You should always center before grounding. Grounding is the process of removing unwanted excess and/or foreign energies by connecting with other energies (that of the Earth - the ground). Grounding is also something you can do when "your head is in the clouds" or you feel "detached" from your body. It connects you with another form of energy that acts as an anchor and allows your energies to move more freely between your body and the Earth. Aside from being an important step before magick, this can help you in mundane life as well by stabilizing your mood and decreasing stress. You should also ground after magick as well, to prevent excess energy from staying in your body. Grounding to the Earth is the easiest and most common way of grounding. It also makes the most sense because it is the most stable, solid energy.

The absolute easiest way to ground is to be barefoot in the Earth - walking on grass, dirt, etc. Simply touching the Earth directly can ground us without further effort. Sometimes I put my palms against the Earth, as I tend to focus energy in my hands.

   Another way is the tree visualization that is so popular. Many different version have been published (either in books or on the web). When performing one, make sure to breathe deeply, into your diaphragm (see the Breathing Exercise). Here are a few tree visualizations for grounding:

• The Witch's Circle: Grounding

• Asiya's Shadows: Grounding

• House of the Open Eye: Grounding

• House of the Open Eye: Grounding 2

• Cave of the Word Witch: Grounding to the Earth

• Brew and Val's Wiccan Pages: Grounding

• Yarrow Coven: Grounding

• Inga's Earth Magic: Grounding

• Spirit Connections: Grounding Meditation

• Listening In: Exploring inner Connections: Seed Grounding

   One easy way to ground excess energy after magick is to sit comfortably and imagine a waterfall of cool, crisp, pure water flowing over, into, and through you. As it does so, it picks up excess, unwanted energy, which flows out of you along with the water. Once you feel cleanse, let the column of water shrink in size until it stops. Shake any excess water from your body. You're done. This should only be done if you've grounded to the Earth before magick, however - otherwise, you're only getting rid of your own energy, and that can make you feel tired or give you a headache.