Energy Garden

A protection practice for protecting your energy…

Walking into a new or stressful situation can leave me feeling vulnerable. One way I help myself through these challenging moments is by carrying with me a peaceful environment of my own making. One such peaceful place is my energy garden.

In my garden I have rosemary to the north, sage to the east, roses to the south, and lavender to the west. In the center there is a beehive, and tall sturdy sunflowers. These are all plant allies that hold special meaning for me, and with which I have built deep meaningful connection over the years. For you it might be lilacs, or tulips, or maybe basil. It doesn’t matter what the plants are, as long as you feel connected to them. The first version I ever learned was a protection garden from my friend and talented hypnotherapist Laura Morgan, and she used only roses, and sometimes just one, over her heart.

To create your energy garden, take in a few long, deep breaths and center yourself. This can easily be preceded by the Tree of Life grounding meditation, or just a mindful moment of breath and calm.

Imagine yourself standing in the center of your garden. I usually face north when doing this, but that is not necessary, and for you it might feel better to start in the East, or another direction. For the purposes of instruction, we will start in the north and go around clockwise to the east. Take a deep breath in and on the exhalation, with your mind’s eye, plant your flower or plant friend of choice in the north, for me that is rosemary. See the plant taking root, and growing to fullness until it is lush and vibrant and pulsing with life.

Repeat the practice to the east, breathing in and planting down your flower friend into the ground at the east. The sage of my garden is the traditional white sage found abundantly in Southern California and honored by the Kizh and Acjachemen peoples of the lands I call home. As I do this practice, (and all my practices), I gift my exhalation to the land that it may be one day restored to its rightful people. I see my sage flourish and grow into a hearty many branched bush, and then turn my attention to the south.

In the south I repeat the process and breathe into my roses, and you breathe into your flower or plant friend, letting it grow up and out til it is healthy and gorgeous and pulsing with life. My roses are very specifically Lady of Shallot roses. They pull in the energy of my father, my ancestral home, and my love of myth and story. For me, I often catch the scent of each of these plants in the space as they are invoked.

Finally turning to the west, I breathe into and plant my lavender, smelling her bright clean scent, and even hearing the bees buzzing from flower to flower collecting pollen for sacred honey. Plant your flower friend to the west. and then turn back toward the north. Take a few moments to breath into your garden all at once, breathing into your plant allies planted at the north, east, south, and west, feeling them around you like a protective circle. Feel their roots become stronger with your attention and breath, connected to you, and also rooted deeply into the energy of earth and sky. Feel their petals, leaves, and branches reaching out toward one another. Feel yourself walking around with them, moving with them, carrying them with you.

Taking stock of your beautiful garden, breathe into each one of your plant allies and make this agreement - as this is your garden, and these flowers are an extension of you - that as negative energy or upset comes your way, it will become absorbed by the plant or flower in that direction which will wilt and wither, and then immediately regrow and re-bloom even brighter, lusher, fuller, and more vibrant than before. Energy is energy - and the flowers will drink it all in like sunshine and rain. Practice for a moment letting the plants of your garden wilt and spring back up. They are made for this and they know what to do.

Consciously give your flowers one last carbon dioxide rich breath, and drink in the oxygen rich exhalation of your plant friends in return, knowing that you will spend your time throughout the day in the loving embrace of this perpetual dance with one another.

Use this practice as often as you like, and it can become a daily practice of its own. It’s perfect for times when you are feeling particularly vulnerable at home, at work, in a conflicted situation with family, friends, or some other part of your community. This practice can help filter the energy into something useful that can be harnessed and redirected, and it’s great way to feel safe and empowered while still remaining functional to meet the needs of your day-to-day responsibilities. There have been times when I worked in a place I felt unsafe, and I used my energy garden daily during this time to help me feel centered and protected in my own little bubble. And it thankfully saved me many times from becoming embroiled in work place drama. It’s really not something that can be done too often, and it take only moments once you have the practice down. The more often you use it, the more lush and vibrant your personal garden can become.

Blessings on your journey.

💖