Hitting the ground running...

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 14 Jan 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

willowberry	14 Jan 2005
Hello everyone, I am willowberry, a lil newbie round here. I was just wondering whether anyone has a good way of grounding or clearing oneself after reading for people. My sister, mum and a friend all wanted readings on the same night, this was fine but by the last reading I was knackered so just went to bed. The next day I was so lightheaded, dizzy and a bit out of it really, quite a pleasant feeling but not so good for teaching teenagers! I can only describe this as a bit of a psychic hangover and feel that if I'd taken the time to ground myself before just zonking out I would have been fine. So the main question I guess is: How do you get your heads out of the astral clouds??!! Love, Willowberry xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fudugazi	14 Jan 2005
willowberry wrote: So the main question I guess is: How do you get your heads out of the astral clouds??!! Welcome Willowberry! What a lovely name you have chosen for yourself. I have a strong affinity with water, so I usually just take a bath, or a shower, and patter about the place in my bare feet. In summer I might go outside a bit and walk barefoot. A friend I know will grab some soil in her hands. Try watering your plants! A calming herbal tea is good too. Orange blossom and/or leaves, lemon verbena and lime (or a mix the above) - try and find the real dried leaves and make it is a saucepan, so you get to handle the actual leaves. It tastes better too.

Fulgour	14 Jan 2005
This could only be helpful in a future situation but if you have a quiet spot, out of the house where you can walk, keep it in mind when you anticipate needing grounding. Whenever I go out to the back of my garden I will pause at a certain fencepost, touching it as I clear my thoughts. I may walk there before or after reading, for a quiet visit. It's not a ritual, and never feels repetitive, but just a way to be by myself and reflect upon the nature of existence.

huredriel	14 Jan 2005
Hi willowberry, Welcome to AT. What a lovely name. Sorry I can't help re. your question as I'm a total beginner but look forward to coming across you on the boards. x Huredriel

Keslynn	14 Jan 2005
Try eating something substantial (like protein or carbs or both). When I get spaced out from reading a lot, that usually helps me. :) Kes

Sulis	14 Jan 2005
Yep, I agree with Kessylyn, eat something. I find that putting a very small pinch of salt on my tongue can help to ground me quickly as well but eating something is more pleasant. Another thing you can try is: After a reading place the palms of your hands on the floor. Imagine that your hands are in soil or on rock. Imagine the feeling of it. Feel its' coldness, smell the rich, sweet soily smell. Visualise any excess psychic energy draining from your body, down through your hands into the 'soil' or 'rock'. You can say something if you like too eg. I return these energies to the ground / to the earth. Also, make sure you're drinking enough water whilst reading as dehydration can make you feel spacey and as if you're not grounded. Love Sulis xx

all78degrees	14 Jan 2005
I try not to give so much of myself during a reading, I take time, and play :D gav.

Fudugazi	14 Jan 2005
all78degrees wrote: I try not to give so much of myself during a reading, I take time, and play :D The poet William Carlos William was a family doctor. Between seeing patients, to relax and give himself space, he jotted down poems on his prescriptions pad. He gave us short, pithy, very inventive poems. That's another way of grounding. Doing something you love, just for you, even if only for a few minutes. Do it between the readings too.

Umbrae	14 Jan 2005
When doing a reading, we cannot always be where we want, you could be in a park, a coffee-shop, a loud bar, a neighbor’s garage, a dining room with screaming children, a beauty shop with a jackhammer removing the sidewalk, an airplane at 33000ft… You need to method to find the ‘quiet spot within’. I use a hunk of Onyx. It’s the best root chakra stone, it’s a lovely grounding stone, and is just nice to hold sometimes. So before a reading, during a reading – any time of day at all…

Fudugazi	14 Jan 2005
Umbrae wrote: I use a hunk of Onyx. It’s the best root chakra stone, it’s a lovely grounding stone, and is just nice to hold sometimes. So before a reading, during a reading – any time of day at all… I have a large rhodonite pendant, a beautiful rose with deep black veins, which I wear round my neck - it fits very well into my palm :) I never thought of it as grounding, I hold it unconsciously. The black is grounding, the rose is universal love. I like to think of these energies filling me, even though I know it's the power of the imagination - it helps me focus and ground, and opens my heart.

