One of the most important things you can learn is protection magic and shielding your energy. This is step one of protection magic, and I plan to delve deeper into this topic in a future post. For now, I want to keep it simple.
The aura is the electromagnetic field that is generated by all living things. Shielding your auric field can greatly reduce the amount of harmful and negative energy you pick up from others. If you are sensitive to energy, you will be more of an energetic sponge for others negative energy. Most of the time, people are not conscious of the energy they put out, so it happens often. There can be many causes of this, some examples being unresolved trauma that has manifested as dense energy in their aura, they can have dark entities (that's a whole other post lol) attached to them siphoning their energy, or they can (unknowingly or knowingly) be energetic vampires themselves.
So how do you shield your aura? I am going to explain the most common methods. I recommend shielding before you leave your house, before divination for yourself or others, before meditation if you're contacting spirit guides or any beings, before going to work, etc.
-Visualization. To do this, first ground your energy doing a grounding exercise. Then close your eyes and visualize a shield of energy (can be white, silver, black, whatever color you like) growing from your center and slowly growing bigger until it encapsulates you. You can also visualize the energy circling you like a bubble or coming up from the earth, whichever method feels right to you. If you work with your spirit guides, angels, ancestors, or any deities you can call them in and ask them to help you with this.
-Use Symbols. You can imagine runes, pentacles, or any protective symbols on your shield as well. Ge creative and make it your own! You can even call forth the four directions or five elements to strengthen your shield.
-Set intention. Sit with the image of your shield in place around you for 2-5 minutes. Setting an intention for your shield can be helpful as well, letting your guides know how you want them to help you. Usually this looks something like saying "In this bubble I am safe and protected from any harmful or negative energy or entities that do not serve my highest good. No being may penetrate my shield to siphon my energy".
-Use Crystals. Crystals can be an especially helpful tool when shielding your energy. You can wear them as jewelry or keep them on your person. There are a lot of options for protective crystals, some examples being hematite, black tourmaline, obsidian, shungite, black onyx, labradorite, smokey quartz, black moonstone, tiger's eye, malachite, pyrite, or snowflake obsidian.
Once you are done, feel free to move forward with your planned activities. I personally strengthen my auric shield before each client session, leaving the house, going to sleep (astral protection), doing spell work, etc. So, this is a practice I recommend doing as often as you can remember to. There are other ways to protect yourself and home such as warding and protection spells which I will cover in another post. Please let me know if you have any questions!