Before we can engage in any of the more advanced topics of technical field construction, we need to take a look at a few basics, such as shielding, centering and grounding, which are all very closely related principles and very often constitute the same essential actions. We also need to examine what it is you might be trying to accomplish with any of this to begin with. In truth, this is a matter so long ago resolved in my own mind that I don't even know that I am able to make it plain to a complete novice, nor that I should even try, except to say that there are a great many books available which do a very good job of explaining this if you look for them. Hermetic Alchemy is very closely allied to the Tantric Arts as well as much of Mysticism and what has come to be called Transcendentalism, however colloquially. In all of these philosophical systems lies an underscoring assumptions about the nature of the human condition and human potential in general.

I do not consider it my task in this immediate discussion to convince anyone of the truth of transcendentalist thought or even Hermetic Alchemical thought for that matter. These are matters people have to sort out for themselves, but in all cases it is widely assumed that human beings are a lot more powerful than they think they are and have it within their means to attain to a much greater state of coexistence with their world and with the universe at large than they ordinarily manage to accomplish. The tantras seek to free up energy already latent within the body itself that can often lay dormant for entire life spans unless awakened and properly channelled. The qaballists speak of "raising the foundation" of Man using the Tree of Life as their map, along with its negotiable properties. Martial Artists awaken and train the Chi while Yogi's focus upon the Chakras and so on down the line. Some are focused on the attainment of long range goals while others are more content to afford as "frictionless" a state of being as the body itself can naturally afford.

Unlike most religious affiliations, Hermetic Alchemy can be approached with an absolute minimum of personal assumptions attached. It is entirely possible to approach various energy manipulation practices wholly experimentally, much as one might approach a strange musical instrument, being hesitant to conclude anything of the outcome but simply resolving to take up the instrument for awhile and put it through its paces to see what happens. It has always been my own policy that the more I tend to believe a thing, the more skeptical I must behave towards it generally but one also has to be willing to take certain risks in the pursuit of higher learning no matter which way you might proceed. So we should always  approach these kinds of things with caution but also explore our better instincts to see where these may lead us.

Grounding itself is really no more complicated that the term itself naturally implies, yet without a firm grasp of its principle it is completely inadvisable to pursue higher energy work at all. Grounding is an assimilation technique that seeks to balance and "settle-out" all energy activity within the sphere. It applies as much to energy expended as it does to energy invoked or "drawn". As with all other forms of visualization practice, grounding "projects" a stream of energy being drawn from a visualized energy source, filtered evenly throughout the sphere and planted firmly "on the ground". It is essentially the same idea as with electrical grounding, where the pathway to ground is a vital inclusion preventing energy blockages, "shorts" or other unwanted and unnecessary energy complications. Kundalini practices, by way of example, are famous for producing powerful energy surges, or "kriyas", that can be impossible to control without proper grounding and can lead to seizure episodes sometimes lasting only a few minutes but in other cases years, so the importance of a strong and well defined system of energy grounding cannot be overstated. It is advisable to accustom yourself to thinking in terms of "bio-nuclear" energy activity when experimenting with the Abrahadabra grid, capable of unexpected energy phenomenon that can be potentially overwhelming. In truth, more experienced practitioners don't incur this quite as often, since they have already learned how to mediate this energy properly, but newcomers to the practice can find themselves suddenly capsized at intervals in waters much too deep and violent to shrug off easily. Proper grounding resolves this issue.  

In Abrahadabra, "Centering" is always the first and last action performed in any energy operation and it is important to note that centering may occur at slightly different locations, depending upon your specific area of focus. In general, your circle is always your guide to proper centering, so that wherever horizontal and vertical axis meet within a specific operation, this will be your proper center point, accordingly. Centering, like grounding, is a collecting action and it is important to realize that it is not the same thing as grounding in specific. We always ground to Earth but we may Center at any number of possible locations, depending upon the particulars of our immediate projection. By in large, centering usually occurs at the solar plexus region of the body itself, most often referred to magickally as the "Seat of Will". The action itself simply involves visualizing yourself "collected" at this coordinate and either taking off from or landing back at it in conclusion.

Shielding is a little bit more advanced discussion that Centering and Grounding, in part because it may in certain instances involve taking a more proactive stance with the energy structures you are building. These are not placid, peaceful tools we are defining here...or at least...they aren't confined to being peaceful if the matter turns to conflict. Abrahadabra provides a fiercely defensive mechanism that is capable of completely shredding and/or consuming hostile energy advances either from without or within. Don't fool yourself into thinking that your only potential opposition always comes from without...this simply is not the case. The most troublesome interferences you may encounter very often come from within, things lodged deep within the subconscious mind itself that may surface in the course of operations and vie for your attention in all kinds of different ways. By in large, practice makes perfect when dealing with these kinds of things and one learns primarily through personal experience the best ways to deal with these variables. For the moment, it is sufficient to be aware that Abrahadabra provides a kind of turn-key solution to shielding issues on all levels, such that it is completely possible to deal with conflict issues of all kinds without ever dropping a stitch against your principal objectives.

The glyph above is one of the most important images being presented anywhere on this site and I will be returning to it periodically to hyphenate various technical matters. It is deceptively simple and actually illustrates at least a dozen major principles in its present state of revealing and comprises literally hundreds of others behind the scenes. If you are able to assimilate nothing else, my hope is that you will learn to assimilate this image and put it to proper use, no matter what kind of personal energy work you may be involved with.

Perseverance Furthers

m1thr0s