Sulis	14 Jan 2005
Umbrae wrote: I use a hunk of Onyx. It’s the best root chakra stone, it’s a lovely grounding stone, Couldn't agree more. Onyx is a lovely grounding stone - good for absorbing negative energies too so it's a good one for cleansing. I forgot all about crystals when I answered before - I have a rainbow obsidian sphere which I use for grounding - obsidian is a good grounding stone too. Love Sulis xx

HudsonGray	14 Jan 2005
Physically putting your hand on the trunk of a tree & extending yourself into it is good (your aura, your personal space, however you think of it). Or a hand on the floor & visualizing your energy going down into the earth, and the earth cycling energy back up into you works too. But the shower helps, though it's done probably too 'after the fact' so you could feel spacey till then. The crystals/stones are a good idea too. Two deep breaths just after, with your eyes closed, refocusing energy into you that might be too diffuse around you helps in a pinch, when you're feeling too scattered. Just imagine that you're pulling your aura in tight to just below skin level, that's a GREAT way to center again. I think we can sometimes shove our aura out too far & it starts to really cause a drain then. It'll save the headaches & spaciness from happening, especially those second day-after's. Luck! If you need a grounding 'tutorial' there's a nice one here: http://www.psipog.net/activepsy/book2.html#_Toc472931485 (scroll down a bit)

tmgrl2	14 Jan 2005
Welcome, Willowberrry... There was one week here at AT where I offered and did five readings with my new Hadar deck. Since I had to go to work, too, I "crammed" them into about a two day period. I had to type and post them and they were long. I was wiped out. So I learned my lesson about what works for me.... Live readings don't wipe me out like some of the online ones I do... I, too, have a lovely obsidian... My class ring has a large onyx stone...it is very special to me and I love to wear it...guess it helps... I agree with Umbrae about finding that spot within. I love using my quiet home office... But I have done readings in places where there was activity and noise and I simply tune it out...sometimes I get even more focused. I always studied when I was growing up in places that were "busy" and "noisy." I didn't have a room, so I had to find a little spot and make a bubble around me so I could tune out all the outside "stuff." terri

Gypsy Mama	14 Jan 2005
Well I turn in a circle 3 times and.... Just joking!! I am in the drinking water and having a bite to eat camp as well, and mentally bringing myself down to earth. Barefeet is also good for me as I imagine my roots going into the earth and being very strong and solid( I find this works well on moving vehicles like trains where there are alot of people, funnily enough but still in shoes as well!?) Also I will sometimes try to touch a piece of cold metal but I prefer the other methods first. Take care, Gypsy Mama I almost forgot, I love oils as well and patchouli oil always has a nice effect. I think I better use some now! haha

Thirteen	14 Jan 2005
My method of grounding after a reading is incredibly simple--but it works...can't remember where I learned it.... After you've scooped up all the cards, you rap the table. That's it. Kind of a "we're done!" to the cards and the universe, a way of shutting the door if you will.

willowberry	17 Jan 2005
Thank you soo so much, for all your excellent advice. I have a gorgeous marmalade obsidian that just called to me the day I was feeling psychically hungover and I carried it around all day without knowing that it was a grounding stone, I guess it knew i needed it!! Clever little pretty thing. Have a reading to do tonight for the mother in law - yikes - no matter what the cards say she always does a classic, yeah-but-no-but... so I shall try one of the various techniques whilst also keeping my patience securely in check!!! Lots of love, Willowberry xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Snuppesno	17 Jan 2005
I used to get really tired. My mind and soul felt drained. But after one healing session with my sister I sat down and started crying. I had the TV on and a voice sang into my heart. Johnny Lang has ever since renewed my spirits :) Sounds funny but it works for me. Good luck and I agree, dont give too much of yourself.

The Hitting the ground running... thread was originally posted on 14 Jan 2005 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.