give you a tool box of symbols, rituals, meditations and incantations he backs that up with a healthy wit and openness that I have found lacking in other books of the same genre..Christopher speaks of his experience whilst not allowing the door to close on how our own experiences may be interpretted...I would recommend this to anyone starting to experiment with spiritual journey's, seeking conversations with their spirit guides, wanting to know the protocols for a shamanic journey and many more traditionally secretive ceremonies...thanks for sharing the light :)

As someone who is sensitive to energy of all kinds, I found this book to be quite useful and with plenty of common sense advice, as well as ways to protect yourself from unwanted "attacks" and energy, while letting positive energy through. Penczak is a wonderful writer who speaks with a style that is down to earth and not "new agey" in the least. While I disagreed with a couple of minor points in this book, I still found it to be highly informative. He speaks first of why there is a need for psychic protection. Psychic attack while rare does indeed happen and there are those "energy vampires" that we all need to watch out for, however subtle they may be. It's not a bad idea to be able to "shield" ourselves from them. He then describes the various types of "dangers" around, including harmful energy, the dreaded "psychic vampires," curses and ancestral energies to name a few. He goes on to describe the symptoms of this form of attack and ways to "clear" yourself of this form of attack. He also talks about various forms of protection you can employ, including charmed amulets, symbol magic, protection stones and herbs, grounding one's self, and setting up a "protective shield" for yourself. The book's later chapters describe angels, power animals, and guardian nature spirits you can enlist to help protect yourself. There are also several other techniques you can employ. He does have a banishing spell, but cautions this should be used mostly as last resort. Penczak has done a great job with this book, it's one that any practicing witch should likely have.

I am a witch, but until this book, I never really looked at the art of psychic self-defense. This book opened me up to a whole new world. It's fascinating and the techniques are so helpful, I wonder now how I managed to get along all these years without having this knowledge. Mr. Penczak is a great teacher, and one of the few who writes with real honesty and simplicity. I never had questions; everything was explained in detail, and the bibliography can be used to further your knowledge on the subject. The included CD is of excellent quality, the exercises, brilliant. I use them almost every day and I see such a difference in my life. It amazes me. Mr. Penczak is truly a gifted person. I also highly recommend his Temple series.

Christopher Penczak is both a good friend of mine and an extremely influential figure in my life. I do not give this book 5 stars because I know him personally, but because this book is worthy of the highest rating possible. The information included is absolutely wonderful. Very well-researched, well-written and easy to understand; all you have to do is be open to accepting the teachings. Some of the skills herein are more advanced, while some take on more of a basic-level, either making the reader say "Why didn't I think of that before?!" or jump-starting them on long-awaited self-protection practices (like me!).. I would recommend this book along with his "Temple" series. If you like Christopher's work, you would also like Kala Trobe and Dianne Sylvian to name a couple. As an Empath, this book has provided me with necessary practice procedures AND there is a FREE CD included! Chris' lovely voice guides the practices, which are extremely effective & wise. Thank you, Christopher, for another amazing publication. And it is such an honour to be included in the "Acknowledgements" section. Thanks for all the inspiration. You are truly amazing. Live lightly, Live fully, ~Colin Smith / OakRaven Narcosius~