Hello there witchy people! Today’s post is about healing from an astral injury.
You may think, “But I have a guardian spirit protecting me so I won’t be hurt!” or “All my wards are strong; I’m safe!” and I’m not here to tell you those things are untrue. I will say, however, that no guardian (or group of guardians) is infallible, and no wards (or system thereof) is impenetrable. A strong enough, persistent enough, clever enough entity could get through.
I’ve also noticed some people are attacked more than others. Some have something about themselves/their energy that makes them a target. Some spirits may even attack because of something that happened with one of your previous incarnations. And from what I can tell, some spirits just think it’s fun to hurt humans.
Regardless of other factors, let’s say an astral injury has occurred. How do you heal? What do you need to know?
Metaphysical Bedrest
The main thing is what I refer to as “metaphysical bedrest”. In other words, keep any witchy activities to an absolute minimum. Preferably, don’t do them at all. This includes tarot, other forms of divination, spellwork, energy work, sigilcrafting, astral travel…you name it, it counts. All these things involve using or manipulating energy, either your own or something else’s. While injured, your energy body is fucked up. It needs rest.
You may do ‘small’ metaphysical things–ones that do not use much energy–as you are able (what is ‘small’ will vary from person to person). If it feels like too much, or you sense any kind of pain, stop. Yes, it is incredibly irritating to not be able to practice your Craft as you heal, but taking metaphysical bedrest will let you heal faster.
Your Astral Form Effects Your Physical Form
Your astral body and physical body, while not exactly the same thing, are also not entirely separate entities. If your astral arm is injured, for example, act as if your physical arm is injured. Put it on rest. Use it sparingly, if at all. This acts as the astral arm being on rest as well, and gives it time and ability to heal.
You Will Be Tired, and You Might Feel “Off”
Remember, you are injured, even if the injury isn’t physical or visible! You will be more fatigued and tire more easily. This will be more noticeable with more severe injuries. Take it easy, in every sense. That’s really all of this condensed into one sentence; take it easy, rest, and you will heal.
In addition to being fatigued, you may also feel physically unwell. This could be a physical, chronic illness flaring up, or just feeling “off” and unwell in nonspecific ways. This should pass as you heal. Treat yourself as best you can. Painkillers should still work for physical pain, regardless of its origin.
Needing Help is Okay
If you need help with healing, that’s okay. You may have a trusted spirit friend who can help you heal, or even another witch who can heal. Just make sure you trust them and understand the risks involved. Just because someone is a healer, does not mean everything will go according to plan. And if your healer friend has advice on how to get better, I recommend you heed their words!
Astral Forms Regenerate (and Their Death Isn’t Yours)
This one is…weird. But the thing is, things that would kill humans if they happened to our physical bodies don’t kill us if they happen to a human’s astral form. Astral forms, even severely damaged or killed, eventually regenerate. The above recommendations will help them heal faster, however.
In this section I address some potential questions.
What if I need to maintain wards and cannot go on metaphysical bedrest?
This is a harder one because no, doing magic isn’t going to help you rest and heal but yes, protection and warding is important. What you do here, I think, is really up to you. If you have any trusted spirit friends, I’d ask them to help you maintain your wards until you are able to do so yourself. If not…well, if you feel it is needed to maintain your wards, then you can do so. You will still heal, but slower.
I think the best way out of this is to prevent this circumstance. This could include spirits who act as your guardians and maintain wards for you at all times, or ones who have agreed to do so if you are injured. You could also create a servitor to do this, or tie in whatever wards you create to an energy source–the sun, a crystal, etc (remember that over time, wards will degrade, like the walls of an unmaintained building–they need something to keep them maintained and strong).
Does it matter if my astral injury occurs in the astral or in the physical?
Not really. In the astral, you will of course go back into your physical body at the end of your trip, and recovery is much the same.
Will I feel pain?
Maybe. I think this depends on the person, and how in tune they are with their astral form. I often do not feel pain like I would physical pain, but react as if the same injury had occurred to my physical body.
How do I know when I am totally healed?
Signs of full recovery include being able to tolerate all the metaphysical tasks you previously could, feeling more energetic, and generally feeling “yourself” again. You may have good days where your feel okay before you are fully healed–listen to anything indicating you aren’t healed yet (such as getting more tired than expected, tiring sooner, or feeling pain in your astral form, etc). How long full recovery takes depends both on the person and the injury, but minor injuries usually take a few days, around a week for moderate, and two weeks for severe injuries. But like I said, there are a lot of variables in that!
I hope this is helpful information! Send me any question you have on this topic and I will do my best to answer.
Stay witchy and be safe!
Science and Sigils 